Most of Dwight Manfredi’s (Sylvester Stallone) problems have disappeared after the ending of Tulsa King season 2, episode 9, but there are still some things that need to be explained in the aftermath of Jackie Ming’s (Rich Ting) death. Tulsa King season 2 has been approaching a boiling point for a long time, and the pressure finally burst with Jackie Ming’s death. Almost the entire cast of Tulsa King season 2 was involved in putting the leader of the Chinese Triad down, but some of them played a more important role than others.
One of the biggest loose threads left after the ending of Tulsa King season 2, episode 8 was Armand Truisi (Max Casella). He robbed the Bred2Buck and Goodie and made off with $500,000, only to turn around as he neared the Mexican border. That decision was strange when it happened, but Armand’s entire character arc got even more confusing after one of the biggest twists in Tulsa King history. That twist directly led to Jackie Ming’s death, so understanding it properly is absolutely essential, especially now that Tulsa King season 3 may be on the horizon.
Margaret’s Relationship With Jackie Ming Explained
Cal Thresher Owned Almost Half Of Margaret’s Ranch, & Jackie Ming Owned Cal’s Assets
One of the smaller surprises Tulsa King season 2, episode 9 had in store was the revelation that Margaret Devereaux (Dana Delany) not only knew who Jackie Ming was, but that she had a business relationship with him. As she explained, Margaret knew of Jackie because her ex-husband had tried to buy her out of the Fennario Ranch, and she went to Cal Thresher for financial help. Thresher got a 49% ownership stake in the ranch for helping Margaret, but when Jackie took control of his business at the end of Tulsa King season 2, episode 8, Jackie owned nearly half of the Fennario Ranch.
Margaret was in a lot of danger from Jackie, which is probably why she was so calm about Dwight executing him on her land.
Margaret dealt with Cal Thresher for years, which likely meant she either met or heard about Jackie Ming. Then, after he got control of the ranch, Margaret would have become a target for Jackie, and he might have tried to muscle her out of control of the business in the same way he did with Cal. Margaret’s relationship with Dwight made her an even bigger target, as Jackie would have done anything to hurt Dwight, including killing his lover. So, Margaret was in a lot of danger from Jackie, which is probably why she was so calm about Dwight executing him on her land.
The Ambush At Margaret’s Ranch Explained
Dwight, Bill Bevilaqua, & Ahanu Joined Forces To Trap Jackie Ming
The main spectacle of Tulsa King season 2, episode 9 – and the event everything in the episode was building to – was the ambush of Jackie Ming at the Fennario Ranch. While it was the main showdown of the episode and the moment when the real villain behind all of Tulsa King season 2’s bloodshed, it was also very quick. In just a few minutes, Jackie went from attacking Dwight to being buried by Bigfoot (Mike “Cash Flo” Walden), and some of the details may have been missed in the brawl. Luckily, the buildup to the ambush also reveals the details of what happened.
Dwight and his gang, Bill Bevilaqua and his gang, and Ahanu (Makela Yapez) and some of his fellow Native American warriors, all joined forces to take Jackie Ming down. Dwight and Bill both hid in separate stables and fired at Jackie and his men. As the floodlights turned on, Jackie’s gang was blinded, and it became a shooting gallery. Then, Ahanu and his men snuck up from behind and outflanked the Chinese gang, executing them with knives and other melee weapons. All of that was possible because Armand led Jackie and his gang into a trap and escaped as the bullets started flying.
Why Dwight Let Tyson Kill Jackie Ming In Tulsa King Season 2
Tyson Was Owed Revenge For The Car Bomb That Injured Mark
Though the ambush took out all of Jackie’s men, the Chinese mob boss didn’t actually die in the shootout. Grace (McKenna Quigley Harrington) shot him in the leg, and the rest of the gang brought him into a barn to execute him. Dwight didn’t actually do the honors of killing Jackie, however, and he instead let Tyson use Jimmy’s tomahawk to execute Jackie. There’s a fairly simple reason Dwight let Tyson kill Jackie: Tyson wanted revenge for the car bomb that injured his father, Mark (Michael Beach), and Jackie was responsible. As Dwight said, the killing was “justified.”
