Mayans MC
Season 1 Episode 1: “Perro/Oc”
Directed by Kurt Sutter
Written by Kurt Sutter
Created by Elgin James, Kurt Sutter
Starring JD Pardo, Clayton Cardenas, Edward James Olmos, Sarah Bolger, Michael Irby, Carla Baratta, Antonio Jaramillo, Raoul Max Trujillo, Richard Cabral, Danny Pino, Emilio Rivera
FX
Air Date: Tuesday, September 4, 2018, 10pm

It’s been almost 4 years since Kurt Sutter rode out of our lives with the perfect ending to his incredible Sons of Anarchy series. He now returns with a literal bang to the gritty world he knows best. Mayans MC shifts to another gang we know… the Mayans, who were featured in the very first Sons episode.

Spoilers below for the very first episode of Mayans MC “Perro/Oc.”

Mayans MC 1.1 “Perro/Oc” review: The first image is “Divididos Caemos” and “Divided We Fall,” and that is definitely prophetic in the mc gang world. A motorcycle runs over a dead crow that an dog has been pawing at. And so begins our descent into one of my favorite worlds. Another handsome young lead in the form of Ezekial “EZ” Reyes (JD Pardo, Revolution), the new prospect of the Mayans MC, whose brother, Angel (Clayton Cardenas) is also a member, has to do the dirty work and prove his loyalty to be patched in.

Set 2 years after the death of Jax Teller (Charlie Hunnam), and in Southern California, the Mayans face many of the same challenges that the Sons did. Of course, a lot of that was self-sabotage then and now.
Their bad business is also hidden in a good business. Drugs are packaged and hidden inside of quinceañera dresses in a dress shop.

The new prospect has an 8 years earlier flashback (cute way of saying that – you’ll see), kissing his girl, Emily (Sarah Bolger). Shaking it off, he visits his pop, Felipe (Edward James Olmos), who is so far, my favorite, to borrow a book from his butcher shop. His father is in on whatever his son is doing.

His brother picks him up to go on a Vegas run together. Angel seems a little bitter about his relationship with Felipe.The truck gets hit with paint splotches then flips over, and after a lot of shooting, they lose their drugs. EZ spies BTT tattooed on a wrist. The run goes wrong – that’s a Sutter thing. It just wouldn’t be fun without it. Known for his visuals, there’s a beautiful shot of EZ facing the truck fire.

The Mayans face Miguel Galindo (Danny Pino), head of the cartel, who demands a person as sacrifice, after EZ offers up info – Samoans. How did they get mixed up in that?

The president, Bishop (Michael Irby) punches EZ in the face after Galindo leaves – don’t speak unless spoke to. We know enough about prospects to know this is is normal.

The Mayans have a hidden pathway to travel secretly and cross the border. That is how they travel, under the highways. EZ saves a little thief and meets a woman in charge of thieves. The scraggly dog watches.

He sees Emily from across the street. then flashbacks to a jail scene. He thought he would be in for 20 years “Hope is cruel.” She leaves, throwing a sonogram in his face. He chases after her and is held down. The biggest surprise of that scene is mama dukes herself, Gemma (Katey Sagal) waiting in the visiting room, “Assholes.” I knew there would be a flashback cameo, but I thought it would just be some footage, not really the person. Satisfaction achieved.

The club meets with Padrino, Mayans Godfather Marcus Alvarez (Emilio Rivera), to figure out what to do. EZ has to detail the bikes while the Mayans sit at the table to discuss the problem at hand.

A man picks up what he has given his father. The prospect is a rat?

They ride to the Samoans in a cemetery. After a few choice words, there is a shootout, of course.

Then SAMCRO come in and make a “Samoan sandwich.” There is a new SOA club president, but those 2 clubs are clearly still on good terms. I was giddy with this cameo too, even though I was searching for Chibbs and Tig the whole time.

Galindo gets the Samoan to confess (by chopping his arm off) that there are orphans by the border led by a woman, who hired them. Galindo lets him bleed out. EZ has to clean up the mess while Galindo has dinner with his family – Emily and his son.

He meets with his cop. He made a deal to get out, but only to get Galindo – he wants his life back, but not at the expense of the MC. We all know these deals never work, but that is the overarching conflict of this series. I’m excited to see it play out.

Angel wants to patch him on. Little brother isn’t the only one with secrets. Angel is working with the woman and the orphan unbeknownst to Bishop. Not good, Angel.

“All in.”

I am so excited that this world is back. I enjoyed every minute of this episode. I think that Pardo needs to talk more. We need to feel more for him, but it’s the first episode, so he has a little time. He has a colder look than Hunnam does, so we need to penetrate to see him more. I am very impressed with Michael Irby’s character so far. He is a real MC leader. I also missed the Sutter soundtracks. This one was as good as I remember, with a more Latin flavor – so fun.

Mayans MC airs Tuesday nights at 10pm ET on FX.

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