Warning: This post contains spoilers for MobLand season 1, episode 6.With season 1, episode 6, "Antwerp Blues," we’ve reached the halfway point of MobLand, a series that chooses what to show next as if it's picking out of a hat. So it might not hurt to do a little housekeeping. Where are we? Who’s dead? And why would anyone ever refer to Pierce Brosnan’s character as "Conrad the Dread"? The answers are roughly: nowhere new, a handful of nobodies, and I haven’t a clue.

Episode 6 is a step up from episode 5, but MobLand still refuses to get to the point. There’s a story here, but it’s buried beneath so many discarded plot threads, I can barely see it. What happened to the rat? What happened with Archie’s body? What’s going on with Jan’s (Joanne Froggatt) undercover friend? Who was the French guy with Bella (Lara Pulver)? What’s up with Kevin’s (Paddy Considine) sadistic prison guard? Why does Maeve (Helen Mirren) need to explain what Seraphina (Mandeep Dhillon) and Brendan (Daniel Betts) are doing when I’m watching it live?

MobLand Refuses To Get To The Meat Of Its Story

Cross-cutting Scenes Is An Intrusive And Useless Technique

There’s taking your time with your story, and then there’s not knowing where your story is going. Time and time again in MobLand, characters act with no thought to what comes next. In this episode, Conrad says that he’s the one who ordered the hit on Vron Stevenson (Annie Cooper), but the look from Maeve suggests he’s covering for her. Why he continues to take his wife’s side is beyond me, but it "doesn’t matter", as Harry (Tom Hardy) intones. Vron is dead, and there’s no coming back. It’s war.

Ignoring the fact that we could have gotten to this exact scenario back in episode 2 with the death of Tommy Stevenson (Felix Edwards), at least we have something to go on now, yes? No. Just as things are picking up, and Brosnan finally flexes his acting chops in a scene with Considine, who remains the best part of MobLand, we change storylines again. This episode is about Seraphina and Brendan and their diamond purchase.

This frantic style of storytelling does not work when the storylines aren’t related. Bella and Jan have a chat about how hard it is to be mob wives while Kevin and Harry discuss if Conrad’s empire is crumbling. These scenes aren’t connected, either thematically or structurally, and cutting them up into bite-sized pieces doesn’t hide the fact that nothing's really happening in them. We don’t learn anymore about Bella and Jan’s awkward relationship, and we don’t learn anything about the Harrigans that we don’t already know. They were powerful, now they're not, maybe.

Anson Boon Is A Bright Spot In The Series

His Function In The Show And With Maeve Is Still A Mystery

The jumping around slows down as we follow Seraphina and Brendan, who feel like minor characters accidentally relocated to the main cast. Conrad sends Harry (who has next to nothing to do in episode 6, "Antwerp Blues") out to retrieve his children before Richie discovers they’re not in hiding, and Maeve calls Richie and gives him their location anyway.

She’ll let Richie kill Seraphina as repayment for his losses, but Richie has to pinky-promise that he won’t kill Brendan.

This is a ploy, you see. If you don’t, she explains it to Eddie (Anson Boon). She’ll let Richie kill Seraphina as repayment for his losses, but Richie has to pinky-promise that he won’t kill Brendan. Maeve explains to her grandson that Richie won’t cross her because he knows what she’s capable of. Yes, he does, Maeve: blowing up his wife. I’m not sure what more he needs to be afraid of.

I’ll shout out Anson Boon. I have no clue if he’s supposed to be enjoying Maeve’s attention or regretting his part in the chaos because his motives change to whatever MobLand needs at the moment, but I really enjoy it when he’s onscreen. He’s got a weird energy.

The Female Characters Are Much Too Similar In MobLand

We Barely Know Seraphina At This Point

There’s a shootout, though Harry misses it. Hardy’s face is covered by a motorcycle helmet for half the episode as he rushes to collect the sibs; he may not have even been on set. We end with a cliffhanger and a gun pointed at Seraphina, whom we barely know, save that she can be described as "unphased," which is how you can characterize just about every woman in MobLand.

There’s a real issue with how these women are written. Whereas Kevin, Harry, and Conrad all at least seem distinct, Bella, Jan, and Serpahina are nearly interchangeable. It’s a real drag, especially considering Froggatt is a Golden Globe-winning and Emmy-nominated actress. She can do so much more. Everyone can do so much more in MobLand. Like I said, there’s a story here somewhere, straining to get out, but with only four episodes left, the clock is about to run out on the Harrigans.