Netflix just unveiled a new official trailer for Narcos: Mexico along with the upcoming season’s poster. The two and a half minute trailer, which has a Scarface vibe to it, reveals how season one will be exploring the birth of Mexico’s drug war.
The cast of Narcos: Mexico is led by Michael Peña as Kiki Camarena, “a family man and an undercover DEA agent who garnered valuable intel through a series of informants around Félix and his newly minted Guadalajara cartel, but quickly found himself in c as he realized he had completely underestimated the sophistication of Gallardo’s system.”
Diego Luna plays Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo, “the leader of the Guadalajara cartel, one of the biggest narcos in the history of Mexico and the founder of the modern Mexican drug trade. Quiet but bold, inscrutable but sharp-minded, to all appearances he is a benevolent leader, loyal to his friends, associates, and employees…but his ambition comes before all else.”
This season will also feature Aaron Staton (Mad Men), Alejandro Edda (Fear the Walking Dead), Alfonso Dosal (Hazlo como hombre), Alyssa Diaz (The Rookie), Clark Freeman (We Go On), Ernesto Alterio (Cable Girls), and Fermín Martinez (Lady of Steel).
The cast also includes Fernanda Urrejola (Bala Loca), Gerardo Taracena (Apocalypto), Gorka Lasaosa (Brain Drain), Guillermo Villegas (Sin Nombre), Horacio Garcia Rojas (Texas Rising), Jackie Earle Haley (Watchmen), and Joaquín Cosío (Quantum of Solace).
Netflix is set to premiere Narcos: Mexico on November 16, 2018. The season is executive produced by Eric Newman, José Padilha, Doug Miro, and Carlo Bernard. Newman is the showrunner.
The Narcos: Mexico Plot:
“Shifting away from Colombia, where Narcos spent three seasons, Narcos: Mexico will explore the origins of the modern drug war by going back to its roots, beginning at a time when the Mexican trafficking world was a loose and disorganized confederation of independent growers and dealers. Witness the rise of the Guadalajara Cartel in the 1980s as Félix Gallardo (Luna) takes the helm, unifying traffickers in order to build an empire.
When DEA agent Kiki Camarena (Peña) moves his wife and young son from California to Guadalajara to take on a new post, he quickly learns that his assignment will be more challenging than he ever could have imagined. As Kiki garners intelligence on Félix and becomes more entangled in his mission, a tragic chain of events unfold, affecting the drug trade and the war against it for years to come.”
Diego Luna in Netflix’s ‘Narcos: Mexico.’A scene from Netflix’s ‘Narcos: Mexico.’Netflix’s ‘Narcos: Mexico.’
A scene from the Hinterkaifeck: Ghosts in the Attic episode of ‘Lore’ season 2 (Photo by Julie Vrabelova / Amazon)
Amazon Prime Video’s ready to give you nightmares once again with the release of season two of the creepy anthology series, Lore. Both season one and season two run six episodes, perfect for a night of binge-watching, and are inspired by stories from Aaron Mahnke’s podcast as well as new tales not currently available via the podcast.
In support of Lore‘s second season which premieres on October 19, 2018, I spoke with executive producer/showrunner Sean Crouch about what fans of the spooky series (and podcast) can expect from the six new episodes. During our interview, Crouch described the process used in selecting which stories made it into the series second season. He also talked about his personal favorites as well as changes made to the way each episode plays out in the new season.
Crouch was also an executive producer on season two of The Exorcist. Fox canceled the series after its second season, however fans haven’t given up hope the show will be resurrected on a different network or streaming service. Crouch confirmed he’s remained determined to find a way to make a third season of The Exorcist.
Which of the stories from the first season of Lore really got under your skin? Which one couldn’t you shake for a while after watching it?
Sean Crouch: “So, season one it was the lobotomy episode. I liked the style of it where it felt almost like one story without too many diversionary paths off of it. Which is why we sort of moved season two in that direction where it’s just one story that’s based on part of one of his podcasts.”
The lobotomy episode is the one that I can still remember the last scene of the guy on the floor looking at all the thank you notes. They’re all obviously written by mentally deranged, brain-damaged people because he damaged their brains. Just the idea of those things going up the nose and digging out that part of our brain…that to me is horror. It’s that David Cronenberg body horror that really bothers me. It probably bothers me more than any other type of horror.”
And from season two, which one were you most affected by?
Sean Crouch: “Season two is ‘Hinterkaifeck: Ghosts in the Attic.’ It’s the one that gets me because it’s six real people that lived less than 100 years ago that were all massacred. And, they’ve never had someone to speak for them. They haven’t had justice.
To me, it’s three different things. Part one, it’s a dysfunctional family. Part two, it’s a day in the life of Michael Myers from Halloween walking around killing everybody. But then part three is the part that I cry at. I actually get…still, even though I’ve seen it a thousand times…I still cry at the funeral when the cop walks away knowing that there’s never going to be justice for these two children and these four adults that were killed. That one still lives with me. It still really bothers me. It really bugs me that there was no justice. I think it’s pretty clear who the killer is, too, so it really bothers me that they never sort of named him.”
It’s really interesting that each of these stories in Lore could be expanded into a feature film. How difficult is it to get all that storytelling into one segment?
Sean Crouch: “That’s a great question because that is probably our biggest problem. I mean, look at ‘Hinterkaifeck.’ I wrote a feature based on it six years ago that was 130 pages. And, our script was probably 40-45 for this. That’s definitely the toughest part of, especially coming from the podcast where he has as much time as he wants and he’s able to tell all these really, really fascinating, really cool stories and go off on all these diversionary paths to say A leads to B leads to C. Where all we had time to do, at least coming into season two because of what I wanted to do, is we have time for a Twilight Zone episode. We have 30 minutes. Some of these are up to 50 minutes, but we have very little time to tell our Black Mirror episode.
Thank god, I think I have the best writers on the planet, these five other writers on the show – and the producers – who really knew how to boil down that ton of information to a really tight 35-minute storytelling process.”
Does it help that you’re working with Amazon instead of a network that will make sure you hit that 45-minute mark?
Sean Crouch: (Laughing) “42 minutes and 34 seconds. That’s the time frame. I’ve lived with that time frame for 20 years almost until this year. I love doing it because we first started out really trying to make a Twilight Zone episode, meaning 25-30 minutes. But, with Amazon it was great. Some of our episodes are 30 minutes and some of them are almost an hour.
It’s funny. I think we’re just all so brainwashed by that 42:34 that we still kind of hit it a lot of times. I think people are always like, ‘Yeah, the sweet spot is 40 to 45 minutes.’ I heard that many, many times from a lot of different people. I think it’s just going to have to be another generation that grows up and moves us away from that weird commercial timing that we’re all stuck with right now.”
Not only are you changing things up by not using narration in season two, it seems to me this second season is a more impressive production overall. What else shifted behind the scenes to make it a bigger production?
