Spoilers for the first three episodes of Mayor of Kingstown ahead.
The balance of power in Kingstown is constantly teetering, someone is always trying to sabotage someone else, and in an act to keep the peace, Mike McLusky (Jeremy Renner), the Mayor of Kingstown, and Bunny (Tobi Bamtefa), one of the town’s most powerful gang leaders, have found a way to cautiously trust each other in an effort to control the chaos of the prison town. However, after Mike decided to send all the major gang leaders to prison to restructure the hierarchy of power within the jail, that trust is now in question, and Bamtefa broke that relationship down for CinemaBlend, explaining why they trust each other, and how the latest episode impacts Bunny and Mikes’ futures.
Bamtefa broke down his character’s relationship with Renner’s character Mike, noting the trust they share, and how rare that is. The actor explained:
Because Bunny and Mike have an understanding beyond the confines of Kingstown. The understanding being that they both see or want to be part of a world outside of [Kingstown], they both see the bigger picture, and I guess their place within it. But they are also both very aware of how replaceable they are within this world. And you are replaced by way of death, you know, or, something tragic happening. So, that sort of threat on top of their head is quite prevalent. But also, there is a responsibility that comes with the positions that they are both in. And they both reckon with that. And that's how they sort of, you know, come to a meeting of like minds in a sense.
Bamtefa continued, saying there is a “trust” between the two of them, but it’s a “tenuous one.” Although, even though their relationship may not be the brotherly love Kyle and Mike share, they really do trust each other, which is rare in Kingstown. However, after episode two, the relationship between Bamtefa’s character and Renner’s character has changed a bit.
Three massive things went down at the end of episode two of Mayor of Kingstown, Iris made a bid decision to go back to Milo, the big bad played by Aidan Gillen, Kyle shot two people while on the job, and Mike struck a deal with the gang leaders in an effort to restructure the hierarchy of power within the prison. When it comes to Mike’s deal he ended up sending one of his closest allies to jail, without being fully transparent about the plan. Due to this, Bamtefa explained Bunny’s feelings toward Mike now, saying that while their relationship is strained, he also understood the mayor's actions.
They are both very aware of how ruthless this world is. So it's not, it's not shocking. It's just hard. You know. And so, as a result of that, the relationship is really strained. It was always tough to begin with, because you're in this environment. But when the only perceived ally you have is sort of, you know, having to maneuver and things like that it puts you in a very odd, odd place, because you want to trust but you also need to survive. Your survival is paramount.
Bunny definitely reaches a point in episode 3 where his survival becomes the top priority. He needs to get out of the prison and back to his family, front lawn and lawn chair he almost never leaves. As he works to get back home, it will be interesting to see how it changes his relationship with Mike. Although, as Bamtefa explained, these two characters get each other, and ultimately I think he’ll come around to what Mike did, and trust the mayor again.
To see what happens next to Bunny in the prison and Mike in Kingstown, you can watch new episodes of Mayor of Kingstown every Sunday with a Paramount+ subscription.
