NOTE: this post contains spoilers for Tulsa King season 1 episode 6, "Stable."
After his brutal murder of Nico (John Cenatiempo) in front of Chickie (Domenick Lombardozzi), Vince (Vincent Piazza) and Goodie (Chris Caldovino), audiences might have assumed Dwight (Sylvester Stallone) would immediately leave New York for the relative safety of Tulsa. But if the opening five episodes of Tulsa King have proven anything, it's that Dwight isn't going to let a little confrontation get in his way.
So, after killing Nico for abusing his daughter Tina (Tatiana Zappardino) while he was in prison, Dwight decides to pay her a final visit to tell her what he's done. It's a heartfelt and emotionally complex scene between a conflicted daughter and an incandescent father. Dwight insists he feels no guilt for killing Nico, calling it "justifiable vengeance," before giving a deeply sincere apology. Dwight says he wasted his entire life buying into the lie that the mafia would look after him and his family, lamenting to Tina that everything bad that happened to her was because of him, and he has to live with that.
While Tina still can't forgive her estranged father, there's clearly a part of her that's grateful for what he did. Her major concern, though, is whether or not her, her husband Emory (Loren Dunn) and their children are safe from the Invernizzi crime family. Dwight promises nothing will happen to them. If they're going to do anything, it'll be to him, not her. He then heads back to Tulsa.
Turns out Tina was right to be worried, though. Chickie, furious Dwight murdered Nico in their hangout, tells Pete (AC Peterson), who is still the head of the family despite his illness, he wants to kill both Dwight and Tina. Pete reacts furiously to this suggestion, even going as far as to suggest that Chickie is half the man that Dwight is, which obviously leaves his son furious.
Back in Tulsa, we learn Stacy (Andrea Savage) has an informant working for the Black MacAdam biker gang by the name of Roxy (Emily Davis). As Roxy tells Stacy and her ATF partner Doug about the kerfuffle between the gang and Dwight's crew, Doug becomes fixated on Dwight, insisting they should tell the FBI about him. Stacy looks to protect Dwight, saying they should just focus on the Black MacAdams and their leader Caolan (Ritchie Coster).
Doug ends up informing the FBI anyway, which provokes Stacy to organize a secret rendezvous with Dwight at a bowling alley. Stacy asks Dwight straight out what he's doing in Tulsa, before reminding him he already has a long list of criminal incidents against his name in the city. She also already knows about his murder of Nico, thanks to wire taps in New York. She adds she could get fired just for speaking to him, since he's a known felon.
As you could probably have guessed, Dwight remains very calm and tight-lipped throughout Stacy's remarks, which is all the more remarkable considering just how difficult things have become for him in Tulsa.
Immediately after landing back from New York, Tyson (Jay Will) informs Dwight he was pulled over by the police and that they stole and probably hacked his phone. Meanwhile, Dwight still can't get into contact with Bodhi (Martin Starr) and when he goes over to The Higher Plane there's a sign saying that it's been closed down for the foreseeable future.
Mitch (Garrett Hedlund) provides Dwight with an update, telling him Bodhi was briefly kidnapped by the Black MacAdams and the police officers on their payroll. Deciding enough is enough, Dwight calls a meeting with Caolan. But rather than being diplomatic, Dwight doesn't back down an inch, insisting he'll do what he wants, where he wants, although he does say he'll leave the nitrous oxide game to the Black MacAdams, as he's moving in a different business direction.
Bodhi returns to the bar, complaining the FBI arrested him and raided The Higher Plane, stealing thousands of dollars worth of goods and money from the safe. After getting Mitch to check Bodhi for a wire to make sure he hadn’t become an informant, Dwight reveals he saw the raid coming, so he took the money and goods from The Higher Plane before the FBI arrived. Bodhi immediately hugs Dwight, securing their bond, before joining Manfredi's ragtag group of Tulsa criminals at the bar.
All the while, as the episode edges towards its conclusion, you can't help but feel as though things are building toward something rather dramatic. That arrives on two counts. First, while Dwight was correct to assume that the Invernizzi wouldn't hurt Tina, it turns out that they have no issue pummeling Emory, as Chickie violently attacks him in the street and breaks his arm.
Then, just as Dwight offers to become a partner in Mitch's bar, they're shot at by Caolan's right-hand man, Carson Pike (Robert Walker Branchaud). The pair are able to escape the hail of bullets raining down on the bar, shooting and killing Carson in an instant.
But, clearly, things are getting increasingly unsafe for both Dwight and the people closest to him. Not only are the gangsters in New York, who have also sent Goodie to Tulsa to speak to Dwight, and the Black MacAdams out for vengeance, but Tyson, Mitch, Bodhi, and Stacy's lives are now in danger, too. It's hard not to see one of them getting caught up in the crossfire over the remaining four episodes. Especially as the stakes continue to ratchet up, as Tulsa King wants to prove that there’s genuine danger and consequences in the show and for its characters.
All episodes of Tulsa King season 1 are streaming exclusively on Paramount Plus.