Sean Crouch: “Amazon is amazing. They’re fantastic executives who know what they’re doing. They love the show. It’s one of their crown jewels, especially in the unscripted department. They knew that they wanted to spend more money, so they’ve given us a much bigger budget in season two. When they hired me, they gave us a much bigger budget and said, ‘Go make six movies. Even if they’re only 40 minutes, go make six mini-movies. We’ll send you to Prague.’
We got great production value in Prague. But, they spent the money. They invested in quality…I hope. I hope people like it. I think it’s quality, but I’m obviously biased. But even if you don’t like my writing, it looks fantastic. Christoph Schrewe and Alice Troughton directed. The directing is fantastic, the DP. Even if you hate my writing, you can still realize that it looks great.”
I enjoyed the first season, but the second season drew me in more. The first season’s narration sometimes drew my attention away from the main story. When did the idea of ditching the narration come into play for season two?
Sean Crouch: “It was the day they hired me, basically, or the day they brought me in to pitch what my idea would be for season two. I’m a horror fan but I’m also a romantic comedy fan and a romance fan. I don’t ever want to be taken out of the emotion of a piece, whether it’s horror or romance. And season one is fantastic, but it’s a beautiful History Channel-type show. It’s great, but I was able to watch it with my kids and we were able to talk about it and learn something from it. It’s a great show, but I came in wanting to do Twilight Zone, wanting to do Black Mirror, where we just take a little piece and tell that story.
I don’t ever want the audience to be let off the hook. I want there to be constant tension. You don’t know when something’s going to happen. I think it’s what makes horror great is when you can keep people in tenterhooks the whole time.”
Right. You don’t give us very much room to breathe in the second season.
Sean Crouch: “Good. Honestly, that’s my number one goal. I wanted to come in and make a really scary show that I couldn’t watch with my children.”
And you succeeded.
Sean Crouch: “Thank you.”
With so many podcast episodes, how do you choose which ones make it to the screen in Lore?
Sean Crouch: “We hired four writers and I said, ‘Come in with two of your favorite podcasts,’ which was hard but I wanted everyone to pick two they’d be passionate about. And then a new story, too. ‘Find a story that could fit within the purview of what Aaron could do but he hasn’t done yet.’
Like I said, I have the best writers in the world so I asked for two and they bring in 20, which is a lot. So, we started with 40 or 50 on the board. That’s all we did on day one. And then we narrowed it down, narrowed it down until we had 15 that we were passionate about. And then we were just arguing with each other, which is what a writers room is basically is. It’s a bunch of idiots arguing with each other.
Then I took it to Amazon and to Gale Anne Hurd and to Brett-Patrick Jenkins at Propagate and let them decide which six we should do from there. That’s how we narrowed it down at that point. That’s why you have great producers and great executives. They can basically break up the cage match of the writers room.”
So, you basically already have a third season laid out from the ones you didn’t use for season two?
Sean Crouch: “Exactly. And not only that but we have 30 new ones that we’ve all been listening to to choose from. So, yeah, we have the nine rejected ones. I’m sure some of those will come back to life because we’re a horror show and we love zombies. And then we’ll have a whole bunch of new ones. Hopefully there is a season three. (Laughing) But I like the way you think.”
Among the ones the writers were pushing to use, were there any you figured out were simply not filmable?
Sean Crouch: “Yes. We had a few of those. We really were trying to figure out how to do the Pied Piper. That’s a really interesting story. That could be historically that he was recruiting for the Children’s Crusade when the kids went. They sent kids over in the fourth crusade and the kids went to the Holy Land.
There’s so many different stories there. But, one, we just didn’t know how to do it. Two, it’s really hard to shoot with children. And three, we didn’t know how to do it. I know I said that was one. What’s the simple story there? That was the main thing. The difference between the podcast and the show is like Elizabeth Báthory, it’s the last day and the last victim. It’s her last day on earth. What is that like? What’s that story? Pied Piper, I didn’t know what that was, what the simple story was. It’s a cool epic story; I didn’t know what the simple, human story that you have to actually connect with and feel at the end of the day was.”
You’d have to take a much longer time to tell that story to have it make sense.
Sean Crouch: “I think so. But maybe someone… Again, I’m the dumbest person in the room so maybe one of the other writers will come up with the answer, if there’s a season three. And then I’ll take all the credit because that’s what my job is.”
How involved is Aaron Mahnke in the series at this point? Does he provide input on each episode or what is his role?
Sean Crouch: “He actually came in for the first week. So, way back in January, our very first week, he came in and it was an amazing experience to have a week with him. He’s probably the number one podcast person in the world, or right up there. And to have him in there where we could say, ‘Let’s talk about the Pied Piper,’ and then we just look at him and we’d basically get a little mini podcast for 20 minutes as he talked about the Pied Piper. He talked about Hinterkaifeck. He helped us choose what we were going to do. He was integral to that process and then all along the way.
He’s in one of our episodes. He’s in ‘Mary Webster’ which is ‘Half-Hanged Mary,’ one of his podcasts. He’s in the episode; you can find him. His name is Goodman Caster, as in podcaster – which is a little Easter egg. But, yeah, he’s been helpful all along. I talked to him, I know the producers talk to him once I week. I talk to him probably every other week. He loves the show. He’s a big fan and he’s been a huge help with the transition, too, from one to two. It’s a very different show. He’s been very supportive, thank goodness.”
A scene from the Elizabeth Bathory: Mirror, Mirror episode of ‘Lore’ season 2 (Photo by Julie Vrabelova / Amazon)
Did he campaign for any particular episode?
Sean Crouch: “One of his podcasts was ‘All the Lovely Ladies’ which was Elizabeth Báthory. That was one that we knew from day one that we were going to do. He wanted it; we wanted it. I think ‘Hinterkaifeck’ is another one of those that I had in the back of my head. I’ve had it there for five years, and he came in and said he really wanted to do that. So, that one too. And then ‘Half-Hanged Mary,’ the ‘Mary Webster’ episode. He loved it and he wanted to be in that one because that one means so much to him. I think because he grew up and he lives within driving distance of Salem, Massachusetts, so it’s in his DNA.”
I have to ask a few questions about The Exorcist because I’m a big fan of that series and did episode recaps. Are you guys still shopping that around or is it totally dead at this point?
Sean Crouch: “Jeremy (Slater) and I will never let that go. We just won’t. We love it. I mean, Ben and Alfonso… The thing is, I love them so much I call them by their character names and by their real names interchangeably. Father Marcus, Father Tomas, Ben (Daniels) and Alfonso (Herrera), they are the brothers…I have three brothers…they are the brothers I’ve always wanted to write. And John Cho, I’m looking at him right now on my bookshelf. I have a picture with my family, my parents and everything, and there’s also a picture of – it’s like the last scene in episode 10 there’s a picture of Andy and his five kids and mom, Alicia Witt. I have that up on my bookshelf as well.
