Spoilers for MobLand season 2 episode 2 ahead.
Start talking, copper. That’s the delicious line we were left on last week, as MobLand season 2 episode 1 gave us our first look at the new villain, Frankie (Johnny Flynn).
He’s been picked by Colin (Toby) as a “knight in shining armor” to ride into battle on behalf of Kat McAllister (Janet McTeer), allowing her to take control of London from the Harrigans without ever being directly involved herself.
At the moment, Conrad (Pierce Brosnan) is too busy fighting with Kevin (Paddy Considine) and paying no attention to Harry (Tom Hardy) to be able to fully recognize this. Even Kevin doesn’t understand what’s coming, with Harry describing Kat as “Her mob has eight trillion in cash and the world’s biggest nuclear arsenal.”
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This week, they’re in for a nasty wake-up call. MobLand season 2 episode 2 is now on Paramount+, so let’s dig a little deeper into what’s actually happened.
Jan has a suspicious car accident while Conrad’s health worsens
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We start episode 2 following Gina (Teddie Allen) and Eddie (Anson Boon) as they party the early hours away and arrive back at their flat with their bodyguards, with Harry watching them from a car further down the road.
Jan (Joanne Froggatt), meanwhile, is at a spin class, ignoring Harry’s “urgent” calls as she begins to drive back home. Before she gets there, her bumper is hit from behind by another car, with the American driver incredibly apologetic. Jan, infuriated, is having none of it, and the pair exchange numbers before she angrily drives away.
At the same time, Colin visits his local library only to get a call from Kat as he’s checking a book out (see, even gangsters think it’s cool to utilise public services). She gives him the go-ahead to spring Frankie into action, telling Colin to “show her what he’s got.”
We’ve really got a lot of plates spinning at once, as Conrad goes to see a doctor. The doctor tells him that Conrad is showing signs of focal atrophy, meaning that his sense of instinct, strategy, and restraint is diminishing to allow any natural sense of anger and aggression to take over, unchecked. Conrad tells him to forget that the appointment ever happened, adding, “I’m f**ing fine.”
Outside, Conrad threatens a parking ticket officer with a gun when a fine is left on his car window. Maeve (Helen Mirren) calls from home, suggesting that they should invite Seraphina (Mandeep Dhillon) out to dinner to “bury the hatchet.” Zosia (Jasmine Jobson) is revealed to have been tailing Conrad the entire time at Harry’s request.
Kavanagh works out a mole is in the force
At the police station, DCI Kavanagh (Ophelia Lovibond) assembles the few officers she feels she can trust to run through the events of episode 1. With the waiter witness recanting his statement after being threatened by Harry, Kavanagh is convinced that there’s a mole in the force leaking information to him.
Not only is she right, of course, but she’s also correct in assuming that Finch (Warren Brown) is among the potential suspects, leaving him out of the meeting. Her plan? Feed the rest of the team false information to make Harry think that the Harrigans are in the clear before they pounce.
The American driver, who we now know is called Jamie, calls Jan and offers to give her £5,000 directly, as his insurance company is saying they’ll take months to process the claim. Jan barters for £6,000, to which Jamie agrees. He tries to take her out to dinner to do the handover, but Jan pushes back by suggesting a morning coffee instead.
Harry phones and Jan finally picks up, telling her that he’s found Gina. The pair meet in a local park, where Harry tells her about Gina’s YouTube shakedown scheme and that she’s living with Eddie. Harry remains convinced that he can pull her back from the brink of being involved in organised crime, but Jan thinks the moment has passed. “You see yourself as the antidote, but you’re the poison,” she tells him.
At the Harrigan’s house, Maeve tries to get Conrad’s dogs put down, for no appropriate reason, without telling him. Paul (Emmett J. Scanlan) refuses to phone the vets without Conrad’s knowledge, so Maeve organises a home visit. The doctor confirms that both dogs are in good health, leaving Maeve to unsubtly find out how to do the job herself (spoiler: with antifreeze).
Frankie is told about the Harrigan’s as Seraphina squeals to Kat
Colin arranges to meet Frankie in a nail salon, where the latter is already getting a pedicure. Colin begins to tell him about the Harrigan’s empire, and how the drugs and other criminal enterprises are “there for the taking” because the family itself is spiralling into chaos. The way to get to them, obviously, is through Harry.
