What I’m Watching: Tulsa King

Tulsa King: Season 1, Episode 5 “Token Joe” (B+)

It’s strange to think that Dwight’s past is so immediately accessible, and that, after a video call with his dying brother in the previous episode, he actually did come home for the funeral. That went predictably poorly, and his efforts to be generous were met with incredulity by his daughter. Asking his sister about his grandchildren showed just how much he’s missed, and going to check in again with Tina was a bold move that she could easily have refused. But instead she shared some very disturbing information about the unnecessary enforcement tactics used to ensure his silence in prison that happened anyway, and the result was something that may have felt protective on Dwight’s part but will absolutely not endear his daughter to him given that it just shows how he remains very capable of brutal violence. Marching in to beat on “The Package” made clear how he feels, and that final, presumably fatal kick to the face followed by his order for them to clean it up indicates that he’s no longer going to cooperate in the same way. But he now has an operation set up in Tulsa and colleagues who respect him to some degree, and unfortunately the motorcycle gang acted on his underlings while he was out of town. Things don’t look good for anyone, and hopefully Stacy won’t get involved in a dangerous way since the law seems to be quite cooperative with the most active criminals in town and won’t have any trouble hurting her or taking her out.