Crime boss Conrad Harrigan (Pierce Brosnan) escalates the feud with his son, Kevin (Paddy Considine), who enlists new ‘fixer’ Frankie (Johnny Flynn) to join the mess. Harry Da Souza (Tom Hardy) might be the only one who can keep the Harrigan family together — but most likely at the expense of his own.
Streaming on: Paramount+
Episodes viewed: 4 of 10
There’s something rather Shakespearean about the evolution of MobLand this season. With their crown claimed at last, London’s top crime family now contend with discord from within, a generational clash between Conrad, the “king” (Pierce Brosnan), and Kevin (Paddy Considine), his successor, who’s making his father look like “a sad, obsolete clown.” Or at least, that’s what one guy says right before Conrad shoots him in the face. It’s in this chaotic juxtaposition where MobLand continues to thrive, throwing out an endless barrage of “cunts” and bullets alike in what’s shaping up to be a rather epic (if not exactly original) spin on the British gangster genre.
Season 1 hinted at such promise when events turned increasingly unhinged near the end, leaning more and more into the cartoonish absurdity of the characters at its heart. That season two reaffirms this from the get-go instantly cements MobLand’s appeal, wasting no time in reminding us why the Harrigans are a force to be reckoned with. Not just the Harrigans, in fact, but the legends who play them too. Only talents like Brosnan and Helen Mirren could get away with lines like: “I love you like a tramp loves paraffin.” Such words, along with the relentless cursing, sound practically Elizabethan in their mouths.
Generic plotting aside, it’s characters like these and & Sons star Johnny Flynn’s new fixer, Frankie, who continue to set this show apart. Deceptively clownish one minute and terrifying the next, this new baddie who glides in on an e-scooter is just as baffling as he is unnerving. In moments like this, MobLand is rip-roaring fun, and even when it feels like a little too much is going on, Tom Hardy expertly pulls it all together, the anchor to this maelstrom. It’s a very good thing Hardy’s set to return following those alleged clashes with production. If things keep going the way they are, we could be looking at further Bard-like grandeur in the already-confirmed third season and beyond.
Like the very best sophomore seasons, MobLand’s return is bigger in every way possible, doubling down on what made the first outing so strong.
