There is a scene in the fourth episode of Mayor of Kingstown season 3 where Kyle asks a criminal to get on his knees and surrender. I feel that scene symbolically foreshadows Mike McLusky’s own surrender to the new gang lords in town, Merle Callahan and Konstantin Noskov. In the previous episode, Mike made a truce with Noskov so that the Russian Lord would stop sending hitmen to kill him. Additionally, Mike didn’t want Noskov to paint the city red with the dead bodies and, therefore, agreed to work together instead of against each other. But as soon as Noskov’s issue was solved, another problem arose. In episode 4, the people of Kingstown woke up with smoke in the air. On the previous night, two members of the Aryan Gang planted bombs outside the Kingstown Police Station. But why?
Spoiler Alert
Why did Callahan plant bombs?
It’s a no-brainer that Callahan, the new leader of the Aryan Gang, wants to take revenge on Mike and the police for destroying their stash house in episode 1. In Robert’s violent drug bust operation, the gang lost more than eight members, which was when the higher-ups brought Callahan to Kingstown to replace Gunner. But even though Callahan had taken up the new position, he needed to make some noise to get Mike’s attention. The blast outside KPD was just a mere reminder of what the gang was capable of. Callahan’s message was loud and clear. If people like Robert go on turning the city into a battlefield, then that is what they are going to get in return. And if Callahan didn’t make it obvious, he was the one who had ordered his men to plant a bomb at the funeral of Mike’s mother.
Are both the suspected bombers dead?
KPD got intel on one of the bombers, named John York, who had rented a motel the night before the explosion and used burner phones to detonate the bombs outside the station. However, before the officers could make any arrests, Robert arrived at the scene with his SWATs and riddled York’s body with bullets. It seems like Robert isn’t interested in making arrests anymore, which only creates further issues for Mike, who wants to resolve the matter peacefully. Mike only wanted the name, and York’s testimony made things easy for Mike, but Robert wouldn’t let him. Mike had no other option but to fix a meeting with Callahan at the prison so that he could give him some information about the second bomber on the run. However, this bit seemed a bit stretched to me because Mike already knew that the Aryan Gang was behind the bomb blast and that Callahan might have a hand in it, so why would he snitch on his own members? Or maybe Mike was just trying to take Callahan into confidence so that he wouldn’t do any further damage. Whatever the case might be, the second bomber, Macon, walked into the lion’s den himself. While running away from the police, Macon entered Bunny’s territory, who didn’t waste a moment to capture his rival gang member and put a sweet little ribbon around his neck. Later, he called Mike to receive the parcel.
At Bunny’s safehouse, Mike tried to interrogate Macon, but the man only called Mike a traitor for siding with the Crips and not helping his own. However, Macon crossed the line when he revealed to Mike why they planted a bomb at his mom’s funeral or fired shots at his house. It was the moment Mike lost his cool and pushed Macon from the terrace, which probably killed him. But before meeting his fatal death, Macon had given him a name, and it was none other than Merle Callahan. So, Mike’s doubts were now clear as water. Callahan, who had pulled off the entire operation to get Mike’s attention, let him know who was running the errands in person after Gunner’s death.
What Did Callahan Want?
I guess it should be clear by now what Callahan and Noskov are planning to do. Both Russians and the Aryans found themselves in a weak spot after Mike started aiding Bunny and his gang more and more. Because of Mike’s influence, the police and authorities wouldn’t touch Bunny’s gang, which gave him an undue advantage over others. Additionally, the Russians and the Aryans had to face Robert’s wrath, because of which they lost a lot of their gang members, while Bunny enjoyed the benefits of the trade.
When Callahan arrived in Kingstown, he understood the game Mike had been playing and, therefore, decided to get Gunner out of the picture because he was too soft to deal with someone as sharp as the Mayor of Kingstown. He understood the fact that Mike didn’t need to be killed but tamed, and only someone like Callahan knew how to do it. Callahan had a history with Mike. He helped Mike when he himself was serving a sentence behind bars. The episode implied that Callahan saved Mike’s life, too, and he owed him for that. But Mike’s reason for surrendering to Callahan was different, even though Mike called it “for old times’ sake.” Macon had hinted that the Aryan Gang wouldn’t mind bombing Mike’s house or his family if he dared to stand up against them, and with Mitch and his mother gone, Mike didn’t want to risk Kyle’s life, which is why he decided to work with Callahan instead of working against him.
At the end of episode 4, Callahan, as the new leader of the Aryan Prison gang, instructed Mike to pick up the call when he received one from him because that’s how things should be from hereon. Indeed, Callahan and Noskov are planning something big in Kingstown, and they didn’t want Mike to interfere in their grand scheme of things. The blast was necessary to teach Mike how things should be, and he didn’t need to take a personal interest in the workings of the gang. Before Callahan and Noskov arrived in Kingstown, Mike got too involved in the gang’s affair, because of which Bunny sort of enjoyed a monopoly in the business. But with these two leaders entering the ring, Bunny is going to face serious competition. And chances are, it might turn violent, whose effects will be visible both inside and outside the prison. For now, Mike, being the middleman, has contained the chaos, but until when?