They feel like family to me. That’s why I love that show. It was a family show that happened to have a demon in it. It had these two amazing priests. I wanted to be a priest growing up so I got to write the priest that I wanted to be, not a lot of what is happening in the Catholic Church now but sort of the fantasy priest.
But long answer long, yes, we will never let that go. Hopefully there’s a place for it. Hopefully if I can get some traction or power somewhere along the way, maybe we can get a season three back. It might be a few years away.”
Maybe Amazon?
Sean Crouch: “I know. Amazon would be perfect for it.”
I really loved that series. The writing was so sharp.
“Jeremy is an amazing writer. He’s such a great writer. So, yes, his writing’s fantastic.
Thank you for talking about Exorcist. It’s one of my huge passions. We loved it. You know, when Andy Kim got killed on the show – spoilers! – we lost Andy but then the show wrapped and so I felt like I lost Andy and John Cho. I felt like I lost these actors and the characters. It was like a double loss for me. It’s really tough. Such a great show, such a great cast, such great writing. All around it was one of those perfect moments in time where everything comes together and you get greatness and then like, you know, four people watched it.”
It had a really passionate fan base.
Sean Crouch: “The best fan base in the world. That’s why it had a season two, because of the fans. Only because of the fans. Friday night at 9, I just wish we could get more than a million. If we would have gotten two million we’d be in season three right now.”
I wish you luck in bringing it back to life.
Sean Crouch: “We will work on it. We will never let that go. I promise.”
* * * * * *
Amazon Prime Video’s Lore season one is currently streaming to subscribers. Season two will be available beginning October 19, 2018.
If you’ve caught the new CW show All American, we have some shocking news for you. Star Daniel Ezra is not American. He is British. Ezra plays Spencer James, a South Central football player recruited to play for a Beverly Hills high school. The real Spencer Paysinger is a consulting producer on All American.
Daniel Ezra spoke with reporters, in his British accent, after a Television Critics Association panel for All American over the summer. All American airs Wednesday nights at 9pm ET/PT on The CW.
How did you become an All American when you’re British?
Daniel Ezra: “No one’s more aware of the fact that I’m not American than I am. It just makes me work harder. It may be doing things like staying in the accent, carrying footballs around, spending as much time as I could in South Central L.A. and just trying to go above and beyond to make it as authentic as possible.”
Is this one of the hardest things you’ve had to do as an actor?
Daniel Ezra: “Yeah, I mean, theater is a different beast. I’m talking about Shakespeare. This is definitely up there, probably the most demanding job. Again, I’ve been blessed to have incredibly choice roles. I played a young autistic teenager which again required tons of research and tons of effort to get it right and be sensitive to the material. This has been extremely demanding but in the most fun and enjoyable ways.”
Was it a lot of time on the field at football games?
Daniel Ezra: “Yeah, I came out early for the pilot. We trained pretty much every day, myself, Michael [Evans Behling], Cody [Christian], and then I’m on a pretty strict diet and fitness program as well. My dad is a fitness coach so that was a slightly easier thing to do because obviously I know how to do that. For the pilot, I was waking up at 4am to get in the gym before we went to set.”
Does every Brit learn an American accent because they’ll need it one day?
Daniel Ezra: “The thing about the UK is our industry is a lot smaller than here. It’s usually in an actor’s best interest to at least know a passable American accent by a certain stage. The most common route for younger actors in the UK is acting school. Most acting schools have a term for a semester where they devote to the American classics. That’s where you learn American accents.”
Growing up, when did you decide you wanted to be an actor?
Daniel Ezra: “Quite late. It was actually 18. A drama teacher – I was in basketball and soccer – put me on stage very reluctantly and it was the most fun I’ve had in school, so I decided to take drama. I met an actor. He mentioned I should think about taking this seriously, and two years later I moved to London and spent three years at theater school.”
Do you find a parallel between sports and acting?
Daniel Ezra: “The entertainment industry and sports industry are synonymous in a way. Especially the way for kids wanting to get into them, they’re both extremely hard. There’s only kind of room for 0.1%. So, I know intimately what it is to be a kid with a very unrealistic dream in the same way Spencer is dreaming to get into the NFL. And to have all that background noise of people saying you need to have a backup. You need to have a fallback, you need to have this. Just being able to power through that.”
What was your fallback?
Daniel Ezra: “I didn’t have one. I was sort of on my way towards physical therapy and following my father into fitness. Once the acting and Shakespearean acting hit, that was it.”
How are your football skills now?
Daniel Ezra: “They’re okay. I’ve got to say, for me personally, the real stars of the show are the guys at Game Changing Films. They designed all the plays and they provided all the football plays. Those guys are incredible. They’re not just football players. They bring characters and emotions and stuff. I have an unbelievable stunt double by the name of Noel who we work sort of half and half and do the plays. We make the best out of it.”
Is it choreography as well?
Daniel Ezra: “Yes. We design it and me, Mike, and Cody meet usually before we shoot. We figure out what the play is and sometimes we get it right and come to set and go, ‘This is what happens and this is where you take the hit. This is the camera angle.’ Everyone wants the football to be as accurate as we possibly can, so we spend a lot of time in the field.”
Were there any accidental injuries?
Daniel Ezra: “Those guys are amazing. They’re super professional. They’re super patient with me. If I make a mistake, if I’ve got the inside leg where I’m supposed to have the outside leg, they’ll come and say, ‘Hey.’ They keep me very safe.”
Daniel Ezra: “He loves it. Again, as a fitness coach, as well as I have to take my top off a lot in this show, so I can’t embarrass him.”
Is it a great way of marrying your two worlds?
Daniel Ezra: “Absolutely. He loves the sports element. He enjoys sports as well. Again, he’s British so it’s not American football but he likes seing me play something that’s dynamic and with sport and fitness. Fitness is obviously an element to the show, so he loves that.”
Would you pick American football over soccer?
Daniel Ezra: “Ooh, that’s a good question. I don’t want to get in trouble with any of my British friends but I’m starting to fall in love with American football. Spencer promised me he’s going to take me to a game pretty soon when the season starts. I’ll have a new appreciation for it. We haven’t been sucked in just yet. Ask me at the end of the season.”
Did you have a specific training regimen?
Daniel Ezra: “Yes, so the pilot happened very fast. I only had like two weeks. When we got the show, I went into my own regimen. It’s usually 4am start. I’ll eat, I’m vegan actually, so it’s very low carb, high protein diet. A lot of weight training. We have an amazing trainer called Scott Benson who just sort of gets me and Mike ready. Monday through Friday, we train with Scott. Saturday, I rest. Sunday is my own weight training and then back to it on Monday.”
What do you use for protein?
Daniel Ezra: “At the moment out here I’m using a vegan sport blend which is a blend of protein, hemp seeds. Other than that, a lot of nuts, a lot of vegetables, seeds, legumes. I mean, L.A. is the easiest place to be vegan. There’s just vegan restaurants and places everywhere.”
What did you ask Spencer about his life?
