MobLand Season 1 Episode 1 Recap: Stick or Twist

ALL OF THE SPOILERS AHEAD!!

If you have not yet watched “Stick or Twist,” turn around and return later.

If you’ve seen it, carry on, and if you want to discuss it with me, visit my MobLand Season 1 Episode 1 review.

Harry Da Souza is talking with a bunch of leaders, hoping to get a truce with a handshake and an apology for the sake of peace. They will shake hands, but not apologize. Two men are yelling and smashing their fists. Harry wonders, so do we have a truce or not? 

The fellows agree to shake hands, and Harry takes their word to Conrad Harrigan, who is elsewhere in the building, eating some stew. Harry thinks this truce may last five or six months, but in the end, the feud will rekindle, probably worse than it is now.

Conrad heard that someone is skimming off the top, a damn site more than two or three grand here or there. And Costas has been a naughty boy, too. It’s always the same. In any orchard, you plant the trees, and they grow tall, beginning to get mangled and rotting the fruit. That’s pruning time.

The lighting in these scenes is oddly beautiful, dark as they are.

Conrad returns. There’s been a change of plans. They’re all killed. Conrad tells a fellow where to take the boys. Harry can call the Maltese and tell them there’s a gap in the market, giving them 24 hours to make an offer.

One guy is left alive, and calling hell on the 30 years’ worth of Turkish Delight he had to eat, Conrad crushes his windpipe with his shoe.

Pretty groovy theme song.

I’m imagining that people will have a hard time watching this without subtitles.

Eddie Harrigan and Tommy Stevenson are hanging out with the boys when another one snaps a photo of Tommy doing a line of coke. It’s a historic moment, like being with the Cray twins.

Eddie tosses his phone out the window, and the kid isn’t impressed. That was his new phone. Eddie gives him a roll of cash for another, and the drug bender continues.

They head to a party where Eddie buys his two extra mates entrance. Eddie seems like the crazy fun guy while Tommy seems like a morose type. Eddie calls them the Four Musketeers, but Tommy has had enough. He’s going home. 

Eddie bumps into a guy, dumping his drink over him, and when he pulls a gun, Eddie guts him. Tommy should have gone home!

Now the music makes sense. Firestarter is the perfect song for the Four Musketeers to flee for their lives.

Eddie spots Tommy when they make it outside. Eddie asks a stupid question, and Tommy gives a plain answer. Tommy calls Eddie a mad c*unt. After tossing the blade in the river, Eddie promises to make it up to him.

Conrad and his dog go fishing the next morning. He’s got guys handling him every step of the way. It doesn’t seem he does much for himself.

Maeve greets Archie, wondering how he’s alive. She heard he was dead. Archie assures her it was his brother. No, she’s certain it was Archie. Conrad told her he was dead. Archie’s his oldest friend. Oh, wait, never mind. It was someone else.

She laughs. She could have sworn he was dead.

Conrad enjoys fly fishing because of how the lures bamboozle their pray. Uncle Tommy taught him how to fish before trying to grab his cock. Archie is disappointed he never tried grabbing his.

The fish is rather small. A lot of work for nothing.

They talk business. Offer “the twins” 80% and 20% on retail for two years. In other news, the Maltese offered an additional 20% for the heroin over their dear departed friends. Conrad wants 25%. He knew that move was good business. He wants $10 million up front — five to spread around Hackney and five to the Mexicans. 

They need to make a move on fentynal now. Archie wonders why they’d want to start a war with the Stevensons. Why not is Conrad’s answer. They’re on a roll.

Harry is checking in with a young lady running their chop shop. She does good work.

Kev calls Harry. Eddie came home last night covered in blood. There were witnesses galore and CCTV footage of his mishap the previous night. Harry asks questions that Eddie can either answer or spend the next five or ten in the joint.

Eddie doesn’t want to give up his shoes. They’re Italian. Harry says he can wear them in court. Harry and Kevin’s wife, Bella, talk about cholesterol and oat milk. Harry wouldn’t be able to drink the stuff. Bella says they can keep a stash and hide it from him. 

Eddie’s phone code is 6969 because of course it is.

Harry arrives at the club, waving a badge to gain entrance. When he finds the boss, he asks to see the CCTV footage and doesn’t get the answer he likes. Harry assures them they will help him get what he came for.

Have these guys heard of the Harrigans? The guy isn’t so sure. Harry says he’s currently in first gear, and if they want, he can shift to sixth. When Harry sees the footage, he points out Eddie. If the guy looks after the Harrigans, they’ll look after him. 

The victim was Hughie Campbell. He works there sometimes. Hughie is alive, in the hospital. He gets the name of the victim, asks the owner to delete anything left, and off he goes.

Jan has finished a yoga class. The instructor asks if it was helpful. Based on the editing, it seems she’s trying to rid herself of Harry’s essence.

Harry calls the cops. Has Hughie been interviewed yet? He calls someone else for a hospital contact. Cops are on their way to Hughie. Harry takes off.

Jan is joined by another woman, Alice, from the class. They decide it has to be bollocks. Apparently, it wasn’t yoga, as they mention the yoga place next door. When Jan tried Reiki, she saw her therapist playing Candy Crush. Alice suggests wine.

Harry visits Hughie, who shares a room with several others. Harry says he’s much like the nurses here who are trying to save his life. If Eddie knew how to do a proper stabbing, this conversation wouldn’t even be taking place. 

