The ending of Tulsa King season 2, episode 6 rocked both Tyson Mitchell (Jay Will) and Dwight Manfredi’s (Sylvester Stallone) worlds, and there’s some evidence to suggest any one of their villains could be responsible for planting the bomb in the Navigator. At the end of Tulsa King season 2, episode 6, Dwight’s Navigator exploded just after Tyson had gifted it to his father, Mark (Michael Beach). It was a truly shocking moment, and one that will have far-reaching effects in Tulsa King season 2, once Dwight and the rest of his gang identify the person who planted the bomb.
Since the explosion was such a surprise, there isn’t a lot of evidence to point the blame at a single culprit. All Tyson saw before the bomb went off was a white Prius that had been following him all day long, and that indefinite piece of evidence, coupled with how many enemies have been added to the cast of Tulsa King season 2, could make the search very difficult. Any one of Dwight’s main villains could be responsible, and once they find out who planted the bomb, there will likely be quite a bit of bloodshed to come.
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Cal Thresher
Cal’s Attacks On Dwight Have Been Escalating
One of the more likely suspects for bombing the Navigator is Cal Thresher (Neal McDonough). Ever since the start of Tulsa King season 2, Cal has been attacking Dwight any way he could. First, he coerced the U.S. Attorney into making sure Dwight went to prison during his bribery trial. When that didn’t work, he started bribing Armand (Max Casella) for information. He then used that information to try to undermine Dwight’s deal at the wind farm. When that didn’t work, he sent some of Jackie Ming’s (Rich Ting) men to the farm to destroy it and slow down construction.
Cal has been attacking Dwight since the beginning, which is a good sign that he might be responsible for the bombing, but there’s another trend that points in his direction. All of Cal’s attacks have been escalating in scale and severity. At first, he tried to keep his hands clean and get the U.S. Attorney to put Dwight away. Then, Cal got his own hands dirty, and he escalated further until he got Jackie’s men – hardened Chinese gangsters – to attack Dwight with physical violence. A car bomb seems like a natural progression of Cal’s escalation.
A car bomb seems like a natural progression of Cal Thresher’s escalation.
On top of all the ways Cal has attacked Dwight in the past, he also has the most motivation out of all the General’s enemies to take him down. Cal’s attacks so far have done little more than anger Dwight, and Dwight has outright threatened Cal. Cal may have escalated to attempted murder simply to stop Dwight from killing him, and whoever he sent to do the job may have simply messed up and detonated it without realizing that Mark was getting in the car. Plus, Cal didn’t know about the sit-down, so he likely thought Dwight would be riding in the Navigator that day.
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Bill Bevilaqua
Bill Is Still Angry About Carl’s Death & Mad About The Sit-Down
The Kansas City mob boss Bill Bevilaqua (Frank Grillo) is also a very likely candidate for the bombing of the Navigator. Bill has a history of bad blood with Dwight that might have caused him to plant the bomb. When he heard about Dwight’s operation in Tulsa, Bill took it as an encroachment into his territory, and he thought that Dwight should have asked for permission before heading West. Then, at their first meeting, Dwight insulted Bill and turned down his offer. Probably the best piece of evidence to indicate that Bill planted the bomb was the fact that he had already tried to kill Dwight.
At the end of Tulsa King season 2, episode 3, Bill sent one of his capos, Carl, to perform a hit on Dwight. If he was willing to kill Dwight then, there’s no reason Bill wouldn’t have tried again with the car bomb. Plus, Bill was still angry that Goodie (Chris Caldovino) flipped on him and Carl got killed. He mentioned to his other man that even though Bill and Dwight had struck a deal at the sit-down, he might not honor it. Bill didn’t think the deal was good enough to justify Carl’s death, and he may only accept blood as payment.
While Bill’s presence at the sit-down may be evidence that he didn’t plant the bomb, it doesn’t completely absolve him. Bill was hesitant about the sit-down even before it happened, and he said he would kill Dwight if they were put in the same room. Bill also has several people who work for him, and any one of them could have planted and detonated the bomb while he was in Atlanta. On top of that, Bill might have been specifically targeting Tyson, not Dwight, to make them even for Carl’s death. That would help explain why the bomb went off when Dwight was miles away.
