What Tattersall's Four Horses Story in MobLand Really Means for Harry

The four horses story Tattersall tells Frankie at the nail salon in MobLand is his way of saying exactly how he wants Harry to die: pulled from every side by the Harrigan family's own cracks, then finished with one precise cut that he makes himself. It is also, as I explain toward the end of this piece, that Tattersall has built a trap for Harry without building a way out for himself.

Tattersall's execution story at the nail salon frightened me

The moment Tattersall had with Frankie at that nail salon was very frightening to me. While those words were coming out of him, my heart kept beating like a machine that is about to fail. He told the story of François Ravaillac, the man who killed King Henry IV of France and was given what I think was the most brutal public death ever, and for me the worst way for a person to die.

As Tattersall tells it, a man finally got hold of his own king and stabbed him to death. As punishment, they weakened his body a little and tied his hands and legs to four horses, one standing north, one south, one east and one west. The horses were made to keep stepping forward, stretching his bones and tearing his tendons and skin tissue. Imagine your body tied that way. That is pain you would never wish even on your enemy.

But the horses could not actually tear his body apart. So a surgeon took a knife, walked up to the man, who was still, tied and weak, studied the body and finally knew exactly where to cut. He cut through the flesh, and with a pop, the body tore apart. That is why I said I was frightened listening to it.

"I'm the surgeon": Tattersall wants Frankie to catch Harry so he can finish him

After the story, Tattersall said: "Harry's got four horses, and I'm the surgeon. Just got to know where to cut." That tells you the role he wants to play. He wants to use Frankie to catch Harry, and then he will step in to kill Harry himself.

That goes against how I first read the relationship between Tattersall and Frankie. At first, I thought Frankie was going to be the head and Tattersall the tail. Their first conversation opened with Frankie saying, "Stop talking, copper." When I wrote about Frankie earlier, I took that line to mean he had little respect for Tattersall and saw him as just a middleman. How can you speak to someone you respect like that? But I was wrong about that.

I was wrong to underestimate Tattersall

There is respect between them, but what I believe has to be firm is their trust. Frankie asked how sure he could be that he would not end up like Richie, since Tattersall was working with Richie before his death. Tattersall told him he would be making a big mistake if he did not take the job. That shook Frankie a little, and he said, "You sound slightly threatening, Colin."

Tattersall told him this was not a slight threat, but it would be if he had inside information about Frankie's firm and jobs that could let him put Frankie away for the rest of his life. That changed the way I see Tattersall. It was a threat made without showing his hands. He is on another level when it comes to mind games and business offers. You saw it too in how he convinced Cat to accept the job offer he brought to her: simple, short and strategic. That is the kind of man he is, and it is time we stop underestimating him and give him the respect he deserves.

When I wrote about Frankie before, I even called Tattersall a man with no real power or influence in this deal. I take that back. He has a bigger vision, way bigger than Frankie's. Frankie just wants to work and take his money after the job. Tattersall wants something more than money: he wants to build trust with Cat, and that connection could get him almost everything he wants in London. He is a small old man with a bigger young vision.

Tattersall is the man you should pin your hopes on now, because the strategic role he is playing tells me what kind of man he would become if he gained that trust and started stepping into the big leagues. He is the one person who is a problem to the Harrigan family, yet no one suspects a thing from him. That is how dangerous he is. Remember his little business deal with Richie after he gave up his own colleagues? That is a man capable of anything.

Why does Tattersall hate Harry so much?

The way Tattersall told that story and then brought Harry into it really shows how angry he is with him. He does not only want to kill Harry. He wants him captured, tortured, stressed and finally killed.

I just do not know why he has so much hatred for Harry and wants him gone like that. What I do know is that the story explains where Tattersall has already put Harry in his mind, and it also tells us the role he has already given to Frankie.

Harry is a man who won't be pulled apart by force alone

Harry's long endurance and resilience with the Harrigan family has made him strong and formidable, and even his enemies know it. For a person to work with the Harrigans for this long proves his resilience and his ability to take riskier decisions and roles. After all of it, he is still standing on ten toes. That is how Tattersall sees Harry. He knows the man he is sending Frankie after is very hard to defeat.

That is why Tattersall chose that story. The man tied to those horses did not come apart from the horses' strength alone; it took a surgeon who knew exactly where to cut. That is Harry to Tattersall: a man who has stood the test of time, defeated most of his enemies and won't be pulled apart by force alone. Frankie knows it too. In the shop he asked Tattersall how a man like him would go about taking down a man like Harry. That shows exactly how Harry's enemies see him. He is a beast, and if you go after him you need a beast who can match his high level skills and smartness.

Can Frankie match up with Harry's skills and intelligence? Maybe yes, but for me, I don't think so. They might be able to capture and kill Harry, but that will never prove his enemies are smarter than him. The day Harry knows about Frankie could be the day Frankie goes down, because Harry doesn't miss his targets. Defeating Harry would not come easy.

The story also shows how Tattersall wants Harry's death visualised before he even attempts it, and that sounds desperate to me. It proves how he fears Harry. If you had no fear of a person, you would not be imagining them dying like that, and if you knew you could do it, why even speak about it? What they don't know is that while the man they fear could be made vulnerable, right now they are looking in a direction that makes them the vulnerable and desperate ones. If they continue like this, Harry will catch up with them and kill them.

