Tulsa King Season 2 hits a major speed bump with “Oklahoma v. Manfredi,” which should be the jumping-off point for the entire season. It features the conclusion of Dwight Manfredi’s criminal trial, as well as the first face-to-face meeting between Dwight and his new nemesis Bill Bevilaqua. This is the episode that should be full of nail-biting tension, but unfortunately, there’s very little suspense as the audience can see most of it coming.
“Oklahoma v. Manfredi” runs into the same problems that the Tulsa King Season 2 premiere had: it’s too heavily skewed in Dwight’s favor, and too reliant on Sylvester Stallone’s tough guy persona. The episode starts with Dwight’s trial, but moves fairly quickly through that in order to get to the mob business, and neither storyline reaches its full potential. There’s also the potential farewell to a main cast member, which the show might wind up regretting.
Tulsa King Season 2, Episode 3 Makes It All Too Easy for Dwight
Sylvester Stallone Doesn’t Have Far to Go
In the middle of an election cycle, “Oklahoma v. Manfredi” comes across as a campaign on behalf of Dwight Manfredi — and as another showcase for Sylvester Stallone. Dwight’s trial primarily consists of his direct examination of Stacy Beale, which is awkward and implausible; a large part of it is just his playing to the jury. He’s not significantly challenged in any way, because there are only two witnesses called in the entire trial. Once that ends, then Tulsa King moves on to the first in-person showdown between Dwight and Bill, but they don’t trade more than the expected threats about who owns what. Dwight quite clearly has the advantage as he stares down Bill and asserts that Tulsa belongs to him now.
Dwight Manfredi: I am absolutely one hundred percent not guilty. And if that’s not true, I’ll come over and bust your heads individually.
This is all enhanced by scenes like Dwight’s confident stride out of his house on his way to court, or Dwight and his whole entourage walking together like a small army. The problem is, Dwight doesn’t need to win anyone over. Audiences are aware that he’s the protagonist of the show and anyone familiar with Stallone doesn’t need to be convinced of his coolness. What happens is that the actor is hitting the same notes that viewers have already seen in many Sylvester Stallone movies, so viewers aren’t watching anything new or exciting or different in an episode that should be completely new and exciting and different. At no point does Dwight feel under threat — either legally or otherwise. Most of “Oklahoma v. Manfredi” is a reminder that Dwight Manfredi will always find a way to come out on top.
And that’s entertaining, but it’s not necessarily interesting. Particularly in television, a character is more intriguing when the audience doesn’t know what they’re going to do or how they’re going to get out of a predicament. Dwight is more intriguing when Stallone gets to show sides of the character that are unexpected or even relatable. A scene in which he complains about not having a specific chair in the house feels like filler, but it’s a reminder that Dwight is human and has random complaints too. The rest of the episode, however, could be from any other mob movie or TV show.
Is Stacy Beale Leaving Tulsa King?
Episode 3 Seems Like Her Swan Song
“Oklahoma v. Manfredi” looks to be the last episode for Andrea Savage as Stacy Beale — and that’s a huge mistake for Tulsa King. It doesn’t come as a surprise, because Savage was already missing from Episode 2, but when Stacy reveals she’s been reassigned to Anchorage it still feels like the show throwing in the towel on her character. She’s written into a corner by the fact that Dwight’s whole examination of her is about their personal relationship; what little credibility she might have had left after the premiere is gone once that indiscretion is now fully public knowledge. Plus, since he’s no longer under any kind of investigation, the writers would have had to find another way to make her relevant to the story.
Stacy Beale: Your life, my life, no matter what, are failures.
But parting ways with Savage is something that the show will definitely regret. She’s turned in some incredible performances over her stint; it’s some of her best work. Beyond that, Stacy adds to the narrative in multiple important ways. She’s a strong female character who is not looking up at Dwight; assuming that she does exit, that leaves Dwight’s daughter, his sister and his love interest Margaret Devereaux as the women in the main cast. All of them are quite firmly on Dwight’s side. Plus, Stacy being an ATF agent meant she could tell the crime story from the other side of the table. She’s certainly far more interesting than the generic FBI agents who’ve been following Dwight around. If the show becomes just about Dwight fighting his rivals, that takes a layer off the narrative.
There may have been ways to keep Stacy in the frame even with her being professionally compromised. Perhaps instead of being transferred, she could wind up on another, unwanted assignment that would bring her into Dwight’s path again — somehow needing his assistance. She might quit or be fired and then wind up caught in the middle as a civilian. She may want revenge on someone (and it could be a few people). It would take some work and some dramatic license, but that would be worthwhile to keep Savage’s talent and Stacy’s conflict with Dwight in the fold. At least, until other characters, Agent Beale gets to leave alive.
Tulsa King Needs Less Music and More Tension
Music Becomes a Problem in Season 2, Episode 3
There are a few other elements of Tulsa King Season 2, Episode 3 that feel disjointed or out of place. Most notably, the music becomes a distraction. There are multiple needle drops, including the first and last scenes, and the dramatic underscore is also too loud and obvious when it appears. The most powerful and surprising scene in the episode — the stabbing death of Bill’s henchman Carl and the fact that it’s Goodie who kills him — is ruined by the blasting of Bobby Darin’s “Mack the Knife.” It’s easy to understand why the show wanted to use it, but it’s totally unnecessary; it would have been much more effective to either not use any music at all, or to let the murder stand on its own and then have the song just play over Bill’s discovery of Carl’s body.
The pacing and structure of the episode are sometimes awkward, too. Tulsa King sometimes has moments where it wants to be a comedy, and the comedy herein is not as funny as it thinks it is. Seeing Dwight deal with a stereotypical homeowners’ association “vice chair” is predictable; the audience knows how it’s going to go from the start. It’s even less funny when it stretches over more than one scene. Jay Will’s character Tyson Mitchell gets a witty line about how many Law & Order episodes are on during any given day, but it comes at the end of a pre-credits scene in which everyone is stoned, so it’s kind of like the show laughing at its own jokes. There’s not even much tension in the trial, because viewers know Dwight can’t get convicted or there wouldn’t be a season. Tulsa King needs to just tear the doors off and let Stallone, Frank Grillo and Neal McDonough be completely unleashed — because that’s what will make this season soar.
Tulsa King streams Sundays on Paramount+.