Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for MobLand Season 2, Episode 4.With each week, MobLand is ramping up as the Harrigans increasingly find themselves under fire from the wildcard, Frankie Cooper (Johnny Flynn). Though there’s an internal power struggle that the Harrigans are facing between Conrad (Pierce Brosnan), Maeve (Helen Mirren), Eddie (Anson Boon), Kevin (Paddy Considine), and Seraphina (Mandeep Dhillon), Frankie is the real wolf at the door. Unfortunately for Harry (Tom Hardy), he’s gotten the attention of Frankie, who seems determined not only to get a proper read on the Harrigan fixer but also to poke and prod him until he finally explodes. Season 2 Episode 4 “Blank Curtain” sees Frankie sending a recording of Donnie (Alex Fine) as he’s having sex with Jan (Joanne Froggatt) to Harry, which is surely going to end well for all parties involved. Then, reeling after the bomb that Frankie left, Conrad also hits back against Frankie’s gang and shoots up his men before kidnapping one of them and driving off laughing.

Collider spoke with Flynn about Frankie Cooper’s arrival into the MobLand universe. Flynn discusses the explosive Episode 3 finale and where the gangster stands when it comes to the Harrigans and Harry. He also breaks down those final scenes in Episode 4, of how personal his fight against Harry will be, and how he will react to the attack on his men. Finally, Flynn teases what fans can expect as the stakes are continuously raised in the coming episodes.
Johnny Flynn on Frankie’s Final Episode 4 Twist and What He Thinks of Harry

“I think it’s like they’re playing a game of poker, and Frankie’s poking to see who gives a tell…”

Johnny Flynn as Frankie Cooper with Paddy Considine as Kevin Harrigan in MobLand Season 2Image via Paramount

COLLIDER: In Episode 3, there’s this really tense meeting between Frankie and the Harrigan kids. How do you think, coming out of that, Frankie sees Harry? Because it feels like there’s almost a bit of respect for him when he’s done with that meeting, as opposed to how he feels about Kevin and Seraphina. JOHNNY FLYNN: Yeah, I think in a way, he’s not somebody who misses an opportunity to gather information, and his tactics are unusual, but they’re very smart, and I think Harry recognizes that in him as well. There’s a scene with Conrad, and Harry’s saying he’s not a fool, and then there’s a reciprocal scene between Frankie and Tattersall where he says, “I was watching him, and he doesn’t give anything away.” And I think it’s like they’re playing a game of poker, and Frankie’s poking to see who gives a tell, who gives away their game, and he quickly has Kevin’s number and works out the others, but Harry’s the one, I think, where it’s all strategy. I mean, it’s brilliantly written. You’ve got this emerging story, this relationship between these people who are just observing each other, which was really fun to do with Tom and with all of them, but especially the relationship between Frankie and Harry was great.

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The Harrigans are looking forward.

In Episode 4, at the end, you see Frankie at Harry’s house, and he’s recording Jan while she’s having sex with someone else, and he’s sending it directly to Harry. What’s he hoping will happen as a result of that? Because I feel like nothing good comes from doing that to Harry. FLYNN: Yeah, it’s like poking the biggest bear in the woods, isn’t it? I think that’s it. I think Frankie’s thing is to try and kind of find out people’s limits. Harry’s job is part of what he is good at, and his superpower is keeping his cool, not losing sight of the bigger game. So Frankie is making these very personal threats, and what he would want is to see somebody like Harry… If it became a personal thing, then he would have lost the bigger game in a way, and you’ll see as it goes on that they both play that game. The ruthlessness around it is what makes it so terrifying; how they’re both willing to sacrifice personal stuff and family ties for the empire that they’re trying to build, for the game that they’re playing. It’s a pretty awful game of poker, really, with what’s at stake and the collateral and the innocent people and the family that gets affected by it, but that’s what makes it amazing storytelling.
Flynn Reveals Where Frankie’s Loyalties Actually Lie in ‘MobLand’

“It was really fun; that mercurial quality was really fun to play with.”

Speaking about Frankie’s family, because I think it’s interesting that he’s like a dad, and when we first meet him, he’s grilling in the back. When I talked to you at the beginning of the season, you said at some point Frankie’s loyalty to Tattersall might waver. So, is there anything that he is actually loyal to? Is it his family? Because he’s quite the mercurial guy. FLYNN: Yeah, to be honest, I didn’t know exactly what the framework of his family was, or who he had in his constellation of people that he needed to look after; it’s ambiguous in a really good way. And then, what’s great is that there are bits that are revealed. He’s not somebody who can put it out there as to what would make him feel vulnerable, in terms of family allegiances. I think he is quite — well, the way I saw it, anyway — he is actually loyal to his foot soldiers, and I always tried to maintain a connection with them. In my mind, I found it quite touching with his ruthlessness, but also kind of like a really sweet… If you lose somebody in a battle or whatever, it can’t affect you for too long, but I think he inspires like an incredible general, really; that’s what I wanted it to feel like. He’s got the loyalty. These people would lay down their lives for him. They’d go into battle for him at the drop of a hat because he seems to have an awful lot of people who will do that as we go later into the show. So, I wanted that to feel real, a real sweetness, like an unusual… I mean, he’s also perhaps sexually ambiguous in terms of his sexual orientation, but he uses that. He’s seductive in a way. It was really fun; that mercurial quality was really fun to play with.
Flynn Teases a Major Showdown To Come Between Harry and Frankie

“They are both horrified by each other, but unscared of each other…”

Johnny Flynn and Tom Hardy in MobLand Season 2Image via Paramount+

I think that’s an interesting thing to put out there about his loyalty to his foot soldiers, because obviously at the end of Episode 4, we see Conrad going a bit nuts after Frankie sets the bomb off. What can you tease about the back half of that season and how Frankie is going to react to Conrad pulling the proverbial and literal trigger? FLYNN: Well, with the end of Episode 3 and what that leads to, he is trying to draw the Harrigans out in a way, and trying to get them to make a big play that will allow him to engage in his wily tactics. I think Harry sees this about Frankie: for Frankie, if you make a big move, if you move your queen to B7 and jump so far out, you could end up being very vulnerable because then the home base isn’t protected. So it’s those kinds of tactics that he’s employing. For me, it was especially fun: the psychological showdown with Harry, and there’s a series of increasingly tense meetings between the two of them, and it feels like they’re kind of drawn to each other in a way. They are both horrified by each other, but unscared of each other, but also kind of attracted to each other in a weird way. There’s a respect and an intrigue, and you just don’t know which way it’s going to go. And I think that’s the brilliance of the storytelling and the writing: as soon as you make an assumption, it gets taken away, and it becomes something even more incredible. I mean, it gets very exciting as it goes on, and the final showdown is just brilliant.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity. New episodes of MobLand premiere every Friday at midnight P.T. on Paramount+.

Release Date

March 30, 2025

Network

Paramount+

Directors

Daniel Syrkin

Pierce Brosnan

Conrad Harrigan