NOTE: This post contains spoilers for Tulsa King episode 2, "Center of the Universe."
Dwight (Sylvester Stallone) made quick work of establishing himself in Tulsa. He already forced local weed dispensary owner Bohdi (Martin Starr) into being his business partner, hired a driver, Tyson (Jay Will), made a confidant in Mitch (Garrett Hedlund) and had a one-night stand with Stacy (Andrea Savage), who unbeknownst to Dwight works for the feds.
But, at the start of Tulsa King season 1 episode 2, Dwight is still consumed with guilt over the family he left behind in New York City. Not the Invernizzi crime family. But his daughter, Cristina, who he hasn’t seen since she last visited him in prison 18 years ago.
Dwight decides to search for an update for Cristina by looking up her information online. There’s just one problem: in order for Dwight to see her details, the website requires a credit card, which he doesn’t yet have.
This helps Dwight to realize that he’s a cash man in a credit card world. But it’s not just that, the coffee shop won’t serve his drink in a glass and even the crosswalk squawks at him to “wait,” despite there being no traffic. After 25 years in prison, Dwight is done with waiting.
Instead, he’s keen on making as much money as possible. So he heads to the weed dispensary, where he’s surprised to see Bohdi already getting high, even though it’s not even 11 am. To be fair to Bohdi, he has a lot on his mind. Number one being, what exactly he’s getting out of his business relationship with Dwight, in exchange for 20% of the dispensary’s weekly earnings.
Bohdi is about to find out. Tyson, Dwight and Bohdi take a drive out to meet the dispensary’s supplier Jimmy (Glen Gould) at his huge farm. After a brief stand-off with his security, Dwight is able to use his experience, knowledge of the drug industry and research to negotiate a better deal for him and Bohdi.
During their talks, though, Dwight eats an awful lot of apricot jam laced with PCP, which causes him to trip, but ultimately bond with Bohdi and Tyson. Now more candid, Dwight ruminates about the state of the country he’s returned to. During a divisive tirade about the use of pronouns, Dwight insists that he’s “all for change,” but complains that “people keep moving the goalposts.”
When they drive past baseball legend Mickey Mantle’s childhood home, Dwight orders Tyson to pull over. In the back garden, Dwight explains to the pair about the patience and dedication that required Mantle to become great. Not just from Mickey. But from his father, too, leading Dwight to once again lament his absence from Cristina’s life.
Meanwhile, Stacy has started to do her own digging on Dwight. After calling a contact in New York, she discovers that he was convicted for two murders — the one that sent him to jail, while another was in self-defense behind bars. She also finds out that the FBI tried to flip Dwight on six occasions while he was incarcerated, but he repeatedly refused. Something that she can’t help but be impressed by.
After telling her therapist that she won’t sleep with Dwight again, Stacy pays him a visit. Not to rekindle their tryst. Instead, she confesses that she works for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and asks him point-blank why he’s in Tulsa. Dwight keeps quiet. Even after Stacy brings up Cristina, asking him if he’s seen her since he was released. Dwight says no, explaining that she was the one who stopped visiting him in prison because it was too painful for her.
Meanwhile, back in New York, Vince (Vincent Piazza)’s jaw is now wired shut after Dwight’s punch in the last episode nearly decimated him. Vince is after vengeance, and demands that Chickie (Domenick Lombardozzi) gives him permission to kill Dwight. Instead, Chickie calls Dwight and tells him that he has to pay Vincent $100,000 in damages, much to Dwight’s annoyance.
Center of the Universe also teases numerous other conflicts that are destined to explode later in the season. Tyson’s father questions why his son is working for Dwight and can’t help but stay up at night, worried and waiting for him to get home. We also see Armand Truisi (Max Casella) working at a lavish ranch and discovering that Dwight is staying at the Mayo Hotel, as he contemplates what to do with him.
The episode ends on Dwight, finally with access to his own bank account, getting Cristina’s details and calling her. Cristina’s husband answers, Dwight tells him who he is, only for Cristina to turn down the chance to talk to him. When she does briefly buckle, Cristina says that she has no interest in ever hearing from him again, before hanging up. All of which is made even more painful, because Dwight can hear the grandkids he’s never met happily playing in the background.
Heartbroken, Dwight goes for a walk through Tulsa city center. He ends up at the center of the universe, a tourist spot where he can stand in the middle of a circle, say anything he wants, and “nobody outside it can hear a sound.” Dwight uses it to make a deep confession. He was the one who ordered his wife to stop bringing Cristina to prison, because he found it too painful to see her and not the other way round.
All of Tulsa King season 1 is streaming exclusively on Paramount Plus.
