After being largely absent since the opening episode of Fightland, Kingsley Marshall is finally back.
Nicholas Pinnock’s character made a surprise return at the end of the latest episode after Duke successfully rescued Aidan and brought him back to the house. Just when it appeared Duke’s latest mission had reached its conclusion, Kingsley walked through the door, giving viewers the answer they had been waiting for since the beginning of the season.
For Pinnock, the timing of Kingsley’s return was intentional. Kingsley first appeared in the series premiere, which takes place eight years before the current storyline. After that, he disappears, leaving nearly everyone around him searching for answers. Duke wants to find him for revenge, while Kingsley’s children are forced to make decisions they would rather make with their father’s guidance. The Albanians are also looking for him for their own reasons.
“Even though we don’t see him for a while, his presence is there, and it’s looming because everybody’s trying to get to him,” Pinnock said. “Everybody wants something from him. Everybody needs answers from him. I think his return is really timely. It’s earned, because by the time we see him, the audience is wanting answers and we’re going to give them to them.”
The mystery surrounding Kingsley has allowed the character to maintain an unusual presence throughout the season. He may not have physically appeared in every episode, but his decisions and relationships have continued to influence the story.
Pinnock said Kingsley has been aware of what has been happening while he has been away, but the character was never going to return simply because other people needed him. He needed to be ready.
“He’s aware of everything that’s going on, but he would have stayed away as long as he needed to stay away until he was ready to come back,” Pinnock said. “He came back at a time when he had got all of his shit together. Everything was in place. Now it’s time to come back.”
Kingsley’s return also arrives at a particularly important moment for Duke. Much of the season has revolved around Duke’s determination to get revenge, and the closer he gets to Kingsley, the more complicated that mission becomes.
Pinnock believes revenge can be a dangerous state of mind, particularly when someone becomes convinced that getting even will finally give them closure. Duke has spent so much time believing that revenge is the answer that the possibility of what happens afterward may be harder for him to consider.
“Revenge is a really interesting state of mind to put somebody in,” Pinnock said. “When you feel you have been wronged, you want to redress the balance. But we’ve heard several revenge stories, fictional and in real life, where the person gets what they think they wanted and it doesn’t satisfy them. It’s not the thing that they needed. That could be Duke’s story. Who knows? We’ll find out in episode eight.”
Pinnock also has an existing connection to Fightland executive producer Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson. Before joining the boxing drama, Pinnock starred as Aaron Wallace in ABC’s legal drama For Life, which was executive produced by Jackson. The two now find themselves working together again, this time on a much darker story centered on boxing, crime and revenge.
That familiarity was another part of what made the Fightland experience particularly enjoyable for Pinnock. He spoke highly of working with Jackson, the cast, crew, writers and showrunners, describing the production as a project he enjoyed from the moment he received the scripts.
He also developed close relationships with his co stars, particularly Deborah Joy Winans, who plays Joy, and Anita Joy. Pinnock said he enjoyed exploring Kingsley’s character arc with the writers and showrunners and getting deeper into the character during production.
Now that Kingsley is finally back, the story can begin answering some of the questions that have been hanging over the season. More importantly, Duke has finally gotten closer to the person he believes is responsible for everything he has lost.
The reunion between the two could completely change the direction of Fightland. After spending so much time searching for Kingsley, Duke finally has him in front of him. The question is whether getting his revenge will give Duke the closure he wants or create an even bigger problem.