Tulsa King Season 3 Reverts Dwight’s Character Growth

Warning! This article contains SPOILERS for Tulsa King season 3, episode 2.Tulsa King season 3 has already rolled back one of the biggest pieces of character development Sylvester Stallone’s Dwight Manfredi had in season 2. The entire cast of Tulsa King has changed a lot since the show began. For example, Tyson began as a cab driver and is now a hardened gangster. Grace started as a shy cashier, and she’s now one of Dwight’s deadliest enforcers.

Dwight himself, however, hasn’t changed much. He’s running his own outfit in a new city, yes, but he’s still basically the same person he was when he first arrived in Tulsa. That’s not entirely a bad thing – we do love Dwight for a reason, after all – but Tulsa King has tried to make him grow in the past. Unfortunately, all that growth went right out the window with Tulsa King season 3.

Dwight Wanted To Get Less Temperamental In Tulsa King Season 2

In Tulsa King season 2, Dwight came to a realization about himself. During a conversation with Mitch, he realized that he “can’t leave well enough alone” and that he enjoys the danger of being a gangster. Those desires caused him to antagonize dangerous people, like Bill Bevilaqua and Cal Thresher, and they usually ended up making a lot of problems for Dwight.

Dwight didn’t just realize this character flaw in himself, though, he actually did something about it. At the end of Tulsa King season 2, Dwight learned to control his impulses and tendency to be violent and antagonize people. Despite all their bad blood, Dwight teamed up with Bill and Cal to take down Jackie Ming, and he actually got some great partnerships started by being more level-headed.

That was a great piece of character development for Dwight, and it made Tulsa King season 3 more exciting. It seemed like we were going to see a calmer, more collected Dwight who didn’t make as many impulsive mistakes. It was going to help his growing criminal empire, and it may have even been enough to get his daughter, Tina, to realize he had changed and grown as a person.

Dwight Is Already Back To Causing Problems For Himself In Tulsa King Season 3

In reality, however, Dwight didn’t change at all in Tulsa King season 3. He’s just as impulsive and antagonistic as he was at the start of season 2, and he’s making just as many problems for himself as well. Gone is the more level-headed, collaborative Dwight from the end of Tulsa King season 2; he’s been replaced by the hotheaded attack dog he’s always been.

Dwight’s huge backslide on his impulsivity is plain to see. Just in Tulsa King season 2, episode 3, Dwight did so many stupid and irrational things that have already caused problems. He flies off the handle while dealing with Bill Bevilaqua, which leads to New York hearing about the distillery. He leans on Cal Thresher way too hard, which starts his relationship with the governor of Oklahoma on a very contentious foot.

Most importantly, Dwight went out of his way to threaten and belittle Jeremiah Dunmire, his most dangerous enemy. To be fair, Dunmire did insult Dwight first, but Dwight still kicked the proverbial hornet’s nest of an already homicidal gangster. It’s the exact same inciting incident season 2 used: Dwight is confronted by a less-than-polite adversary, he reacts poorly and impulsively, and a gang war ensues.

There’s two main problems with Dwight’s backslide. Firstly, having all of Dwight’s problems stem from his own hotheadedness isn’t terribly interesting. We’ve seen this before, and it would have been more interesting to watch his war with Dunmire spring from something else. Secondly, I personally would like to see Dwight grow and change, but Tulsa King seemingly wants him to stay static.

Release Date

November 13, 2022

Network

Paramount+

Showrunner

Dave Erickson, Terence Winter

Directors

Allen Coulter, Benjamin Semanoff, David Semel, Guy Ferland, Joshua Marston, Kevin Dowling, Lodge Kerrigan, Jim McKay

Writers

Joseph Riccobene, David Flebotte, William Schmidt, Taylor Elmore, Tom Sierchio, Regina Corrado, Stephen Scaia, Terence Winter