Daniel Ezra: “I wanted to understand the relationship with his mom. That’s a big part of the show, and his little brother. So what family life was generally like, just because you want to be able to feel comfortable and natural. It’s a lot of day-to-day home life, the ins and outs of navigating Crenshaw and South Central L.A. especially during that time. How close he came to those dark elements of that world and how he sort of maneuvered that and things like this. It’s a lot of those kinds of questions.”
How much time did you spend in South Central?
Daniel Ezra: “As much time as I could. There’s such a unique vibe and energy to South Central L.A. For me, it’s not enough just to get that accent. You want to be able to joke and laugh and understand the slang and the lingo and the energy that they carry and stuff. I spend as much time as I can. 90% of the hair and makeup team were from South Central L.A.”
Did it scare you at all?
Daniel Ezra: “I know those kinds of neighborhoods. We have them back home so no, not scary. For me, I only saw the beauty in it. I understand there’s issues with those neighborhoods. That’s obviously a bigger question. For me it was just a beautiful thing to see. There’s a real sense of community there, which I love.”
Kimrie Lewis, Leighton Meester, Jake Choi, Taran Killam, and Brad Garrett star in ‘Single Parents’ (ABC / F. Scott Schafer)
ABC’s apparently pleased with the ratings the new half-hour comedy Single Parents has generated. The network just announced they’ve upped the order for the show’s first season, granting the series a full season order.
Single Parents debuted on September 26, 2018 and currently airs in the Wednesdays at 9:30pm ET/PT timeslot, immediately after Modern Family. The comedy series is ranked #2 among all new comedies in adults viewers between the ages of 18 and 49. (The Conners is currently ranked #1.) The half-hour comedy has been averaging 5.6 million viewers over its first three episodes.
The cast of season one includes Taran Killam as Will Cooper, Leighton Meester as Angie D’Amato, Kimrie Lewis as Poppy Banks, Jake Choi as Miggy Park, Marlow Barkley as Sophie Cooper, Tyler Wladis as Graham D’Amato, Devin Trey Campbell as Rory Banks, Mia Allan as Emma Fogerty, Ella Allan as Amy Fogerty and Brad Garrett as Douglas Fogerty.
Single Parents was created by JJ Philbin and Elizabeth Meriwether. Philbin and Meriwether serve as executive producers along with Katherine Pope, Erin O’Malley and Jason Winer.
The Single Parents Plot:
“This ensemble comedy follows a group of single parents as they lean on each other to help raise their 7-year-old kids and maintain some kind of personal lives outside of parenthood. The series begins when the group meets Will Cooper, a 30-something guy who’s been so focused on raising his daughter that he’s lost sight of who he is as a man. When the other single parents see just how far down the rabbit hole of PTA, parenting and princesses Will has gone, they band together to get him out in the world and make him realize that being a great parent doesn’t mean sacrificing everything about your own identity.”
MTV’s groundbreaking reality series The Real World is returning with three new seasons. MTV Studios is teaming up with Facebook Watch on the upcoming new seasons of the series, and they’re targeting a spring 2019 premiere via the new platform.
The new seasons will be set in Mexico, Thailand, and the United States. Pre-production is currently underway in each of the locations.
Details on the collaboration between MTV, Facebook Watch, and The Real World were unveiled during the MIPCOM 2018 Facebook Watch presentation. The new seasons will be co-produced by series creators Bunim/Murray Productions and MTV Studios.
“MTV’s The Real World helped to define a generation and created a new genre of television with a simple yet powerful idea of connecting people from wildly divergent backgrounds to find common ground on the issues that often divided them,” stated Chris McCarthy, President of MTV. “By partnering with Facebook Watch and BMP, we have the opportunity to impact culture and create a new genre of television all over again, while engaging the next generation of content consumers around the world.”
The three The Real World seasons will “introduce interactive social and community features that empower fans to shape the action and connect across mobile, desktop and Facebook’s TV app,” per MTV.
Additional details on the show’s Facebook Watch integration were also announced during the presentation:
“The social conversation on Facebook Watch will power the audience experience in the new seasons of MTV’s The Real World. The Facebook community will have the ability to vote one housemate onto the show prior to air, and there will be unique opportunities for fans to connect with the cast through Facebook Live, Premieres, and Watch Party. Facebook Watch will also release daily drops of scenes from forthcoming episodes leading into the weekly half-hour premiere. Additional social elements will be introduced prior to launch and throughout the seasons.”
DC Universe’s Titans star Ryan Potter has more in common with his character Beast Boy than you’d think. During our interview at the New York Comic Con, Potter explained how Teen Titans, and Beast Boy in particular, played an important role in his life after he came to America from Japan.
DC Universe’s first season of Titans premiered on October 12, 2018. In addition to Potter as Gar Logan/Beast Boy, the cast includes Brenton Thwaites as Dick Grayson/Robin, Anna Diop as Kory Anders/Starfire, Teagan Croft as Rachel Roth/Raven, Minka Kelly as Dawn Granger/Dove, and Alan Ritchson as Hank Hall/Hawk.
Beast Boy is such a fan favorite character. Were you already a fan or did you dive deep into the comics?
Ryan Potter: “I was. When I moved from Japan to America, Teen Titans was actually the first animated series that I not found relatable but was similar in style – the animation style – to what I watched back home. Teen Titans was really the first animated show I fell in love with. Beast Boy in particular, the way he assimilates to humanity because he’s green, because he’s in exile or a reject or whatever you want to say, his use of pop culture and I guess pop culture knowledge to integrate into humanity and to make friends, I used that as a model to when I didn’t speak English. Like, when my English was rough I used pop culture and toys and music and movies to be able to relate to other kids at school.
Yeah, I mean it’s a full circle, man. Beast Boy’s been a part of my life since I was seven. So, yeah.”
What was it like then to suddenly become Beast Boy and get that role?
Ryan Potter: “It’s frickin’ bizarre. I feel like I’m dreaming. This doesn’t feel real at all. It’s fun but it’s also a bummer sometimes because you almost want to be the animal. Like, you want to tell yourself, ‘Yeah, I’m Beast Boy. Cool, yeah.’ And then you go and they’re like, ‘Okay, so we’re doing the tiger transformation.’ You’re like, ‘I can’t actually do that. So, CGI please.’”
What do you think about the CGI tiger?
Ryan Potter: “To be 100% honest, when I first saw it I was little disappointed. But since then they’ve done multiple passes and I’m really happy with how it’s looking, especially for a first episode of a first season.
Whenever you watch television…I think viewers are becoming smarter. The production value of everything just increases over time and to have the tiger look the way it does straight off the bat, I think it’s a testament to how much effort they’re trying to put into the series and especially attention to detail. They could have just focused on Robin and the suit, but they took the time in making sure the green of the tiger was right. The transformation of the tiger looks anatomically correct. The amount of work they put into it is wild.”
