The whole point of Mayor of Kingstown is to drive home the corrupt nature of the prison industrial complex.
As new prisoners come and go, we get more familiar with the concept.
But when we begin following Tracy to work, we get an entirely different view — a more humanitarian view from the aspect of males and females within the system.
For the first two seasons, I failed to recognize Tracy’s connection to the system.
She was so underdeveloped that nothing about her made sense outside of her marriage to Kyle. She’s one of the family, after all.
But Nishi Munshi’s role as Tracy has blossomed in the wake of Dianne Weist’s departure and Miriam’s death.
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As much as we’ve grown to love short, ten-episode seasons on a show with a cast as rich as Mayor of Kingstown, the short order also awards many a short shrift developmentally.
Their arcs are sometimes nonexistent or lost in the more impressive scenes, like street warfare and prison riots.
Tracy’s conversation with the warden of the women’s prison was incredibly aggravating, and it shows how problematic it really is to have males involved with the prison system.
Women are overpowered both physically and by circumstance.
Miriam was one of the only champions women had in that system, and it seems like Tracy will be picking up the slack.
Tracy showed obvious concern over a pregnant inmate who was being forced to give birth with her arms and legs shackled to the bed.
Do prisons not have secure rooms where pregnant women, let alone those who were raped to get that way, can freely give birth? I’ve never had the privilege, but it seems nightmarish to do it without movement.
Tracy wants to advocate for these women, but doing so could be perilous. After all, she is a woman in a system where men have power over women, even coworkers.
Her conversation with the warden showed she’s not afraid to put herself out there, but if she’s not careful, she may pay a price she doesn’t see coming.
Seeing her and Kyle in parental mode didn’t give me the warm fuzzies. Instead, it worried me that her happiness could be short-lived if word got around about kicking up dust over the pregnancy.
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She’s not as street-savvy as Iris, who puts herself in jeopardy to maintain her inside position.
Iris is getting in deep with Konstantin, and if he’s as bad as they say he is, it won’t be long before he discovers her duplicity. Can anybody be trusted?
And how has Iris managed to stay clear of Mike’s influence with her crowd? Mike doesn’t call often, but every time he does, the dread that someone will put two and two together is a little overwhelming.
Does anybody else think that Mike’s need for vengeance sometimes goes too far? It’s his Achilles heel, and if he goes down, it will likely be as a result of that neverending need to set things right in his mind.
Any time someone he loves is in jeopardy, he reacts quickly. It’s no wonder that Callahan wonders whether Mike is the predator or the prey while pointing out that to maintain the ecosystem, he cannot be both.
Mike’s relationship with Bunny is one of the keystones of Mayor of Kingstown. When Callahan suggested Mike off him to prove how he operates and maintains the ecosystem, my heart skipped a beat.
The Arayans are gunning for Bunny, and there is a pervasive feeling with each subsequent episode that Bunny’s time on this earth may be coming to an end.
And if his friends and family keep getting caught in the crossfire, how long will it be before Bunny turns on Mike? They’ve gone in circles before, and their relationship is always on a very tight tether that threatens to snap.
I love those conversations all of the important players have in the diner when Mike, with no official governing role, rules over the others.
When Konstantin called Ian out on that relationship, Ian bristled at the implication that he was somewhat powerless.
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All of Mike’s relationships are tenuous at best, threatened by one wrong move.
When you are the middle man between so many different factions, how long can it continue before the dam bursts?
Carney is on his own on the inside working on Mike’s behalf, too. He got a beatdown for that connection, and with so few (does he have any?) allies, I can’t think of a worse place to be carrying Mike’s torch than inside of prison walls.
That applies to Carney, Tracy, and even Callahan.
When we spoke with Michael Beach recently, he teased an upcoming episode that involves an intense shootout on a bridge.
Who will be involved in that melee?
As the victim count rises, we can’t help but imagine we might lose one or more characters we’ve relied on thus far.
We can do a little teasing ourselves. The stories during “Ecotone” escalate as the season continues. Mike and everyone in his orbit will be put to the test.
Ecotone itself means the transition between two ecosystems, so the roadmap has been set. Change is on the way.
There has been no word about another season, and with recent changes Paramount has been implementing with its library of content, we may not see Season 4.
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Here’s hoping that the remainder of the season and the finale at least leave us with a sense of what the future may hold should we not get the opportunity to see it play out.
Carissa Pavlica is the managing editor and a staff writer and critic for TV Fanatic. She’s a member of the Critic’s Choice Association, enjoys mentoring writers, conversing with cats, and passionately discussing the nuances of television and film with anyone who will listen. Follow her on X and email her here at TV Fanatic.