Mayor of Kingstown season 4 premiere review

SPOILER ALERT: The following contains spoilers for Mayor of Kingstown Season 4, Episode 1.

The return of Mayor of Kingstown is explosively brilliant. The Paramount+ show took a massive risk at the end of Season 3, when it killed off several of its most important characters. But the Mayor of Kingstown Season 4 premiere, penned by executive producer Dave Erickson, proves what all that was for — and then some.

“Coming ‘Round the Mountain” picks up not long after the events of Season 3, and most of the episode deals with the consequences. The bulk of the story concerns Kyle McLusky having taken a plea deal for the shooting on the bridge, and everyone else’s varying reactions to Kyle taking the fall. There’s understandable upset among the group that Kyle is being punished instead of Robert — to see Stevie so upset is particularly telling. But as Ian points out, Kyle isn’t protecting Robert; he’s protecting everybody, because Robert would take them all down. The 25th Hour-style plotline follows Kyle and his brother Mike as the hours count down to Kyle entering Anchor Bay prison. The only potential criticism is that it’s not necessarily shocking when Kyle is attacked just minutes after his arrival; the audience is trained to expect that by now. Plus, it wouldn’t give…