Ryan Potter stars as Beast Boy in ‘Titans’ (Photo Courtesy of DC Universe)
It’s a very dark show but Beast Boy often has lent humor to it. Is that going to happen throughout Titans?
Ryan Potter: “It will be. I think the only way that Beast Boy is grounded in this series is I guess the physical comedy that was a fan favorite in the Teen Titans animated series, there’s only so much I can do. I can’t physically turn into a cat and make a cat face to react to something. So, a lot of the humor is just Beast Boy’s genuine heart in contrast to how dark the world is.
Episode one you see me very briefly. Episode three I start to integrate in. People will see how every character is introduced and the relationships between each one. It’s a slow burn but watching it it’s worth it because you’re waiting for these characters to show up on screen. You’re like, ‘I’m liking everything so far so where’s my favorite character?’ Throughout the series there are more and more characters introduced. So, yeah, I can’t wait for everyone to see Beast Boy.”
Which episode are you most excited for fans to see?
Ryan Potter: “I am a huge fan of John Fawcett and he directed “The Doom Patrol” episode. That episode to me is closer to the tone of the Teen Titans that everybody knows. It’s a little bit more humorous but still there is the grounded dark reality of everything. But, it is a little more vibrant and colorful. The characters are quirky and you’re meeting these family members. That is by far my favorite episode simply because I’m in it. No! (Laughing) But in all seriousness, I think it’s the first time we get to see the Titans kind of in action.”
When you were researching the comics did you wind up with any favorite Beast Boy stories that stuck out in your mind?
Ryan Potter: “I actually made this hat. When the Titans go camping, Gar makes shirts and hats for everybody. Starfire wears it unbeknownst to what it says and the arrow and all that. That is Beast Boy. He’s just trying to make people smile and laugh the entire time. There’s a level of narcissism that Beast Boy has that I try and maintain. Beast Boy was an actor. He had a short-lived acting career that not many people know about.” (The video shows Potter putting on the hat Gar made for the camping outing.)
Annapurna Pictures just released the official trailer for the dramatic thriller, Destroyer. Based solely on first impressions from the gritty trailer, it appears Nicole Kidman will be in serious contention for her fifth Oscar nomination. Kidman was previous nominated in the Best Actress category for her work in Moulin Rouge!, The Hours, and Rabbit Hole, winning the Oscar for The Hours in 2003. She also earned a Best Supporting Actress nomination for her performance in 2016’s Lion.
Destroyer was directed by Karyn Kusama, director of feature films The Invitation, Jennifer’s Body, Aeon Flux, and Girlfight. Kusama also directed episodes of Chicago Fire, Casual, Masters of Sex, The Man in the High Castle, Billions, and Halt and Catch Fire.
Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi wrote the script and produced the drama along with Fred Berger. Hay and Manfredi previously team up with director Kusama on The Invitation and Aeon Flux.
In addition to Nicole Kidman, the cast includes Sebastian Stan, Toby Kebbell, Tatiana Maslany, Bradley Whitford, Jade Pettyjohn, and Scoot McNairy.
Annapurna Pictures is planning a limited awards-qualifying release in New York and Los Angeles on December 25, 2018. A wider release is planned for January 2019.
The Destroyer Plot:
“Destroyer follows the moral and existential odyssey of LAPD detective Erin Bell who, as a young cop, was placed undercover with a gang in the California desert with tragic results. When the leader of that gang re-emerges many years later, she must work her way back through the remaining members and into her own history with them to finally reckon with the demons that destroyed her past.”
Director Karyn Kusama and actor Nicole Kidman on the set of ‘Destroyer,’ an Annapurna Pictures release.Nicole Kidman stars as Erin Bell in Karyn Kusama’s ‘Destroyer,’ an Annapurna Pictures release.Poster for Annapurna Pictures’ ‘Destroyer.’
“Even a Ferrari needs a tune-up once in a while,” says Caitlin (Danielle Panabaker) to Cisco (Carlos Valdes) who’s struggling to get over Gypsy with help from Caitlin and Ralph (Hartley Sawyer) in season five episode two of The CW’s The Flash.
The episode begins with a fight between Cicada (Chris Klein) and Gridlock. Cicada uses his lightning bolt-shaped dagger to neutralize Gridlock’s powers and then engages him in hand-to-hand combat. Cicada is much better than Gridlock and it doesn’t take long for him to win, knocking Gridlock on the ground. Cicada stabs Gridlock with his dagger and kills him. Cicada then goes to what looks to be his job as a janitor.
At Joe’s house, Barry (Grant Gustin) and Nora (Jessica Parker Kennedy) come clean and tell Team Flash the real reason Nora time traveled was to finally meet Barry because she grew up without him. Nora shows the group the future newspaper article indicating Barry never returns after disappearing in 2024. Iris (Candice Patton) says, “So what,” and points out the newspaper article has changed before and that Team Flash will change it again. Cisco backs her up by saying Team Flash will knock the future on its ass and Caitlin responds, “Ditto.”
Cecile (Danielle Nicolet) talks to Joe (Jessie L. Martin) and tells him that she thinks she is losing her powers.
At S.T.A.R. Labs, Cisco is watching old images and messages from Gypsy when Caitlin comes in to check on him. Cisco admits he’s having a real hard time getting over the break-up and that he can’t vibe because he keeps seeing her and smelling her, that they’re still connected. Ralph then asks Cisco to vibe the fake death certificate of Caitlin’s dad, but Caitlin enlists Ralph to help her get Cisco over Gypsy instead.
A new meta-human villain named Vanessa shows up and attacks known gunrunners in Central City. She takes their inventory and kills one of the bosses.
The next day, Barry’s at the crime scene with Captain Singh (Patrick Sabongui) who’s concerned with the guns now on the street Central City could turn into a war zone. Nora surprises tehm when she shows up and tells Singh that Central City’s CSIs are on the case. Singh asks who she is, and Barry tells him she’s his intern. He brought her in to help get through all the cases that built up while he was suspended.
Barry has to stop Nora when she tries to touch the evidence, advising her that in 2018 they still have to use gloves and conduct the investigation the old-fashioned way. It seems in Nora’s time they have really cool advanced technology to keep crime scenes from getting contaminated. Iris shows up and talks to Singh about Gridlock. He tells her off the record that he was killed when his prison convoy was attacked but they don’t have any leads yet.
Ralph’s at his P.I. office going over with Cisco the “Book of Ralph” and his 27 steps to getting over the love of your life. Cisco doesn’t want to participate, but Caitlin encourages him to. Ralph assures them Cisco is in need of a transformation.
Iris interviews one of the wounded officers from the convoy and he doesn’t remember much. He got knocked out and when he woke up on the ground, Gridlock was dead.
At Joe’s house, Cecile reveals she thinks she found a way to keep hearing their baby’s thoughts using a special device. Joe disagrees, believing they’ll figure it out without the device. Just then the baby cries and Joe takes care of her.
