Stallone talks about the fate of the enemy Chickie, Bevilaqua

On November 25, 2024By Littum

Spoilers ahead! Stop reading if you don’t want to know where the bodies are buried after the Season 2 “Tulsa King” finale.

Season 2 of “Tulsa King” concluded Sunday with transplanted New York mobster Dwight “The General” Manfredi (Sylvester Stallone) surprising himself by putting down strong Oklahoma roots.

His plucky Manfredi crime family has expanded, and he’s built marijuana dispensary Even Higher Plane (with an adjacent recording studio dubbed Jelly Roll), and badass bar owner Mitch Keller (Garrett Hedlund) steps up as the face and manager of a family-owned car retailer.

“It’s a bittersweet situation,” executive producer Stallone tells USA TODAY, speaking of Manfredi in the first person. “I’ve spent my whole life in New York, and now I’m moving on to a whole new existence.”

Still, there are always problems. The jealous New York-based crime family, which framed Manfredi for death but now wants a big taste of Tulsa money, sends underboss Charles ‘Chickie’ Invernizzi (Domenick Lombardozzi) there. And two new regional enemies – Kansas City mob boss Bill Bevilaqua (Frank Grillo) and steely Tulsa businessman Cal Thresher (Neal McDonough) have been roughing up Manfredi’s mellow all season.

Ahead of his foray into 2024 politics (introducing President-elect Donald J. Trump as “the other George Washington” at a holiday gala at Mar-a-Lago), Stallone, 78, broke down key finale points and what to expect in Season 3 (which has not been officially greenlit by Paramount+, but is happening).

Mitch Keller’s Car City commercial brings delicious cheese

On the fun side of the finale, the Mitch Keller Car City commercial with a pitch-perfect overpowering Hedlund is hilarious. Manfredi was originally slated to direct the commercial on the show, but Stallone thought it was “a bit of having a clueless mobster” to create this badass car commercial masterpiece. But the big commercial reveal allows Manfredi to gather his lovable crew, many of whom are on location, for a group hug at his house.

Keller will continue to expand his car dealership world in Season 3, which could be dangerous.

“You have to be pretty tough,” Stallone says. “Keller is going to grow a lot next season.”

Chickie is beaten in the finals, but not by Manfredi

Manfredi’s nemesis Chickie blows all the alpha mobs into town, convincing Manfredi to abandon his growing empire. However, not seen on screen, Manfredi and Bevilaqua make a secret phone plan to have Bevilaqua kill Chickie in exchange for half of Manfredi’s empire. When the face-to-face meeting turns sour, Bevilaqua shockingly pulls out the piece and punches Chickie.

“I know Bevilaqua’s greed. And for him to take out Chickie means nothing. He’s a psychopath,” says Stallone. “I don’t know if I could have beaten Chickie.” Manfried and Bevilaqua are now business partners going into Season 3. But “this is not a marriage that’s going to last,” Stallone promises.

The cold-blooded killing was the main violence of the finale, in notable contrast to the end of the first season, which included a rival gang shooting carnage (won by Stallone’s crew, of course).

What happened to Cal Thresher in the finale?

Manfredi continues an unusual business partnership with his other rival by literally pointing a gun at his head. Manfredi orders his new enforcer, Bigfoot (pro wrestler Mike “Cash Flo” Walden), to “kill him”. Bigfoot holds the gun but does not fire. The scene originally called for Thresher to be “terrified,” Stallone says. But the final result of Thresher telling Bigfoot to “push it” allows McDonough to show formidable cool under the gun. Thresher agrees to stay out of the gangster life (probably until next season) and walks away saying, “Good luck, Dwight.”

What happens at the end of the ‘Tulsa King’ season 2 finale

Just as order, love and legal cannabis come to Tulsa, Manfredi and his wealthy riding girlfriend Margaret (Dana Delaney) are awakened in the night by a tactical team with flashlights and guns. They pull off the hooded Manfredi, who is thrown unceremoniously into a dark room.

“You work for us now,” an ominous government voice tells Manfredi. The mobster who wouldn’t squeal in New York and served 25 years in prison as a result will offer Whitey Bulger-like cooperation next season. “I don’t want to cheat, but if I have to do some deed to people who deserve it, I will,” Stallone says. “That’s how I rationalize it.”

The identity of the government’s puppet master is not revealed, and Stallone leads the search for the central Season 3 player. “It has to be an important actor, someone we haven’t seen in a while,” he says. “I have a dream casting in mind. He’ll be surprised when I call and might say no.”

What changes are coming to ‘Tulsa King’ season 3

Stallone says the Season 3 storyline will feature Manfredi expanding his territory beyond Tulsa. Before he was killed, Chickie hinted at sending the pioneering mobster into untapped territories like Iowa, Nebraska and Arkansas. That concept is still in play at Manfredi and Kansas City-based Bevilaqua.

“I want to take him on a journey that he never expected,” Stallone says. “The most important thing is to keep the fish-out-of-water situation going. Because once (Manfredi) has put himself in a situation, it becomes almost like a sitcom.”