A new trailer and poster have just been released for the action film Danger Close, directed by Kriv Stenders (The Pacific). The 2019 release features Vikings star Travis Fimmel and is set for release On Demand, Digital HD, and in limited theaters on November 8th.
The cast also includes Luke Bracey, Daniel Webber, Alexander England, Aaron Glenane, Nicholas Hamilton, and Myles Pollard. Matt Dordan, Anthony Hayes, and Richard Roxburgh also star in the Saban Films release.
The Plot:
“Major Harry Smith (Travis Fimmel) and his company of 108 young and inexperienced Australian and New Zealand soldiers are fighting for their lives in the Battle of Long tan. With 2,500 battle-hardened Viet Cong soldiers closing in, their ammunition running out and casualties mounting, each man searches for the strength to triumph over an uncertain future with honor, decency and courage.
Travis Fimmel as Major Harry Smith in the Saban Films’ action film ‘Danger Close’ (Photo courtesy of Saban Films)Nicholas Hamilton as Private Noel Grimes in the Saban Films’ action film ‘Danger Close’ (Photo courtesy of Saban Films) Poster for the action drama, ‘Danger Close’
Blake Lively stars as a woman willing to sacrifice everything in her search for the people responsible for a plane crash that killed her family in the dramatic film, The Rhythm Section. The official two-minute trailer does a great job of setting up the events that unfold during her search while also confirming The Rhythm Section‘s classification as an action thriller. There’s a lot to take in in the two-minute trailer including car chases, fistfights, gun battles, and multiple disguises sported by Lively.
In addition to Blake Lively (A Simple Favor), the cast includes two-time Oscar nominee Jude Law (Cold Mountain, The Talented Mr. Ripley) and two-time Emmy Award winner Sterling K. Brown (This Is Us, American Crime Story).
The film’s based on the novel by Mark Burnell. Burnell adapted his book for the screen and Reed Morano (The Handmaid’s Tale) directed. Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli produced, with Burnell, Stuart Ford, Greg Shapiro, Rob Friedman, Vaishali Mistry, Donald Tang, Simon Williams, and Gregg Wilson executive producing.
Burnell’s behind the scenes team includes director of photography Sean Bobbitt, editor Joan Sobel, and production designer Tom Conroy.
Paramount Pictures has planned a January 31, 2020 theatrical release.
The Rhythm Section Plot:
“Blake Lively stars as Stephanie Patrick, an ordinary woman on a path of self-destruction after her family is tragically killed in a plane crash. When Stephanie discovers that the crash was not an accident, she enters a dark, complex world to seek revenge on those responsible and find her own redemption.”
Season two of USA Network’s The Purge is set to kick off on October 15, 2019. Season two, which will air on Tuesdays at 9pm ET/PT, begins with episode one titled “This Is Not a Test.” And in support of the upcoming season, USA Network’s released episode one photos along with a nearly two-minute trailer.
Season two features a new cast and characters. Season one starred Gabriel Chavarria, Jessica Garza, William Baldwin, Amanda Warren, Colin Woodell, Lili Simmons, Lee Tergesen, Hannah Anderson, and Fiona Dourif. In season two, Derek Luke plays Marcus Moore, Joel Allen is Ben, Max Martini is Ryan Grant, and Paola Nunez is Esme Carmona.
Film franchise creator James DeMonaco serves as an executive producer along with Sébastien K. Lemercier, his Man in a Tree partner. Krystal Houghton Ziv, James Roland, Tim Andrew, Thomas Kelly, and Jason Blum also executive produce as well as Platinum Dunes’ Michael Bay, Brad Fuller, and Andrew Form.
The Season 2 Plot, Courtesy of USA Network:
“Based on the hit movie franchise, The Purge revolves around a 12-hour period when all crime, including murder, is legal. Season 2 explores how a single Purge night affects the lives of four interconnected characters over the course of the ensuing year, all inevitably leading up to the next Purge.
Hailing from Blumhouse Television and UCP, the second season of the anthology series opens on Purge night but dives deeper than ever before into what the Purge world looks like the other 364 days of the year.”