Back at the CCPD labs, Barry and Nora are able to uncover the identity of the meta who attacked the gunrunners through the evidence they collected. Her name is Vanessa Jensen and they get a clue as to where she’s doing a gun deal. Nora and Flash suit up to take her down.
When they get there, Vanessa’s arguing with Bruno, the crime boss she took the guns from. She attacks him with her powers. Barry tells Nora to survey the perimeter but she speeds over and puts Bruno in the truck full of guns and closes the rear holding door. “Sorry, I can’t let you hurt him,” says Nora to Vanessa who then uses her powers on Nora and traps her in a block of energy. The Flash speeds over and Vanessa uses her powers to throw the energy block with Nora inside into the air and across the city. The Flash speeds off and gets ahead of it, using his speed to create a controlling wind to slow the energy block and safely land it on the ground. The energy pops and Nora is free but embarrassed.
Back at S.T.A.R. Labs, Caitlin checks Nora over and determines she’s okay. A very uninspired Cisco starts to leave and tosses out his nickname for Vanessa – Block – without putting any real thought into it. Barry looks at Caitlin and she tells him she and Ralph are trying to help Cisco get over Gypsy. She excuses herself to go after Cisco.
Ralph takes Cisco and Caitlin to his stylist so Cisco can have a makeover. Cisco gets his hair styled but not cut. He also gets a new hip suit which he hates. Cisco tells Ralph he’s had enough of this and would rather focus on Caitlin’s father’s fake death certificate. Cisco suggests they take it to Joe since he can’t vibe it and Joe can do some good old-fashioned police investigating. Caitlin replies, “No, that’s okay.” However, Ralph is intrigued and believes it’s a good idea. He’s about to call Joe when Caitlin yells, “STOP!” Surprised by her reaction, both Cisco and Ralph freeze at stare at her. “I need a break,” admits Caitlin before walking out.
Barry takes Nora back to S.T.A.R. Labs to train and to study the basics. She’s disappointed and eager to show him what she can do, so she races around. When she attempts to throw lightning she stumbles and accidentally hits Barry with it. “Dad!” yells Nora as she races over to him. He waves her off saying it’s okay. “I’ve been hit with lightening before,” says Barry.
Iris heads to Barry’s office and checks out what little video footage they have of the attack and murder of Gridlock. She can’t see much but she hears something that sounds like heavy breathing.
Barry asks Joe for some advice about Nora. He brings him up to speed about her behavior and not listening to him. Joe smiles and nods, asking Barry if he remembers his 4th grade science project. “All you had to do was build a plastic volcano and instead you built a working robot,” says Joe. Barry explains he was trying to impress him because he had taken him in; he was his hero. “Who do you think is Nora’s hero?” replies Joe.
Barry realizes Nora’s trying to impress him and asks Joe what he should do. Joe suggests Barry should let Nora know it’s okay to fail and that everyone makes mistakes. “Show her that you’ll always love her, no matter what. That’s what parents do,” says Joe. Barry thanks Joe and leaves. Cecile, who has been listening in and is deeply touched by Joe’s words goes over and kisses him. His words have given her new confidence in being a mom to a newborn.
Cisco finds Caitlin at Jitters and tells her he knows Gypsy wasn’t the one for him and encourages her to find out the truth about her dad. Caitlin, now upset and teary-eyed, admits to Cisco she’s afraid to because what if he doesn’t want anything to do with her. Cisco tells her if that’s the case, then she’ll know and that she would be better off knowing the truth instead of always wondering.
Barry plays Nora old videos of his early training days to show her that he didn’t start off an impressive hero. He needed to practice and learn to control and use his speed in order to become the protector of Central City.
A little later Iris, Barry, and Nora realize that Block’s powers would show up as a strong weather pattern. Even though they haven’t fixed the S.T.A.R. Labs satellite, they can watch the weather channels for news about a strange strong signal. It works and they track Block to another meet up with Bruno and some goons who want the guns back.
The Flash and XS speed around and take down Bruno and his thugs. The Flash tries to go for Block but she traps him in an energy block. Nora starts speeding around drawing her fire, hoping to do so until Block gets tired. Nora then speeds over and puts the power dampening cuffs on her, freeing The Flash of the energy block. That’s when Block screams out in pain and passes out. A cloaked figure appears.
Iris is listening in and Caitlin, Cisco, and Ralph show up asking what’s going on. They listen and hear Barry tell Nora to speed Block to a hospital. Iris asks who’s there and Barry tells her he doesn’t know. Cisco and Ralph suit up and Vibe portals them to Barry’s location. The cloaked figure is Cicada and he uses his lightning bolt dagger which lights up followed by The Flash, Vibe and Elongated Man discovering their powers are gone.
Cicada takes them on and is much better at hand-to-hand combat than they are. Vibe tries to get the dagger but Cicada rips it from his hands, cutting them in the process. Cicada is about stab a beaten-up Flash with his dagger but stops when he hears Nora yell, “Dad!” Cicada looks at her and then down at The Flash. He suddenly ceases to attack and leaves the beaten trio of superheroes lying there.
Once more to S.T.A.R. Labs and in the medical bay Caitlin’s treating their wounds. Cisco uses his bandaged hands to grab the fake death certificate. Caitlin assures Cisco it’s not important, but he tells her if she wants to know he can vibe it now. Caitlin’s hesitant but Ralph reminds her that whatever she decides, they have her back and will support her. She agrees and Cisco vibes while holding the phony death certificate and touching Caitlin. Caitlin sees in the vision her mother forging the certificate. Cisco breaks off the vision and it appears to have taken a lot out of him. Caitlin tells Ralph and Cisco what she saw and that’s when Barry calls for them to come to the cortex.
They enter and Iris shows them the video of Gridlock’s death. They can’t make out much and Ralph asks, “What are we looking for here?” Iris says for them to listen. Team Flash hears the heavy breathing and they realize it’s the cloaked man they just fought. Caitlin comments that his breathing sounds like an insect and Nora says, “Like a Cicada.” “Who is Cicada?” asks Barry.
The Flash Season 5 Episode 2 Review:
Funny, sweet, and a little scary, season five episode two titled “Blocked” introduced Team Flash to this season’s big villain who’ve they’ve already take a serious beating from during their first encounter. The episode also revealed a new lead into Caitlin’s father not being dead and her mother being part of the conspiracy. (Poor Caitlin!)
The standout performance goes to Danielle Panabaker for delivering the only truly serious and heartfelt scene in the episode. The scene in Jitters in which Panabaker as Caitlin reveals to Cisco just how scared she is to find out why her father faked his death followed by her admission that her greatest fear is he doesn’t want anything to do with her is truly moving. With her eyes tearing up and her lips quivering, Panabaker as Caitlin shows how much she has put her dad on a pedestal and is terrified of what the truth might hold. It’s a short but extremely effective scene.
With Team Flash already being introduced to the main villain this season, the next episode’s title “The Death of Vibe” has fans and critics concerned about the fate of Cisco Ramon. It’s safe to say dark and deadly days are ahead for Team Flash.
