Murder, Chaos & the Fall of the Phelan Empire
"All we really want is to be left alone and have a life." Diana
It’s the penultimate episode of This City Is Ours, and the future of Ronnie Phelan’s drug empire is still in limbo. Following a bloody public fight between contenders Jamie Phelan and Michael Kavanagh, the agreement that the loser would walk away and the winner would take control has not been honored. Jamie, who expected to inherit his late father’s business but lost the fight, is furious, drinking with his two pals, Blink and Bonehead. Simply, he wants to kill Michael. At this point, Blink, who hasn’t had an easy time as Jamie’s minion, backs off. Selling weed at festivals is one thing, but murder? He leaves, and Jamie orders Bonehead to find a gun.
Michael, who returned home from the fight to find his girlfriend Diana missing and his house vandalized, receives a visit from Elaine, Jamie’s mum, and Ronnie’s widow. Technically, they are on opposite sides, but she is clearly fond of Michael, and they recently discussed taking over the business. She looks around his trashed kitchen and asks what happened. Jamie happened, Michael tells her. Once again, she asks Michael if he killed Ronnie, and once again, he blames the Amigos, their Colombian suppliers, and the victims of Ronnie’s side job as a snitch to the police.
Elaine asks Michael to end the standoff, but he tells her that Jamie won’t follow the rules. Elaine, having lost Ronnie, is terrified of losing Jamie too and begs Michael not to hurt him. On the drive home, Elaine tells Rachel that they must persuade Jamie to walk away. The family has resources – money and property – and they can pay off the Amigos and break free. Bobby emphasizes that Jamie needs their help and counsel, particularly as Jamie’s fiancée, Melissa, and his adored baby son Alfie (twins Oliver and Jacob Cleary) are now made vulnerable.
Michael goes to his apartment in the city, where he receives a call from Banksey about an “oven fresh pizza” – code for a gun. When he calls Diana, she tells him she’s safe at a friend’s (Cheryl) and to leave her alone. Michael and Diana had planned to leave the business after three more years, and Cheryl sadly tells her that it’s all too familiar: Davy had told her he loved her and wanted a different future, with a large sum of money coming their way. She allowed herself to believe him; it’s what these criminals do. Diana understands but insists that for her it’s different: She and Michael love each other.
Michael drives through the outskirts of the city, tailed by Jamie, and pulls into a gas station. Jamie, anonymous in a balaclava, drives up to the other side of the pump and fires a gun. Michael accelerates and hits another car a few feet away, while Jamie runs out and takes a few more shots at him before getting back in the car and driving to a lockup where he dumps both. As Bonehead picks him up, Jamie says he thinks he succeeded in his mission. The conversation turns to the new deal they are planning, buying from the Albanians in Amsterdam.
Jamie did not succeed: Michael was wearing a bulletproof vest, and Jamie missed his head. DS Barney Stiles carries the vest in an evidence bag, and he and DI Tony Burrows settle in for a chat at the police station with Michael. Both cops believe the cocaine in the back of Billy’s car belonged to Michael. Burrows asks if Michael was a grass, like Ronnie, and receives an icy Kavanagh stare and the possibility of a solicitor joining the conversation. Barney chips in with comments on Michael’s lifestyle and his girlfriend. As Michael gets up to leave, Barney tells him he may pay Diana a visit, but Michael refuses to be baited and leaves. At Cheryl’s house, Diana refuses to engage with Barney and shuts the door in his face.
Jamie returns to his family, where he announces they will pay off the Amigos and continue with his plan to use the Amsterdam dealers, a speech that’s cut off when Bobby takes a call from Michael – “Tell Jamie he missed.” Everyone is furious that Jamie tried to kill Michael. The family decides they should make the decisions, not Jamie. Bobby and Rachel pay the debt to the Amigos online.
Banksey and Michael discuss their next steps. Michael will need a new car and a new gun, so they meet Banksey’s son Freddie at a derelict allotment. Michael calls the Amigos to tell them the debt will be paid off, but he will no longer be representing the Phelans. Meanwhile, Diana calls her mother in prison to tell her she’s decided to tell Michael the truth about her father’s death. If he doesn’t understand, Leslie says, he doesn’t deserve her. As we guessed, Diana killed her father to protect her mother. It’s an emotional moment for them both.
Jamie, Melissa, and the baby leave Elaine’s house, with Michael tailing them. Jamie claims his father lacked vision as the business changed; Melissa wants to know what Jamie will do and suggests that he kill Diana. Jamie agrees, because Michael really loves her. Michael remembers Diane at the swimming pool, their happiness when they found the first stage of the IVF had been successful. What he’s about to do may change everything.
At the light, Michael overtakes Jamie; when the light changes, he reverses into Jamie’s car. The baby wakes and cries, Melissa screams, and the airbags inflate. Michael, face hidden by a black balaclava, appears at the side of the car, gun in hand.... and it cuts away. Back in his car, Michael pounds the steering wheel in frustration.
When Michael calls Diana next, he leaves a voicemail asking her to meet him at their favorite coffee shop. Their meeting is heartfelt, and both of them are close to tears, but Michael is, as usual, compartmentalizing his life, passionate, romantic, and creepy. Diana initially refuses to consider a reconciliation, let alone becoming parents with him, because Michael can’t change. She tells him she killed her father and allowed her mother to go to prison in her place. Michael tells her she should be proud of what she did. He confesses he loves her even more now; he tells her he failed to shoot Jamie, and says they should leave tonight, and she should choose their destination.
Back at his mother’s house, Jamie sulkily admits that Michael didn’t fire at him, which only seems to exasperate them more. Melissa isn’t even sure if it was Michael since he was wearing a balaclava. Elaine wants to know whether Michael would be willing to reconcile and insists they ask him.
Michael and Diana walk through the city hand-in-hand, as Ricardo drives up to have a word. He wants to know whether Michael killed Jamie, and is annoyed when Michael says he didn’t, as Michael apologizes for wasting Ricardo’s time. Ricardo suggests Michael is going back on his word, but Michael says he didn’t give him his word, explaining that he’s apologizing. Ricardo grumbles about the amount of work, money, and risk for Michael’s deal, and Michael tells him he no longer wants the shipment. Diana interrupts: “All we really want is to be left alone and have a life.”
Both men cut her off. Michael states again that he cannot accept the shipment, and Ricardo tells him to call Banksey. Banksey, driving around with Freddie, is told to stop, get out of the car, and walk away. Freddie comments that this is weird, and then the car explodes. Banksey is incoherent with shock, and Ricardo, having made his point, tells Michael to end the call and not to make a fool of him; he reminds him to send the first half of the payment the next day. As Ricardo gets back into his car, he leaves them with a final insult: “Congratulations, Diana, he has become your butterfly.”
He drives away to a Johnny Mathis song (one of Ronnie’s favorite singers) as Diana and Michael watch him leave. Next week, the season finale airs, and other than knowing that both Jamie and Michael make it into Season 2, it’s almost impossible to guess what will happen next.
The This City Is Ours: A Crime Family Saga Season 1 finale airs and streams on AMC and AMC+ on Thursday, April 23, 2026. Season 2 is already in production.
This City Is Ours
