Mayans MC Premiere And Initial Thoughts.

Last night the Sons of Anarchy spinoff Mayans MC aired on FX. It has been 10 years since Creator Kurt Sutter built the complex narrative that spanned 7 seasons. The Sopranos for bikers, this Shakespearean-esque story centered around Jax Teller and the life he led as a father, friend, and outlaw. Born into a life inescapable chaos, Jax was never able to balance the scales of being a good man and a good outlaw. He loved his family and his club equally, and for that he paid the ultimate price.

Mayans MC takes place in the “Sutterverse” post-Jax Teller. The setting is Santo Padre a Southern California town close to the border where we follow EZ Reyes (JD Pardo): a Mayan prospect who was just released from Stockton State Prison. EZ is the son of Mexican immigrants, who worked very hard to get their sons to the American Dream they dreamed of. He got caught on the wrong side of the law ending his straight life for good. Now enveloped in the club life, EZ must choose where to go from here.

The pilot, titled “Perro/Oc”, doesn’t waste any time, jumping you right back into the “life”. It starts out with EZ literally running over a dead crow with his bike, symbolizing the end of Jax Teller (Charlie Hunnam) and the story he told with SAMCRO. I don’t want to spoil too much but this series will have a lot to do with the Galindo Cartel and their relationship with the Mayans. It started a little slow for me initially but the plot picks up quickly after about 15 minutes. A few days ago, I re-watched the Sons pilot to see if I could make any comparisons to the two. Both open with an animal (alive or otherwise) blocking the path of the protagonist riding down the road. As far as plot goes these two shows could not be more different. The Sons pilot starts a little slower, spending more time with world building while this show knows their audience will most likely be fans of Sons who knows a little about the “life”. Instead, the show gives you more character exposition and where they fit on the tapestry of this show. One comparison I can make between Jax and EZ is that they both have something to lose outside of the club. In the pilot of Sons, Jax’s son Abel is born 10 weeks too early due to neglect from his drug-addicted mother. EZ is currently working with a federal agent, Kevin Jimenez (Maurice Compte), on building a case against the Galindo Cartel. I am excited to see where the series goes.

I enjoyed that this episode did not rely on Easter eggs to keep you invested in the plot. You get a flashback from EZ, showing Gemma Teller-Morrow (Katey Segal) for a moment and a cameo from San Bernardino Sons President Les Packer (Robert Patrick).  Emilio Rivera reprises his role as Marcus Alvarez, Padrino of the Mayans MC, to add glue to the two shows together. This show took a turn that I did not see coming and I’m happy. It had a cool diesel-punk aesthetic with rustic desert art during the credits and around the clubhouse. There were very intriguing details that were placed throughout the show like: the dog you see throughout the show, the underground tunnel that connected George Washington (US) and the Blessed Mother (Mexico) together, and the indigenous art style mixed with rustic desert metal. The imagery and symbols were very unique to what we are used to seeing in the Sutterverse. This pilot was violent and edgy (Fuck was throughout the dialogue) and it fills that void of in my life that Sons filled for a while. I was a massive fan of Sons of Anarchy and I’m glad we are getting more from this universe. A lot of fans wanted a prequel of John Teller’s days (myself included) in the club but this will be interesting too. Getting a glimpse into the Latino side of biker culture will be refreshing. I will be writing pieces here and there about this series so stay tuned for more about Mayans MC!

– Mark