This Mayans M.C. review contains spoilers. 

Mayans M.C. Episode 4

How many times can you exclaim “Oh shit!” in an hour? I lost count during this week’s episode of Mayans M.C. There were so many unexpected turns that, by the end of the episode, it was hard to say which was the most surprising.

The least surprising revelation was that the teenager running around calling herself Coco’s sister while trying to get her start in porn was, in fact, his daughter. Seventeen years earlier, Coco had left the girl with his prostitute mother to raise. Okay, well technically she was supposed to take the kid to an adoption agency, but who can resist an adorable little baby, right? Besides, Momma Coco seems like she has an awesome track record as a parent, what with her son (who seems to be a ringer for Tig’s character), who has done so well for himself as a sniper and resident weirdo for the local M.C. Really think about that for a second. How fucked up do you need to be to become “that guy” in the biker gang?

Another not-so surprising revelation was that Bishop has an understanding with his town’s Mayor. What shocked was that they were so flagrant with their rapport. When a fourth fence jumper gets cut down by “local heroes dropping wetbacks for Uncle Sam,” she calls in Bishop, they stand over the body, and she basically tells him to take care of it. Not that anyone on the show much cares about a dead runner from Mexico. But a dead runner who may have been smuggling prescription drugs over the border? That is another matter entirely.

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After all, the entire point of the Mayor’s complicity is that the M.C. and the cartel are supposed to be the only game in town. As Galindo himself later points out, they live too close to the border for state officials to care about what they are doing. The drugs, the murder, is of little interest to the powers that be, so long as the violence occurs in Mexico or to Mexicans. But bureaucracy, no matter how racist, never sleeps. Surely, he knows that there are federal agents mucking around even in their lawless corner of the country.

And sure enough, the Fed that EZ has been reporting to has his sights on the cartel. Here’s another surprise, turns out that Fed is EZ’s second cousin. That would be Kevin Jimenez (Maurice Compte), not Santiago Heimler (read Hannah Arendt for the reference to Nazis in Argentina). They must be related through EZ’s mom because it sure as shit ain’t though Felipe. Turns out Felipe’s identity manifested itself circa 1985. Prior to which he was doing something horrible, like enthusiastically decapitating people. The insinuation is less that he was a member of a cartel, and more that he was in some type of shitty militia. Perhaps a worker for the PRI (the Institutional Revolutionary Party in Mexico)?

further reading: Mayans MC Season 2 News and Details

It was less surprising to find out that Felipe has a mysterious and unsavory past, and more of a shock to learn that Jimenez is actually doing his best to protect EZ from getting ground up in the investigation. In the pilot, Jimenez came off as flat, a stock character: government agent/douche. This week, though, the grudging way in which he tries to coerce EZ to turn Emily against Galindo, and then puking from the stress of his confrontation with Felipe, says a lot. Why does it bother Jimenez to threaten Felipe with revealing the truth to his sons? Does he know enough about the butcher’s past that he fears Felipe may kill him? Or is he wracked with guilt over what he is doing to his family?

It is pretty impressive the way these threads tie into each other and wind through the entire episode: from Coco and Jimenez looking for a way to connect to their blood, to Alvarez telling EZ that if he ever finds himself in conflict with Angel, the M.C. will arrange for one of them to be moved to a different chapter. The brothers in the club come first. What a warm and fuzzy, yet bone-chilling statement.

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And then there is Emily, who has decided to go full Gemma. Instead of wilting in the corner, she decides to act and fully align herself with Galindo and the cartel. She wants her son back and if that means getting messy, then that is what she will do. Things get a bit messier then she intended though, and instead of merely making it look like the rebels vandalized a church during a major holiday, Galindo decided to take Emily’s plan the extra mile… and bludgeon a nun to death. Yay? Not showing the actual bludgeoning was probably a good idea. The shock factor was excellent, especially coming on the heels of the M.C. finding a house full of dead white nationalists.

Yeah, so there was a lot going on this week. Turns out that new player running prescription drugs across the border is just as much of a monster as the cartel. And maybe as big a monster as Felipe used to be? So much going on and all of it delicious. How much time do you suppose it will take for Emily and Felipe both to lose their shit and wrack up a body count?

Was J.D. Pardo supposed to be the star of this show? Shit, with so many amazing actors slaying it each week, it’s hard to say. My final surprise of the evening: I might have to trade in my massive Michael Irby crush for some serious Clayton Cardenas stanning! Angel is giving me that Jax Teller, Machiavellian type of vibe!

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Gerri Mahn is a freelance contributor. Read more of her work here.