“MobLand” Season 2 opens with a bullet storm and a question: what happens when the fixer finally loses patience? Ten minutes in, Conrad Harrigan (Pierce Brosnan) has a meltdown at the racetrack, spraying bullets at the Turkish mob and ending a partnership that was already hanging by a thread. He calls his longtime associate, Harry Da Souza (Tom Hardy), to clean up the mess.
Harry is the calm center of the show. He erases crime scenes, ties up loose ends and identifies threats with a menace that pulses off him. He is not alarmed or surprised when Conrad calls. But Hardy’s return for Season 3 was not guaranteed. Earlier this spring, reports circulated that Hardy had fallen out with executive producer Jez Butterworth, 101 Studios and others after Season 2 wrapped in March. The clash was said to be so severe that Hardy would not return for a third season.
The news stunned fans and co-stars alike. Helen Mirren, who plays Conrad’s wife Maeve, offered a blunt response. “Tom is a very special person,” she told Variety at the Taormina Film Festival. “I think he’s absolutely remarkable. My support of him is genuine and heartfelt.”
Now the producers have set a meeting with Hardy in London to hash things out, and he is officially back for Season 3 of the Paramount+ series.
The Fixer’s Burden
Harry’s role is simple to describe and impossible to replace. He keeps the Harrigans thriving in London’s criminal underworld while staying off law enforcement’s radar. That is the whole show.
But the season makes clear that Harry’s position is cracking. Conrad’s temper has grown worse, and Kevin’s cowardice is pushing him to his limits. His personal life is in ruins too: his wife Jan (Joanne Froggatt) stabbed him a couple of months prior, and their teenage daughter Gina (Teddie Allen) has run off with Kevin’s son Eddie (Anson Boon).
Harry does not have the bandwidth for any of it. He turns his attention to the Harrigans, whose family unit is coming apart at the seams. Even Maeve seems intent on sabotaging her husband.
Who Does What in the Family
The Harrigan crime family has several moving parts, and each one pushes Harry in a different direction. Here is how the key figures break down:
| Character | Role |
|---|---|
| Conrad Harrigan | Patriarch |
| Kevin Harrigan | Son |
| Maeve Harrigan | Wife |
| Jan Da Souza | Wife |
| Gina Da Souza | Daughter |
Why the Show Needs Him
The show centers on Harry’s work. Without him, the Harrigans are exposed. He knows where all the bodies are buried. He moves with such calculated callousness that he could dismantle everything Conrad and Maeve have built from the inside out.
Hardy’s return for Season 3 forces a choice. Either Harry stands firmly with the Harrigans, or he goes his own way. For the Harrigans’ sake, let’s hope he remains an ally. If they make an enemy of Harry, what he could unleash would be more brutal than anything Maeve or Conrad could begin to conjure.
The Season’s Case for Hardy
Critics received just four episodes of the 10-episode second season for review. What is clear to any viewer is that Harry’s position is undergoing a major transformation. He is growing weary of Conrad’s lack of impulse control, frustrated by Kevin’s cowardice and with his own personal life in shambles. He is coming closer to his boiling point.
The premiere episode, titled “I Wanna Be Your Dog,” sets the tone. Conrad’s massacre at the racetrack is the trigger. Harry’s response is immediate and measured. He is the fixer, and fixing is what he does.
What Comes Next
The key moments in the reporting:
- Conrad’s meltdown at the racetrack in the Season 2 premiere
- Reports of Hardy’s fallout with Butterworth, 101 Studios and others
- Mirren’s support at the Taormina Film Festival
- The producers setting a meeting with Hardy in London
- Hardy’s confirmed return for Season 3
The show itself made the case for Hardy’s importance. Now the question is whether the third season delivers on the promise of a fixer pushed to the brink.
“MobLand” Season 2 proves the show just wouldn’t work without Tom Hardy. He is the fixer, the anchor, the one who knows where all the bodies are buried. Without him, the Harrigans are exposed. The show has built its entire premise around his presence, and removing him would unravel the plot faster than a bullet.
Hardy’s return is official. The third season will test whether he can hold the family together or whether his patience finally breaks.
Source material: “‘MobLand’ Season 2 Proves the Show Just Wouldn’t Work Without Tom Hardy,” Variety.
Get the Notebook.
The day's best stories and every fresh verdict, in plain English, in your inbox by seven. One email a day, no more.