Editor’s note: The below contains spoilers for the MobLand finale.MobLand’s Harrigan family provides the dynamics we expect from a toxic mobster family. Aging patriarch Conrad Harrigan (Pierce Brosnan) sits at the top, accustomed to commanding London’s criminal underworld and getting away with whatever atrocity he pleases, but he’s feeling the growing pressure from enemies who consider him past his prime. The second eldest ofhis (acknowledged) male children, Kevin (Paddy Considine), shows a solid eye for strategic maneuvering and stays attuned to the family business, but — until the season finale — isn’t that interested in unseating his father’s rule. Meanwhile, the underloved Brendan (Daniel Betts) yearns for Conrad’s approval, yet can’t seem to earn that elusive respect or affection. Conversely, we haveSeraphina (Mandeep Dhillon), Conrad’s unquestioned favorite of the recognized trio. Even though I’m loath to agree with Conrad Harrigan on anything,after glimpsing her business savvy in action, it’s easy to see why he prefers her.
Initially, Seraphina entersMobLand’s chessboard without fuss. Quietly factored into the series' complicated relationship tree, we learn she’s spinning her wheels on the sidelines. After her participation in that dubious gem deal goes fatally and irreversibly awry in Episode 7, viewers might be tempted to define Seraphina by a single mistake that wasn’t her fault. Underestimating her would be the true blunder. If anything, Seraphina, the sole survivor of an assassination massacre, has emerged undeterred and unscathed. In a show that’s as muchabout women’s wrongsas it is the male-based escapes typical of the crime genre,this woman knows how to play the game. And, without pitting the younger generation’s trauma against each other, Seraphina has a lifetime’s worth of justifiable reasons to want to prove her capability — chief among them being Maeve (Helen Mirren), who couldn’t personify the evil stepmother role if she tried.
If you ask me, ever sinceMaeve sold Seraphina outto the Harrigans’ wartime enemy, Richie Stevenson (Geoff Bell), out of venomous spite, breaking every rule about family loyalty in the process, it’s been time for Seraphina to launch her ownvenomously spiteful campaign— once where she emerges as the supreme victor. Given her brief yet telling scenes in the season finale, Seraphina agrees with me. Although none ofMobLand’s main players are off the board as ofEpisode 10, nor are they interested in surrendering their proximity to power,Seraphina’s shift from the shadows to the spotlight secures her as the most worthy heir to the Harrigan empire.
Seraphina and Her Leadership Potential Make an Early Impression in ‘Mobland’
To say Seraphina holds auniquely tenuous position within her familyis an understatement and a half. Despised by Maeve because she’s the illegitimate child of one of Conrad’s many adulterous dalliances, her father’s affection for her still folds into the family’s ranks. She carries her father’s authority with her in each click of her heels, and that’s no easy feat. Admittedly, Conrad’s preferential treatment likely traces back tohis all-consuming arrogance; it’s not a reach to assume he sees himself in Seraphina. Perhaps bolstered by that regard while also bearing the weight of his fickle expectations, perhaps motivated by her own ambition, or both,Seraphina wants to establish herself as an independent and dependable contributor. It’s also not a reach to assume Seraphina joins his burgeoning deal because of her unsatiated appetite. Her security concerns aside, the potential profit behind buying and reselling uncut gems is too good to ignore.
Seraphina giving into Brendan’s pestering, however, doesn’t make her close to a doormat. She doesn’t seem to sadistically relish making the men around her uncomfortable, but she couldn’t care less about (and doesn’t have time for) their paper-thin skin, either. She enforces her conditions,refusing to compromise her space regardless of the pushback. Her steely intervention improves the profit margin compared to what it would’ve been on the likewise stubborn, but malleable and overeager, Brendan’s watch. In hindsight, Seraphina’s bared-teeth pursuit of the gem deal might have been somewhat headstrong and reckless, but she assesses it from every angle and sets up safeguards. She hires trusted security, and she’s astute enough to share her location with Harry De Souza (Tom Hardy) in case his relentless texts mean he’s aware of a factor that she isn’t — one where she needsthe family fixer’s muscle.
