Every Tulsa King Villain, Ranked Worst to Best Character Development

Taylor Sheridan’s Tulsa King puts Sylvester Stallone’s mafia capo, Dwight Manfredi, in Tulsa after he spends 25 years in prison, with his crime family asking him to start a gang from scratch. The crime comedy pits Dwight against several enemies and villains in the past three seasons. From dr*glords to bikers to mob bosses, Dwight takes on all of them.

While some antagonists are pretty much one-off, there are some who are kept for a reason and aid in Dwight’s larger arc. The following villains will be ranked by how deep their character development is, even if they end up dying in the course of the show. Here are all the villains of Tulsa King ranked.

6 Caolan Waltrip Was Dwight’s First Enemy but Was Too One-Dimensional

Ritchie Coster in Tulsa King | Credits: Paramount+

Ritchie Coster plays Caolan Waltrip in the first season of Tulsa King. He is the Irish boss of the biker gang Black Macadams, and he immediately becomes Dwight’s enemy in the nitrous oxide trade. Caolan is quite menacing, and as a biker gang boss, he definitely looks the part and is intimidating.

However, his motivations do not go beyond the ‘outsider stole my business’ tone, and that feels quite one-dimensional. Hence, when he dies, it does not matter much to Dwight’s arc in the show. He is killed in the Bread 2 Buck saloon, and it is not that impactful.

5 The Jackie Ming Twist is a Great Moment, but there is Nothing Beyond

Rich Ting in Tulsa King | Credits: Paramount+

Rich Ting’s Jackie Ming starts Season 2 as Cal Thresher’s quiet business partner before revealing himself as leader of a ruthless Chinese gang secretly growing poppies for heroin on Thresher’s farm. He escalates fast. He plants a car bomb in Dwight’s Navigator, executes a worker in front of Thresher, then forces Thresher at gunpoint to sign over his empire. 

He is compelling in the moment, but the turn happens too quickly to feel like an earned arc before Dwight kills him at Margaret’s ranch.

4 Bill Bevilaqua Went from Enemy to Ally, Though He is Not Always Trustworthy

Frank Grillo in Tulsa King | Credits: Paramount+

Bill Bevilaqua is the boss of the Bevilaqua Family in Kansas City, and he becomes Dwight’s enemy after he feels disrespected on his own turf. He puts a hit out on the General but later recalculates what is best for his own survival. He quickly learns that it is a losing war for him to continue to fight Dwight. Instead, he joins him and becomes a quiet ally.

He ultimately shoots Chickie Invernizzi in cold blood to secure a 50% cut of Cal Thresher’s weed profits. His shift from enemy to calculating partner is one of the show’s smarter, more believable turns.

3 Cal Thresher Gracefully Bows Out After Losing to Dwight

Neal McDonough in Tulsa King | Credits: Paramount+

Neal McDonough’s marijuana tycoon opens Season 2 as Tulsa’s unofficial crime kingpin, using wealth and social standing to squeeze Dwight out of the weed trade. His arc subverts expectations. He is outmaneuvered by his own partner, Jackie Ming, and ultimately steps back, letting Dwight absorb control of his farm rather than risk further bloodshed. 

It is a rare admission of cowardice for a Sheridan villain. His quiet pivot to politics pays off by Season 3’s finale, where he emerges as Oklahoma’s governor-elect.

2 Chickie Invernizzi is Menacing, but His Hubris Takes Him Out

Domenick Lombardozzi in Tulsa King | Credits: Paramount+

Domenick Lombardozzi was the best casting for Chickie Invernizzi. The son of Pete Invernizzi, the boss of the Invernizzi crime family, he is in a constant struggle to gain power and is always scheming. However, he is also his own worst enemy, as he truly believes he is out of reach. Chickie is no Fredo; he is conniving and menacing. But he does not survive.

His obsession with reining in Dwight, his failed schemes, and his final miscalculation, where he tries to recruit Bill Bevilaqua to kill Dwight, culminate in Bevilaqua shooting him instead. It is a slow, believable descent from entitled heir to discarded liability.

1 Jeremiah Dunmire Has the Most Poetic Arc in Tulsa King

Robert Patrick in Tulsa King | Credits: Paramount+

Robert Patrick’s Season 3 antagonist is Tulsa King’s most fully realized villain: a Dixie Mafia distiller who sees Tulsa as his birthright. He opens the season by burning distillery owner Theodore Montague alive after Montague backs out of selling him the family business in favor of Dwight’s offer. 

Beyond that brutality, his arc gains real depth through his abusive relationship with son Cole, whose eventual betrayal, where Dunmire kidnaps Dwight’s sister Joanne, seals his fate in a fittingly poetic, fiery finale.

Which Tulsa King villain do you think had the best arc? Comment below.

Tulsa King is available to stream on Paramount+.