The net is closing in, and everyone is feeling the heat.
Mayans M.C. Season 5 Episode 3 confirmed my suspicions that Mayans M.C. Season 5 is going out with some of the darkest storylines in franchise history.
We’ll start with the good. Emily and EZ’s meeting in the park had some nice callbacks to Mayans M.C. Season 1, but it also highlighted the distance between them.
Once upon a time, they were an endgame ‘ship. Oh, how things have changed in a matter of years.
If you watch Mayans M.C. online, you know they share a storied history, but something tells me the park was their final meeting.
I appreciated how they both recognized the other was battling something they may be unable to win.
Emily knows her back is against the wall here. Miguel isn’t going to allow her out of his sight with their son.
The best-case scenario is that Emily can make her getaway in the car EZ leaves at the store, but plans rarely ever come to fruition in this universe.
Even if Emily escapes again, Miguel has all the resources to find her, so she’d be looking over her shoulder at every turn.
It’s also doubtful the series would tread the same territory we delved into with Mayans M.C. Season 4, so something has to change to make this plot worthwhile.
Emily knows there’s no future for her and Miguel. Their past is toxic, and there’s no chance they could ever form any relationship again.
Emily will always wonder whether Miguel will attempt to kill her again, and maybe that’s the incentive for her to try to run again.
Perhaps she knows the day will come when Miguel will strike again, and she thinks that the risk of escaping is worth the reward:
Having their son under her care.
When children are in harm’s way, it changes the characters’ motivations.
Just look at Angel. On Mayans M.C. Season 1, he was his brother’s ride-or-die, but now that Adelita has returned with his child, he understands what’s expected of him.
He has to step up and be a father while simultaneously keeping the people who want to bite back at EZ at bay.
It’s a situation he never thought he’d be in, and the cracks in the brother bond are already starting to form.
EZ is laser-focused on the pipeline and what it could mean for the future of the Santo Padre Charter, but he’s failing to think of the bigger picture.
The motto has been Mayans until the end for too long, and now, people who oppose them are circling like never before.
EZ is desperately trying to cut deals with everyone and anyone, and that could be his undoing.
EZ had a strong moral compass in the first three seasons, but he flirted too much with darkness on Mayans M.C. Season 4 to the point that he’s evolved into someone who makes rash decisions that could include killing people he loves.
Watching him travel this road is hard because he had the best intentions on Mayans M.C. Season 1 Episode 1 is hard.
Unfortunately, it’s hard to tell where his arc will go because I don’t anticipate it will follow the same framework as Jax Teller on Sons of Anarchy.
At least, I hope it doesn’t.
For now, EZ has another headache in the form of the rat to come to terms with.
EZ will need extreme measures to find and take care of the rat before their entire plan has been fed back to those who oppose him.
Can you imagine the pressure he must be feeling at this stage? We should probably expect some more rash decisions because, well, this story is far from over.
The battle with the Sons of Anarchy hasn’t been as interesting as it should be, but I suspect Terry’s admission that Isaac is watching his every move to get answers will come back to haunt everyone.
Out of all the characters, it’s easy to feel for Jess because she witnessed something and spoke out about it. Now, she’s being used to feed Terry and the Sons of Anarchy information.
She’s scared of being found out because the Mayans and the Sons of Anarchy will not be happy with her, no matter how this goes.
If Terry is willing to turn on Isaac to save Jazmine and, by extension, Jess, this storyline could be kicked into high gear and be far more interesting than what we’re getting right now.
Letty barging into the house guns blazing brought Butterfly back into the mix, and that’s not a good thing.
Letty and Hope escaping showed how incompetent Butterfly’s gang was, but there’s a good chance they’ll track Letty and Hope down before long. Mayans M.C. is coming to an end, after all. We need big swings!
Letty refusing to leave the house because it’s her sole connection to Coco was challenging to watch, but staying there makes both Hope and Letty big targets when Meth Mountain comes back around.
“Do You Hear the Rain” sent things in a compelling direction, but the vast array of storylines need to begin converging to give the sense that this show is wrapping things up.
What are your thoughts on EZ and Angel’s differing views? How do you think EZ will react to the Rat?
Will Isaac unmask the truth about Terry?
Hit the comments.
Mayans M.C. airs Wednesdays at 10 p.m. on FX.
Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.