One of the new villains introduced in Tulsa King season 2 is quickly outshining the top-billed antagonists, Cal Thresher (Neal McDonough) and Bill Bevilaqua (Frank Grillo). Tulsa King season 2 is filled with new and returning characters, but some have been better than others. For example, Bigfoot is one of the best new Tulsa King characters, while Armand is having a confusing moment in his character arc. Cal Thresher and Bill Bevilaqua, the show’s most prominent new antagonists, have been great so far, but someone else is proving that they’re an even better villain to Dwight Manfredi (Sylvester Stallone).
Dwight has had quite a few enemies over the course of Tulsa King. From defeated enemies like Caolan Waltrip and the Black Macadams to constant threats like Chickie Invernizzi and the police, Dwight has always had to look over his shoulder. Tulsa King season 2 kicked the danger up a notch, though, and gave Dwight his most powerful foes yet: the ultra-rich Cal Thresher, and the ruthless Kansas City gangster Bill Bevilaqua. There’s another, less prominent villain, however, that is pushing Thresher and Bevilaqua out of the way to become Dwight’s greatest enemy: Jackie Ming (Rich Ting).
Jackie Ming Is Becoming A Better Villain Than Cal Thresher & Bill Bevilaqua
Cal & Bill Are Too Careful – Jackie Is Much More Ruthless
Before the end of Tulsa King season 2, episode 4, Jackie Ming was simply a business partner to Cal Thresher. Now, however, Jackie has shown his true colors: he’s the leader of a group of Chinese gangsters, and a particularly brutal one at that. In just a few episodes, Jackie Ming has already proven he’s much more ruthless and easy to hate than either Cal Thresher or Bill Bevilaqua. Jackie personally killed two men, oversaw the growth of poppies to produce heroin, and announced he was ready to kill Dwight as soon as he impacted the weed farm.
Conversely, Cal and Bill haven’t done much that actually makes them villainous. Bill’s greatest offense thus far was putting a hit out on Dwight, but only after Dwight had thoroughly disrespected and threatened him. That hit was also easily foiled, and Bill didn’t do much else. As far as Cal Thresher goes, he’s had much more success in messing with Dwight, but he simply didn’t think big enough. All of Cal’s attacks have been little more than nuisances – sending men to the wind farm was the worst of it, and aside from some property damage, they only punched Bodhi in the nose.
Jackie Ming’s Limited Screen Time Makes Him Even More Interesting
There’s An Air Of Mystery & Suspense Surrounding Jackie Ming
Jackie Ming has already shown that he’s much more willing to do truly villainous things than either Cal Thresher or Bill Bevilaqua, yet he’s only had a fraction of the screen time the other antagonists have had. Both Cal and Bill have been major parts of nearly every episode of Tulsa King season 2 that has been released so far. Jackie, on the other hand, only made his first full appearance in episode 4, and he’s only had a few minutes of screen time. In well less than half as much time, Jackie asserted himself as a serious threat, while Cal and Bill have only been minor problems.
The fact that Tulsa King has given Jackie Ming such a small amount of screen time also means that the show can do basically anything with him. Jackie has almost unlimited potential: he could become the main villain and force Thresher and Bevilaqua to work with Dwight to take him down, or he could do the exact opposite and work with Dwight to take down Cal. Tulsa King has also revealed very little about his backstory, so focusing more on him in the future would give him a chance to either become more sympathetic or even more villainous.
Ting plays an exceptional villain, and he stepped into the role of Jackie seamlessly, as if he had been fighting Cal and Dwight for years.
The fact that Jackie has become such an easy to hate villain in such a short amount of time on screen is also a testament to Rich Ting. He plays an exceptional villain, and he stepped into the role of Jackie seamlessly, as if he had been fighting Cal and Dwight for years. Ting’s performance so far is also a great sign that Jackie Ming will become an even bigger – and more exciting – problem as Tulsa King season 2 goes on.
Jackie Is Easier To Hate, But Thresher & Bevilaqua Are More Three-Dimensional
Thresher & Bevilaqua Have Shown More Sides Of Their Characters In Tulsa King Season 2
Even though they’re not as villainous as Jackie Ming, Bill Bevilaqua and Cal Thresher are far from bad characters. The main reason they’re not as overtly villainous or intimidating as Jackie is because they’re much more well-rounded and three-dimensional. Cal has shown that he doesn’t like to kill, he’s shown that he can strategize, and he’s even got a chance to show some kindness to Armand, even if it was transactional. Bill has proven himself to be a caring friend to Carl, a shrewd negotiator, and Tulsa King has even developed his sense of inferiority towards the New York mafia.
Hopefully, the rest of Tulsa King season 2 will let Jackie Ming grow into an even more complex and compelling character, and give him the same attention Bill Bevilaqua and Cal Thresher have gotten so far. One easy way that could happen is through the car bomb that detonated at the end of Tulsa King season 2, episode 6. Dwight and Tyson still don’t know who planted it, and it could turn out to be Jackie’s work. If it is, he would immediately become Dwight’s number one priority, and Tulsa King’s best villain yet.