Previously on MobLand, Harry’s play seemed to have satisfied gangster Richie Stevenson. The only request from the Harrigan rival was that Conrad and the rest of the family attend his son’s funeral. Would they take up the offer?
Much of the episode relates to the will they or won’t they of it all regards to the funeral. The Harrigans would be placed in a highly vulnerable position if they went, but the optics would be bad if they refused. These parts are slow and boring considering the inaction and dialog heavy scenes. What’s worse is that despite the dangers, you don’t feel any tension to draw you in. One of MobLand’s greatest strengths is the intensity level it creates, but during these moments where it should be highest, it’s lacking.
Combine that with a pretty uneventful funeral, and you leave a little disappointed. There was no real progress made in the narrative. In the end, there is still a rivalry between the families, and the ending moments turn out to be predictable. The series tries hard to escalate this blood feud, but each attempt has a lesser effect. The main plot isn’t helped out by the snail’s pace the other storylines are moving at, which generates an overall stagnation.
“Funeral for a Friend” does have it’s high points. The campy nature that Helen Mirren approached Maeve all season is beginning to make more sense. Seeing how Maeve and her grandson Eddie are scheming together highlights how birds of a feather flock together. Both are reckless wildcards whose unpredictable nature causes chaos. It’s intriguing to see what their true intentions are.
Geoff Bell continues to be the standout of MobLand, and hopefully his role increases from this point. He makes Richie an intimidating and menacing figure. Bell can say so much in a single look and the one Richie gives Eddie at the funeral is priceless. There is so much anger and hatred but also restraint in those eyes.
Yet Richie comes off equally admirable. He’s not so easily fooled and didn’t fall for the Valjon gambit from last week. More importantly, he is a man of reason, and he has the strength to let go. Regardless of the pain he’s endured, Richie is hesitant to escalate the situation. He is the most layered character and the one you sympathize with the most. That can make it difficult for a show when the “villain” is more heroic than the protagonist.
With the warring sides moved so close together, “Funeral for a Friend” fails to generate tension or to significantly move the story forward. Not even a strong performance from Geoff Bell is enough to compensate for the amount of inaction.
New episodes of MobLand release Sundays on Paramount+.
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