Stop reading this now if you aren’t yet caught up with Tulsa King, which just released the season finale of its inaugural season. There are major events that happen in the episode, one of which points to a direction of Season 2, no doubt.
Over the course of Tulsa King Season 1, which was available to anyone with a Paramount+ subscription, ATF agent Stacy (Andrea Savage) got too close, personally, to known crime boss Dwight “The General” Manfredi, played by Sylvester Stallone (doing career-best work). Even when Stacy learned Manfredi was a criminal, she continued to conspire with him, feeding him valuable information about rival gang leader Caolan Waltrip (Ritchie Coster) so Dwight could maintain an upperhand. Only, Stacy got caught. The ATF figured out she had a relationship with Dwight, and threatened to end her career… unless she helped them.
Episode 8 of Tulsa King ended in a shootout, with Stacy firing rounds at Waltrip to save Dwight’s life. Doing so exposed her connections to Manfredi – but also earned the respect of Dwight, a man of honor who repays his debts. With Stacy recovering in a hospital bed during the season finale of the program, Dwight had a zip drive delivered to the agent via a Get Well Soon card. On the zip drive? $1 million in an offshore account. A “thank you,” for saving the mobster’s life.
Except, the zip drive ended up saving Stacy’s life. For when her bosses at the ATF pressured Stacy into giving up Dwight, she produced the zip drive… and on the night Dwight was opening his new bar and casino, the Feds busted him for attempted bribery of an agent. The show that with Dwight Manfredi leaving prison after a 25-year stint concluded with the mobster heading back to the joint. And Stacy’s the one who helped put him back there.
Andrea Savage was excellent all season as Stacy, a conflicted law enforcement officer going through her own issues who got informants in trouble and even bent the rules to help keep Dwight out of the spotlight. Her performance, as well as those of the rest of the cast, were a big part of the reason why Tulsa King set viewing records for the Paramount+ streaming service. So when we spoke to her about Stacy’s actions in the season finale, I figured she’d assume that Stacy had some regret for selling Dwight out with the Feds. As it turns out, Savage thinks he character was justified in making this decision, and going against the crime boss who’d been a strange sort of colleague once he arrived in Tulsa. Savage told us:
I think Stacy realizes that as much as they had a connection (with Dwight), she begged him to not do some things and to pull back, because it was really going to affect her. And he basically ignored her, and made it worse. (He) only did what was right for Dwight, and really didn't consider her at all. And I think she realized, ‘Well, I guess that's how I’ve got to live, too.’ This was her only way out. And I think that she's like, ‘Listen, we have a connection, but you f*cked me. And so I gotta do what I gotta do now. I don't owe you anything.’
Savage is correct. For too much of Tulsa King Season 1, her ATF character made decisions that benefitted other people, from Dwight (Sylvester Stallone) to her informant, Roxy (Emily Davis). That didn’t work out for Roxy, however, which probably led to Stacy realizing she had to get a little selfish and watch out for herself… even if it means making an enemy of Dwight.
Savage went on to explain about Stacy’s betrayal of Dwight:
CINEMABLEND NEWSLETTER
Your Daily Blend of Entertainment News
I think she's kind of on a journey of waking up and going, ‘Listen, maybe I made mistakes. But now I'm standing here. And if any of those changed, I wouldn't maybe be here.’ She also is an alcoholic. She's not actually making the smartest choices all the time. She's kind of just hanging on, and surviving.
As we predicted, Stacy was one of the main characters who survived the Tulsa King season finale. This means she will be back for Season 2, though we have no details on when the show might return. The reviews for Tulsa King were favorable, and despite what Sylvester Stallone thinks, a Yellowstone crossover somewhere down the line would be like an Avengers movie for Taylor Sheridan fans.
Keep it on CinemaBlend for more Tulsa King coverage, and go binge the season on Paramount+ if you made it this far in the article but didn’t watch yet. Also, shame on you.
Sean O'Connell
Managing Editor
Sean O’Connell is a journalist and CinemaBlend’s Managing Editor. Having been with the site since 2011, Sean interviewed myriad directors, actors and producers, and created ReelBlend, which he proudly cohosts with Jake Hamilton and Kevin McCarthy. And he's the author of RELEASE THE SNYDER CUT, the Spider-Man history book WITH GREAT POWER, and an upcoming book about Bruce Willis.
More about interviews
Latest
