Recap of Episode 6 of ‘MobLand’: Brace for Battle

I genuinely sympathize with Richie Stevenson. How could you not feel for him? He just buried his son, who was brutally stabbed and dismembered, only to then lose his wife in a tragic explosion in their driveway. The source of all this suffering is the Harrigans, who take pleasure in taunting Richie about the deaths, first with Conrad, then Maeve, and even young Eddie joining in to boast about their involvement. In a typical scenario, these would be the antagonists, and you would be rooting for a tough hero to seek revenge; you’d be thrilled when he commands them to flee. However, in the world of MobLand, the Harrigans are the main characters, and we are now witnessing their tumultuous journey.

However, the one leading this tumultuous journey is unclear. When Kevin accuses his mother of ordering the hit on Vron, Richie’s wife, Conrad steps in to take the blame or credit instead. Yet, his understanding of the intricate details is shaky, and his justification — no one disrespects “Conrad the Dread One Hundred Fuckin’ Guns Harrigan” without repercussions — is described by Kevin as reminiscent of “dying empires” and their unhinged rulers. It appears more plausible that Conrad only learned about the hit post-execution, like everyone else, but pretended to be the mastermind to save face in front of his family and followers, maintaining the façade of absolute control. Now, as they say on The Wire, he must continue to deceive.

While Maeve revels in the chaos, the other women in the family are not faring as well. Along with the rest of the Harrigans, Jan and Gina Da Souza are taken to Conrad’s estate in the picturesque Cotswolds for their safety, where they exhibit varying levels of exasperation with Harry. Jan copes by drowning her sorrows in wine and pills with Bella, Kevin’s wife — and Harry’s past flame. By the way, there is definitely an unspoken understanding between the two of them.

Gina, by contrast, is incandescently furious: Harry yanked her out of an important exam due to all these criminal shenanigans, and it’s the last straw for her. She encourages her mother to simply take her and leave him, since she knows her mom can’t possibly be any happier living like this than she is. Jan dismisses the idea, but she doesn’t confirm that she loves Harry when Gina asks her, either. This leaves her vulnerable to the continuing efforts of undercover cop Emily — while Gina may be vulnerable, in a different way, to the roving eyes and hands of Conrad himself.

As for Harry, he’s sent to Antwerp to tie up a pair of loose ends. Family failson Brendan and his half-sister and unlikely business partner Seraphina are there for their big uncut-gems deal, and they’ve left their phones behind in a safe to avoid being tracked. So they have no idea that the Stevensons and the Harrigans are officially at war, leaving them sitting ducks for Richie’s Mexican allies to take down…once Richie gets their location from Maeve, who hates Conrad’s “bastard” daughter and wants her dead. Brendan, she insists, is to be spared. Okay Maeve, sure, whatever you say!

The jewel deal, a painstakingly negotiated and tense bit of business that plays out over a series of scenes, ends in gunfire. (It’s a clever bit of business, actually doing all that buildup only to knock the whole house of cards over.) Richie’s assassins wipe out every single character the episode introduces for the storyline, then train their guns on the Harrigans, even as Harry races to the site of the shootout on a stolen motorcycle. He can’t possibly get there in time to save them unless some misleading cross-cutting is being done here, but that’s the cliffhanger ending, and it’s 1960s Batman-esque in how charmingly flagrant it is. Will they live or die? Tune in next week to find out!

I certainly will, and happily. MobLand isn’t swinging for the fences or plumbing the depths, but it’s not trying to be The Sopranos and failing, it’s trying to be a show in which a bunch of cool attractive people bark orders or dodge bullets, with Tom Hardy’s deadpan machismo as its center of gravity. It’s easy as pie to assemble a great cast, write a big genre piece for them to perform, and call it a day, counting on familiar beats and familiar faces to carry the project. It’s much harder to do this well. (Does anyone else remember Zero Day?) 

On the big screen, there’s a reason Conclave last year and Sinners this year caught on the way they did: big beautiful costumey pulse-pounding thrillers starring beloved actors that actually work are rarer these days than hen’s teeth. Both of those films are a sight more serious-minded than MobLand has shown itself to be, but the principle remains the same here. There’s a lot of unclaimed territory between tenderloin steak and fast-food franchise crap. Sometimes people just want to eat a goddamn burger. Give it to them!

Sean T. Collins (@theseantcollins) writes about TV for Rolling Stone, Vulture, The New York Times, and anyplace that will have him, really. He and his family live on Long Island.