Joel Allen as Ben and Matt Shively as Turner in ‘The Purge’ season 2 (Photo by: Alfonso Bresciani/USA Network)Derek Luke as Marcus in season 2 episode 1 (Photo by: Alfonso Bresciani/USA Network)Paola Núñez as Esme Carmona in season 2 episode 1 (Photo by: Alfonso Bresciani/USA Network)Max Martini as Ryanin season 2 episode 1 (Photo by: Alfonso Bresciani/USA Network)
Two crazy kids rob a gas station and are swiftly kicked in the butt by karma in the independent film Villains. Their getaway car runs out of fuel shortly after the robbery of a gas station, setting up a trip to a house of horrors in the nifty black comedy/thriller from writer/directors Dan Berk and Robert Olsen (The Stakelander).
Mickey and Jules – perfect names for inept robbers – seem like a decent enough couple. They obviously adore each other, and, as events unfold, even the worst of what life tosses at them can’t rip them apart. Although, boy, does it try.
Abandoning their disabled vehicle on the road, Mickey and Jules pay a visit to a nearby home. They break in, determined to steal the car in the garage. When they can’t locate its keys, they have the bright idea of siphoning the gas. That fateful decision leads them to the discovery of a young girl named Sweetiepie chained up in the basement.
A short discussion ensues, and Mickey is talked into trying to free the child. They’re just as successful at doing that as they were in making a clean getaway from their most recent robbery.
It turns out the couple who own the house are real looney toons. Mickey and Jules should have known they weren’t in Kansas anymore when they entered the house and seemingly stepped back in time to the 1970s. The home’s décor reflects the worst of that decade, and the twisted married couple who own the creepy house give off a Stepford Wives/Twilight Zone vibe.
Bill Skarsgard (Pennywise the Clown in the It franchise) and Maika Monroe (It Follows, not part of the It franchise) star as the world’s most unlucky criminals. Jeffrey Donovan and Kyra Sedgwick play the freaky married couple who have a perverse interpretation of what “family” means.
All four leads are absolutely terrific. Skarsgard’s Mickey is goofy yet charming, which is important because as the film heads toward its unexpected finale, the audience needs to really be rooting for this character to overcome his own worst instincts. Monroe’s Jules is the brains of the bunch and also the film’s heart and soul. It’s Jules’ understanding and empathy that keeps the couple alive.
Donovan and Sedgwick have real chemistry (they’re the onscreen married couple I never knew I needed to see) and as the action spirals out of control, Sedgwick in particular lets her freak flag fly.
Villains is one of those sterling little gems you’re going to brag to your friends you discovered first. There aren’t any real good guys or bad guys in Villains. Instead, writer/directors Berk and Olsen play around in that delicious grey area where the best stories dwell.
GRADE: B
MPAA Rating: R for language throughout, some violence, drug use and sexual content
The CW’s Supernatural star Alexander Calvert was really concerned that in season 14 when his character, Jack, killed Mary Winchester the internet would turn on him. During our roundtable interview for season 15 at the 2019 San Diego Comic-Con, Calvert admitted he was shocked fans were actually very supportive.
“Some people were like, ‘Okay,’ and then other people were sad, but everyone was like, ‘No, Jack was confused.’ I’m like, ‘No, he accidentally killed someone. It’s a big deal,’” said Calvert.
Also a big deal is the fact this upcoming 15th season of Supernatural will be the series’ final season. Calvert talked about that and more in our interview at Comic-Con.
Where do we pick up with Jack in the new season?
Alexander Calvert: “I’m really hopeful that we make Jack somehow back into the physical universe. We will pick up with Jack being dead, but as we know on this show dead means a whole host of things. So, starting from there.”
What can we expect from the ghost Jack?
Alexander Calvert: “I mean, it’s hard to say. The way I kind of took the end of the season was like Jack almost accepting his fate kind of toward the end of his own journey. But with the God thing, we are considering what is free will versus something that’s predestined for us. So, I think now the Winchesters kind of realize they have been maybe directed by God so I think Jack’s going to experience a version of that now.”
Jack is really only three years old in season 15. Is he still getting used to what the universe is because he’s still so young?