If he doesn’t do as asked, when Hughie is released, he or someone else will reopen his wounds, then it will snowball to the house and onward and upward. Harry gives him his statement. Harry has him repeat it, saying he’s too nervous. Try again.

Harry calls Kevin. Problem solved.

Harry is now shopping for caskets. The first one is bamboo. Like a picnic basket. Harry needs one more sturdy. He’s dumping the evidence inside. The guy is now wearing Eddie’s shoes.

Tommy hasn’t come home, and his mother, Von is worried. Her husband, Richie, isn’t as concerned. But he does send someone to look for him. Now another guy, the other remaining alive after the opening massacre, is looking for Tommy.

The guy’s name is Charl. He tells Richie Tommy was with Eddie Harrigan. Maybe that guy wasn’t who was at the massacre. Either way, Richie’s calls Kevin, who says his Eddie can’t stand his Tommy. They couldn’t be hanging out.

Is Conrad using Tommy to lean on him, Richie wonders? Kevin assures Richie that if they want his fentanyl, they’ll just take it from him.

Jan is helping her daughter, Gina. Jan is apparently married to Harry. Harry feels like he owes Jan an apology. He has no idea what he’s apologizing for, but at least he tries. He says he’s better than how he was acting. 

She shows him the notes Gina was just flashing at him, thanking him for being so forthcoming. She recorded their argument, so she replays it for him. She wants to go to counseling. He isn’t up for that. Well, he can start then. But he can’t operate under that kind of pressure. He needs time to process.

A call from Kevin interrupts them. Kevin updates Harry about Tommy. Eddie, of course, claimed he didn’t see Tommy. 

Before leaves, Jan asks if they can do something for their housekeeper. Harry suggests she book them a session, and she smiles broadly. He’ll do one just to try it.

He says he’ll meet her there whenever she schedules it. She’s skeptical. If he says he’s going to do something, he’ll do it.

Harry calls Eddie. Eddie gets one go to tell him the truth. Eddie lies. Harry calls Conrad. They need to set a meeting. This is big. Conrad gives him the go to take Richie if he fucks about even a little bit.

Harry calls Ana to talk with Kiko. Zosia will be picking him up shortly. He needs something reliable for all three of them, as well. 

They meet at Moody’s Gym. Harry has a lot of instructions for Zosia and Kiko, not the least of which is to give Richie and anyone else he’s with the good news if he taps his pocket upon exiting.  

Harry shows up seemingly alone. There are guards outside. The gym owner takes cash to maintain peace. It will be returned upon successful completion.

Harry and Richie sit down. Richie isn’t happy with the Harrigans, which he talks about by way of what others say. What they say is that they’re getting too comfortable, complacent, arrogant. The connection between complacency and arrogance is that they’re cousins. 

Harry says success breeds complacency, success breeds hubris, and hubris breeds arrogance. Richie is impressed. He actually likes Harry. He’s loyal, smart, and maybe even wise. But Harry is on the wrong side.

Richie knows that Tommy was with Eddie. He needs to hear it right from Eddie’s mouth that he wasn’t. They begin to escalate things, and Moody reminds them about the rules and the $100 grand total in cash. Richie says this is his boy, and either he talks with Eddie, or there will be a drama.

Harry says he will personally speak to Eddie to get to the bottom of this. Richie accepts that and gives him until noon tomorrow. 

On his way out of Moody’s, Harry calls Conrad. Eddie is lying. If Tommy’s gone, there will be a war. They can do Richie now, but it’s his call. Harry has yet to pat his pocket. Richie is out, having a chat. Conrad asks Maeve. Stick or twist? She asks for clarification. Time’s running out. She makes the call. Leave him alive.

For the avoidance of doubt, let the c*nt live, Conrad says. Then he wonders why Maeve made that call. Wrong palace, wrong time. They don’t know what Eddie knows or where Tommy is. And doesn’t he want to be there when Richie gets done? She fuckin’ does.

Seraphina is home. Maeve is unimpressed. Brendan accompanied her, and Kevin was right behind. They all gather for news. The family lawyer is here. This is serious. 

Archie pulls Conrad aside. He can’t get over what he told him about Uncle Conrad. Is that why he emigrated? 

Maeve tells Conrad that Archie has been going behind his back with “The Fire.” 

Before the twins accepted their deal, they were pulling in north of $2 million a week, but they’ve got a shitton of debt. Heroin and guns are booming, but they can’t let the grass grow.

How do they fund this expansion? Fentanyl. Who controls “The Fire”? The Mexicans. One jumpy, impracticable, insane, dangerous cocksucker needs another, and he let Richie fill up his boots before they got sick of him.

Now, they come in at a lower price. There’s no competition. Archie interrupts. He’s not sure fentanyl is the solution. It’s bad news, and they have enough beef with Richie over Tommy and Eddie. And the Mexicans… “WE” could discuss it? That doesn’t sit well with Conrad.

Archie asks Maeve to talk with Conrad. Maeve says he makes a much better arse-licker than a traitor. A better toadie yes-man than a traitor. She wonders how much Richie is paying him to stay off The Fire.

As they all watch, Conrad prepares to kill Archie, first kissing his hands. He asks Maeve. Is she winding him up? Maeve says stick or twist baby. Stick or twist. Archie wonders if this is a piss take. Yes, Archie, the piss has been taken. He shoots straight into Archie’s chest. Archie can’t even respond, and he dies slowly, sitting straight up.

If this was a lesson for everyone, it’s been learned. Conrad is in the other room, hand across his mouth, groaning. When Maeve touches him, he growls. Get your fuckin hands off me, woman!

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