by Charles Kirkland, Jr.
The Cartel War explodes on the fifth episode of Mayor of Kingstown.
Early in the morning, while Ian and Mike are still investigating the burned train, Bunny realizes a car is following him. He tells his driver, Lamar, to take a side road, right before the tires suddenly blow out. Lamar steps out to check the damage, sees a spike strip and without warning, gunfire erupts from the tree line, tearing into the vehicle. Lamar fires back and pulls Bunny out of the car, but the shooter slips away. Only then do they discover the truth: Bunny has been hit.
Ian gets the emergency alert that Bunny is being rushed to the hospital. He immediately calls Mike, who is still with Frank supervising the train disaster. Mike is furious, far more than Frank, who reacts with concern but nowhere near the intensity of the Mayor.
Inside the prison, Kyle makes it through the night in general population. At breakfast, an inmate recognizes him. Kyle acts fast, driving an elbow into the man’s face and breaking his nose to keep him silent.
After roll call, Deputy Warden Torres reminds all officers to leave the prison with empty pockets, especially no phones. He stops Kevin, accuses him of lying about his phone being in his locker, and finds the burner Kevin uses to reach Mike. Torres crushes it under his shoe.
At the courthouse, an intern comes up to Evelyn and tells her that the witness is a no-show. Evelyn is more than visibly upset. The intern said that she confirmed the appointment for the grand jury last night and he stated that he would be there. Evelyn gives her instructions to track him down. Later, she shows Evelyn a photo of the witnesses’ license plate driving the Ohio turnpike 12 hours ago. Evelyn realizes that there will be no Grand Jury today or maybe ever.
Meanwhile, Cindy begins her shift and discovers something alarming: Kyle is missing. With no transfer order on record, she rushes to Torres. He scribbles a note on his phone and casually says he’ll “look into it.” Worried, Cindy ducks into the bathroom and secretly calls Mike to report Kyle’s disappearance.
As Mike races toward the prison, Kyle manages to place a collect call, confirming he’s been dumped into general population. Mike starts giving him instructions, but two guards suddenly arrive to take Kyle away. Mike shouts for him not to go, but Kyle is dragged off.
Mike storms into the prison and tries to reach the warden. Torres and two guards block him, holding him back until Mike lashes out and kicks Torres in the gut. Warden Hobbs steps in and orders them to bring Mike to her office.
Inside, Mike covers his tracks, telling Hobbs he knows Kyle is in gen pop because Kyle called him collect, protecting Cindy. Then he openly accuses her and Torres of working for the cartel. Hobbs smiles and doesn’t deny it. Instead, she offers a deal: Have Frank arrested for the train incident, and she’ll cooperate.
Mike agrees, but only on his terms: Kyle must be returned to Ad Seg immediately, Mike gets visual confirmation, and inmate Callahan must be moved to general population. Hobbs accepts.
Meanwhile, Kyle is uselessly struggling against the two officers as they take him to a room where cartel inmates pin him down and raise a pipe wrench over his head. Before they can strike, Aryan Brotherhood inmates burst in, attacking the cartel crew and dragging Kyle out. They deliver him to guards waiting to return him to Ad Seg. Before they leave, one of them tells Kyle: “Callahan’s got you.”
Beaten and bruised, Kyle refuses a visit with Mike. Cindy relays both messages, Kyle won’t see him, but he’s alive. Back in his cell, Callahan tells Kyle he protects his own, and that he’s a friend, not an enemy.
Mike meets with Frank and warns him that police are coming to question him about the train. Frank agrees, thinking it’s routine and wanting to keep them from digging. As Mike leaves, he calls Ian to confirm that Frank will cooperate. Ian warns they have nothing to hold Frank for longer than overnight. Mike urges him to stall while he works an angle and convinces Ian to let him interview Lamar.
At Lamar’s house, Lamar gives an exaggerated story claiming five or six shooters were involved. Mike sees through it instantly. He also realizes Lamar is tied to Frank and then lies to Lamar telling him Bunny is awake. Lamar then mentions that he and other men Frank hired will be waiting at the hospital “in case the cartel shows up.”Leaving the house, Mike calls Ian and lays it out: Bunny is just a pawn. The real war is Frank versus the cartel.
At the precinct, Ian escorts Frank in through the back for questioning. As they walk through the detective bullpen, a gunman bursts in firing wildly. Ian shoves Frank into cover and drops the shooter with a clean shot to the head.
At the hospital, Mike relieves Bunny’s sister from her bedside vigil. He sits beside his unconscious friend, keeping watch as the war outside grows closer.
Closing Thoughts
Now that Mike knows where the war begins and ends, can he stop it from overtaking the entire town? Is Kyle tempted to join Callahan for safety that Mike is unable to provide? Will Bunny survive?
New episodes of Mayor of Kingstown premiere on Paramount+ every Sunday night.