Even before thevengeful back-and-forth between Conrad and Richietruly spirals out of control,Seraphina has instinctively clocked how both Conrad and Maeve are making increasingly ill-advised choices– hence Seraphina’s and Brendan’s “ask for forgiveness, not for permission” approach, sneaking away for Antwerp with thousands of dollars of unsanctioned Harrigan cash. And even though her bargaining attempts with Jaime Lopez (Jordi Mollà) fall through, her approach isn’t too off the mark. She’s just unfamiliar with this side of the business, not to mention outmaneuvered by Maeve and Richie’s sheer unpredictability — and the lasting consequences of Conrad’s blithe cruelty.
When it comes to which Harrigan descendants deserve to assume the family’s power and steer them into the future, both from a narratively satisfying angle and as a character actually capable of managing an organized crime unit, I’ve been Team Seraphina all along. Whether she’s born or bred for the business,Seraphina ticks almost every necessary box: she’s cool and cunning, assessing and assertive, and reinforced with skin as thick as Kevlar. Father and daughter might share some characteristics, but Seraphina deploys her version of them more wisely thanher infamous progenitor; she picks her battles, her sharp tongue and rigid clarity of thought drive a ruthless bargain, and once all those nervous men realize challenging her is a hopeless cause, she leads with a cutting, no-nonsense professionalism.
‘MobLand’ Co-Creator Just Revealed If THAT Finale Shocker Was a Killing Blow
The series stars Tom Hardy, Helen Mirren, and Pierce Brosnan.
As depraved as it might sound, the trauma of listening to Brendan’s brutal murder-by-chainsaw and barely escaping the same fate seems to add the last missing necessity to Seraphina’s arsenal: witnessing themobster battleground firsthandwipes out her naivety about a subject with which she had no previous familiarity. I don’t advocate kidnapping and near-death experiences to enhance any character’s development, especially a woman’s, but if nothing else,Seraphina exudes sharper clarity in the aftermath. Once Maeve brazenly admits to basically ordering a hit on Seraphina, while sitting feet away from her step-daughter, Seraphina’s shrewd mind becomes even more laser-focused.
No Harrigan in ‘MobLand’ Deserves To Inherit the Throne More Than Seraphina
Even if Kat McAllister’s (Janet McTeer) call to Seraphina is merely a case of Kat testing the waters of her intended victim’s tenacity, the lone Harrigan daughter contemplates a treasonous coup by meeting with afearsomely powerful figure. Once Seraphina re-enters the Harrigan’s empty Cotswolds estate, she observes Conrad’s study, currently in shambles thanks to the police raid.She sits in Conrad’s desk chair — but not before decorating said desk with a statuette of a figure that’s presumably Artemis, the Greek goddess of the hunt(or Diana, the Roman equivalent). The daughter of Zeus via one of the king of the gods' many extramarital affairs, mythology associates Artemis with freedom, specifically feminine independence. If that symbolism isn’t overt enough, the Artemis figure Seraphina shifts into a place of prominence, is posed with her arrow raised. I see you,MobLand, and I raise my glass to you.
IfMobLand’s streaming successsnags the series a renewal, I’m fine with the trajectory the finale indicates: continuing the Harrigans' downfall with full-tilt, full-family shenanigans. Conrad, Maeve, Kevin, and Harry have all made their aims clear. ButSeraphina’s moves in the finale establish her as atrue contender for the Harrigan throne. It’s past time to put some proper respect on her name; even Maeve must reluctantly admit that Seraphina passed the matriarch’s family-wide test with flying colors. Any future battles will be fiercely waged, but in my dream land, Queen Seraphina assumes the throne — and Maeve survives long enough to swallow that bitter pill.