The latest video from Netflix’s Chilling Adventures of Sabrina finds the series’ star Kiernan Shipka discussing her character and season one. “Her life up until 16 was very mortal. And on her 16th birthday she’s faced with signing her name in the Book of the Beast,” explains Kiernan Shipka in the two and a half minute video.
The new video also features Miranda Otto who plays Zelda Spellman. Otto describes Sabrina’s journey as being torn between two worlds and needing to decide on what path she’ll take.
Lucy Davis plays Hilda Spellman and in the video she confirms this 2018 series is vastly different from the Sabrina series of the ’90s. Cast members describe this version as edgier, darker, and definitely in the horror vein.
The series also stars Ross Lynch as Harvey Kinkle, Michelle Gomez as Mary Wardell, Chance Perdomo as Ambrose Spellman, Jaz Sinclair as Rosalind Walker, and Richard Coyle as Father Blackwood. The cast also includes Tati Gabrielle as Prudence, Adeline Rudolph as Agatha, Abigail Cowen as Dorcas, Lachlan Watson as Susie Putnam, and Bronson Pinchot as George Hawthorne.
Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, showrunner of The CW’s Riverdale and the chief creative officer of Archie Comics, wrote the script and executive produces. Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter, Archie Comics CEO Jon Goldwater, and Lee Toland Krieger also serve as executive producers.
Netflix is set to launch the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina on October 26, 2018.
The Plot:
Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, starring Kiernan Shipka, imagines the origin and adventures of Sabrina the Teenage Witch as a dark coming-of-age story that traffics in horror, the occult and, of course, witchcraft. Tonally in the vein of Rosemary’s Baby and The Exorcist, this adaptation finds Sabrina wrestling to reconcile her dual nature — half-witch, half-mortal — while standing against the evil forces that threaten her, her family and the daylight world humans inhabit.
Behind the scenes of ‘Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.’ (Photo Courtesy of Netflix)
Tony Plana as Devante and Sarah Bolger as Emily Galindo in ‘Mayans M.C.’ season 1 episode 7 (Photo by Prashant Gupta/FX)
FX’s riveting new drama, Mayans M.C., continues with season one episode seven airing on October 16, 2018. The episode titled “Cucaracha/K’uruch” begins inside EZ’s trailer. EZ (JD Pardo) places mini-cassettes in a brown paper bag.
At the clubhouse, Bishop (Michael Irby), Taza (Raoul Max Trujillo), and Tranq (Frankie Loyal) are discussing what went down at the border with Miguel Galindo when Angel (Clayton Cardenas) interrupts with a story to tell. He lies and says the reason they lost Dennis during the chase is because they came across soft dirt and Gilly fell into what they later discovered was an old tunnel. That tunnel led to another tunnel that was obviously in use and reached a half-mile into Mexico. The other end led to Vicky’s place.
Angel apologizes for not revealing this earlier, saying he was worried about the heat it would draw with everything else that’s going down. Bishop accepts the story and instructs Angel to keep it to himself for now.
Angel receives a text from Adelita and, along with EZ, heads to the warehouse. They then take off on a short road trip on this side of the border, and Adelita (Carla Baratta) asks about their family. They explain their dad never remarried and still talks to their mother’s ashes. They drop Adelita off at a parked car in the middle of nowhere, and Angel promises to explain everything to EZ once they meet up with Coco and Gilly.
Meanwhile, Dita Galindo (Ada Maris), Emily Thomas (Sarah Bolger), and Devante (Tony Plana) wait outside the border patrol station. Miguel’s still locked up inside, suffering the indignity of being splashed with another inmate’s urine.
Back at the clubhouse, Angel’s apparently told his group what’s about to go down with the rebels. EZ’s then sent out to work on the motorcycles while Angel and his people are called into a meeting. Galindo’s current state of incarceration is discussed, and it’s pointed out that it’s unusual Galindo hasn’t been sprung by his lawyers. Despite that, they’ll go about making the runs as usual.
EZ’s outside when Chucky (Michael Ornstein) pulls up with Coco’s daughter, Letty (Emily Tosta). Coco asked to see her and Chucky’s brought her in and is very enthusiastic about preparing her a delicious breakfast. After the meeting breaks up, Coco (Richard Cabral) introduces the club to Leticia who’s busy eating a hearty breakfast from Chef Chucky.
Bishop whispers to Chucky, wondering if this is the girl he saw with Coco. Tensions ease up a bit when Chucky confirms she is. Bishop, showing he’s a decent dude, gives Coco the day off to hang with Letty. EZ takes his place on the run.
The day’s also just beginning for Felipe (Edward James Olmos). He speaks to his dead wife and then realizes her urn is missing. He’s shocked to find Adelita inside his house and she’s the one who moved the urn. Felipe demands to know her identity and she calls him by his real name without revealing hers. She then pulls out a copy of the same photo Felipe keeps hidden in a locked box, although her photo is torn and doesn’t include the severed heads.
The man in the photo with Felipe is her father. She watched him be murdered by the cartel while she was hiding in a heating vent. She also saw her mother and baby brother butchered. Felipe realizes she’s Pedro’s kid and she reveals she’s now going by Adelita. He wonders how she found him, and she admits it was through his sons who’ve been helping the rebels. She does, however, assure him his sons don’t know about his connection to her father.
Felipe cuts to the chase, asking what she wants. She explains that when she was six the Galindos tracked them down and killed her family. Her father had to watch as they cut her brother and mother to pieces. Galindo told her father he had been betrayed by a friend, someone who broke his sacred trust. They then decapitated him.
Adelita believes Felipe sold out his old partner. She’s there to kill him, but Felipe has information she’s missing.
Agent Kevin Jimenez (Maurice Compte) shows up at work and informs his supervisor that EZ’s giving him a bag today. Unfortunately, it’s too late and Kevin’s being dismissed from the case. They’re going to bring in EZ Reyes using local cops, and Kevin realizes that will expose Reyes’ actions to the club. The supervisor doesn’t care, and Kevin accuses him of not caring because EZ will be just another dead Mexican. “You’ll probably get a bonus for that in this administration,” says Kevin before being booted from the office.
Back at Felipe’s, Adelita continues to hold a gun to his head as he opens the locked box with the photo. He shows her his copy, complete with the severed heads. He explains they sold their souls to the cartel, showing other photos of their atrocities.
Felipe goes on to explain her father remained in after he quit. His wife was pregnant with Angel, but her father was still single and continued to work for the cartel. Felipe claims he didn’t keep up with Pedro after he fled that life.
Carla Baratta as Adelita in ‘Mayans M.C.’ season 1 episode 7 (Photo by Prashant Gupta/FX)
Adelita wants to know who else would have been aware of Pedro’s whereabouts. Felipe believes it was the person who took the photo, the third member of their small group who did everything together. The man’s name was Rodrigo and he’s a priest. He’s also the one who created Felipe’s new identity. It’s possible he did that for Pedro, too.