Alexander Calvert: “I think there’s always going to be some sort of discomfort with the universe just because he is and he isn’t from Earth. There’s always that kind of ongoing thing where all his interactions with people are almost always new. I don’t want to make him bitter, necessarily. But, yeah, I think for the next season we’re going to see the next iteration of his growth. There was the confusion and then last year there was acceptance, but now there’s death so I feel there’s a final step after that.”
What you do hope you’ll be leaving fans with as the series ends?
Alexander Calvert: “I just hope that people are happy. I hope everybody gets the ending and the feelings that they want towards the end of this journey. It’s been so long and it’s been a part of so many of our lives, so I just hope people leave with that family feeling that I feel the show has really cultivated. I just hope that goes forever.
I just hope the finale and this coming last season just kind of sums up the boys’ journey from 2004, was it?”
How do you ground Jack and go about playing these things that are larger than life?
Alexander Calvert: “Well, I think that anytime…forgive me if this sounds douchey…in any artform there’s some sort of universal truth that you experience and it either resonates with you or it doesn’t. I think for this character I know the things that are true about him that are true about me. I think that me doing that for the character makes it believable in some sense.
That is what we’re doing; we’re bringing parts of ourselves to the character. Obviously, it’s like what’s an angel or did we stab this guy are very larger than life things. But we always ground these mythological things but in real truth, right?”
Focus Features just released the official trailer for the dramatic film, Dark Waters, directed by Oscar nominee Todd Haynes (Far From Heaven). Dark Waters is based on a true story and stars three-time Oscar nominee Mark Ruffalo as a corporate defense attorney who switches sides to expose DuPont and its connection to deaths in a small town.
“DuPont is knowingly poisoning 70,000 local residents for the last 40 years,” says Robert Bilott (Ruffalo) to his wife (Oscar winner Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables) in the two and a half minute trailer.
Mark Ruffalo took to Twitter immediately following the trailer’s release and said, “This one is special to me. It’s the story of a real-life hero. And some heroes have their strength on the inside.”
The cast also includes Tim Robbins, Bill Camp, Victor Garber, Mare Winningham, William Jackson Harper, and Bill Pullman. Matthew Carnahan and Mario Correa wrote the screenplay and Ruffalo, Christine Vachon, and Pamela Koffler produced.
Director Haynes’ behind the scenes team includes director of photography Edward Lachman, production designer Hannah Beachler, and costume designer Christopher Peterson.
Focus Features will release Dark Waters on November 22, 2019 in limited theaters. An expanded release is planned for November 29th.
The Dark Waters Plot:
Inspired by a shocking true story, a tenacious attorney (Ruffalo) uncovers a dark secret that connects a growing number of unexplained deaths due to one of the world’s largest corporations. In the process, he risks everything – his future, his family, and his own life – to expose the truth.
Bill Camp as “Wilbur Tennant” and Mark Ruffalo as “Robert Bilott” in ‘Dark Waters’ (Photo by Mary Cybulski / Focus Features)
Season four of The CW’s Riverdale will find Jughead (Cole Sprouse) apart from his friends and attending an elite prep school. However, although Jughead will be spending his daytime hours not fitting in at his new school, he’ll still be hanging with Archie, Betty, and Veronica whenever possible.
Cole Sprouse joined his fellow Riverdale cast members at the 2019 San Diego Comic-Con to discuss the upcoming fourth season. He also participated in roundtable interviews to delve into what’s going on with Jughead and the gang when the series returns on October 9, 2019.
Where does the season pick up?
Cole Sprouse: “This season picks up the first day of senior year. It’s the start of their entry to senior year and they’re just coming off the back of a calm and quiet summer vacation.”
Will there be much interaction between Jughead and Charles?
Cole Sprouse: “I don’t know. I know that Betty’s storyline is much more integrated with Charles than Jughead’s is, at least from what I’ve read this far. But, I don’t see it as… I’ve been asked a lot if it’s going to put tension to Betty and Jughead’s relationship, and so far it doesn’t look like that’s where it’s going. But Jughead’s only in Riverdale on the weekends now. So, his main storyline is the prep school which is the sort of building blocks to the whole flash-forward thing that we’re doing with season four and kind of the mystery of this season is this very strange, elitist prep school. I don’t know how much interaction Charles and Jughead are actually going to have this season.”