Wendy and the silence on Richie: a hard criminal negotiation

Frankie is also smart and knows how to resist control. When Tattersall told him he knows his firm inside out, Frankie mentioned Tattersall's wife, Wendy. That was a hard criminal negotiation, with each side knowing where the other's weak spots are. Although Tattersall is about business, he has a family that really matters to him, and he would not do anything to put their future in danger. That is how Frankie got him.

But Tattersall is one step ahead, being a policeman and the one who introduced Frankie to Cat. He can switch roles any time. He could walk up to her and tell her something Frankie never did, which could put Frankie in a very hot situation. Even though he doesn't fully know Frankie's business, he could find out later, use it against him and hurt his family too.

Another thing makes me think Tattersall is a step ahead. When Frankie asked how sure he could be that he would not end up dead like Richie, Tattersall didn't answer. He went straight to the money and the put you away for life line instead. That silence on Richie was its own answer: this is what might happen to Frankie if he betrays Tattersall or refuses the job. The look on Frankie's face afterwards was a man trying to hide his fears while knowing deep down that something was coming for him. The job might seem interesting, but it comes at a cost.

Conrad and Tattersall handle vulnerability in opposite ways

One silences his workers whenever he feels vulnerable around them so he can keep his bossy nature, while the other uses vulnerability to make a business work for him. For Conrad, the moment he feels vulnerable around you, he will humiliate you to make you respect him. When Paul's nephew laughed out loud at Maeve's funny comment about Conrad, Conrad felt small, and feeling small around his workers is something he can never tolerate. He would rather humiliate you and leave you hating and doubting yourself night and day. Apart from Maeve, I don't think there is anyone he would want to be vulnerable around.

Tattersall would rather stay quiet and use that as leverage to keep trust and power with whoever he is dealing with. When Frankie mentioned Wendy, there was that little pause. If it had been Conrad, he would have demanded how Frankie dared bring his wife into their business, followed by insults to scare him back into line. Tattersall isn't trying to put fear in Frankie, but he does it anyway without ever raising his voice. That calm put you away for life line did more damage than any of Conrad's insults ever could, and Frankie is still lost about who Tattersall really is, because Tattersall can say one thing and mean another. He prefers to understand your vulnerability so he can use it later to keep his power and relevance.

The four horses are the Harrigan family, and Harry is in the middle

Tattersall's plan against the Harrigans fits neatly into four horses. I gave each horse its own spotlight when I covered Bella previously, but the short version is Jan and Gina, Conrad and Maeve, Kevin, and a fourth horse Tattersall never names, which everything points to being Bella. Harry remains at the centre of all four, just like the man in the story, and it was those horses plus one well placed cut that led him to his grave.

Conrad and Kevin are not on good terms, which gives Tattersall the upper hand. While the family stays strong, Harry gets sharper and more focused, making it very hard for Tattersall to move. With them split, Harry's attention is divided. Tattersall doesn't have to get Harry directly. He can cause a problem on one side of the family so that Harry choosing a side feels like betrayal, and that could be enough to make Harry stop protecting the Harrigans, which is the position Tattersall wants him in.

Harry's visit to Bella, which I also broke down before, showed how little trust is left between her and Kevin. With Frankie pointing a gun at her head as the episode closes, I wouldn't be surprised if she becomes a tool for Tattersall. Her only way to escape death may be to snitch on the Harrigans, since she is no longer useful to them, or to stay silent and wait for Harry to save her.

The rival boss didn't come for the Harrigans while they were together. She came when the family was broken and almost every member was losing trust in the others, because she knew togetherness weakens her plans. She has the money, but she lacks someone like Harry to handle her dirty operations, and coming against Harry while the family is united is like signing your own death warrant. She knew that one day the family would be destroyed and she could take over, which is why she tried to talk business with Harry. Their breakup is exactly what she needs, and it fits Tattersall's plan so well that he doesn't have to do most of the work. Conrad and Kevin, Bella and Kevin, Jan, Gina and Harry: the cracks are already there. All Tattersall has to do is lean on one of them and let Harry's divided loyalty do the rest.

Frankie is the horse Tattersall forgot to count

Tattersall and Frankie have now shared their vulnerabilities, and Frankie has agreed to take the job. But Frankie knows about Wendy and can use that against Tattersall later while pretending to be an ordinary worker. His trust in Tattersall is not that strong, and Wendy is the one card he holds. Tattersall may even have to send her away to keep her covered.

Tattersall could still be the man giving out plans and instructions alongside Cat, but Frankie is no blind man. He can see what might happen to him once the job is done, and what happened to Richie after his deal with Tattersall has left him doubting things will go well. So while Tattersall imagines beautiful stories and plans the Harrigans' downfall, he should prepare for what might happen to him in the end, including a rescue plan once his deal with Frankie is done.

My verdict? Tattersall has built the perfect trap for Harry, but he has not built a way out for himself, and Frankie is the horse he forgot to count.

Do you think Frankie turns on Tattersall before Harry ever finds out?