Mayor of Kingstown season 2 ending explained: Kingstown takes a toll on the McLusky family

Mayor of Kingstown Season 2 concluded on an ambiguous note on March 19, 2023, leaving the fate of a central character unclear. The third season of Mayor of Kingstown premiered on June 2, 2024, and confirmed that the character in question, Milo (Aidan Gillen), was dead.

Season 3 of Mayor of Kingstown picks up right where season 2 left off, and a quick recap of the finale might help give viewers some context. The finale of Mayor of Kingstown season 2 revealed that Milo had survived his prison escape at the end of Season 1. By the end of the second season, Milo had negotiated a deal with Mike McLusky (Jeremy Renner). However, things did not go as planned, and violence followed more violence.

The Mayor of Kingstown Season 2 finale showed how entrenched Mike McLusky is in the political and criminal world of the town, which he once thought of leaving behind.

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Mayor of Kingstown Season 2 saw Milo's yacht go up in flames

The finale of Mayor of Kingstown Season 2, titled Little Green Ant, saw the town descend into chaos, with Mike McLusky dealing with a plethora of things. The episode saw Mike having to cut a deal with the Russian mobster Milo. The mobster was holding Iris (Emma Laird) and Mike's mother, Miriam (Dianne Wiest), hostage.

However, before Milo got to Miriam, Mike was dealing with his longtime friend and Crips gang leader Bunny (Tobi Bamtefa). Mike confronted Bunny about the Crips' decision to go after the head of the SWAT officers of Kingstown. Jeremy Renner's character was also attacked by gang members of the Aryan Brotherhood. However, in the tense season finale, he managed to fight them off.

The season finale of Mayor of Kingstown Season 2 heated up when Mike arrived home and realized that he had left bonds to pay off Milo in his car at the site of the Aryan Brotherhood assault. This increased tensions for Milo, who was wary of Mike.

Milo took off with Iris amid a gunfight between his thugs and Mike's associates. However, Kyle McLusky (Taylor Handley) accidentally ended up shooting his mother, Miriam. This left Kyle alarmed as he recalled the murder of his ex-partner. Miriam is hurried to the hospital., and the McLusky brothers were reassured that their mother will be fine.

Mike decided to end any association with Milo and set up another deal with him in exchange for Iris. Mike also arranged for the leader of the Aryan Brotherhood to be killed inside the prison by informing Crips and Bloods members.

The concluding moments of the season saw Mike reach the harbor, where Milo was waiting to leave Kingstown on a yacht. Milo and Mike had a long exchange, following which, Mike and Iris were escorted away from the dock by Milo's thugs. However, as Milo set off in the sunset, his yacht exploded, signaling his death.

In the final moments of the series, Mike and Iris saw the yacht go up in flames, as Mike exasperatedly noted:

"If failure of society could be distilled into one city, this would be the city, and misery's our fruit,"

Mayor of Kingstown Season 2 reinforced Mike's position as a mayor who has to make morally ambiguous decisions for the good of the town. Although the finale saw Milo's yacht end up in flames, it was also hinted that he could be alive. This was because Tatiana (Gratiela Brancusi) supposedly received a call from him. The season finale set up the events for season 3 of the show, which will see Milo's position filled by another Russian mobster.

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Mayor of Kingstown seasons 1 and 2 are currently available for streaming on Paramount+. The third season will be released every week until August 4, 2024.