Taylor Handley's Mayor of Kingstown character, Kyle McLusky, was put through the wringer during the show's fourth season - but he somehow managed to come out on top. "To be able to get to do this type of work that I was gifted the opportunity [to do] this season is what every actor dreams about," Handley, 41, told Us Weekly exclusively while discussing Kyle's season 4 arc. "Getting to be the center of the conflict, getting to do that subtle, nuanced work. ... The entire arc of Kyle McLusky has just been fascinating and just such a joy to play." Warning: Spoilers ahead for the season 4 finale of Mayer of Kingstown. Mayor of Kingstown season 4 had Handley's Kyle separated from his onscreen brother, Mike McLusky (Jeremy Renner), for the duration of the season. Kyle was incarcerated in Anchor Bay Prison until the Sunday, December 28, finale. The events of this season come to a head in the episode, titled "Belly of the Beast," and a new version of Kyle leaves Anchor Bay. Jeremy Parsons/Paramount+ Following Kyle's release, he and Mike have one final standoff with this season's big bad, Merle Callahan (Richard Brake). Earlier this season, Callahan escaped from Anchor Bay and murdered Kyle's wife, Tracy McLusky (Nishi Munshi), after she left Kingstown. Sunday's finale shows Kyle finally getting his revenge on Callahan by shooting him to death. The season ends with Kyle sobbing into Mike's arms after everything he's endured over the past 10 episodes. That final scene poses a major question for Mayor of Kingstown viewers. How much will Kyle - who was, more or less, the moral compass of the show - be changed going forward? "Sometimes, you got to do a bad thing to make things good. Sometimes good guys do bad s***," Handley said, reacting to that final scene. "That's the brilliance of this show, it raises those questions. It's been doing that from the start." Does Mike Find Out About Iris' Death in 'Mayor of Kingstown' Premiere? He added, "This show really gets to explore, really, the humanity of it, rather than the broad ideas about [certain] situations." Handley also discussed the leadup to his character's release from prison - and those scenes where it seemed like Kyle might not make it out alive. "That's what this show has done so well. It makes you feel like nobody's safe. That's why people sit at the edge of their seats while they watch this thing," the actor told Us. "I always feel good because it's like, if they kill Kyle [then] Mike has nobody." Jeremy Parsons/Paramount+ Although, if you ask Mayor of Kingstown cocreator Hugh Dillon, killing Kyle was never on the table. "I just want everybody to see that ending," Dillon exclusively told Us Weekly in October, explaining that it was "so important" to him along with cocreator Taylor Sheridan and writer Dave Erickson. "We really worked hard to get that where it was going, because season 4 is important. It was important for us." He continued, "It was important with Edie [Falco] and Laura [Benanti] and all the new people to have the story itself, and in such a ferocious way, and we landed it." All Mayor of Kingstown episodes are now streaming on Paramount+.