In terms of the school, there will be new characters involved this year. What can you say about them?
Cole Sprouse: “The way it was described was very Gossip Girl sort of prep, like upper East Side kids – and then Jughead. It’s sort of like a Dead Poets Society and Jughead’s integration into it is basically the story of the Gargoyle King that he had submitted to this writing contest and then a teacher being fascinated with the stories and taking them to the prep school. I think it’s going to be fun to play with.”
The storylines are taking you away from your normal co-stars. How is that for you?
Cole Sprouse: “I haven’t worked with KJ in like three seasons! No, I don’t think it’s really pulling me away from them, so to speak. I think the way they write it I could be in every scene with them or not. It’s really just the prep school serving as the setting for the mystery. I don’t assume Jughead’s really going to be away from Betty or Archie for long.”
Will it affect his role with the Serpents?
Cole Sprouse: “I think so. At the end of last season, we actually filmed a scene we didn’t put in the final cut which was Jughead relinquishing the Serpents to Toni Topaz. It’s my understanding that they want a bit longer of a narrative with that, play around with that a little bit more. I have a feeling that season four Jughead is very much season one Jughead which is the perspective character – the writer who’s feeling everything from the outside and not so much the gang leader.”
Can we assume the prep school will have some sort of ominous, evil undercurrent?
Cole Sprouse: (Laughing) “I would say that’s a pretty good guess. Yeah, yeah, like all pretentious prep schools. There’s got to be like a taxidermy lab or something.”
It sounds like Jughead doesn’t fit into the prep school. Does he develop any friendships there?
Cole Sprouse: “I don’t know yet. We haven’t really dug too deep into it. But I don’t think so. I think there’s one character that he may get along with, but the rest of them the way they’re written is really pretentious.”
The CW’s Supergirl teased a Danvers/Olsen relationship way back in season one. That ‘ship’ never sailed until season four when a different Danvers (Alex) and Olsen (Kelly) paired up.
During roundtable interviews at the 2019 San Diego Comic-Con, Azie Tesfai (“Kelly”) laughed and admitted she actually hadn’t thought about the relationship in those terms. Chyler Leigh (“Alex”) thinks it’s cool a Danvers/Olsen relationship has finally made it into the series.
As for what’s in store for Alex outside of the relationship, Leigh says Alex will still be dealing with the turmoil from season four. “For Alex, specifically, I think it’s about obviously just coming off the end of last season and everything that she went through, the intensity of being in the DEO, really working through major crisis and everything that she went through with Kara and not having the memories and all that stuff kind of coming back to a head right at the end of the season,” said Leigh.
“You know, luckily Alex had a lot of support from Kelly. Even when she didn’t understand everything that was going on, I think there was something that Kelly just really pulled out of her to be able to kind of connect the dots and figure out, okay, so outside of me knowing that Supergirl is my sister, outside of me knowing all of these different things, it kind of gave Alex a chance to even sort of step back a little bit and see what she needed and what she wanted,” explained Leigh. “I think it’s almost like taking that part out, taking those memories out, even just temporarily, gave her that room to kind of grow but in a different way. Having met Kelly and forming such a great deep bound… Because it’s like you go through trauma with people, it’s one of two ways that it’s going to go. It’s either, ‘I never want to see you again because, wow, this was weird,’ or, ‘We’re in it.’
The beginning of what you see this season for Alex is kind of trying to get her footing back, even in the DEO and what that role looks like. A lot of stuff has changed and so now it’s just figuring out how all those pieces fit together moving forward.”
David Harewood (“J’onn J’onzz”) has a big addition to his family coming in season five. “I get to meet my brother which is going to be really, really great fun,” said David Harewood. “I’m just looking forward to finding out I’m no longer the last Green Martian. I’ve got a father now; I’ve got a brother.”
