Hello my fellow Mayans MC fans,
The stakes are increasing, with only two episodes left. This episode titled “Her Blacks Crackle and Drag” was written by Sean Varela and Vincent Vargas. Just as the previous episodes have focused on family and those dynamics, this episode and I assume the next two will focus on the impending war. Brett Dos Santos was again in the director’s chair for this episode, as he was for Episode two, “Lord Help My Poor Soul.”
I am happy to see Vincent Vargas get writing credit for this episode. In 2022 at Comic-con, I had the pleasure of interviewing him one-on-one, and he mentioned that he definitely sees himself writing more. I don’t know if he had written this episode at the time. I love that Elgin James lets the cast write and direct episodes. I like that he allows them to get that experience under their belts.
The recap showed scenes from an earlier episode of Guero’s (Andrew Jacobs) rash decision to execute Diaz (Alex Fernandez) and Jinx (Giovanni Rodriguez) as payback for killing his father, Ibarra. Creeper (Joseph Raymond Lucero) gets shanked in prison just as he’s about to tell Hank (Frankie Loyal) who the rat is. Letty (Emily Tosta) has been spying on the Broken Saints for Isaac (JR Bourne) about what is happening at the ranch.
Her Blacks Crackle and Drag:
At the episode’s opening, we see Downer (Angel Oquendo) and Guero driving to the headquarters of the Grim Bastards. At first, I hadn’t noticed that they were wearing Sons of Anarchy kuttes, but it makes sense since it gives the illusion that SOA were the ones to kill the Mayans, not their own. The banter between them is hilarious, and the rock, paper, scissors game they played was a favorite, considering Downer added his spin to it.
Letty trying to sneak out of the Broken Saints ranch compound was a bit sketchy, but she did get caught by one of the Broken Saints member women.
Luckily Letty able to verbally finesse her way into stealing a truck to meet Isaac. I am surprised that Letty has not been caught in a lie yet by the women. I feel that may happen soon, and the consequences may not work out in her favor.
I loved the scenes between Felipe (Edward James Olmos) and Miguel (Danny Pino). Both scenes were well-written, as well as acted. Miguel’s arrogance and disdain for Felipe was felt, and Danny conveyed that well. I find it interesting that Miguel talked about his father and what he was like with him not knowing what his father was really like to those that knew him before Miguel was born. Miguel still has no clue how bad his mother was and how the whole trajectory of the Reyes family changed because of her. No one would be in this situation if it weren’t for Dita (Ada Maris). Felipe tells Miguel, as he has told both Angel (Clayton Cardenas) and Ez (JD Pardo), “The only thing a father can ask of his son is to forgive his mistakes.” That statement has been repeated a few other times during the series. With the shift between Ez and Felipe, he has asked him to forgive him a few times. It is because of Felipe’s past mistakes that the whole situation has been put in motion. It makes you think about how one decision can change so many lives.
Now that the Grim Bastards are with the Mayans, the war with SOA will undoubtedly be bloody. Unfortunately, the circumstances that the Grim Bastards are coming into this war are misleading. It was all under pretenses, but you have to shed some blood during a fight.
I loved the scene between Isaac and Letty. He mentioned that the “fairer sex always pay the price of war” and that they are left behind and must go on alone. The Greek tragedy level has been gaining momentum, with war and family as the two main themes throughout this season. I suspect that by the end of the series, we will have a full-on Greek and Shakespearean tragedy on our hands.
Isaac alluded to the Holocaust and the Vietnam War by mentioning two vivid pictures that have been seen time and time again about the horrors of war. He said one of a girl smiling at a German soldier and getting her head shaved and brought out to the street. The other was the picture of 9-year-old Kim Phuc running from the napalm bomb that struck her village in June 1972. As a photographer, that picture of Kim, known as the Napalm Girl, devastates me every time I see it. The terror and fear on her face forever burned into my brain.
JR did a spectacular job of letting us glimpse sorrow, if only for a second, of how that affected him. That has Vincent written all over it since he was in the Army and a Ranger. I know he has felt the monumental effects of war and the PTSD that comes with it.
Letty telling Isaac that “someday, someone will” shoot you or finish the job her father did makes me think there will be some foreshadowing there. Isaac also manipulates Hope (Vanessa Giselle) into thinking that Letty has abandoned her. It shows how sinister he can be.
With the chess pieces falling into place with both the Grim Bastards and Iron War on the side of the Mayans, Ez’s plan is coming to fruition.
He knew that once he had the Grim Bastards on his side that the SOA stood no chance. I don’t think the writers plan on having too many people standing at the end of the series. There are signs that some of the Mayans may be leaving, but we shall see.
