Tulsa King Season 2, Episode 7, “Life Support” is the beginning of the end. With only a handful of episodes left, the Paramount+ show kicks its violence in high gear and puts all the threats and one-liners to the side. This powder keg of an episode belongs to two of the show’s most overlooked characters — and it’s better because of that.
“Life Support” picks up where Season 2, Episode 6, “Navigator” left off, revealing definitively what happened to Mark Mitchell. The story follows Mark’s son Tyson and Vince Antonacci as they reach points from which they will never return, and effectively explores what that means for each of them. Thanks to a series-best performance by Jay Will, this is a Tulsa King episode in which Tyson feels like the one in charge.
Tulsa King Season 2 Completes Tyson’s Transformation
Episode 7 Puts Him in a Very Dark Place
First and foremost, Season 2, Episode 7, “Life Support” walks back potential disaster by revealing Mark Mitchell is still alive, when it looked like he was very much dead at the end of Episode 6. But death or no death, the die is cast for Tyson, who completes the psuedo-bad guy arc he’s been on for most of the season. It’s startling to see the angry, self-loathing Tyson in this episode and compare him to the eager kid that audiences met in the Tulsa King premiere. He’s done a complete 180 — and fans will totally understand why even as they don’t agree with some of his actions.
Jay Will told CBR that some viewers might see Tyson as a “bad guy” in Season 2, and this episode is why. The audience understands that he wants revenge for his father’s injuries, but how he goes about it shows that he’s reckless and in over his head. Tyson is sure that Bill Bevilaqua and the Kansas City mob are behind the car bombing… no matter what anyone else tells him. He brings a gun to Donnie Shore’s car dealership to intimidate Donnie into replacing the Navigator. He ignores very good and very pointed advice from Mitch Keller. When Tyson is nearly shot and killed by one of Bill’s men in the final minutes, it’s a completely avoidable situation.
Tyson Mitchell: I didn’t sign up for this.
Dwight Manfredi: Well, what’d you sign up for?
Tyson Mitchell: To be you.
Tyson’s confrontation with Dwight is emblematic of how far he’s come — and how little he really knows. Tyson has been on a tear since Season 2, Episode 4, “Heroes and Villains.” The previous Tyson would never have thought of challenging Dwight so openly and essentially telling him that he has no idea what he’s talking about. But his comment about wanting “to be you” shows how myopic his view is. He’s romanticized the mobster life so much that he just wants the tough guy part; he has no concern for or interest in what it takes to get to the top.
Sylvester Stallone gives a great performance in that scene as Dwight reacts calmly but equally emphatically to Tyson’s explosive energy. A shoutout is also due to Michael Beach, who only has one speaking moment but it’s a wonderful one, as the audience knows what it takes for Mark to reach out to Dwight. But it’s Jay Will who carries this episode as Tyson completely loses control, along with a couple of pieces of himself. He nails both the anger at external forces and the painful self-loathing. No matter what happens in the rest of Season 2, Tyson will never be the same character again.
Season 2, Episode 7 Makes Vince’s Thoughts Official
The New York Mob Has Its Own Showdown Coming
Tyson delivers some poignant comments to his father, claiming that he can’t back out of the mobster lifestyle because he wouldn’t be able to look Mark in the eye. To Tyson, at least as a wannabe gangster he is “somebody” and he’s done something for himself, rather than being an aimless kid. Misguided though those words might be, they provide valuable insight not only into his psyche, but into what happens with Vince in New York. Both characters feel they deserve more — which is why Vince officially begins plotting to have Chickie neutralized in this episode.
Sometimes, Tulsa King’s forays back to New York have felt tedious. In Season 1, the New York part of the show was explicitly relevant because Dwight had a much stronger connection to the Invernizzi family story-wise. In Season 2, when he’s standing on his own, they’ve felt like a third wheel. Yet the idea of Vince being tired of getting pushed around injected some new energy into the Big Apple side of things. He’s fighting for not only his own identity but that of the entire Invernizzi organization, and the audience can’t help but root for him because they’ve seen how he is a much saner choice than the guy he currently answers to. Chickie Invernizzi has always been a hothead — but there are only so many ways a show can use a character like that before they outlive their usefulness.
If Paramount+ orders Tulsa King Season 3, it would be fascinating to see the Invernizzi group with Vince at its head. Having a better relationship between Dwight and his former crew would allow the series to focus more in Tulsa instead of going back and forth, and it would simply be more fertile ground for storytelling. The issue here is that the show doesn’t have a lot of time to resolve the brewing civil war. There are only three episodes left, so how will the writers get resolution to Vince’s story in a way that feels satisfying? Or is this a way to cut the New York angle out of the show entirely, by letting Vince bury the hatchet?
Tulsa King Wastes Little Time With Filler
Just One Scene in Season 2, Episode 7 Feels Unnecessary
“Life Support” also deserves credit for what it doesn’t do: it doesn’t waste time trying to cram every main character into the episode. If someone doesn’t have a part to play, they’re largely set aside, including Tina, Joanne and the Higher Plane crew. The latter show up for one scene just to illustrate the paranoia that the car bomb creates in Dwight’s circle but their antics are contained to that moment. The only scene that doesn’t fit is when Margaret shows up looking for Dwight so they can talk about their relationship, and she eventually offers to take him back to her place. In the big picture, Dwight and Margaret’s romance is the least important thing — and the scene itself feels more like an explainer for that whole subplot.
But otherwise, Episode 7 sticks to the things that the audience wants to know about. Dwight finally catches on to Armand’s betrayal and has a few choice words for him. Cal Thresher finds out that his business partner Jackie Ming was behind the car bomb, and is shocked again when Jackie cold-bloodedly executes the henchman who screwed it up right in front of him. Another underdeveloped angle so far is if Thresher will ever take a stand against Jackie, or if he’s just trapped by the other man. Neal McDonough’s expressions suggest Thresher still has some kind of a heart somewhere… but there’s only so many looks Tulsa King can show before it needs to actually illustrate that (or not) with actions.
Dwight Manfredi: There is no middle. There’s only one side, Armand.
The best scene in the whole episode, though, is when Mitch tries to console Tyson at the Bred 2 Buck and it becomes a necessary lecture. Mitch is normally so chill and charming that it’s easy to forget how much he went through prior to the show — but Garrett Hedlund brings that all back up in a truly fierce moment that is very much full of good advice. It’s not only important for Tyson, it resonates with the audience, who can imagine the pain Mitch has been through. Tulsa King Season 2, Episode 7 is a change of pace from the back and forth all the mob sides have been playing, but it also very much illustrates the consequences, and that includes on an emotional level. It seamlessly integrates much-appreciated action with character development, no matter how ill-advised.
Tulsa King Season 2 streams Sundays on Paramount+.