by Tim Gordon
“Blood or bourbon?” Buddy, why not both. This Tulsa King season finale serves both with a side of poor decisions, moral decay, and enough loose ends to crochet a blanket. Season 3 ends with fire, bullets, family trauma, political nonsense, and plot threads dangling like Tulsa’s world’s saddest tinsel. Let’s dive headfirst into the chaos.
Joanne begins the episode tied to Jeremiah’s furniture, looking like she accidentally checked into the wrong Airbnb. Jeremiah launches into the kind of villain monologue that should come with a warning for secondhand embarrassment. He feeds her, overshares about his sacrifices, and delivers a delusional TED Talk on power that would have the Wizard of Oz rolling his eyes. When she refuses to cry at his emotional performance, he snaps like someone denied a free refill and decides the best way to get what he wants is to threaten Dwight, a man whose biceps have entered the witness protection program.
He gives Dwight the dramatic ultimatum that no criminal with sense should ever give Sylvester Stallone: blood or bourbon. Dwight hears this and chooses both, with a sprinkle of righteous fury.
Meanwhile, Dwight assembles his Avengers, Tulsa chapter. He storms into the Bred-2-Buck like Nick Fury after a Red Bull and starts rallying everyone with a pulse. Margaret is busy sensing that Cal’s offer to join his administration comes with more strings than a used violin. Lee pulls up in a Cadillac so shiny it needs sunglasses, instantly pledging loyalty and making grandpa swagger look cool. Cole finally becomes useful and tells Dwight where Joanne is being held, which earns him temporary “not completely useless” status.
Bigfoot arrives with four men who look like boss-level enemies in a video game and announces they are his cousins. He also rolls out a mobile armory that would make the Pentagon blush. None of this triggers a single law enforcement alarm, which feels on-brand for Tulsa.
Dwight launches a full-blown nighttime assault on the Dunmire compound. It looks like Expendables 6: Fedoras and Revenge. Jeremiah’s men have weapons, but Dwight’s crew has accuracy, functioning strategy, and the sheer will to wrap up at least one plot point this season. Half of Dunmire’s army goes down before they can even pick a target.
Jeremiah tries to slither away with Dwight in pursuit, ending up in the distillery. Dwight beats him senseless, ties him up, and delivers an impassioned lecture about the Jesus Lizard that somehow becomes the best monologue of the season. He lights Jeremiah up like a human lantern, fulfilling the season’s theme of poetic retribution. Somewhere, Montague is watching from the afterlife like, “Finally.”
Back at the bar, the celebration begins. Lee delivers a toast announcing his plans to build a New Orleans empire because apparently this entire season was a backdoor pilot. Musso drops by with Dwight’s national liquor license as casually as if he were handing over a library card. Bodhi equips himself like he is preparing for the Purge. Spencer tries to convince Cole he is not doomed by his father’s sins, which is adorable considering the trauma this kid has endured for three seasons.
And Dwight ends the night listening to Mitch perform, staring off like a man who cannot believe the writers room forgot half their plotlines.
Final Thoughts
Season 4 needs to pick up the pieces. Or at least figure out where they left Bill. Or Quiet Ray. Or the entire Kansas City crime arc. Honestly, anything resembling connective tissue would be welcome.
But Stallone and Samuel L. Jackson together? That is pure TV serotonin. Give me another season and crank the chaos.
