“MobLand” recap: Richie double-crosses Maeve, resulting in a shocking casualty among the Harrigan clan

Key Points

• Harry leaves a bloodbath in his wake while desperately trying to locate Seraphina and Brendan before it’s too late.

• Maeve doubles down on her deceit, lying to Conrad to cover her own ass.

• Harry makes a Hail Mary call to the mysterious Kat McAllister, saving Seraphina — but not her brother — at the last minute.

When we last saw MobLand‘s Harry Da Souza (Tom Hardy), the Harrigan family fixer was tearing up the blacktop on a stolen motorcycle en route to save Seraphina (Mandeep Dhillon) and Brendan (Daniel Betts) from Richie Stevenson’s (Geoff Bell) heavily armed hitmen.

As episode 7, “The Crossroads,” opens, Harry has reached the remote warehouse where the siblings were to finalize their shady diamond deal. Unfortunately, it’s not looking good for him rescuing Conrad’s (Pierce Brosnan) kids. Dead bodies litter the building’s entrance, but it’s much worse inside. Corpses are strewn all over, the Harrigan offspring are nowhere to be found, and the word “war” is scrawled in blood on the floor.

Harry calls Conrad to tell him he’s sussed out that the Moroccan mob have likely taken Seraphina and Brendan to the Antwerp docks. The Harrigan patriarch tells Harry, “Bring my babies home,” while his wife, Maeve (Helen Mirren), runs upstairs sobbing.

The second she enters her bedroom, she shuts off the waterworks and calls Richie. Maive is mad that he’s broken their deal by taking both Seraphina and Brendan — he was only supposed to eliminate the former Harrigan child. Stevenson sarcastically thanks her for giving up Seraphina, before adding he decided to also take her brother for insurance.

Meanwhile, Conrad and Kevin (Paddy Considine) run down the names of possible moles who were privy to the pair’s whereabouts in Antwerp. The list is long, including some non-family members, like Harrigan lawyer O’Hara (Lisa Dwan). But it’s the inclusion of Harry’s wife, Jan (Joanne Froggatt), that gives Conrad pause. Before he and Kev can dig deeper, though, Maeve enters the room with a fresh batch of faux tears and the obvious claim that someone sold out their kids.

On the subject of rats, Jan gets an urgent call from Alice (Emily Barber), who’s crying and begging her new best friend to meet her. Jan can’t leave the Harrigan’s Cotswolds’ estate, but agrees to rendezvous with her at a nearby pub. Of course, Alice’s request is all an act, an award-worthy performance she’s putting on in front of Detective Fisk (Luke Mably) and his partner Mukasa (Gemma Knight Jones).

Jan sneaks off the property to meet Alice, but is followed by one of Conrad’s guards. When she arrives at the pub, her fake friend spins an elaborate, tearful story about her cheating husband. Meanwhile, Fisk and Mukasa listen in from a surveillance truck parked nearby. Alice soon changes the subject to Jan and begins asking questions about Harry and Conrad. Before the mole can get much info from her mark, however, top Harrigan henchman Paul (Emmett J. Scanlan) arrives. The heavy orders Jan back to the house, then intimidates Alice.

Back at the mansion, Bella (Lara Pulver) calls her client Antoine (Grégoire Colin) to inform him that she’s ready to move forward with the illegal business involving her father. But after sending Harry to “talk” to him, he’s done with the deal. Nevertheless, sweet-talking Bella is able to bring him back onboard with a better offer. As she’s wrapping up her dirty biz, she spies her husband doing the same outside. Kev’s on the phone with Harry’s cleaner Maria (Ellen Costa), whom he’s just pried for intel on his old prison-guard nemesis, Rusby (Nigel Lindsay).

Elsewhere at the Harrigan house, O’Hara is painting a grim picture of the crime family’s increasingly delicate situation. In addition to the war with Richie — which Conrad has escalated to “nuclear” — she warns of Fisk likely having a dedicated team trying to bring them down. On top of all that, she reminds him that there’s an apparent rat among them helping both Stevenson and the law.

