Episode 2 of Tulsa King Season 3 kicks off with Dwight and his crew surveying the charred ruins of Theodore's home. Theodore had met a tragic end in the blaze, and sensing Jeremiah's ruthless intent, Dwight remains vigilant, his guard never lowering. The group attends Theodore's memorial service, but the venue is bustling with people. Among the attendees are Cole and Jeremiah themselves. Dwight makes his presence unmistakable, confronting Jeremiah head-on, unleashing a torrent of curses and warning him that he won't be as easily dispatched as the numerous underlings Jeremiah has been pushing around.
Jeremiah attempts to entice Dwight with a buyout offer, but it's a tactic doomed to fail. The only thing that truly stirs the crowd is an emotional Cleo arriving on the scene and lashing out at Cole. Mitch also leaps into the fray, prompting Cole to vow vengeance.
Back at home, the harsh realities of the distillery business come crashing down. They're sitting on a mountain of inventory but have precious few buyers. It's a tough road ahead, and Joanne floats the idea of taking Jeremiah's money and using it to build their own distillery from scratch. However, Dwight fires back, pointing out that if Jeremiah is willing to triple their initial offer, then whatever they have must be incredibly valuable.
Cleo knows the secret, though, and leads them to a hidden stash of 50-year-old bourbon barrels tucked away inside a mausoleum. These vintage barrels could fetch a staggering $5,000 a bottle, meaning they stand to make roughly $150 million if they can sell them all—if being the key word here.
Unfortunately, they won't be seeing much money from the house insurance. The adjusters write off the fire as "human error," but the truth is, they're all in Dunmire's pocket, and the entire town seems to be against them. All of this leaves them with no choice but to go all-in on the distillery business for the foreseeable future.
The group gets to work, assembling a new team that includes Tyson's dad and a distributor, Walden, who's currently caught in Dunmire's crosshairs. Walden finds himself between a rock and a hard place, torn between loyalty and survival.
That night, Cole seeks out Cleo to express his remorse for the incident at the memorial. Mitch seems to have gotten under his skin even more deeply, especially when Cleo gives him the cold shoulder and bluntly declares that Mitch is a far better man than he is.
Meanwhile, Bill pays a visit to Dwight, but he's far from pleased about being kept out of the loop and the way he's been stirring up trouble with Dunmire and his gang. However, that soon takes a turn as they conceive a plan to leverage Bill's resources to solve their distribution predicaments. Joanne and Dwight propose using Bill's trucks, which are normally employed for the laundry business, to transport liquor to the shelves. In return, Dwight plays hardball and offers Bill a meager 7.5% cut of the profits.
In the midst of this, Vince calls Bill to get an update on the unfolding events. Meanwhile, Bodhi pretends to bury the hatchet with Bill's associate, but in truth, he harbors a deep-seated grudge. He has mirrored his phone to secretly spy on the man, keeping a watchful eye on his every move.
When Jeremiah learns of Dwight's power maneuver, he sets out to assert his dominance over Walden. Walden is resolute in his refusal to work with Dwight, but to drive home his point, Jeremiah once again orders his men to beat him into submission.
Interestingly, Dwight also crosses paths with Cal Thresher, who is currently campaigning for governor. Cal claims he wants to help Oklahoma, but Dwight laughs incredulously and advises him to hire a better speechwriter. When Cal secures his seat, Dwight sees an opportunity to use him as his go-to guy, expecting Cal to do him a favor and open doors for the distillery business. Given the numerous skeletons in his closet, Dwight holds the key to unlocking all of Cal's secrets, leaving Thresher with little choice but to comply.
That fateful night, Mitch finds himself under vicious assault by masked assailants who, in a brazenly obvious manner, turn out to be Cole and another henchman. Mitch and Cleo spring into action, joining forces to fend off their attackers with a blend of skill and ferocity. In the chaos, Cole is not spared; he suffers a deep, gruesome gash across his forearm, a testament to the intensity of the skirmish. When Cole, limping and battered, returns to Jeremiah's lair, he is subjected to a brutal treatment - Jeremiah sears the wound shut with a red-hot poker, his face a mask of unyielding cruelty, showing not a shred of mercy.
The following day, Jeremiah makes a dramatic entrance at Dwight’s casino, setting the stage for a meticulously crafted confrontation between the two adversaries. The air crackles with tension so thick it could be sliced with a knife, and the stand-off that ensues is anything but amicable, spiraling towards a disastrous conclusion.