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Jackie Ming
Jackie Is Endlessly Ruthless & Hates Anything That Affects His Profits
One of the relative newcomers to Tulsa King season 2, Jackie Ming, could just as easily have planted the bomb as any of Dwight’s other enemies. While he doesn’t have the same grudge against Dwight as other characters do, Jackie is the leader of a Chinese gang, and he almost surely has experience with killing his enemies. He also had both the power and resources to plant and detonate a car bomb, given how much he was making off Cal Thresher’s weed farm and his own heroin production. Jackie may have even targeted Dwight specifically to protect his revenue streams.
In Tulsa King season 2, episode 6, Jackie mentioned that Dwight was indirectly impacting his earnings at the weed farm. After the battle at the wind farm, Dwight and his gang incapacitated several of Jackie’s men, and only one of his guards showed up for work. With a skeleton crew of guards, and the only man there having his face battered, Jackie was worried that his workers would see it as a sign of weakness. While it was ultimately Cal’s fault, Jackie may blame Dwight for the hiccup in profit, and he may want to make sure the General can never affect his money ever again.
While talking to Cal about Dwight, Jackie told him “You don’t defeat an enemy by using half measures.”
Perhaps the best evidence to suggest that Jackie Ming planted the bomb in the Navigator are his own words. While talking to Cal about Dwight, Jackie told him “You don’t defeat an enemy by using half measures.” Dwight was becoming a problem for Jackie, and that line indicates that he would have no problem with killing the General. While it’s possible that Cal took Jackie’s advice and used it himself, Jackie could have just as easily been warning Cal about what he was going to do. Jackie also has the least experience with Dwight, so he would be the most likely to blow up Mark on accident.
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Chickie Invernizzi
Chickie Is Becoming More Unhinged & Still Has A Grudge Against Dwight
If anyone were to make such a big mistake, however, the most likely culprit is Chickie Invernizzi (Domenick Lombardozzi). Chickie has the longest-running and most hate-fueled beef with Dwight, and he’s been trying to kill the General since Tulsa King season 1. It started when Dwight first got out of prison and Chickie decided to banish him to Oklahoma. Then, after Chickie killed his father, Pete, he viewed Dwight as the last vestige of his dad. Then, the two became openly hostile after Chickie came to Tulsa to kill Dwight, only to leave empty-handed after Goodie defected.
Another important factor in finding out if Chickie planted the bomb is his mental state. Ever since Chickie killed Pete, he’s been on a downward spiral and becoming more unhinged and sloppy by the day. Chickie is constantly fighting with his allies and constantly making mistakes, like forgetting his ankle gun at the airport. Chickie’s mental state may be bad enough that he would try to bomb Dwight or Tyson, and he likely wouldn’t even be torn up that Mark got caught in the crossfire. It would also be enough to explain how the bomb missed Dwight: Chickie doesn’t care about getting things right anymore.
Chickie also has a track record that proves he may not have been targeting Dwight at all, but that he could have been actively looking to kill Tyson or Mark. In Tulsa King season 1, after Dwight embarrassed Chickie, the New York mobster went out and attacked Tina Manfredi’s (Tatiana Zappardino) husband, beating him to within an inch of his life. Attacking innocent loved ones is clearly not off the table for Chickie, and killing Mark would deal a massive blow to Dwight. Plus, Chickie was probably furious about missing the Atlanta sit-down, which could be reason enough to take his anger out on Dwight.
Dwight won’t let this attack go unpunished, and somebody’s head will roll before the end of Tulsa King season 2.
Chickie Invernizzi, Jackie Ming, Bill Bevilaqua, and Cal Thresher all seem equally capable of planting a bomb inside Dwight’s Navigator. While that does help build Tulsa King season 2’s suspense, it unfortunately means that the show likely won’t give a definitive answer about who’s responsible until episode 7. Mark’s fate, and whether he’s even still alive, also seems to be a mystery. No matter what happens, however, Dwight won’t let this attack go unpunished, and somebody’s head will roll before the end of Tulsa King season 2.