Welcome to our weekly chronicling of Mayans M.C. episodic moments that live up to the mindset of the series’ former co-showrunner, Kurt Sutter, whose Sons of Anarchy included some depraved gems over the course of seven seasons. FX has now confirmed that a third season will ride without Sutter and with Elgin James grasping the showrunning reins after Sutter’s firing. Be on the lookout later this week for Dustin Rowles to deftly read too much into this episode while diving deep into callbacks and theories about where this club goes from here, particularly with this season’s episodes being named after prominent folklore figures from the Mayan culture.
Mayans M.C.‘s second season has been a turbulent one behind the scenes (as detailed above) and no less chaotic onscreen. All sorts of wartime flotsam is flying into this year’s finale, “Hunahpu,” with the episode title referring to those Mayan hero twins again. I think, at this point, that the series has moved past any pretense of growing independent of Sons lore, and ironically, as Sutter moved further away from the inner workings of the spinoff, the series actually leaned further into Anarchy. So, it’s fitting that this second-season finale was actually penned by Sutter, who didn’t realize he’d be out when he wrote it, but it feels like he had a hunch. We see a few instances of self-flagellation, both from Taza (who realizes he might be busted when Riz’s autopsy report comes back) and Chucky (who only wants to go back to Charming, for god’s sake, not be Coco’s punching bag). It’s kind-of a metaphor for what Sutter did with with those Disney jokes that preceded his exit.
Well, at least Sutter got to make the moment happen when JD Pardo‘s EZ finally patched into the club. Naturally, there was a fake-out before Taza threw down the new adornments for the now-ex-prospect’s cut. That’s pretty much Sons-universe tradition. Welcome the tribe indeed, EZ.
This momentous milestone arrived near the end of a violence-packed installment, but there was more to come. We’re made to believe that Bishop won’t let the Mayans go to war against Vatos Malditos in retaliation for Riz’s death, but yeah, surprise. Obviously, Taza was instrumental in pushing this conflict to war, and given that he’s a former VM member, there’s definitely some shenanigans at work. The Mayans bust into a VM birthday party, and Palo makes it out, which appears to be no coincidence.
However, a mystery party attendant who’s wearing an SOA cut does not survive. Bishop doesn’t refrain from stating the obvious.
Let’s speculate here. This is probably not Tig (I can’t see the show bringing back crowd-favorite Kim Coates without giving him any face time), but it could be Montez. Happy and Chibs aren’t going to respond well to this, and it looks like the Mayans are getting their war (and Coco’s getting his eye-for-an-eye), only it’s not the war that they intended. Mayans unity and their alliance with SAMCRO might be over, but that’s where we’re left heading into the third season. Much more juicy biker drama to come, I’m sure.
On the family front, Dita drama played out in this finale, big time. Not too long before EZ patched in, he went and, in a visceral scene, strangled her with his bare hands.
In all fairness, Dita did demand to be killed, and EZ did allow her to get a prayer on the books before he did the deed. That’s more than kind, after she dragged the Reyes men out into the desert and insisted that someone needed to gain retribution for the hit she put on Marisol and Felipe. So, I was wrong about Dita pointing a gun at someone in a literal sense, but she sure as hell isn’t gone for good. She’ll live on in Miguel’s head, and he’ll probably seek revenge. I mean, he seems frozen and emotionless, but we know that won’t last long, and his mom’s brand of crazy will carry on because someone will let him know about those bike tracks near Dita’s body.
Yes, Alvarez kicked dirt over the tracks, but he knows that this wasn’t a suicide, and he also warned EZ a few episodes ago to stop with the lies. On the bright side, Felipe won’t have to meet with Dita on rooftops anymore, so that’s a win. And he got some surprise citizenship papers, due to EZ possibly achieving a checkmate on Potter.
Yep, Emily (who’s no longer wholly confined to agripark talk, thank goodness) delivered the intel to EZ about Potter having a kid with a murder witness. Good on Emily, not so great for Potter, who is absolutely incensed that there are incriminating photos of him floating around out there. Ray McKinnon needs more moments like this all over TV, even if it means compromising positions, because he’s having a ball with a “momentary flash of passion” over not being able to push the Reyes boys around anymore for info about the rebels. However, Potter gets to turn the tables ever-so-slightly on Angel later on. Yep, the DNA matched up, which might be a relief for Angel in a sense, but it’s another “welcome to the tribe” moment because Angel may never know his child.
Where that leaves Adelita, I don’t know. She’s still in custody after giving birth in cuffs, and with Elgin James fully on board as showrunner, it’s difficult to guess how much emphasis he’ll continue to place on the border rebellion. The fans have thoroughly been enjoying the club-based drama and getting to know the bikers’ personalities, so one challenge from here will be to balance those two aspects. It feels like the series is moving more toward club maneuverings and that type of war, which seems to be a better angle to take for ratings longevity. One thing is certain, though: EZ’s where he wants to be. He only had to be a rat, get a bad tattoo, and commit homicide to make it into full-on Mayan status. Now, the series will ride into a Sutter-less new frontier.
‘Mayans M.C.’ airs Tuesday nights at 10 pm EST on FX.