Jesse Rath says Brainy will continue to struggle with figuring out how to interact with people in season five. “Brainy, in the wake of what’s happened last season with the whole alignment situation and his connection with Nia, he’s going to try and learn how they can get along together with their relationship and him being 100% himself. The thing with Brainy is that he can’t help but operate at 100% all the time. Obviously, there’s going to be some issues between him and Nia,” explained Rath.
Rath added, “The first couple of episodes at least we’re going to find out how they mesh together and how they learn to get along with him being so weird.”
Supergirl newcomer Nicole Maines had a great time working on the show in season four and felt very welcomed by the cast, crew, and fans. Maines (“Nia Nal”) is the first transgender superhero on TV and she spoke about that responsibility and honor at Comic-Con.
“It feels really weird. I think a lot of the time folks are talking to me about how happy they are to have the first trans superhero. I feel like I always want to say to people I’m in the same boat as you guys. Like, this is the first trans superhero for me, too, and I never thought that I was going to see someone like us as superheroes so being able to see that is so exciting and then being able to put on the suit and get to be that superhero is something so completely surreal and unexpected,” said Maines. “It is so far been one of the greatest things I’ve gotten to do in my life.”
While Maines is a new addition to the series with season four, Mehcad Brooks is an original Supergirl cast member. Unfortunately for fans of Mehcad Brooks and Jimmy Olsen, Brooks will be leaving the series in season five.
Brooks assured us Jimmy Olsen will be getting a fantastic sendoff. “We had a long discussion about that and I couldn’t be happier with what Robert and Jessica came up with. We talked about the representation of the missing Black male in America – the deadbeat father or the statistical actuality that the number one cause of death for a Black male in his 20s is murder. So here today, gone tomorrow. We didn’t want to do that so there’s something very special planned.”
For fans who were holding out hope of a Turtle Boy appearance, Brooks confirmed that’s not in the works. “Here’s the thing. That Jimmy Olsen doesn’t look like me, does it? So, I don’t think so. I think it’s a separate universe. I would. I absolutely would play Turtle Boy because I think that would be interesting. Probably a lot of fun,” said Brooks, laughing.
The action-packed third season of Syfy’s Van Helsing ended with Scarlett’s death and with Sam transitioning into the Fourth Elder. It was a wild and crazy season, and season four promises to be even more twisted with the introduction of Tricia Helfer into the mix as Dracula.
Van Helsing cast members including Helfer, Christopher Heyerdahl, Jennifer Cheon Garcia, Keeya King, Nicole Munoz, Richard Harmon, and Aleks Paunovic participated in a panel at the 2019 San Diego Comic-Con in support of the upcoming season. They also sat down for roundtable interviews to delve into the vampire series which returns with its fourth season on September 27, 2019.
Christopher Heyerdahl (“Sam”) confirmed season four will pick up literally right where season three ended. “The two generations of Van Helsings, they’re there in the crypt saying, ‘We can do it together,’” explained Heyerdahl. “They together try and take down Sam.”
Of course, that’s not going to be easy – even for two Van Helsing women. Sam’s now an extremely powerful vampire, complete with horns and a braid. “I think we started off with five hours the first day, but we halved it in two days,” said Heyerdahl about the makeup process. “That really informs the character when you have that level of transformation.”
Asked what his reaction was when he learned he was going to become an Elder, Heyerdahl replied, “It was fantastic. It was a good moment because that’s the progression. Sam wanted to be recognized for who he is. The Oracle is the one person who does that for him. It’s a wonderful reflection of someone who he’s known his whole life and has been there influencing his development as a serial killer. For him, it’s a good reflection of where he’s at.”
And speaking of Sam’s life as a serial killer, Heyerdahl said that was an aspect of the character he knew about from the start.
“I was the only person who knew because we didn’t want anyone to know, none of the actors to know, because everyone would have played toward it,” explained Heyerdahl. “I said, ‘Let’s just have a little thing where everyone thinks it’s the other person.’ People would say, ‘Oh, yeah, it’s me.’ And then I would say it’s me and someone else would say, ‘It’s me.’ Everyone just started playing a game which I was trying to feed. Like, ‘No, I think it’s so-and-so.’ That was fun because then nobody knew in real life except me, as it should it be, and nobody knew on set.”
