Dhruv Trivedi
‘Mayor of Kingstown’ follows the powerful McLusky brothers, who act as powerbrokers in the dangerous titular town. Following in the footsteps of his father and elder brother, Mike McLusky acts as the unofficial negotiator between the authorities and criminal gangs of Kingstown. However, when tensions begin to flare up on both sides, a face-off becomes inevitable, and the season 1 finale finds Mike caught amidst a brutal war. If you were left wondering about the fates of the characters after the breathless season closer, we’re here to help clear the air. Let’s take another look at ‘Mayor of Kingstown’ season 1. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Mayor of Kingstown Episode 10 Recap
Season 1 introduces us to the titular town, which houses seven prisons in a ten-mile radius and depends largely on the industrial prison complex for jobs. The balance of power between law enforcement officials and the many criminal gangs inside and outside the prison walls is perpetually tenuous. After Mitch McLusky, the eldest McLusky brother and original “Mayor” of Kingstown, is shot by a petty criminal, his younger brother Mike takes on the daunting task of maintaining peace in the town.
Mike constantly negotiates terms between the town’s criminal gangs, who make demands on behalf of their incarcerated gang members, and the prison guards. However, a series of mishaps and the constant mistreatment of inmates by the guards result in things reaching a breaking point, and the season finale opens in the midst of a full-scale prison riot.
Under the leadership of Crips gang leader P-Dog, the prisoners take over the prison and hold the guards hostage. The youngest McLusky brother, Kyle, is also trapped inside Kingstown prison. Once the prisoners begin executing hostages, Mike is forced to go inside the prison and negotiate with P-Dog. However, it soon becomes clear that the gang leader means to send a message, and Mike watches helplessly as his close friend Ed, a prison guard, is executed.
Mayor of Kingstown Ending: Is Kyle McLusky Dead or Alive?
The town and state forces surrounding the prison open fire, gunning down P-Dog and any other prisoner wielding a gun. The indiscriminate firing kills dozens of unarmed prisoners, and the ones that run inside are killed by an advancing special forces team that secretly enters through the prison’s drainage system. Mike takes cover even as the relentless violence continues until not a single body moves in the prison yard. The authorities then move in and begin searching for survivors in the carnage.
As Mike’s mother tearfully waits outside the prison, the two McLusky brothers walk out arm in arm, still alive. Mike quickly walks away from his sobbing mother and brother and heaves a sigh of relief once he is alone. Back at his cabin, Mike brings over the bottle of champagne that Iris asked for in the morning before either of them knew about the prison riot. She tells him she realizes that pieces of her soul have been torn out by those that hurt her but that she hopes her soul will grow back again. Season 1 closes on a melancholy yet hopeful note, with Mike and Iris sitting together on the floor of his cabin.
The season finale brings both surviving McLusky brothers extremely close to meeting a gruesome death. Though Mike is briefly in danger in the prison yard, his younger brother Kyle spends the entire duration of the riot inside the prison. In fact, the uprising begins with P-Dog and his accomplices assaulting Kyle and his partner. The youngest McLusky brother eventually survives by taking refuge underneath the prison until the special forces team rescues him. Bruised and battered, Kyle eventually emerges from the prison after being reunited with his brother.
Despite surviving, it looks like Kyle is shattered by the experience and breaks down as Mike hurriedly escorts him out of the prison. On multiple occasions during the riot, Kyle expresses wanting to just escape through the underground passageway but is told to keep going by his partner. By the end, it looks like Kyle has truly broken away from all aspects of violence, and his mother’s wish of her youngest son leading a peaceful life might just come true.
Where is Milo? Does He Escape from Kingstown Prison?
Despite being incarcerated, Milo is quite possibly the McLusky brothers’ most powerful rival and repeatedly blackmails them into doing his bidding. In fact, Mitch McLusky is killed while storing money belonging to Milo. Once Mike takes on his late brother’s duties, Milo continues to be a regular hindrance and finally catches Mike’s attention by kidnapping and selling Iris to a local gang.
During the riot, Milo sticks to his signature modus operandi and helps P-Dog initiate a full-scale riot by telling him which key opens all the prison doors. However, Milo himself remains completely detached from the ensuing violence and sneaks into a guards’ locker room, where he changes into a uniform. At the end of the riot, Milo walks out of the prison (where he was in the maximum-security wing) while wearing a guard’s uniform.
Thus, the McLusky brothers’ most significant tormentor is now on the loose, and due to the chaos, it is likely going to be a few days before anyone realizes he’s missing. In all likelihood, Milo is heading to the field where he has buried millions of dollars in bearer bonds. This is the very same field where Mitch initially retrieves the first batch of money for Milo (which eventually gets Mitch killed), and also where Mike discovers the bus full of corpses.
Who Wins the Riot — the Guards or the Prisoners? How Long Does the Kingstown Prison Riot Last?
The shutting down of the Kingstown prison riot by the combined town, state, and national forces is a savage display of military might. Despite the prisoners taking control of the entire prison complex, including its many weapons lockers, their uprising is no match for the authorities. The indiscriminate firing on the prisoners in the yard continues until most of them are dead, and many are shot while attempting to surrender. Multiple prison guards, including Ed, are also killed.
Considering P-Dog’s intention with the riot was to send a message by avenging the guards’ constant mistreatment of the prisoners, it seems like the gang leader is mildly successful. However, the authorities send an even stronger message to the rioters by brutally killing most of them, making P-Dog’s statement much less potent. The riot is also short-lived and lasts from the morning till only the late afternoon.
Thus, neither the prisoners nor the guards seem to have gained anything from the riot while both sides suffer heavy losses. Mike’s peacekeeping efforts in Kingstown are also largely wiped out, with the status quo completely shattered and all channels of communication between the criminal gangs and authorities broken down.
Read More: Is Ed Dead or Alive in Mayor of Kingstown? Who Attacks Him?
