The following feature is going to get into heavy spoilers for Tulsa King Season 1, so stop reading now if you are not yet caught up on the most recent episodes of the show. And if you haven’t started the show yet, get yourself a Paramount+ subscription and start binging, because it’s fantastic and has been a huge hit for the streaming service.
The bodies have piled up, both in Oklahoma and New York City, as Season 1 of Tulsa King hurtled along. Excommunicated gangster Dwight Manfredi (Sylvester Stallone, doing some of the best work of his career) made enemies on all sides when he landed in Tulsa with orders to establish an arm of the Mafia and start earning. It took him some time to get acclimated, and to put together a “gang” of trusted thieves. But the violence swirling around Manfredi and his loved ones has only escalated, and we expect to lose more key characters as we head into the final episodes of this inaugural season.
I mean, we just watched Stacy (Andrea Savage) take a bullet as episode 8, “Adobe Walls,” drew to a close.
Knowing how much series creator Taylor Sheridan enjoys shocking his audiences with unpredictable deaths on the shows in his television universe, we started to think about the Tulsa King characters who could be sent to that big horse ranch in the sky, ranking them from Least Likely To Leave the Show to Most Likely to Leave the Show. Some characters are safe as can be, starting with:
10. Dwight “The General” Manfredi
Sylvester Stallone is the star of the show. He is the Tulsa King. He’s not going anywhere, even though the dangers Dwight faces are escalating. Still, given what we have seen from the Yellowstone universe (which Stallone doesn’t expect to one day interact with), the stakes can always be raised, so brace for bigger and deadlier threats in upcoming seasons, no matter what happens in the finale.
9. Stacy Beale
Even though Stacy (Andrea Savage) took a bullet from Waltrip during an ambush at the end of episode 8, we doubt that she’s going to stay down for long. In addition to being this dangerous love interest for Dwight – their pairing puts both of them in professional risk – too much has been set up around Stacy’s role at the ATF (and the guilt she feels for getting Roxy killed) for the pivotal character not to stick around beyond this initial season.
8. Mitch Keller
This is playing the game of “Garrett Hedlund is a bit too famous not to keep around.” But Mitch also seems poised to become a huge part of Dwight’s burgeoning criminal empire. If plans proceed as laid out, and Mitch’s bar adds a casino, then this bartender turned enforcer is going to see an increased role in Dwight’s life… and on the show. I think he’s safe.
7. Margaret
Similar to Hedlund, Dana Delany’s too big of a name to eliminate in the season finale. Also, her subplot isn’t yet connected to bulk of the threats that are swirling around Dwight. For now, she’s an intriguing love interest who didn’t flinch when she found out about his criminal background. You know there are nefarious activities happening around her ranch, but my guess is that they will be explored in future episodes.
6. ‘Chickie’ Invernizzi
Part of me felt like put-upon son Charles “Chickie” Invernizzi (Domenick Lombardozzi) might be looking like a target once he confessed to his local priest that he never wanted to be involved in his father’s criminal organization. He lamented the fact that his old man, Pete (A.C. Peterson), forced him into it, costing him his college tuition, and his future. But then, “Chickie” grabbed control of his fate and drowned Pete in the bathtub, making him the De Facto Boss of the family, and likely safe for the rest of the reason.
5. Caolan Waltrip
Waltrip, deliciously played by the sinister Ritchie Coster, feels like the Big Boss waiting with Dwight at the end of Level One of Tulsa King. Manfredi remains furious that Caolan dared to ambush him and Stacy at the end of episode 8, and while the police were bearing down on the scene, Dwight swore to Tyson (Jay Will) that he’d find and kill this Irish gangster that has been a thorn in Dwight’s side. The way this usually plays out, Dwight kills Caolan, which will anger another gangster that we’ll meet in Tulsa King Season 2. That’s my best guess, as Waltrip exits the show.
4. Tyson
I don’t expect Jay Will’s Tyson to die in the Tulsa King finale. He’s a fun and funny character who has served the show well as Dwight’s guide to rural Tulsa. But then the character had that tearful, sentimental farewell scene with his father, who regrets his son’s choices but knows that he no longer can influence his adult child’s decisions. And that made me fear that something bad is waiting for Tyson in the finale… a fact that would anger Dwight, without question.
3. Armand Truisi
Armand, with all due respect to the great Max Casella, is expendable. He ran from the heat in New York City, and was bullied into Dwight’s crew. His wife wants to connection to his criminal lifestyle, and he’s the textbook definition of collateral damage is a war breaks out between Manfredi’s gang and The Black Macadams biker squad. A dead Armand would serve as a reminder to Dwight that leaving Manhattan doesn’t necessarily make you safe, and that no matter how far away you get from the “family,” the threat of execution follows.
2. Tina Manfredi
Here’s where things can get very spicy, if Tulsa King wants to go down this very dark route. Personally, I think killing off Dwight’s daughter Tina (Tatiana Zappardino) would be a bridge too far. Her husband was brutally beaten, and Dwight’s already on edge over her safety. Her death would catapult him over the edge of sanity. But, he keeps insisting that she come to Tulsa for protection. What if bringing her to Oklahoma puts her directly in the line of fire… a major miscalculation Dwight could regret for the remainder of the series? That would be devastating, and would make for some serious drama on the show.
1. Bodhi
I love Bodhi. And I love the way that Martin Starr plays him. Before Dwight showed up in Tulsa and bullied himself into Bodhi’s legal pot business, the loner had no real aspirations (at least that he was willing to share). He’s not afraid to point out to Dwight repeatedly that his life has turned upside down since the gangster arrived, and this resignation has made him overly confident. He thinks he’s Dwight’s golden goose. And he just shared all of the Bit Coin data he has hidden on his hard drive. This could make Bodhi very valuable in Tulsa King Season 2. Or it could cost Bodhi his life, giving Dwight a new revenue avenue to pursue without the burden of Bodhi moving forward. We shall see.
Episode 9 will be the season finale of Tulsa King, and we will find out then how many of the show’s excellent cast will be around to fight for their lives in future episodes and seasons. Either way, this has been an outstanding first season, and we’re very excited to see where Stallone, Taylor Sheridan, and Terence Winter will continue to take this engrossing story.
