In the latest episode of Mayor of Kingstown, titled “Teeth and Tissue,” Mike McLusky makes a desperate and risky play to save his brother. The penultimate episode of the season shows Mike cutting a dangerous deal that puts Frank Moses, a major crime figure, in handcuffs and Kyle McLusky out of prison. However, in Kingstown, safety is always an illusion, and Kyle’s newfound freedom is threatened almost immediately.
The episode aired on December 21, 2025, exclusively on Paramount+. It sets the stage for what is expected to be a volatile season finale.
The Core Deal: Frank Moses for Kyle’s Freedom
Mike’s plan to free his brother, Kyle, from Anchor Bay prison was a complex scheme involving multiple parties. It started with a direct offer to Assistant District Attorney Evelyn Foley. Mike promised to deliver Frank Moses, a powerful and elusive Detroit crime boss, for prosecution. In return, Evelyn agreed to release Kyle from prison within 24 hours.
This deal became possible because of a major shift in Evelyn’s priorities. The episode opens with the discovery of Robert Sawyer’s body in his garage. With her primary witness dead, Evelyn’s case against other corrupt officials collapsed. This left her needing a new, significant conviction to salvage her work, and Mike offered her exactly that with Frank Moses.
Mike did not have solid evidence of Frank’s larger criminal empire. Instead, he built a trap around Frank’s personal grief. Earlier in the season, LJ, Frank’s closest friend and right-hand man, was killed. Frank was consumed by a desire for revenge, which Mike used to his advantage.
Mike describes Frank’s wrath over LJ’s death as “biblical.”
Mike met with Frank, pretending to offer sympathy and help. He told Frank he knew who killed LJ and would deliver the killer to him. The killer was Lamar, a soldier in Bunny’s crew whom Mike had previously instructed to target Frank’s operation. Mike then contacted Lamar, telling him everything was “fixed” and he could return to work as normal, leading Lamar straight into the trap.
Mike had Lamar captured and taken to a vacant house. He then gave the location to Frank, who went there, found Lamar tied up, and shot him dead in the basement. Unbeknownst to Frank, Mike had already tipped off Officers Ian and Stevie, who were waiting outside. They arrested Frank the moment he exited the house, caught red-handed for murder. With Frank in custody, Mike had fulfilled his part of the bargain with the DA.
A Brush with Death Inside Anchor Bay
While Mike’s plan unfolded outside the prison walls, Kyle faced a separate, immediate threat inside Anchor Bay Correctional Facility. Just hours before his scheduled release, a violent incident nearly ended his life.
The danger came from Correctional Officer Breen, a guard with a history of excessive force who had been placed on restricted duty by Warden Nina Hobbs. Breen was ordered to clean a cell in Administrative Segregation where an inmate had smeared feces. Other prisoners began taunting and mocking Breen as he worked.
Pushed to his limit, Breen snapped. He left the unit, went to the armory, and returned with a shotgun. He then proceeded to fire into the cells of Ad Seg, killing helpless inmates who begged for their lives. Breen eventually turned his weapon on Kyle, who was next in line. Overwhelmed by grief after his wife Tracy’s murder, Kyle stood facing Breen, seemingly ready to accept death.
At the last possible second, Cindy Stephens shot and killed Breen, saving Kyle’s life. This shocking event underscored the extreme volatility inside the prison and highlighted the immediate danger Kyle was in, making his release even more urgent.
From One Battle to Another: The Diner Ambush
Following the prison massacre and the successful arrest of Frank Moses, Kyle was officially released from Anchor Bay. Mike picked him up and took him to a local diner to meet Ian and Stevie for a quick meal before leaving town. For a brief moment, it appeared the brothers might find a moment of calm.
This calm was shattered in the episode’s final moments. As the group prepared to leave, Stevie stepped outside first and was immediately shot by masked gunmen wearing body armor. While Stevie’s injury did not appear fatal, the diner was suddenly under heavy assault rifle fire. Mike, Kyle, Ian, and the diner staff scrambled for cover inside as the screen faded to black.
This ambush meant that Kyle had faced two near-death experiences in less than 12 hours—first from Breen’s rampage in prison and now from unknown assailants on the outside. The attack raised immediate questions about who ordered the hit. Theories among fans and critics suggest the shooters could be from Frank Moses’s Detroit crew seeking revenge, operatives from the Colombian cartel angry at Mike’s interference, or even associates of the escaped prisoner Merle Callahan. The true identity of the attackers and the fate of Mike’s group will be a central question heading into the season finale.
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Other Key Developments in Kingstown
The episode also moved other storylines forward. Merle Callahan, who murdered Kyle’s wife Tracy, was shown to be free and far from Kingstown. In a brief scene, he was seen at a fast-food restaurant, calmly ordering a large meal and seeming to enjoy his temporary freedom while still directing his operations from a distance.
Meanwhile, the power struggles within the prison administration continued. Warden Nina Hobbs, who once seemed like a formidable force, appeared increasingly overwhelmed. Her second-in-command, Torres, had mysteriously vanished. Nina told Mike that the cartel “got the one” who messed up a drug shipment, suggesting Torres may have been killed. This left her position weakened and the prison’s stability in greater jeopardy.
The discovery of Robert Sawyer’s body was confirmed, but it generated little reaction from other characters, closing a minor storyline.
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