Welcome to our weekly chronicling of Mayans M.C. episodic moments that live up to the depraved mindset of the series’ co-creator, Kurt Sutter, whose ‘Sons of Anarchy’ previously included some seriously depraved gems over the course of seven seasons. Be on the lookout later this week for Dustin Rowles to expertly read too much into this episode while diving deep into callbacks and theories about where this new club goes from here.
This week’s installment of Mayans M.C. takes a slight intermission from the overriding mayhem celebrated by the series, well, other than one incredibly violent scene. Over at the clubhouse, Riz should be grateful that he’s not dead yet, but instead, he’s angry as hell. He and Angel throw down in a cage fight.
This is entertainment for all to witness, including Letty (who’s having a ball despite confessing that she beat herself up last episode). Both men are soon bloodied to hell, and Angel gets Riz on the floor and unloads fury upon his face while they dispense with aggressive posturing within the club. Riz has been (rightfully) crucified over the illegal tunnel, though he insisted that he’s not in conflict or profiting. No matter, the club removes him from the secretary position, after which he popped off at several members, including Angel, calling them “a bunch of pussies.” They seem to be alright and hug it out after Bishop calls for the fight to end. Still, Riz’s days sure as hell look numbered.
Speaking of screwed, EZ and Angel end the episode in huge trouble.
Yeah, that’s what happens when two Mayans are driving around with Letty’s dead grandma in the trunk. Coco had better appreciate this sacrifice, but earlier in this episode, we learned that he’s got some serious screws loose. He rattled on about giving Celia peace from the “f*cking noise” inside her head via death, and he told an obviously disturbed EZ that shooting a cop was the “truth” that led him to the prospect life. Hours later, the Reyes brothers are in police custody. Wait until Assistant U.S. Attorney Lincoln Potter gets a whiff of dead grandma … and descends with a new deal in hand. Also, Emily figured out that Potter has a file on EZ, so his life is about to get even more complicated, if that’s possible. The outlaw life, especially a double-crossing one, ain’t easy!
Throughout, the “Rata/Ch’o” episode fixates upon rats in both the literal and figurative senses, with the latter involving EZ’s paranoia over the club discovering his deal with the feds, and and the former involving the actual rodents scurrying around, freaking out various characters. In large part, the episode also fixates upon the show’s most invasive and obsessively eccentric character, Potter, who’s a familiar face from Sons of Anarchy. After conducting last week’s raid on the Galindo household, Potter spends a lot of time dashing between rooms holding drug lord Miguel and wife Emily (she got hauled in for the federal crime of “not reporting a kidnapping”) while hoping to turn the latter against her husband.
Things don’t go terribly well with the resistant Miguel for quite some time, forcing Potter — after making cracks about Miguel’s Corleone-esque pursuit of “the American Dream” — to resort to his most dire measure … shouting.
Potter grows even more frustrated while wearing down Emily, who’s perfectly aware of being used as leverage. Although Potter admits that he’s got no hard evidence against the cartel, homeland security laws allow him to indefinitely detain the couple, and he’s weary but still enjoying himself. The dude loves having a captive audience, and his unnerving tactics include poetically mocking Emily’s “amore” for Miguel. Yet Emily taunts Potter’s “mask of eccentricity.”
It’s clear that, several years later, Potter is still shattered by the crumbling of his RICO investigation against the Sons. After all, Potter’s still obsessing over the “leather-clad salesmen” of the real IRA, and this singular goal leads him to propose an odd deal to Miguel — to empower the cartel in a joint effort to dismantle the “terrorist” rebels. Miguel doesn’t trust Potter (given what the CIA did to his father) but finally signs a deal after he sees live footage of Emily in hysterics over their son. Later, she and Miguel keep their united front intact, and he mutters something about his “2,000 forgotten soldiers, just waiting for a devil to lead them.” So it looks like he intends to honor his existing deal with Adelita, which should present quite a juggling act for the rest of the season.
‘Mayans M.C.’ airs Tuesday nights at 10 pm EST on FX.