Jennifer Cheon Garcia (“Ivory”) calls season four a very emotional ride. “There’s so much going on. I mean in a post-apocalyptic world it’s kind of in the title there. There’s so much hurt and sadness. But that’s the kind of fun thing about a vampire show is that you still have a helluva lot of fun. You’re blowing stuff up. You’re swinging swords and axes. It’s the best!”
Cheon Garcia admits that she’s just as excited now about getting scripts and learning what’s happening with Ivory as she was when she first sunk her teeth into the role. “Oh my gosh, every single time my phone pings I’m just like, ‘Is that the script?!’ You’re making plans or something to go out and all of a sudden it pings up and you’re like, ‘Sorry, I’m going to be really late.’ You’ve got to see what’s going on with every word that comes out.
I just remember when I first started the show, she was only supposed to be two episodes and here I am now season four. Every line you just learn so much more about who she is and what she’s about and where she’s going to go. And then you can put your interpretations on that and your meaning and your truth within that. It’s really been such an incredible and, in some weird way, healing experience.”
Keeya King joins the series in season four playing a character named Violet. “She’s this young, agile fighter. When you first meet her, she’s beating up a bunch of guys. She’s spent all her life living in this military compound, so she doesn’t really know about the outside world and vampires,” said King. “She’s never really seen one. Her journey through this season is going outside into the world and saving her family but also saving humanity at the same time.”
“It’s going to be a crazy season,” said King. “There’s going to be a lot of things audience members won’t expect. I was reading scripts like, ‘Holy crap, I can’t believe I’m actually doing that. I can’t believe that’s actually going to happen!’”
Tricia Helfer Interview on Van Helsing Season 4 and Playing Dracula
Michael Irby as Obispo “Bishop” Losa in ‘Mayans M.C.’ season 2 episode 3 (Photo by Prashant Gupta/FX)
FX’s Mayans M.C. season two episode two ended with Angel and EZ checking in with the Stockton chapter during their road trip. They’re hanging with the club, relaxing and enjoying dinner, when a member’s murdered by two dirty cops. EZ (JD Pardo) is the first on the scene as the undercover cop car sped away.
Season two episode three, “Camazotz,” kicks off with Bishop (Michael Irby) and a few members of the Santo Padre chapter at the Stockton clubhouse viewing footage of the murder. The video’s on a cell phone dropped by one of the cops and retrieved by the girl who was performing a sexual act on the other officer seconds before the murder.
The girl, Hope, came to the Stockton chapter’s clubhouse for help because the cops are either after her now or will be soon. Bishop’s watches the shooting and is firm in his belief the cops need to pay for what they’ve done.
“It’s got to happen now so it lands on what they did,” says Bishop. “It can’t be seen as random.”
Stockton’s a little fired up when Bishop says Santo Padre will take care of it, but he quickly squashes any rebellion. Bishop doesn’t want the Stockton club to experience any blowback so they need to distance themselves from what goes down.
Coco (Richard Cabral), the club’s go-to babysitter, is keeping an eye on Hope with EZ’s assistance. After the meeting’s adjourned, EZ (JD Pardo) learns it’s likely the dirty cops will also be coming after him to cover their tracks. They won’t want to leave any possible witness standing.
EZ volunteers to be used as bait, but Bishop thinks Hope’s a better choice to lure them in.
Once again to the clubhouse we go and Bishop’s taking the death hard. It turns out he was Medina’s sponsor. EZ uses the mention of sponsors to tell Angel (Clayton Cardenas) he asked Bishop to be his. Angel knows and is hurt by his brother’s decision, but he doesn’t want to talk about that prickly subject now. His attitude indicates it will be addressed soon enough.
Hope’s agreed to help with the club’s plan which involves her dealer passing on info about her location to the cops. The dirty cops will be lured to a rundown area of town and taken care of.
Angel tells his little bro that Medina will be buried in two days and Sons of Anarchy will be there to pay their respects. Will Happy? The brothers aren’t sure, but it might provide an opening for them to do what has to be done to their mother’s murderer.
