Kevin killing Rusby in MobLand might just confirm this theory about Eddie

Kevin Harrigan and Alan Rusby, a former prison guard, clashed violently in MobLand Season 1, Episode 9, "Beggars Banquet." What started as a heated argument, seemingly fueled by Kevin's deep-seated need for revenge over past hurts, exploded into a brutal assault.

Wait a minute—what if this goes beyond a personal grievance? What if it all comes down to dark, sinister family secrets? Would the startling revelation regarding Eddie Harrigan's biological parents be the catalyst for an even greater dramatization within the Harrigan household?

Kevin's confrontation with Rusby in MobLand: Personal retribution or something deeper?

Kevin's encounter with Rusby is intimate and up-close. Wearing a rideshare driver uniform, Kevin ambushed Rusby inside his own home, which left the two men in a standoff. The standoff concludes with Kevin having shot Rusby in the head. The scene is visualized as an explosion of pent-up trauma within a previous prison life for Kevin.

But the emotional overtones and timing of this act suggest that perhaps something more is at risk here than one might at first suppose. Rusby's final question to Kevin—"Do you have children?"—seems to provoke some profound emotional response, leading to the deadly gunshot. This moment can not only be symbolic of Kevin's continuing trauma, but even imply that secrets exist within the Harrigan household.

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The complex theory behind Eddie’s parentage in MobLand: exploring both sides

The most popular theory is that Eddie is not Kevin's son, but his half-brother, child of an affair between Kevin's wife, Bella, and Conrad Harrigan. The theory becomes more plausible in Episode 8, when Maeve speaks enigmatically of Kevin's "other brother," disturbing Kevin to his foundations.

Fans theorize that Maeve was referring to Eddie, suggesting that Conrad was intimate with Bella before or during her marriage to Kevin.

Such a discovery would not only account for Kevin's emotional instability but also for his feelings of betrayal and helplessness. If Eddie is Conrad's son, he is a rightful Harrigan heir, putting Kevin in an extremely uncomfortable spot in the family structure, both as a brother and a stand-in father.

Another theory is that Eddie is not Harrigan by blood. Rather, viewers are speculating that he is the son of a clandestine affair between Maeve Harrigan and Richie Stevenson, a deceased former mob adversary. Richie and Maeve had complicated allegiances in their past, as well as potential romantic entanglement, and Eddie might be the secret fruit of that relationship.

If so, then Eddie would be neither son to Kevin nor heir to Conrad but a symbolic divider between the Harrigans and their longest-standing foes. Maeve's evasiveness and Kevin's breakdown might both result from the shame, concealment, and ire such a revelation would bring. Eddie, in this case, is not only a private trauma but also a political menace—one able to upset the entire family dynamics from within.

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The emotional agony of Kevin: Proof of secret truths

Kevin's breakdown when Rusby questions him about children is something more than responding to abuse. If Kevin knows, or even suspects, that Eddie isn't his son, but his half-brother, such an awareness can only add fuel to feelings of betrayal and inadequacy within the family.

The murder of Rusby, therefore, is symbolic—a way in which Kevin can come to terms with his own inner demon as well as the destruction of his family identity. It is a last-ditch attempt to retake hold of an environment wherein his position within the family becomes increasingly tenuous.

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The wider implications for the Harrigan Family

The uncertainty regarding whose parent Eddie is could destabilize the Harrigan family's already volatile dynamics. That Maeve evades answers and Kevin has tantrums to the extent of going red-faced indicates a potential struggle for power with long-lasting consequences.

If Eddie were the son of Conrad, he would be the legitimate heir, further alienating Kevin and increasing internal tensions.

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While the murder of Rusby by Kevin can be read as a personal act of vengeance, the emotional suggestion and presentation of the action as a scene suggest it may be employed as a plot device to suggest larger family secrets. The half-brother rumor, rather than the son, concerning Eddie enriches the motivations of Kevin and the series' exploration of identity, loyalty, and exercise of power within a criminal empire.

Also read: In MobLand’s most brutal scene, Paddy Considine gives a masterclass in grief

I’m worried Maeve's actions might lead to the Harrigans’ downfall in MobLand