Ez is also isolating himself more and more from the club, not physically but mentally. He knows he may be over his head with all this happening, but he doesn’t show it. He is smart but not smart enough to win this war. He doesn’t have the experience that Bishop (Michael Irby) does. I want to see how the final two episodes will play out and who will survive.
Creepers funeral at the clubhouse was sad. It was great to see Taza (Raoul Max Trujillo) again, even if it was for a funeral. Creeper’s sister (Yadi Valerio Rivera)-Emilio Rivera’s real life wife-spoke about how Creeper made sure that the two of them would be taken care of since their mother didn’t have the wherewithal to do it. She mentioned that ever since joining the Mayans, he was happy and loved each one of his brothers. She had singled out Ez and how much Creeper loved and was loyal to him. You could see how that statement affected Ez. “I killed my brother. I killed Creeper,” Ez says, and the audience thinks he is confessing, but not quite. He says he regrets that it happened on his watch, and Creeper’s sister consoles him as if to say it wasn’t his fault…if she only knew.
I also loved how each club member toasted Creeper with bottles of water. Seeing that his brothers honored his sobriety and kept that memory alive was wonderful. It goes to show how much Creeper meant to them.
Kody (Stella Maeve) made an appearance at the funeral as well. I know she has it out for Ez, and in next week’s preview, she said she wants Ez dead. The one thing I wondered about Creeper’s death is, did he leave a note about who the rat was? I would have done that knowing how prison can be and what transpired between him and Ez in a previous episode. That would be the most logical thing, at least to me.
Hope and Letty escaped from where Hope was being held with the help of Terry (Greg Vrotsos), who seemed to have grown a conscience. With Letty and Hope driving down the highway, Hope tells Letty that Isaac will find them. Letty doesn’t believe her and says they’ll move to Chicago and get jobs. She also mentioned Chuckie (Michael Ornstein), -a fan favorite-implying that he may be able to help them. It was nice to hear that name again, as Chuckie was always a beloved character in the series. Hope kept telling Letty that Isaac won’t stop. I was surprised that Letty was that naïve about what Hope told her. She should know better than that. What Hope did next was heartbreaking. She screamed at Letty to stop the car; she exited the vehicle and thanked Letty for the best few months of her life, of being her sister and best friend. When she told Letty that she was setting her free, I knew something bad was about to happen. Hope then fell back into oncoming traffic and was struck by a truck.
I know that this season we have seen quite a few deaths, some more brutal than others, but this death, I felt, was right in the context of the series. Right in the sense that Hope knew no matter where she went with Letty that Isaac would find them. Running for the rest of her life Is not how she wanted to live, constantly looking over her shoulder. Hope died on her terms; she died her way. She wasn’t going to give Isaac or anybody else the satisfaction of ending her life; she did it on her terms. That is heroic, tragic, and selfless. She saved Letty’s life by sacrificing her own; that’s what a hero does. I loved how the writers displayed the Suicide hotline at the end of the episode. I hope (pun intended) it helps those that need it.
Sophia (Andrea Cortes) trying to reach out to Ez was heartbreaking. It was a short scene, but powerful in that she warned him that he was losing her.
Ez intends to spare everyone he loves and let himself be the martyr. It’s almost like it was his fate. His relationship with everyone he’s loved has shifted and changed so much over the series that he inevitably isolates himself.
The last scene of Bottles (Alex Barone) and Guero in the van heading to the Broken Saints ranch was hilarious. Their banter at the gas station was comedy gold; I loved how both actors let loose on each other. As the men approach the ranch, they run out of gas, and Guero instructs Bottles to get out and push since he is the Prospect. Bottles notices flames coming from the ranch. The next scene is the fentanyl lab in flames and bodies being carried out. The flames are illuminated in Bottles glasses; that was a nice touch.
Two episodes remain. Knowing Elgin James and Kurt Sutter, the ending will be epic. We shall see who, in the end, is left standing and who will ride off into the sunset. Regardless of what happens, it will be a fantastic ride. As for the series finale episode, I will attend San Diego Comic-Con that evening. Therefore, I will not be able to watch the finale and will watch the final episode once I return home on July 24th. What I plan on doing for my review is writing about the entire series from season one to season five. I want to write about how groundbreaking this series has been and my likes and dislikes about it. Please be patient with me; it will take much re-watching of the series to get my full thoughts on paper.
The Suicide Hotline is www.988lifeline.org or text 988. Please reach out if you are struggling.
Thanks to Kenn for video and image embedding for my feature article and many thanks to you for visiting WormholeRiders News Agency. I will be back with my episode ten analysis and final review of seasons one through five of Mayans MC after my adventure at Comic-Con 2023 in San Diego!
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Until next time,
Regards,
