Mayor of Kingstown Season 4 finally breaks the formula that carried the first three seasons, and it does not do it with louder gunfire or bigger threats.
It does it by changing the energy in the room. When Lennie James walks into Kingstown as Frank Moses, the show exhales.
Suddenly, conversations slow down, eye contact lasts longer, and silence becomes just as dangerous as violence.
(Paramount+/Jeremy Parsons)
I felt that shift instantly. Frank does not bark orders or throw punches; he smiles, listens, and lets others reveal their weaknesses to him.
Ergo, Mayor of Kingstown Season 4 still hurts, but it also asks viewers to pay closer attention.
Mayor of Kingstown Season 4 Gets Casting Exactly Right
Mayor of Kingstown has always lived and died by its casting, and Season 4 feels like the show bet big and won.
Lennie James does not feel like a guest star; he feels like a strategic move.
We know him as Morgan Jones from The Walking Dead and Fear the Walking Dead.
(Paramount+/Jeremy Parsons)
But his work on Line of Duty as DCI Tony Gates is the real clue to why Frank Moses works so well here.
On Mayor of Kingstown Season 4 Episode 4, Frank’s first extended interaction with Mike McLusky is almost disarming.
Mike comes in hot, as usual. Frank sits back, listens, and lets Mike burn through his own patience.
Jeremy Renner still controls the scene, but James does not fight him for dominance; he redirects it.
The result feels less like a confrontation and more like two men measuring the cost of power in very different currencies.
Frank Moses Operates on a Different Frequency on Mayor of Kingstown
(Paramount+/Dennis P. Mong Jr.)
Frank Moses is not cut from the same cloth as Milo Sunter, Merle Callahan, or Konstantin.
Those men thrived on mess, but Frank plays the long game with leverage.
He’s proud of never getting pinched, and that little brag tells you he doesn’t play by the usual rules.
On Mayor of Kingstown Season 4 Episode 6, when Frank pitches his vision to Bunny Washington, it is framed not as a threat but as an opportunity.
That scene works because Frank never raises his voice. He talks about growth, about thinking bigger, about life beyond Kingstown.
(Paramount+/Dennis P. Mong Jr.)
If you have watched this show long enough, alarm bells are already ringing.
Kingstown does not reward dreamers. Frank becomes dangerous not because he scares Bunny, but because he makes him want something more.
That temptation creates a crack between Bunny and Mike. Well, Mike represents survival, and Frank represents possibility.
The audience does not trust Frank, but Bunny wants to, and that imbalance makes the eventual betrayal hurt in a very specific way.
Mayor of Kingstown Season 4 Finally Lets Us Question Mike McLusky
One of the smartest moves Season 4 makes is letting us question Mike McLusky without turning him into a villain.
(Paramount+/Dennis P. Mong Jr.)
Frank’s calm demeanor throws Mike’s impulsiveness into sharp relief.
On the show, Mike reacts first and recalibrates later. Frank recalibrates before anyone else realizes a move has been made.
This contrast is more evident because of what came before.
The Season 3 finale stripped Mike of Iris and Kareem Moore, and those losses matter. They leave him exposed, even if he refuses to acknowledge it.
Season 4 leans into that vulnerability. Bringing back Merle Callahan while introducing Frank Moses feels intentional, almost surgical.
I caught myself asking a question I never expected to ask. Is Mike always right, or is he just the loudest in the room? That discomfort is new, and it is exactly why this season works.
Lennie James Plays the Long Game on Mayor of Kingstown
(Paramount+/Dennis P. Mong Jr.)
Lennie James gives Frank Moses a quiet theatricality that separates him from everyone else.
Frank chews his words before he speaks. When violence breaks loose, and Bunny nearly dies, Frank keeps his hands clean, and that choice carries weight.
Mayor of Kingstown usually treats violence as punctuation. Frank delays it, and that delay builds tension, because viewers know what kind of show this is.
We are waiting for Frank to explode, and the waiting becomes part of the anxiety.
James plays Frank close to the chest, and that restraint makes him creepier. He never has to bare his teeth; he lets others draw blood for him.
Mayor of Kingstown Season 4 Changes the Show’s Trajectory
(Paramount+/Dennis P. Mong Jr.)
Frank Moses is not a temporary obstacle; he leaves damage behind. Bunny has changed, while Mike is destabilized.
The audience is asked to reconsider what leadership actually looks like in Kingstown.
This story only works now, four seasons in, because belief had to exist before it could be challenged.
So let me ask you: Did Frank Moses make you pause before backing Mike McLusky this time, or are you still all in, no questions asked?
Drop your take below. Kingstown is never short on opinions, and neither are we.
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