In an unnerving power move, Frankie decides to give Colin a pedicure himself. He asks what would happen if he was to say no to “f**king Harry up,” with Colin responding that he’s got enough evidence on Frankie to “get him locked up for the rest of his life.” Frankie responds with a thinly-veiled threat concerning Colin’s wife.
We get another history lesson from Colin when Frankie asks about the best way to get to Harry, this time about the French Catholic who assassinated King Henry IV of France in 1610, François Ravaillac. Ravaillac’s execution was to be tied to four horses who each pulled his limbs in different directions, implying that the Harrigan’s have four horses that would have the same metaphorical impact on Harry.
Conrad invites Seraphina to dinner, who is immediately suspicious of Maeve’s intentions. She reluctantly agrees, but immediately phones the number Kat gave her in episode 1 to reveal Conrad’s plans. The voice on the other end of the phone is revealed to be Jamie, Jan’s car accident stranger.
Gina and Jan meet, with Gina laying on the success of her YouTube shakedowns thick. Jan tells her about the divorce, with Gina trying (badly) to hide how much her family’s dysfunction has been affecting her. Eddie arrives to meet Gina, immediately getting feisty with Jan, who mildly threatens him in return.
Colin correctly guesses that Bella will be the best way to get to Harry
While Colin is at home watching TV with his wife, Frankie rings to ask who Harry’s four horses might be. Colin lists off the Harrigan’s who are most likely to crack, while also telling him about Jan and Gina. However, he guesses that Kevin’s wife Bella (Lara Pulvey) will be the best bet… and he’s right.
As luck would have it, Harry makes his way to see Bella to discuss what Gina and Eddie have been up to together. They have a stilted conversation about parenthood, with Harry opening up about Jan asking for a divorce. Bella thinks that Kevin would feel insecure if he were to know that Harry was there with her alone, despite nothing going on between them.
As he leaves, we see Jamie and Jan meet up for coffee. Jamie gives her £7,000 in a white envelope, which is even more than she asked for. Jamie tries to get to know her and ask about her life, but Jan immediately leaves once she’s got the money.
We also see Eddie take a call from Maeve to ask if he’s got rid of Gina, which was her request in episode 1. Eddie says that he doesn’t want to, claiming that the pair work well together as a team.
Frankie leaves Bella for dead — and makes sure Conrad knows it
Jamie rings Seraphina as she gets ready to meet Maeve and Conrad, and tells her not to go to the restaurant. He doesn’t say why, but claims it’s important… and she obliges.
Then, a lot of things happen at once. We see Maeve and Conrad arrive at the restaurant, with Maeve remarking that Seraphina is “rude” for being so late. As more time passes, Conrad is inclined to agree, but he’s then called away when a waiter says there’s a call for him on the main phone. He’s confused as to how anyone would know he’s there, but we know it’s not Seraphina — she’s tried calling Conrad’s phone, which Maeve declines.
At the same time, Paul and Fergus (Jack Archer) go for a drink outside a nearby pub. As Fergus admits that he’s worried about his family’s safety now that he’s working in organised crime, Paul heads in to get another drink at the bar. While he does, a man in a van arrives as asks Fergus for directions to the nearest A-road. As Fergus approaches, the van door opens and a masked man shoots Fergus point-blank in the head.
Also at the same time, Harry tries to leave Jan a voicemail about moving abroad for a fresh start as Kevin calls Bella to check on her. Harry is sitting outside Gina’s flat, shooting a bunch of masked men arriving nearby. He checks that the pair aren’t hurt before leaving.
Bella, meanwhile, isn’t so lucky. Masked man shoot down the outside security before storming the house, leaving Bella to make a run for the basement while still on the phone to Kevin. Kevin says that he’s on his way, but it’s too late… Frankie, who appears once the rest of the men have gone in, gets to her first.
As Conrad reaches the restaurant phone, Frankie finds Bella cowering in a downstairs bathroom, pointing a gun with a silencer directly at her. Conrad answers the phone, as Frankie picks up his to say just one word: “Bang.”
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