Copyright Screen Rant
WARNING: SPOILERS ahead for Tulsa King season 3, episode 7. Tulsa King season 3, episode 7, "Art of War," is another example of theTaylor Sheridan & Sylvester Stallone mob series gradually going downhill. While this and the previous episode have shown improvements in direction and focus, the overall tone this season can't escape its choppy and disorganized structure. In the latest Tulsa King installment, Sylvester Stallone's Dwight Manfredi plays politics with the Attorney General, leaning into his gambling weakness to force him into debt and out of Dunmire's fist. After two and a half seasons, Tulsa King finally figured out what to do with Spencer, incorporating her as a more featured supporting character but also regretfully forcing her into a romantic fling with Cole that nobody asked for. Perhaps it's not that Tulsa King season 3 is overstretched, but instead it feels hollow because there's not too much substance or texture beneath these surface-level character interactions and plot points. Dwight continues to bounce around Tulsa, convincing people to do his bidding without much struggle, which is getting old. On top of all this, this show has lost its comedy/drama balance, making it less immersive with jarring tone shifts. Tulsa King Season 3 Has Improved But Is Still Ultimately A Disappointment Tulsa King season 3, episode 7 isn't necessarily bad TV, but it does feel awfully safe. Everything seems to move along a bit too neatly, and as a result, Dwight's magic touch is becoming less convincing. Even with the new slate of antagonists this season, it still feels like Dwight isn't facing any real danger, which is more and more disengaging with each new episode. Except for a few shock-value action pieces, like Cole's random hit on Dwight at the end of the last episode, any tension in Tulsa King season 3 is just blown smoke. There's nearly a sitcom-level guarantee that everything will come back around and work out in the end for Dwight, so the story has basically devolved to just watching his enemies try and fail to beat him over and over again. I really thought Tulsa King season 3 was going to turn the page after Quiet Ray showed up. However, his character faded into the background once again and may not return but for a hit on Dwight later this season. Dwight speaks in such a matter-of-fact tone to everyone around him, literally waxing philosophical mid-conversation, that viewers can come to expect that anything he declares will happen, which does not make for compelling drama. For a minute there, towards the end of the episode, I thought Dunmire was about to kill his own son, which would have been more consistent with how he was introduced in the series after burning Cleo's house down with her father in it. By the way, Cole and his friends did that, so you would think Dunmire would at least appreciate that. Instead, in episode 7, we're left with Dunmire questioning his son's "defective soul," implying that he's so buff because he's secretly gay. Not great. Tulsa King Season 3 Could Still Rebound Before November's Finale On the bright side, Tulsa King season 3 could start to improve after the unexpected development of Dunmire ending up behind bars at the end of episode 7. It certainly makes me interested in episode 8, since we don't know how long Dunmire will be in jail or how this will affect Dwight's distillery business and other plans in Tulsa. Dunmire simply can't go away at this point, and time will tell if this major curveball will be a step in the right direction or just another pointless element of shock value. If Dwight comes in and tries to use his new pull with the Attorney General to get Dunmire out of jail, then that will just be another disappointing and dull development in what has most been a misfire of a season. It would make sense, however, for some of these various subplots to just fade away as loose ends, because it's been feeling for a while now that this season of Tulsa King has bitten off more than it can chew. Hopefully, the final three episodes of Tulsa King season 3 will feature less talking about The Art of War and more action that actually demonstrates it. The way this season has gone, we may not be seeing Samuel L. Jackson's introduction as the NOLA King until the finale's end credits. That said, maybe Dunmire is taking a backseat for an even bigger character, like him, to enter the fold, which would finally breathe some life into this staggering Sheridan series.
