TULSA KING: Episode 4.1: “W.W.D.D.”

Skip this one. Here's the issue. The episode remains genuinely good but lacks in several areas. Taylor Sheridan's TULSA KING opens the fourth season where it left off in season three. The mafia/gangster mob drama features sharp writing, clear direction, and intriguing points, but it falls short in other aspects.

One area that suffers is the language throughout the 44 minutes. The episode contains nearly 60 profanities. The story also includes lying, deception, and gun violence.

The strong writing and direction deserve credit, but the excessive profanity and graphic violence often overshadow the episode's storytelling strengths. Viewers who prefer to avoid heavy profanity and disturbing violence should skip this one. Despite its quality, the episode is difficult to recommend and clearly unsuitable for family viewing.

Season 4 debuts with Sylvester Stallone (Dwight Manfredi) on the prowl to expand his empire. He acquires a legal liquor license, but he also conducts shady deals with fellow mafia leaders and engages in illegal drug sales. Dwight emphasizes his team as one big happy family, which sounds great in theory, but they build the family around lies and illegal actions.

Three stars mean the quality is decent, but it misses some key things. Sylvester Stallone's character, Dwight Manfredi, builds his empire around the Manfredi family, but the show sometimes struggles to make his lines clear because he feels like he mumbles.

He puts a big emphasis on family, but it comes at a cost. The cost involves potential beheading and having your head brought to a meeting inside of a bowling ball bag. That means if you make a mistake, mess up a job, and lose money, you could end up on the chopping block.

The pacing moves quickly and keeps the viewer interested throughout the whole 44 minutes. But again, with Stallone's mumbling, it's hard to understand what's said without subtitles.

The episode carries a humanistic worldview where man serves as the measure of all things. This means Dwight and his family make their own rules and do their own thing, no matter the consequences.

The only positive worldviews throughout the episode appear when Dwight values his team as his family and he makes an effort to make a peace offering with Quiet Ray Renzetti a fellow mafia leader.

Dwight’s secrecy poses another problem. He makes time for his girlfriend, but he hides what he actually does from her. The relationship looks close on the surface, but it rests on information withheld, which forms a shaky foundation for any kind of love.

The episode includes strong profanity and brutal violence, such as a gunshot victim and a beheaded man. At its core, this story centers on the effort to build a mafia family from scratch, especially after a rough past. That kind of underdog story easily draws viewers in, but it raises a bigger question: what does it cost to build an empire on lies and violence?

The TULSA KING season 4 opener delivers strong quality, but that quality comes at a cost. Nearly 60 obscenities, half of them “f” words, make this episode off limits for the whole family. Brutal violence, such as a beheaded man, could give someone nightmares for a week. Our answer remains: skip it!