EZ has some time alone for a conversation with Bishop, and Bishop reveals he voted no on Medina’s patch the first time he was up for it. “He had this naïve, romantic idea of what a club was. 1960s Easy Rider bullshit, looking for rebels and rock stars,” says Bishop. “We were just a bunch of f*cking gangsters. I was afraid he was going to get himself killed.”
A short while later the plan’s put in motion. Hope’s taken to the meeting location with the club and as they wait, Coco approaches EZ. He’s worried EZ will be triggered by what they’re about to do and warns him they’re about to cross a line with the murder of a cop. “You cross it, there ain’t no walking it back,” says Coco.
Angel interrupts and when EZ waxes philosophical about what’s about to go down, Angel can only shake his head in wonder at what Coco’s been teaching his brother.
Bishop gives Hope her instructions again. She’s high and panicking – a bad combination. Her job’s to wait outside and tell the cops she left the phone inside the building. Bishop promises they’ll keep her safe and she trembles as she realizes she doesn’t know any of the guys charged with watching over her.
EZ calms Hope down by kneeling in front of her (to look less threatening) and introducing himself. Angel follows his brother’s example, introducing himself as EZ’s big brother. Coco and Taza (Raoul Max Trujillo) also introduce themselves.
A Jeep pulls up but it’s just one of the cops, O’Grady. Hope crosses the street to meet him which wasn’t part of the plan. O’Grady becomes suspicious when she asks where his partner is and pulls out his gun once she says the phone’s in the building.
O’Grady demands Hope retrieve the phone and she refuses. Panic’s once again set in and she’s confused about what to do. The cop grabs her and forces her into the building. He’s holding her firmly, gun pointed at her head when he encounters Bishop inside the building.
He threatens to kill her if Bishop doesn’t hand over the phone. As they talk, the rest of the club surrounds O’Grady. They ask about his partner, Pollen, and Angel reminds him when the video goes viral, everyone will know what happened.
Bishop spells out what’s about to go down. Bishop explains Coco was a Marine sniper who will shoot him in the head if his finger moves on the trigger.
O’Grady makes a wise decision and lets Hope go. Bishop knocks him out.
He comes to as Bishop and the men are discussing the best way to grab Pollen. They’ve moved the Jeep out of sight, and Angel suggests they send the partner a text from O’Grady’s phone. They decide that’s not a good idea because he might try calling O’Grady back.
They continue to run through their options and ultimately decide to take Pollen at his house. O’Grady tries to speak through his gag and they finally remove it to find out what he wants. He explains the address in the phone is his partner’s wife’s place. The guy’s currently staying at his mom’s in Lodi.
That evening, Pollen receives a text saying O’Grady’s outside. He grabs his gun and stops watching a Trump rally on TV long enough to look out the window. He steps outside when he spots Hope. As he exits the house, the club barge in the backdoor and are surprised there’s a woman in the kitchen.
They assure her they’re not there for her, but she’s not having it. She swings a knife and is successful at stabbing someone but dishes shatter in the process. Pollen rushes back inside and starts randomly firing into the kitchen without really aiming. (Obviously, he’s not the sharpest tool in the shed.)
He calls out to see if his mom’s okay. They threaten to show his mom the video and he swears it was an accident.
Hope sneaks up behind Pollen as they’re talking and knocks him out with a crystal bowl. That sets mom off, not because her son’s injured but because that was her best piece of crystal. She grabs Hope by the neck and begins strangling her but is shot dead by Coco.
The guys can’t believe he killed the mom. Coco responds in typical Coco style, “My bad.”
Bishop doesn’t have any problem with Coco taking out the cop’s mom.
Richard Cabral and Clayton Cardenas in ‘Mayans M.C.’ season 2 episode 3 (Photo by Prashant Gupta/FX)
Bishop and the club return to O’Grady with instructions on what comes next, if he wants to live/stay out of jail. He’s going to come up with a cover story that places the blame for his partner’s death on some other party. If the cops stay away from the Mayans, everything will be fine. If there’s any blowback on the club, then the video will be released.
O’Grady’s dirty partner’s taken out and strung up by his feet. His dead mom’s lying nearby and he looks in her eyes as the club opens fire.