Dwight had a very simple reason for letting Tyson deliver the killing blow on Jackie, but he might have had some more subtle motivations as well. Letting Tyson get his revenge personally might have been a way for Dwight to desensitize Tyson to violence even more. Throughout Tulsa King season 2, Tyson has been taking a more active role in the gang – like helping to bury Carl’s body – and killing a man may have been the next step in making him a fully-fledged gangster. It may be a sign that Tyson will have even more responsibility and power in the future of Tulsa King.
How Armand Played Into The Attack On Jackie Ming
Armand Lured Jackie Into The Trap To Atone For Robbing Dwight
By far the biggest twist of Tulsa King season 2, episode 9 was the reveal of what Armand did after robbing the Bred2Buck. As the episode showed, Armand turned around shortly after robbing Goodie at the bar, but it didn’t reveal until the final moments that he had turned himself in to Dwight and begged for Dwight to execute him. Armand was the “visitor” Bigfoot was talking about at the start of the episode, and instead of killing him, Dwight forced Armand to lure Jackie Ming into the trap at the Fennario Ranch.
Dwight had a few reasons to forgive Armand. Joanne (Anabella Sciorra) stopped Dwight just before he shot Armand, which gave him a moment to reconsider what to do with the traitor. Then, Dwight said, “it’s never too late to make things right,” which showed that he wanted Armand to make up for his mistake rather than die for it. The only way Armand could make things right, however, was by going to Jackie and leading him into the trap at the ranch. Afterward, Dwight essentially forgave Armand for robbing the Bred2Buck, and he came back into the folds of the gang.
What Does Jackie Ming’s Death Mean For The Finale Of Tulsa King Season 2?
Dwight Still Has Loose Ends – Like Thresher, Bevilaqua, & Chickie – To Tie Up
Jackie Ming largely moved and operated from the shadows, but he was essentially the main antagonist of Tulsa King season 2. Now that he’s dead, Dwight and the gang don’t have a single main enemy to fight, but there’s still another episode of Tulsa King season 2 left. Their time in the finale will likely be taken up by the show’s remaining loose ends, namely Cal Thresher, Bill Bevilaqua, Chickie Invernizzi (Domenick Lombardozzi), and Tina Manfredi (Tatiana Zappardino). The end of Cal’s story seems fairly straightforward, as Bill already asserted that he would kill the businessman once he cleared things up with Dwight.
As for the rest of Dwight’s enemies and family member, their stories are harder to predict. Bill and Dwight came together to fight Jackie, but there’s still a lot of bad blood between them. Bill is still mad about Carl’s death and Vic’s injury at Tyson’s hands, while Dwight vowed to get revenge for Jimmy’s murder. They may not be able to sort that out, and the two gangsters may decide to continue their feud rather than live in peace. There is still a chance they could work out a peace agreement, but it doesn’t seem like it would be able to last long.
Meanwhile, Chickie was headed to Oklahoma via train at the end of Tulsa King season 2, episode 9. He had been given orders by Vince (Vincent Piazza) to either convince Dwight to work with the Invernizzi family in New York again, or to kill him. It’s not clear what Chickie will decide to do once he reaches Oklahoma, but there are a few possibilities. Most likely, Chickie will try to kill Dwight, and if he does, there’s a good chance Chickie will die instead. Alternatively, he may choose to join Dwight just to spite Vince, which would be quite a plot twist.
As Dwight said to Armand, it’s never too late to make things right, and he may try to apologize to Tina and reunite his blood family again in the finale of Tulsa King season 2.
The last person Dwight has to address before the ending of Tulsa King season 2 is his daughter, Tina. Before the war with Bill Bevilaqua and Jackie Ming broke out, Dwight sent Tina back to New York to keep her safe. That created a rift between the father and daughter, as Tina was tired of having her life uprooted by Dwight’s criminal lifestyle. But, as Dwight said to Armand, it’s never too late to make things right, and he may try to apologize to Tina and reunite his blood family again in the finale of Tulsa King season 2.