Many countries in the Anglosphere use a certain word to describe disliked individuals. In America, this term is considered highly offensive and can lead to confrontations if used inappropriately. However, in the context of the show MobLand, when discussing the character Eddie Harrigan, it is fitting to describe him as a particular derogatory term. According to Harry Da Souza, Eddie Harrigan can be best described as a contemptible individual.

Alternatively, for those preferring a UK slang term, Eddie could be labeled as a “git.” Other suitable terms to characterize him include “moron,” “asshole,” “douchebag,” or simply “a real piece of expletive.” It is evident that Eddie is not a good person, especially in this episode that revolves around the memorial services for the young man he has killed.

The Harrigan family receives a straightforward task: they are expected, or rather demanded by Richie Stevenson, to attend the funeral and wake of his late son Tommy, who fell victim to Eddie. The family members, including Harry’s wife Jan and Kevin Harrigan’s wife Bella, are all required to be present. Jan seems to be well-informed about Bella’s past involvement with Harry, leading to a somewhat tense interaction between the two women. Additionally, Kevin notices the underlying tension.

Everyone must come unarmed, though Harry blackmails a disgruntled Stevenson minion into sneaking guns and a hand grenade into the Stevensons’ house just in case things go south. And everyone, including that little pischer Eddie and his grandmother Maeve — a lush who’s grooming him to take over the family — must be on their best behavior.

Neither Harrigan understands the assignment. At least, they don’t understand Harrigan family patriarch Conrad’s assignment. It’s clear now that Maeve is deliberately provoking a war with the Stevensons, to whatever end. Eddie, being an easily flattered imbecile, is happy to help.

On the way into the wake, Eddie “greets” Richie without taking off his sunglasses or showing any deference to the much older and more respected crime boss. He actually goes to kiss the man’s grieving trophy wife, Vron (Annie Cooper), who slinks away horrified. Once inside the Stevenson home, he sneaks off to snoop around the bathroom and do lines of coke off the mirror. When Harry, whom it’s increasingly obvious he’d like to eliminate, interrupts him, he nearly stabs the fixer with fingernail clippers before Harry points out the ridiculousness of even trying.

“Come downstairs and at least pretend to be a man,” Harry says, disgusted. Then he adds the crucial kicker: “Cunt.” Look, I know the whole thing smacks of gender, and it’s not a word I like to use as an insult, but if the shoe fits.

Meanwhile, Maeve, on her umpteenth glass of champagne, makes a point of walking over to Vron Stevenson, Tommy’s devastated mother, to offer her wildly insincere condolences. Understandably, given the fact that both she and Richie know damn well that Maeve’s grotesque grandson Eddie, Vron says she never wanted any of these c-words at the funeral to begin with, and talks to her girlfriends about how disgustingly unbelievable it is that Conrad Harrigan fucks “that.” 

If you’ve guessed that insulting Maeve Harrigan to her face is a bad idea, you’re right. After this incident, and after Eddie nearly provokes a physical fight and defies his father’s orders to leave, Conrad, Richie, and their closest lieutenants sit down to talk things over. Richie is surprisingly contrite. He knows Eddie killed his son, not the patsy whom Harry served to him and then murdered. But he has no interest in a war. He’ll let every Harrigan live…provided he never sees Eddie again. If he does, all bets are off, at least as far as Eddie himself is concerned. With Harry and Kevin’s approval, Conrad agrees to the deal.

Maeve does not. When she realizes someone in her own family slipped her a mickey to keep her subdued at the funeral, and that Conrad plans to do nothing to avenge Vron’s insult, she takes matters into her own hands. She has Harrigan soldier Paul rig a bomb to Vron’s car. The explosive results conclude the episode, over the extremely end-of-a-Sopranos-episode song choice of “People Ain’t No Good” by Nick Cave. 

Elsewhere, a pair of plot threads are worth following: Brendan, Conrad’s least-favorite child, tries to inveigle his half-sister Seraphina in a gemstone-importing scheme that he claims has no downside. And Kev finally remembers the sexually abusive prison guard Harry spotted at an old folks’ home a day or two earlier. 

There are no bloody stabbings in this episode, no fight scenes, no gun battles. The only pyrotechnics to speak of — I mean, other than the car bombing — come from the tension between the Stevensons and the Harrigans, embodied in the gritted-teeth determination projected by actors Geoff Bell and Pierce Brosnan as their respective bosses. Tom Hardy remains excellent as a man who doesn’t necessarily always stay cool, but does alway stay under control. Helen Mirren is having a ball as Maeve grows increasingly ambitious and unhinged. As he did on House of the Dragon, Paddy Considine excels as a guy who’s doing a basically okay job as a figure of importance but who’d probably be better suited doing literally everything else. 

And director Daniel Syrkin peppers the thing with the occasional lovely vista: Conrad fishing as night falls over his country house, Harry on his balcony looking out over the nighttime city. The Fontaines D.C. theme song, “Starburster,” whips ass. In short, MobLand is good gangster TV.

Sean T. Collins (@theseantcollins) writes about TV for Rolling Stone, Vulture, The New York Times, and anyplace that will have him, really. He and his family live on Long Island.