WARNING: SPOILERS ahead for Mayor of Kingstown season 4, episode 8.
Mayor of Kingstown season 4, episode 8, "Belleville," marks the season-high point of a series-high season for this crime thriller masterpiece on Paramount+.
The season 4, episode 5 scene between Mike and Tracy – in which Tracy tells Mike that all the people he tries to protect end up dying – was all I could think about during the nightmarish scene of Callahan at Tracy's home.
Even as she begged and rationalized with Merle in her final moments, willing to give up Mike to save herself and her son, there was never really a glimpse of hope that she would make it out of that room. Merle is just too cold and ruthless to show any form of mercy, especially when he had already considered Tracy's death to be necessary.
The structure of this episode reminded me a lot of The Dark Knight – Mike is bending laws to uphold justice, i.e. find Merle and likely kill him. Merle, however, like the Joker was to Batman as he tried to save Rachel's life over Harvey's, was already several moves ahead.
There was nothing Mike could really do to save Tracy at that point, although it is surprising that he didn't think to call her when he heard Callahan was on the loose. Undoubtedly, this development will break Kyle, and perhaps his trust in Mike, exactly as Merle wanted it to.
Merle Callahan Is Officially Mayor Of Kingstown's Most Epic Villain
Mayor of Kingstown season 4, episode 8 just confirmed who the most epic villain in franchise history is after he wreaked total havoc on Mike and Kyle with cold calculation and ruthless execution. That's saying something, considering how many threats Mike has faced throughout Mayor of Kingstown seasons 1–3, Callahan included.
Callahan was first introduced in the season 3 premiere and has slowly been waiting for his opportunity to exact revenge on Mike since then. Kyle getting incarcerated was his perfect chance to send Mike a message about turning his back on the AB, feeling disrespected after all he had done to protect Mike during his prison sentence. Kyle, too, wouldn't take Merle's olive branch after he was also protected by him.
It's hard to pinpoint exactly what Callahan wants in a broader sense, other than his own warped sense of balance and justice. When he tells Tracy that he has no choice but to kill her, it's representative of his distorted code of right and wrong, highlighting that it's not personal. If anything, it's an incredibly primal gesture reaffirming Merle's dominance and power. It's really just as simple as – Mike messed with the wrong guy, who will do want nearly every other person won't, to balance the score.
Sort of like Merle's reasons for killing Tracy, the scene itself was simple, dark, and unflinching. Watching Merle casually explain to Tracy why he has to kill her as reality sank in for her was one of the most chilling scenes of the series. No background music to heighten the emotional impact, no over-the-top dialogue or unrealistic emotional outbursts; this scene felt disturbingly real, especially knowing where Merle was coming from – shooting Tracy with the crosshairs on Mike.
Mike May Not Be Able To Recover From This Game-Changing Twist
Season 4, episode 8 ends with Mike and Nina walking into Anchor Bay, suggesting that Mike is going to share the news with Kyle. This is likely where we'll pick up in next week's penultimate episode, and this may be how Mike finally gets Kyle out of prison – making a deal with Nina to find Merle and bring him back to the prison, or else her time as warden will be on the chopping block.
Mike may agree to Nina's terms to get Kyle back, but there's no shot that he would let Merle live if he finds him. Whether Kyle's still behind bars or not, Tracy's death just overtook the entire series' narrative, which may give Frank Moses and the cartel more space to advance their own agendas while Mike is dealing with Callahan.
There are still so many avenues of conflict that surround Mike with just two episodes to go in Mayor of Kingstown season 4. His priority should be getting Kyle out for good, but after losing Robert and now Tracy in back-to-back episodes, something tells me that even more tragedy is coming for Mike and those around him before the season 4 finale.
