Welcome to our weekly chronicling of Mayans M.C. episodic moments that live up to the mindset of the series’ co-creator, Kurt Sutter, whose Sons of Anarchy included some depraved gems over the course of seven seasons. 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 continues to build its own mythology with links to Sons of Anarchy, and as is customary this season, the episode title, “Lahun Chan,” lays on heavy undertones of Mayan lore. In this case, the overriding entity is a confusing reference (representing a jaguar-like creature) but linked to another god, who represents both human sacrifice and fertility, and possibly extending to symbolize war — all of which can be tied to Miguel and Adelita’s complicated ending scene. (God, Miguel’s got a lot of drama coming his way, right?) The episode also ends with EZ staring at the sky while explaining to Angel that he’s gazing at “inevitability.” So existential, man. However, there’s plenty of non-navel-gazing that went down before the starry panorama materialized. The series is now settling into a pretty solid groove, too, with bits of humor (at times, making fun of itself) sprinkled into the violence and double-crossing.
Last week, the series made no secret of where things were headed when EZ and Angel ended the episode at Happy’s Charming abode with guns drawn. The Reyes brothers get down with torturing the SAMCRO member while demanding to know who made the hit on their mother. There’s a few aspects to reflect upon here. First, Happy realizes that he’s probably a goner due to EZ’s photographic memory, and there’s several sticky torture moments with Angel even scraping a tattooed happy-face off Happy’s torso. Secondly, the situation devolves when Angel learns about Felipe’s hidden post as a federal cop. A furious Angel then tackles EZ in Happy’s kitchen, and the punches fly. These two can’t manage to extinguish the sibling rivalry. It’s ridiculous and great.
Happy’s stupid attempt to taunt Angel then leads to him talking, but only to save the life of Opie the Dog (RIP, Opie from SAMCRO). I have to think that Angel wouldn’t really hurt a dog, right? That’ll have to remain a mystery, but Happy spills. He reveals that he botched the hit, and Felipe was an intended target, and we still don’t know who in Mexico wanted Felipe dead and if this came from the Galindo cartel. More to come on this once Happy talks to Packer, but the Mayans-SAMCRO peace agreement stays intact. For now.
Most importantly? Opie the Dog gets a happy ending to the episode, and all is right with this decision. No one wanted to see Opie die again.
Now we get to the metaphorical torture of the day: Dita and Felipe in a clandestine rooftop meeting. That’s quite a place for Felipe to learn that he’s really Miguel’s father.
Poor Felipe. This isn’t the end of the subject, especially since Emily finds some photo evidence later. Dita’s also clearly unstable while skipping out on shrink appointments and confessing to Felipe that she intentionally stuck around to let the fire almost kill her. One thing is clear — she’s got unfinished business of an ominous variety. An exhausted Felipe knows that this isn’t over, and it feels like there’s going to be some violent showdown with Dita and a gun at some point. Not good.
Oh, and remember those poser-bikers, the Swole Boyz? They’re still around and revving their engines like comic relief, which makes for a fine West Side Story joke and more.
And after one of the Zack Morris wannabes take Riz’s bike down, we witness this whip-filled moment of comeuppance.
Then there’s the confusing hot mess involving Miguel and Adelita. No one knows the identity of her baby’s father, who is supposedly Angel, and he believes as much, but Adelita bizarrely wants to tell no one. So … is Angel really the father? Emily’s comments throughout the season suggest that she’s very suspicious about Miguel spending so much time with Adelita, but that appears to fly over Miguel’s head. Or at least, he’s got bigger worries. He’s double-crossing the feds, and there’s an exchange with Adelita at a predetermined location. She gets taken into custody, which is apparently all her idea and a last-minute switcheroo … to save Palomo and her followers? It’s not entirely clear, but Adelita looks awfully convincing while lashing out at Miguel, who she calls “devil” and “the death of Mexico.”
Miguel’s reaction to all of this definitely catches Alvarez’s attention. Intriguing.
In the end, Miguel’s parentage has been revealed (but not to him), and there’s another layer added to some possible emotional ties between himself and Adelita. I also doubt that Potter is finished with putting screws to Miguel simply because Adelita’s in federal custody. That all seems too easy, and from what we know of the Sons of Anarchy universe, there’s going to be more fresh hell to come for these characters (read Danny Pino’s interview with us about Miguel here). And maybe more whips.
‘Mayans M.C.’ airs Tuesday nights at 10 pm EST on FX.