On a lighter note, Eddie (Anson Boon) and Harry’s daughter Gina (Teddie Allen) are using their downtime in the Cotswolds to get to know each other. Throughout the episode, they drink coffee, walk the countryside, complain about their parents,  and share cigarettes. But by the end of it, their innocent flirting has leveled up to a full-on make-out session in a shed.

With all the drama unfolding at the Harrigan’s, you could be forgiven for losing track of Harry’s dangerous rescue mission. But not to worry, the fixer has not only reached the docks in Antwerp, but unleashed his inner Rambo. His corpse-piling pursuit of the Moroccan mob sees him enter a warehouse with guns — and grenades — blazing. Upon seemingly taking out an entire army, he flashes a photo of Seraphina and Brandon to the last man standing — well, the last man slumped over and bleeding out.

Harry learns that, per Richie’s orders, the Moroccan gang grabbed up Conrad’s kids before delivering them to Stevenson’s Mexican cartel allies — who have no love for the Harrigans. As Harry communicates this intel to Kev, we see the kidnapped siblings being transported. Seraphina and Brendan are alive, but unconscious and stored in wood crates. The hostages are taken into an airfield hangar, where they are woken up and their hands and feet are bound to chairs.

With Maeve’s devious plan having gone way south, she tries to course-correct, telling Conrad she received a text from Richie claiming to have their kids. Her husband demands to see the message, completely catching Maeve off guard. After stammering a bit, she plays the trust card and warns him that if she shows him the text, it’ll be the last thing she ever shares with him.

Back in Antwerp, Seraphina and Brendan are still tied up and terrified, while Harry races against the clock to reach them. As the sister and brother bicker about how they got into this predicament, a man enters the room with a video tablet and chainsaw. Cartel leader Jaime Lopez (Jordi Mollà) calmly enters the room, then politely explains to the Harrigan kids that what’s about to happen is just business.

Seraphina desperately tries to strike a deal with him, but his sour history with the Harrigan clan ensures that he can’t be bargained with regardless of what she offers. He dials up Richie, and ominously tells him they’re ready to proceed. Just then, Conrad, Maeve, and Kev simultaneously receive a message from Richie containing video links.

From his office, Stevenson tells them to get comfy and enjoy the show. He then connects the live video feed, which displays a masked, chainsaw-wielding man standing uncomfortably close to Seraphina and Brendan. As they beg for their lives over the roar of the revving saw, Richie smiles and laughs. Conrad and Maeve are a mess. The former screams that he’s going to eat Richie’s face off, while Kevin exits the room to call Harry.

Sign up for Entertainment Weekly‘s free daily newsletter to get breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more.

After Kev brings him up to speed, Harry — who’s now just outside the hangar — calls Donnie (Alex Fine), his mysterious so-called mate, who’s been trying to track him down on orders from the equally mysterious Kat McAllister (Janet McTeer).

After giving Harry some crap for previously ducking him, Donnie patches the call through to Kat’s private jet. A silver-haired woman of around 60 — who’s rocking a sharp suit and thick-framed specs — picks up her phone. Harry is comfortable, albeit respectful, with this formidable figure in the MobLand universe. He asks her for a “super-f—ing urgent favor.”

“Is it a big favor?” Kat asks with a sly smile. 

Back inside the hangar, the buzzing blade is now hovering dangerously close to Brendan’s face. We hear him whimper and scream, see his limbs tremble, then watch his blood splatter all over his sister. Conrad and Maeve look away in horror.

With the blood-soaked power tool now inches from Seraphina, Jaime’s phone rings in his pocket. It’s Kat. We don’t hear her side of the conversation, but Jaime raises his hand and yells “stop!” at the executioner. He then tells Kat that she’s a little late.

After their brief exchange, Lopez disconnects the live feed, to Richie and Conrad’s dismay. Outside, Harry is still on the line with McAllister. Before ending the call, she reminds him that he owes her.

We don’t know who Kat is, but based on the dead-eyed look that comes over Harry’s face, it appears he has just sold his soul to the devil… or at least the most powerful crime boss in London.

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly