Dhruv Trivedi
‘Mayor of Kingstown’ delves into a grimy world where the lines between crime and law and order are all but invisible. Episode 3, titled ‘Simply Murder,’ follows a horrific crime that shakes even the town’s seedy underbelly to the core. It is one of the few times that the authorities and gangs are united toward a common goal. In Kingstown, however, unity is an expensive proposition, and Mike McLusky finds himself negotiating terms that he knows will come back and bite everyone. If you’re still trying to wrap your head around what goes down in ‘Mayor of Kingstown’ episode 3, we’re here to clear things up and help pick up its many details. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Mayor of Kingstown Episode 3 Recap
The episode opens in a trailer, where a 5-year-old plays unsupervised while his drug-addled mother lies passed out on the couch. A scruffy man, Kenny, bursts in and soon leaves, absentmindedly leaving his burning cigarette behind. Soon enough, the trailer explodes, and the authorities, including Mike’s brother Kyle, find the charred remains of the young boy and his mother. Sickened, they swear to bring down the man responsible without allowing him the “luxury” of a trial.
Mike, who subsequently identifies the perpetrator as a small-time meth manufacturer named Kenny, is given the responsibility of tapping into his crime network and locating the man as soon as possible. As news of the horrific crime spreads, various gang leaders become increasingly agreeable to helping the authorities find and kill Kenny. Even Kenny’s own crime boss agrees to alert the police if the man comes back. Meanwhile, we see Kenny hiding out, berating himself for his foolishness.
As pressure on Mike increases to find Kenny, he tries to warn the police department that killing the man without a trial will be a messy affair. It is then discovered that Kenny is on parole, making him eligible to be taken directly to prison without being put in a holding cell. To his surprise, Mike then finds Kenny waiting for him outside his office.
Mayor of Kingstown Episode 3 Ending: What Happens to Kenny? Is He Dead?
Mike reacts instantly and begins to strangle Kenny for his despicable murder. However, the latter reveals that it was an accident, and Mike eventually relents and tells Kenny to voluntarily turn himself in so that he is placed in protective custody. The sniveling criminal follows Mike’s advice and turns himself in, only to be taken directly to an open plan, lightly supervised part of the prison known as the gym. Almost instantly, the rest of the inmates fall upon Kenny, relentlessly stabbing and pummelling him. Meanwhile, upon finding out that the man hasn’t been put in protective custody, Mike smashes his office in frustration.
So Kenny finally meets the fate that has rushed towards him ever since his horrific (if accidental) murder of his ex-wife and child. So distasteful is Kenny’s crime that even the gangs agree to team up with the authorities to show that they do not support the murder of children. Hence, Kenny is neither safe in prison nor outside. As Mike says, his only chance of survival is to get protective custody.
However, with the entire police force agreeing to look the other way if Kenny is killed in prison, the man has no chance. Therefore, as soon as he turns himself in, the meth manufacturer is not even processed but directly released into the least supervised part of the prison, where inmates from multiple gangs are waiting to slay him. From the numerous stab wounds he subsequently receives (even as the guards watch), Kenny is well and truly dead.
Why Does Mike Try to Save Kenny?
When Kenny reveals himself to Mike, the latter’s first reaction is to kill the man himself for his despicable crimes. Once Kenny reveals it was an accident, Mike relents but informs Kenny that he is a dead man either way. One of the main reasons Mike lets him go is because he knows that Kenny, even when put in protective custody, will eventually get the death sentence. Hence, Mike isn’t trying to save Kenny but is rather controlling himself, satisfied in the knowledge that the man will ultimately be put to death.
However, Kingstown’s power-broker also has a deeper reason for not wanting Kenny to be killed illegally. As he explains to the police officials that are hell-bent on finding Kenny using the help of gang members, if a gang kills Kenny, it will be considered a “favor.” Hence, the police would remain indebted to the criminal group that helps kill Kenny, which would dangerously shift Kingstown’s tenuous balance in their favor. Bunny, too, understands this and laughs openly at how his gang will “milk” the police for years once they kill Kenny.
This also explains Mike’s frustration when he learns that Kenny has been let into the prison’s general population without being processed. Since Kenny is killed by gang members, it seems like the favor has been done, which will give the gangs an advantage whenever they have to negotiate with the police again. Considering Mike is the primary link between the authorities and criminals, this is likely going to make his life a whole lot harder.
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