Mayor of Kingstown season 4 episode 5 ending explained: What happened to the train transporting the contraband?

Amid the volatility that defines the power structures of Kingstown, Mayor of Kingstown season 4 continues its intense exploration of corruption, violence, and uneasy alliances. Created by Taylor Sheridan and Hugh Dillon, the series follows Mike McLusky as he navigates the complex, often explosive relationships between the incarcerated population, law enforcement, and the criminal factions that run the streets.

Episode 5 of the ongoing season, titled Damned, delivers a major escalation that reshapes the landscape entirely, ensuring the stakes for the back half of the season reach dangerous new heights.

The train attack and its consequences for Bunny and Cortez

The shocking final scene of Mayor of Kingstown season 4 episode 5 centers on the destruction of the train transporting Bunny Washington’s contraband, an attack orchestrated by Cortez and the Colombian cartel. But the incident isn’t random. It unfolds as a direct retaliation for the earlier strike by Frank Moses, who launched an attack on Cortez and his men after tensions between Bunny’s operation and the cartel intensified.

Cortez had already been watching Bunny closely. Suspicious of Bunny’s expanding rail-based supply line and aware of the shifting loyalties within the city, he began tracking the movement of the cargo. Once he uncovered the train’s arrival schedule, Cortez saw an opportunity not only to cripple Bunny’s business but to assert dominance over Kingstown’s lucrative pipeline.

The attack is ruthless. Cortez and his men intercept the train, kill everyone aboard, seize the shipment, and then set the entire train ablaze to declare war on Bunny. Bunny calls Mike to the rooftop, instructing him to look toward the tracks. From a distance, Mike sees the train barreling through the night, engulfed in flames, an image that encapsulates the collapse of the fragile order he’s been trying to hold together.

Recap of Mayor of Kingstown Season 4 Episode 5 

Mayor of Kingstown season 4 episode 5, titled Damned, unfolds with multiple crises tightening around Mike’s already-strained control of Kingstown. Early on, Ian learns Evelyn Foley has secured a witness prepared to place him at the scene of Ben Morrissey’s murder. Rather than de-escalate, Ian brings Robert along to intimidate the man. The plan collapses instantly when Robert shoots the witness. With no way to undo the damage, Ian finishes the job and the two dispose of the body. Their botched attempt at intimidation not only deepens Ian’s exposure but strengthens Evelyn’s case, setting off a legal fuse that will inevitably burn back toward Mike.

Meanwhile, Mike’s efforts to protect Kyle and stabilize the chaos around Anchor Bay continue to hit dead ends. After meeting Kyle and warning him about Merle Callahan, Mike confronts Warden Nina Hobbs, demanding she move Kyle somewhere safe. When she refuses, Mike sends Ian and Stevie to pressure her. The encounter leads to a crucial discovery. During the search of her vehicle, they find an unregistered, unserialized handgun, direct evidence linking Hobbs to the cartel. The moment confirms Mike’s long-standing suspicion that the warden is compromised, but instead of bringing her in, he holds the information close.

Hobbs responds in the most dangerous way possible. Instead of helping Kyle, she transfers him into the general population, placing him directly in the path of Callahan and escalating the threat to Mike’s family. The pressure pushes Kyle’s wife, Tracy, to her breaking point; terrified by the danger closing in and unable to trust the system to protect them, she leaves town to keep their newborn son safe. Her departure underscores just how far the collateral damage of Kingstown’s power games now reaches, and how isolated Mike has become.

At the same time, street tensions between Bunny and the cartel erupt. Bunny’s latest shipment never arrives. Cortez intercepts the train, kills everyone aboard, and torches the cargo to send a message. After Bunny calls him to the roof, Mike watches the flaming wreckage roll past Kingstown, a silent but unmistakable declaration of war.

By the episode’s end, threats close in from every direction: Ian and Robert’s disastrous decision sharpens Evelyn’s pursuit; the discovery in Hobbs’ car confirms cartel infiltration inside the prison; Kyle’s forced move to gen pop raises personal stakes to their highest point yet; Tracy’s exit marks a profound emotional rupture; and Bunny’s incinerated shipment signals an all-out conflict with Cortez. 

Mayor of Kingstown season 4 is now streaming on Paramount+ exclusively.