Over at the Galindo estate, Miguel’s worried the hitch in the contract negotiations is tearing Emily (Sarah Bolger) up. Marcus, concerned, asks if he can help and Miguel (Danny Pino) tells him not yet. (I wouldn’t want to be in the Mayor’s shoes right about now.)
Strangely, Emily wakes up the next morning in a much better mood. She’s going to get her friend at the county to tell her about the other bids. Miguel describes what she has planned as a bribe. Emily prefers to think of it as two old friends helping each other out.
Emily’s mood sours and she yells at Miguel and his mother, upsetting the baby.
Miguel’s day continues its downward spiral when Potter and a handful of agents show up at his door. Potter politely demands Miguel come with him – alone – without knowing what’s planned. As Miguel’s leaving he asks Marcus to check on Dita’s new friend (Felipe).
They drive across the border and then need to switch cars out in the middle of nowhere so as not to cause unnecessary attention. Miguel points out this is where seven farmers were gunned down, correcting an agent who describes the event as an uprising of radicals. Miguel says they were simply farmers protesting the new tariffs.
They finally reach their destination after four and a half hours. Miguel’s in a foul mood and Potter finally explains the purpose of the trip. There are pockets of rebels scattered throughout Northern Mexico in locations where Adelita’s group has cells. He thinks the increased activity means Adelita’s given birth and is back out stoking fires.
A large group’s gathered holding candles. Children sing and then a woman is welcomed to the stage. Miguel instantly recognizes her as Montserrat Palomo, “Mexico’s favorite daughter.” She’s taken up Adelita’s cause as she prepares to run for governor.
Miguel doesn’t think Adelita would ever have anything to do with Palomo. However, Potter believes Adelita has been building her network and bringing in powerful people. Potter wants Miguel to get Palomo “bloody.”
Meanwhile, Emily shows up at the county building and offers Ileana a ride home. Ileana’s shocked but accepts, and they have a heart-to-heart during the ride. At first, Emily doesn’t try and get info from her friend.
Emily knows Ileana’s struggling right now after having her home destroyed in the fire. (She’s borrowing money from Emily’s mom to get by.) Nestor’s driving as they arrive at a hotel where Ileana’s temporarily staying, and he exits the car to give them some alone time.
Emily hands her friend a check for $50,000, confessing she knows Ileana is broke. Of course, Ileana realizes this $50,000 comes at a price and that it has to do with the bid Emily’s submitting. She returns the check and moves to get of the car when Emily stops her. Emily’s changed her mind and now says she doesn’t want anything in exchange for the money; she just wants to help her friend.
“Right now, I think I need to give you this more than you need to take it,” says Emily. She apologizes and jokes that at least it’s a way of undermining her mother.
Ileana accepts the check, no strings attached.
Later that night, she calls Emily and wonders if they can work out an arrangement. She needs a little more help to get on her feet, and in exchange she will help Emily with the bid. Emily got what she wanted without having to be the one who put the deal in place.
Marcus pays Felipe a visit, thanking him for taking care of Dita. Marcus wonders why Dita showed up at his shop, but Felipe stays silent on the subject. Marcus warns him that next time Dita stops by, Felipe should call them to retrieve her.
At home, Felipe pulls out old letters Dita wrote to him. They’re love letters in which she admits the chasm between she and her husband is widening. She was deeply in love with Ignacio and after reading the letters, Felipe apologizes to his dead wife’s ashes.
Medina’s funeral’s well attended. As expected, members of SAMCRO show up to pay their respects. Happy’s one of them and Angel gives him the death stare as he walks around the funeral. Angel tells Bishop he and EZ still have to finish the parole stuff they came to Stockton to take care of.
They ride off together. Sons of Anarchy fans, tell me you didn’t get a chill as they rode past the boulder with “J.T. 11-13-93” written on it along with an anarchy symbol. (It’s a reference to Jax’s dad, John.) The feels…the chills…we miss you, Jax and SAMCRO!
Happy arrives at his place and his dog’s inside, barking. He calls out to his dog to relax and as he closes his front door and flips on the lights, EZ and Angel step out of the shadows. They’re inches away as they point guns directly at his head.
