As Sylvester Stallone fans anxiously await his reality show, featuring himself and his family to hit the Paramount Network soon enough, many are still living on the high that was season 1 of Tulsa King. The show was a huge success and for the creator of Yellowstone, Taylor Sheridan, it was a definite successful follow-up to a tremendous show.
The great news is that there’s a season 2 on the horizon, but more on that at a later date. How about for today, we take a look back at some of the greatest moments from season 1?
But what moments to choose from? There are so many choices.
So, come on…you know you want to relive these epic scenes featuring the main man himself, Dwight “The General” Manfredi? Let’s dig in, shall we?
1. The first sit down with the family
Sparks fly when Manfredi gets released from prison—a 25-year stint that he happily served and all for the purpose of loyalty to the Invernizzi crime family.
He states in the narrative that he needs to see if that loyalty was worth it. In the emerging scene that comes in the opening sequences of the first episode, you learn that doing the favor for the mob isn’t always something that gets you anything meaningful in the long run.
Let’s just say Manfredi doesn’t take his reception back into the fold all that well. A lot has changed, and that change has come at the top.
He finds Pete, his friend and old boss, now old and seemingly at death’s door. Chickie, Pete’s son, played expertly by talented actor, Domenick Lombardozzi, has a bigger hand in the business.
Right off the bat, Manfredi is banished, with Chickie saying: “There’s nothing for you here (meaning New York) you’re going to Tulsa (paraphrased).” So much for his time served being worth anything, eh?
Regardless, by the meeting’s end, he punches out a ‘made’ man, and makes quite the statement as to where the rest of the season was headed.
2. No Paper Cups For The General
Dwight evidently likes things the old way. The character is 75, and although he’s a fit 75-year-old, the way he finds the world after 25 years in prison isn’t exactly favorable.
This is what leads to many of the hilarious moments in Tulsa King (and there are definitely many). One in particular, in which Manfredi brings his very own coffee cup for his espresso to the local coffee shop, once he learns that they only serve in paper cups.
Manfredi actually unravels a paper bag containing his cup right in front of the barista (played by Stallone’s real-life daughter, Scarlet Rose Stallone) much to her amusement and those of us watching.
3. Even an Old Horse deserves a second chance at life
The perfect metaphor for Dwight’s story, and it’s juxtaposed epically, with the presence of this gorgeous but old, white horse that’s still got a few miles left on it. As The General himself opines, he obviously seeing quite a bit of his own plight in the horse.
The horse is in danger of being put down at the local ranch, but in one of the more endearing moments of Tulsa King, The General decides to do a little meddling that doesn’t really have anything to do with mobster life for once.
4. But it’s legal in Tulsa!
Again, hilarious moments are plentiful. In the first episode of the season, shortly after Manfredi gets to Tulsa, he takes charge of an already established dispensary known as the Higher Plane Dispensary.
The funny thing here is that Manfredi seems to think he’s found a great source of income, which he has, but the shop’s owner, Bodhi, is flabbergasted at Manfredi’s approach. He states that it’s legal in the state and the ‘protection’ that the General is offering isn’t all that necessary.
The irony here is that he (Bodhi), didn’t need any protection until the General himself showed up. But this is just the beginning of a great relationship between the two, and oh yeah, about the money…as it turns out there was loads and loads to be made, especially when the two men put their heads together.
5. Armand – an old friend now foe?
The presence of this character absolutely makes the show. Armand “Manny” Truisi is an old colleague of Manfredi’s from New York. When Armand finds out that The General is in Tulsa, the exact place where he himself decided to hide out after he escaped the confines of his old life in New York, he thinks he’s in trouble.
So naturally he tries to get rid of his new problem. Trouble is, Dwight sees him coming, but instead of getting even for the oversight, he sees in Armand a possible new soldier for his own crew and decides to keep him around for all the fun.
6. A look back at what put Dwight in Jail
It’s in the ninth and final episode of the season that we see what wound Manfredi in prison. If nothing else, the story endears us not only to Dwight himself even more, but to Armand as well.
In an attempt to put a stop to the torturing of a colleague, Armand calls Dwight in when he sees Chickie going too far one night. Dwight does step in and stops Chickie from branding Ripple, the character in question.
Well, the branding iron starts the fire, and everyone books except for Manfredi, who compassionately shoots Ripple instead of allowing him to burn in the ensuing flames. As he escapes the burning building, he gets arrested and his sting in prison starts.
7. A Cliffhanger Ending
Spoiler alert! And no, when we say ‘cliffhanger,’ we’re not talking about Sly’s highly successful 1993 film of the same name. Tulsa King ends on one heck of a cliffhanger of its own, I’m afraid.
By show’s end, Dwight and crew successfully take over the territory in Tulsa and battle the crazed biker gang known as the Black MacAdams. He’s successfully broken away from the Invernizzi crime family for the time being, and he seems even to have made amends with his long-lost daughter.
But as it turns out, there’s one loose end he didn’t quite pay attention to: Stacy Beale, the ATF agent he had an affair with his first week in town. As it turns out, she turns on him by the time we get to the closing frames of the season.
And all that, despite his saving her life and paying her some money for her troubles. Dwight learns yet again, and the hard way, that loyalty isn’t always rewarded.