Adelita realizes the sacred trust that was broken was broken by a priest. She asks to borrow the photo of the three friends and Felipe agrees. Before leaving she asks if her father was an animal and Felipe replies, “We didn’t start out that way. We just chose the wrong family.”
The Mayans meet up with Sons of Anarchy on the road and it’s hugs all around. The club’s making a deal with SoA for weapons and as the product’s exchanged EZ gets a call that he ignores. That’s followed by a text warning him something bad’s happening and to pick up the phone. Kevin calls and tells EZ he’s been pulled off the detail and EZ’s deal is over. EZ lets Kevin in on the fact Galindo was arrested at the border. “Don’t cave on me. You need to steer clear of the Mayans. They put out a BOLO,” warns Kevin.
Kevin hangs up and then stealthily follows his supervisor as he leaves the office.
Back in lock-up, a massive inmate wants Galindo’s shirt. After Galindo taunts him about being less than a cockroach, he takes off his shirt and uses it as a weapon to take down the larger man and choke him until he’s unconscious. Galindo delivers a stomp to the chest followed by spitting in the man’s face to finish up the one-sided fight.
Elsewhere, Coco takes Letty back to his mother’s place. They argue over food, her missing car, and a dead body. Coco tries to make peace by promising her another car, but she’s not satisfied. She doesn’t believe Coco cares about her and is just using her to take care of Letty.
After his mom leaves the room, Coco hands Letty some cash for food and whatever she needs. When he takes off, his mom returns, grabs the money, and suggests Letty get back on the street to earn her keep. Letty’s so upset she locks herself in the bathroom and bangs her head against the toilet, bloodying her face.
Deal done, the club gets back on the road. A cop nearby spots them and gives chase.
Out on the street, the cop calls in backups and everyone’s forced to pull over. The club’s now carrying guns and realize they need to stay cool, but EZ also knows he can’t be questioned in front of the Mayans. He rides back over to the officers parked 100 or so feet back, tells them he’s the guy they’re looking for, kicks a squad car door shut, and rides off. The cops pursue EZ as he flees, giving the club a chance to ride off.
EZ’s finally cornered and beaten, although he’s in no way resisting arrest.
Back at the border it’s been 18 hours since Galindo was arrested. Devante confirms he called the lawyers, but right now there’s nothing they can do. No one’s sure who is in charge because of the chaos at the border under the Trump administration. However, Devante doesn’t think it’s the Feds because they like to openly wield their power and haven’t taken credit for Galindo’s arrest thus far.
Elsewhere, Kevin follows his supervisor to an office complex and waits outside. Inside, the agent can’t remember the code to a locked room but the personnel inside eventually let him in anyway. Sons of Anarchy antagonist Asst U.S. Attorney Lincoln Potter (Ray McKinnon) is running the war room. They get word EZ has been picked up when Kevin decides to make his presence known. Kevin barges into the secret meeting, revealing he’s invested two years on this case and EZ just gave him info that Galindo’s being detained at Calexico East, something that comes as a shock to this group. They realize Galindo has in fact been off the grid for 26 hours. Potter orders teams sent out to find Galindo. He also tells Kevin his deal’s still in play and that they’ll drop the BOLO on EZ.
Galindo is pulled from the cage in the public lockup area and taken to an out-of-the-way room. He’s in handcuffs and not told what’s happening. Adelita steps out of the shadows and asks the border patrol officers to remove the handcuffs. The officers leave her alone with Galindo, and she confirms his son and family are safe.
Adelita reveals the Galindo cartel slaughtered her family but this is much more than just revenge she’s seeking. She wants his cooperation and makes a phone call while opening up her laptop with a live feed of his poppy fields, his distribution hubs, and his refinery. She gives the order and the fields go up in flames along with the refinery and distribution centers. He doesn’t seem to care and doesn’t believe it will impact his business. She then places live feeds of every single one of his facilities on the screen, telling him she’ll take them all out which will open up spots for smaller drug dealers to move in. Plus, he’ll be busy in the US courts and won’t be able to rebuild.
Miguel realizes the kidnapping was just to set up this play. Adelita shocks him by revealing she wants the rebels and his cartel to work together. Taking him out won’t stop the violence, and every level of government is infected including social services and health care. She’s willing to let the devil secure their future and evil feed the children. The rebels are 2,000 strong and she’ll put them to use to make sure no one takes down the Galindo cartel. In return, she wants Galindo to give money to the rebels to use to help the poor.
Miguel wonders how they’ll ever trust each other. She suggests they tell the truth and reveals her real name. She also suggests they use a third party to keep them honest, for now.
At the clubhouse, the club thinks EZ acted to keep the rest of the Mayans out of trouble. He wasn’t carrying any weapons, so he led the cops off on a wild goose chase to distract them from the rest of the club. He might be charged with reckless driving or speeding, and Bishop tells Angel his little bro has balls.
Just then EZ shows up and he’s summoned to the meeting room. He’s been beaten and is icing his arm. EZ explains he let them catch him once he knew the club was out of range. They didn’t charge him with anything because it would have been a lot of paperwork for just misdemeanors. They beat him and let him go.
Bishop calls EZ a smart kid, however, he’s angry that the prospect went rogue. It could have led to one of the Mayans getting killed by angry cops. EZ apologizes and Bishop warns him once more and he’s out. Being tossed from the club will come with a severe beating that will make what the cops did feel like a day at the spa.
As EZ walks out of the clubhouse, Chucky drives up with Letty. She looks horrible and claims her grandmother almost killed her. Coco sees his daughter and heads out, telling EZ to clean Letty up.
Coco breaks down his mother’s door while she’s relaxing in the bathtub. She’s able to get up and grab a knife but believes she’s safe when she sees it’s Coco. Coco punches her in the face, knocking her back into the tub. She threatens to call the cops and end him, but Coco finishes her off by holding her head underwater as she struggles for breath.
Meanwhile at the border, Miguel’s handed his son. The border patrol agents set him free and as he walks down the hall, Adelita tells him she’ll be in touch.
The Galindo family’s at home when Miguel arrives with the baby. A happy family reunion ensues.
Things aren’t so rosy for Riz who’s caught by the club using the tunnel outside Vicky’s place to smuggle in two Hispanic females and a baby.
That night, EZ goes to his dad’s. Felipe’s not there but the box with the photos and Felipe’s real history is sitting on the table. EZ appears stunned while he looks through the box’s contents.
Back at the Galindo home, the reunion continues until all the lights suddenly go out in the house. They believe it’s just a brown-out and Paco goes outside to check the electric panel.
Paco’s confronted outside while inside candles are lit. Noises are heard outside and everyone heads off in different directions, leaving Emily alone holding the baby in the living room. She finally follows the path Miguel took and reaches the front door. Outside, Asst U.S. Attorney Lincoln Potter and the DEA have already placed Miguel and his men in custody.
