Who is the Rat in MobLand, Explained

In Paramount+’s ‘MobLand,’ the Harrigan crime family in London goes through a major upheaval after their youngest, Eddie Harrigan, ends up killing the son of their rival, Richie Stevenson. Apart from the threat of a war brewing against them, there is a major problem that they need to sort out as quickly as possible. Since the first episode, there has been talk of a rat amongst the Harrigans. At first, Conrad Harrigan believes it is his best friend and partner-in-crime, Archie. However, this information comes from his unhinged and increasingly paranoid wife, Maeve, whose claims are dismissed pretty easily. With all that unfolds after this, the question of the rat’s identity becomes even more important, but it isn’t until the penultimate episode that this secret is unveiled. SPOILERS AHEAD.

The Rat Amongst the Harrigans was Hiding in Plain Sight

In the eighth episode of ‘MobLand,’ Harry Da Souza meets with Freddie, whom he had been blackmailing to rat on Richie Stevenson. When Freddie tells him there is a rat amongst the Harrigans and he knows who it is, Harry throws him off the top of the building. Interestingly, even though Harry knows the rat’s identity, he doesn’t do anything about it until the end of the ninth episode, when he calls the family lawyer, O’Hara Delaney. While he calls her under the pretence of telling her about the deal between the Harrigans and Jaime, it is clear, even to her, that when he asks her to meet her the next day, it is more than about the deal.

The fact that O’Hara has been in the inner circle and at a convenient distance from the Harrigans puts her in a unique position to spy on them and pass on the information to their rival, Richie. However, there is still a limit to what she does and doesn’t tell him. The talk about the rat begins with Maeve telling Conrad that Archie has been secretly dealing with the Mexicans on the fentanyl trade, and he has kept Conrad out of it to let Richie have a monopoly over the trade. While Maeve is right about almost all of it, she is wrong about Archie. The whole thing was orchestrated by O’Hara, who, incidentally, also happens to be in the room when Conrad shoots Archie, disregarding that the man in front of him is his lifelong friend and confidant.

There could be any number of reasons behind O’Hara’s betrayal. The first could be that she is blackmailed into it, like Harry has been blackmailing Freddie. So, either Richie has some highly incriminating information against her, or he is holding hostage something or someone she holds dead. Another reason could be that she is fed up with the Harrigans and their self-destructive behaviour and has been looking for an out, but she knows she cannot simply walk away from them. Just like Harry, she knows too much about them to be allowed to walk away that easily. So, she is forced to stay until the opportunity presents itself.

O’Hara Might be Harry’s Ticket to Freedom from the Harrigans

Since the beginning of ‘MobLand,’ it has become clear that the Harrigans are their own worst enemies, and someone with Harry’s potential would be much better off without them. Several people have identified this issue, and there is no dearth of offers to Harry. In fact, he is so revered in the criminal world that even Richie Stevenson seems to have more respect for him than any of the Harrigans. Now, Kat McAllister’s interest in him shows that there could be a way for him to leave the Harrigans behind for good. And interestingly, he might not even have to do any damage. They will most likely drown themselves. This is why, perhaps, when Freddie tells Harry about O’Hara secretly working with Richie, Harry kills him and does not tell another soul about it.

Despite an already massive betrayal on her end, O’Hara is not the one inflicting fatal blows to the Harrigans. All that damage comes from within the family; most of the time, the culprit is Maeve. She constantly pushes Conrad to the edge and is ready to hurt him, even if it means collaborating with his enemies. Apart from telling Richie about Brendan and Seraphina in Antwerp, she is also the one who has Eddie kill Tommy, has Conrad kill Archie, and then tips off the cops about where Harry has buried Archie’s body. On top of that, she also tries to poison Conrad against Harry, but fortunately for Harry, the Harrigan patriarch has more faith in him than others.

However, Harry knows that Conrad is just as volatile as, if not more than, Maeve, and it wouldn’t take much for him to kill his fixer if he feels like it. Most likely, he is biding his time, waiting for the right moment to use the information on the rat to prove his loyalty and save himself. Or, perhaps, he wishes to use O’Hara to finish the Harrigans for good and free himself from their clutches. In any case, Harry’s departure would signal nothing but death for the Harrigans, as he is one of the only things that have been holding their delicate balance together, and he seems to be getting fed up with their shenanigans with each passing day.