Pratik Handore
Paramount+’s ‘Mayor of Kingstown‘ follows Mike McLusky (Jeremy Renner), the titular town’s official power broker and unofficial mayor. Mike must make questionable decisions as he manages several conflicts and criminal gangs to maintain peace. In the second season, Mike’s quest to manage the aftermath of the prison riots leads to a confrontation with his archnemesis Milo Sunter (Aiden Gillen). The sophomore installment ends with a showdown between Mike and Milo, which ends with the latter’s bomb exploding. Although it is implied that he has faked his death once again, the third season premiere further makes his fate ambiguous! SPOILERS AHEAD.
Milo’s Fate: Presumed Dead After Tatiana’s Revelation
In season 2, Milo runs a club with the help of Joseph and Tatiana. After Iris returns to him, he forces her to work at the club as an escort. Meanwhile, the bonds make their way into Mike McLusky’s hands, who plans to use them to catch Milo. In the penultimate episode of the second installment, titled ‘Peace in the Valley,’ Milo makes a deal with Mike and promises to leave the town and free Iris in exchange for the bonds. In the season 2 finale, ‘Little Green Ant,’ Milo and Mike come face-to-face, leading to a gunfight. Eventually, Milo escapes, giving Mike one last chance to make things right. Milo and Mike exchange the bonds on a boat, and it explodes shortly after Mike and Iris leave.
After the explosion, Tatiana receives a call from a man who sounds like Milo, who informs her that everything is fine as far as he is concerned. The conversation not only convinced us that he cheated death again but also made us await his return to Kingstown to remain as Mike’s headache. However, the third season premiere features a meeting between Tatiana and Konstantin, only for the former to tell the latter that she gave him Milo, indicating that she betrayed her master to lead the Russian Mafia’s boss to the mobster. Considering the ruthlessness Konstantin has been displaying since arriving in Kingstown, he must have killed Milo if he had been looking for him.
However, Milo’s death is only a possibility. Konstantin doesn’t confirm to Tatiana that he killed the mobster. It is even possible that the club owner gave her boss the wrong info about Milo’s escape, which justifies her expectation of a call. Konstantin must have killed Tatiana not for betraying Milo’s trust but for leading him to an incorrect location, possibly facilitating Milo’s escape.
Aiden Gillen’s Departure From Mayor of Kingstown
Aidan Gillen portrays the character of Milo Sunter in ‘Mayor of Kingstown.’ The Irish actor debuted on-screen in 1982 and gained recognition for his remarkable portrayal of Tommy Carcetti in HBO’s series ‘The Wire.’ Many viewers will recognize Gillen from his critically acclaimed performance as Petyr “Littlefinger” Baelish in the popular HBO fantasy series ‘Game of Thrones.’ Additionally, the actor is recognized for his role as Janson in the second and third movies of ‘The Maze Runner‘ franchise. After being a part of the first and second seasons of ‘Mayor of Kingstown’ as a series regular, it seems like Gillen’s time on the crime drama might be up, given Milo’s possible death.
Tatiana’s revelation that she betrayed Milo wraps his arc satisfyingly. The writers of the series have taken advantage of Milo and Mike’s enmity for two long installments, which seemingly leaves nothing much to warrant the character’s return to the narrative. The introduction of Konstantin and Merle Callahan as the third season’s main antagonists indicates that the current installment is ambitious. While Konstantin presents himself as a bigger threat to Mike and peace in Kingstown, an inferior adversary such as Milo doesn’t make much sense from a creative standpoint. With no season 3 credits to his name, Gillen must have left the crime drama.
However, Gillen’s supposed departure doesn’t mean that we have seen the last of Milo in the series. As long as his dead body is not shown, the doors are open to the performer for a potential return to the crime drama in the future. If Milo is alive, he may fancy a return to Kingstown to exact his vengeance on Konstantin for trying to kill him, which also means that he can become Mike’s ally.
Read More: Miriam McLusky Death: Why Did Dianne Wiest Leave Mayor of Kingstown?
