So here we are, episode three of Sons of Anarchy spin-off, Mayans M.C and we’ve already seen the double crossing, deadly secrets and potentially dangerous liaisons that became something of a trademark for SOA throughout its run – along with the fights, shootouts, torture and car/bike chases the cult biker drama made its name from.
So what’s changed? Well, we have a new hero (anti-hero, if you’d prefer) in Ezekial “EZ” Reyes (J.D. Pardo) the new prospect looking to rise through the ranks of the Mayans M.C. with his brother, the already established member, Angel (Clayton Cardenas). The two already appear to have secrets of their own; add to that the usual shady deals and alliances and Mayans M.C. looks set to become quite an explosive series.
Episode three really sees things shift up a gear for Mayans M.C.. Not really in terms of speed and pacing, but in terms of those potentially dangerous secrets and lies and also motivation for certain characters. Towards the end of the previous episode, a conversation between EZ and Emily (Sarah Bolger) revealed a dark and disturbing lie that Galindo (Danny Pino) told Emily that could put their kidnapped son in danger. Obviously feeling helpless and frustrated by the situation, Emily decides to take a trip across the border to look for clues about her sons whereabouts and the mysterious rebel group that took her son.
READ MORE: Catch up on all of our Mayans M.C. series reviews
This motivation is great for the character of Emily as it shows (although this had been hinted at in the previous episode) that she isn’t just some trophy wife of Galindo and isn’t intimidated by his dark and brutal streak and will do what it takes to protect her family. Although Emily doesn’t appear to be anything like Sons of Anarchy matriarch, Gemma Teller (Katey Sagal), at present, she’s clearly an intelligent, strong-willed woman and it will be great to watch her journey throughout the series. Especially due to her connection with EZ.
Galindo, on the other hand, still shows no signs of letting up from his mission against the rebels and even manages to convert a group of young thugs to become spies for him in a clever scene in which you think will lead to the torture of a comparatively innocent young boy but instead Galindo fools the kid with words of honour and loyalty and lets him go. The Galindo cartel now having a mini army of spies on the streets may indeed help him find his son, but it could also lead to trouble for anyone that speaks a bad word about the Galindo family. Including the Mayans.
Another nice piece of character development in this episode is that of Felipe Reyes (Edward James Olmos), EZ and Angel’s dad. Fending off federal agents who are checking on EZ after his jail time. But it appears there’s more to Felipe than meets the eye. As his handy shotgun shows when confronting a fed. Does his past connect to Angel and EZ’s membership and involvement with the Mayans? It’ll be interesting to find out but when both EZ and Angel end up falling asleep in Felipe’s living room, it proves that no matter what’s happening in your life, family is family and there’s no place like home.
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Having said that, before this somewhat warming end to the episode, Angel’s double crossing might be catching up with him after a Chinese gang member he was trying to sell heroin to is killed by Mayans President, Bishop (Michael Irby) after word got out that he’d been a traitor to his gang, putting Angel on edge. Whether his double crossing and lies will be discovered remains to be seen. The Mayans killed the Chinese member as a favour to them after their heroin delivery was ruined by the rebel group (in episode one) and they wouldn’t hesitate to do the same if one of their own was a traitor. It will certainly make for some great tension and if Angel’s walking funny over the course of the season (if he even makes it to the end) it’ll be because he’s shitting himself.
If the first couple of episodes of Mayans M.C. felt a bit all over the place in terms of information overload, then episode three calms things down a bit whilst still displaying enough drama, tension and excitement to keep you watching. Only this time, it adds some much needed character development and motivation to make this series even more promising.
