‘MobLand’ recap: Richie doesn’t want war, but that doesn’t keep a key character from getting killed

Last week’s MobLand finished with a big, fat F-bomb following Kevin (Paddy Considine) learning that Richie (Geoff Bell) wanted the entire Harrigan family to attend his son Tommy’s funeral. Episode 5, aptly titled “Funeral for a Friend,” picks up the next morning, with Kev receiving further dread-inducing details about the crime boss’s suspicious request.

“It gets better, mate,” Harry (Tom Hardy) says over coffee, before informing him that Richie not only wants them all at the wake, but at the Stevenson home for a post-service reception. Kevin understandably believes they’re about to walk into a trap, but their conversation is interrupted by a call from Conrad (Pierce Brosnan). The Harrigan patriarch – also pondering his rival’s potentially deadly invitation – summons them to the house for a “council of war.”

At the family meeting – attended by Conrad, Maeve (Helen Mirren), Eddie (Anson Boon), Kev, and Harry – they exchange theories on what Richie might be cooking up. After everyone weighs in, Conrad turns to Harry for his opinion.The fixer feels there’s no real danger, but rather that Richie just wants to humiliate Conrad. He believes it’s a power play, and that they should accept the invite and get it over with.

But not without a contingency plan in case things go south. Conrad and Harry decide to fill a duffle bag full of firepower, which the latter plans to smuggle into the Stevensons’ house prior to the reception. During the Harrigan gathering, Conrad also gets a call from his other son Brendan (Daniel Betts), who’s clearly upset about not being included in the family summit.

Tired of being dismissed and disrespected by his father, Brendan decides to earn his father’s favor by brokering a lucrative deal. He takes Seraphina (Mandeep Dhillon) to a fancy lunch, where he slides a pricey uncut gem across the table. He tells her there’s plenty more where that came from. There’s a ton of money to be made, but he needs some financial help from her to kick things off. She reluctantly agrees to help, but only on the condition that she gets 75 percent of the cut. Brendan refuses. 

A quick return to the Harrigan mansion reveals that Kevin is still battling bad memories from his time in prison as a young man. He has another scary flashback of Rusby, the guard who sexually abused him. Ever since Harry brought up Rusby following his brief encounter with him at the nursing home, the corrupt guard has haunted Kev.  

We next catch up with Harry, who’s taken the duffle bag full of guns – and a grenade or two – to a pub. He’s meeting Freddie, one of Richie’s trusted henchmen. It seems the resourceful fixer has some compromising photos of Freddie in a hotel room with Richie’s wife Vron (Annie Cooper). Harry makes him an offer he can’t refuse: Hide the bag at his boss’s house the day of the funeral in return for £50,000… and Harry’s assurance he won’t share the incriminating pics.

Meanwhile, Jan (Joanne Froggatt) gets a call from her new friend/Fisk’s mole Alice (Emily Barber). She wants Jan to join her for a quick drink. But Jan takes a raincheck due to her already being booked for Tommy’s funeral. Fisk (Luke Mably) – who’s in the room when Alice makes the call – is surprised to hear the Harrigans will be attending the Stevenson boy’s service.  

Speaking of Tommy’s sending off, when the big day arrives, everyone in the Harrigan camp is on edge. In the vehicle procession, Maeve sips from a flask, while Kev, Bella (Lara Pulver), and Eddie argue. Harry and Jan sit in silence. When the cars arrive at the church, Harry catches up with the Harrigans, and they all approach Richie and Vron to pay their respects.

The exchanges are all pretty cordial, albeit with a strong undercurrent of tension. That tension rises to the surface, however, when it’s time for Tommy’s killer, Eddie, to meet with Richie and his wife. Eddie doesn’t remove his sunglasses, then proceeds to insult Richie by addressing him as “Richard.” He then attempts to give Vron a friendly kiss on the cheek, which she kindly responds to with a “f— off.”

Things are no less nerve-wracking in the church, where Richie uncomfortably stares at Conrad while eulogizing Tommy. Maeve insists he’s calling her husband out with his eyes, but Conrad dismisses her assessment. Meanwhile, Fisk and his team are parked outside, capturing this unprecedented meeting of the mob families on film. 

After the funeral, the Harrigans head to the Stevenson estate, where they’re required to pass through metal detectors before entering. Inside, Maeve immediately hits the champagne, while Eddie sneaks upstairs to snort some drugs. Harry follows and intimidates him before ordering him back downstairs, where he’d like him to at least “pretend to be a man.” After Harry leaves, Eddie sits in silence, seething as a single tear streams down his face.

Among the crowd of mourners on the first floor, Harry spots Freddie, who nods towards the garage. The fixer goes in, finds the stash, and quietly gives Kev a gun and a grenade. More pressure is put on Harry when Conrad tells him he’s placed the entire family in the crosshairs. Maeve cuts through some of the tension by approaching Vron to, again, offer her condolences. It doesn’t go well. Richie’s wife verbally attacks Maeve, even stooping so low as to look her up and down and insult her appearance.

Maeve keeps her cool, at first. She soon gives grandson Eddie a nod, prompting him to intentionally bump into one of Richie’s goons. Things quickly escalate, and Kev angrily orders his son home. Richie then intervenes, saying he’d be happy to have one of his men “drive Eddie home.” As expletives begin flying, Conrad arrives to calm things down. Richie responds to his rival’s presence by asking him for a word in private.

Richie lays it all out for Conrad, not holding back when telling him how much he hates him and his family. But he also respects the fact he accepted his invitation to the funeral. He next reveals that he knows Eddie killed Tommy, while calling out Harry for trying to put it all on a patsy. Richie does not want a war though, so there will be no violence or vengeance at his son’s service. That said, he warns Conrad that Eddie is now “fair game.” Whether he sees Harrigan’s grandson on a park bench or in a pub, he won’t be safe from Richie’s wrath.

Later that evening, Conrad and Maeve have made it through the day without a scratch. But the latter’s run-in with Vron has left her ego bruised. She wakes from a hangover – aided by a roofie Kev slipped her at the service – absolutely furious. 

She and Conrad have words, she throws him a middle finger, and then storms out of the room. As she walks upstairs, she pulls out her phone and puts a call into her favorite family henchman. “Paul,” she says urgently. As he responds, “Yes, Maeve?” the scene switches to a montage of the other characters unwinding after the nerve-fraying day.

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The next morning, we get a pretty good idea of what Maeve wanted from Paul. Vron enters her living room and asks Richie – who’s still sleeping on the couch – if he needs anything. She’s apparently grieving her son by going on a shopping spree. Her groggy husband barely acknowledges her as she heads out the front door.

While Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds’ “People Ain’t No Good” somberly plays over the scene, Vron gets inside her cute little sports car. She slides into the driver’s seat and starts it up. The ride’s front end suddenly jumps several feet into the air as it’s consumed by a fiery explosion. 

The camera shifts to a bird’s eye view of the vehicle entirely engulfed in flames, while a plume of thick, black smoke rises, envelopes the screen, and ushers in the closing credits.