‘Mayans M.C.’ Season 3 Episode 1 Recap: “Pap Struggles with the Death Angel”

By
Rebecca Murray
-
Mayans MC Season 3 Episode 1
Clayton Cardenas as Angel Reyes and JD Pardo as EZ Reyes in ‘Mayans M.C.’ season 3 episode 1 (Photo by Prashant Gupta/FX)

FX’s Mayans M.C. season three episode one opens with Adelita (Carla Baratta) still in custody, chained from the ceiling, toes barely touching the ground as her baby cries. Angel (Clayton Cardenas) is seeking solace with another woman while EZ (JD Pardo) is beating the crap out of a rival as a warning to stop screwing with the Mayans. Other members are in equally dark places as the third season begins.

Military vehicles crowd the otherwise nearly empty streets of Santo Padre. EZ slows as he rides by, staring at Border Patrol officers as they make arrests.

He makes it to his dad’s place and finds the sink full of dirty dishes and Felipe (Edward James Olmos) still in bed. EZ gently asks his father if he’s going to open the shop and offers Felipe a breakfast burrito he picked up on the way over. Felipe doesn’t budge or respond, obviously still distressed over his son’s role in Dita’s death.

EZ’s next stop is at Angel’s place and he’s surprised to see a woman emerging from the bedroom. Angel warns him not to make a big deal of it.

Next, we check in with Coco (Richard Cabral) who has his sight back but looks horrible. His daughter, Leticia (Emily Tosta), asks if he’s seen her iPad and he yells at her to get a job and help pay for things around the place. She reminds him he couldn’t pay her tuition and she had to drop out of school, which leads into another rant about getting a job and helping with expenses.

Emily (Sarah Bolger) is taking a swim when she’s confronted by Mayor Antonia Pena (Alexandra Barreto) about people losing their pensions because she and Miguel made promises they couldn’t keep. The border shutdown has halted construction, a development that Antonia blames on the attention caused by Miguel’s criminal activity. She warns Emily to get construction going again or the town will die. Trash isn’t being picked up, the police force has been cut, and people are already fleeing Santo Padre.

Angel and EZ discuss their dad and how hard he’s taken Dita’s death while on their way to a meet-up in the tunnel. Coco’s all crazy-eyed as he emerges from the tunnel and Gilly (Vincent Vargas) confirms he’s not right in the head. EZ and Angel brought two child car seats with them to use to hide the heroin Gilly and Coco retrieved from across the border. It’s not nearly the stash they normally move. The border shutdown’s killing the Mayans’ business.

The DOJ raids the dress factory and investigates the tunnel beneath it.

EZ places the car seats in the backseat of a woman who really needs the $5,000 payoff. She and her husband lost their jobs and are getting desperate. “Luckily, crime always pays,” she jokes. EZ promises she’ll be fine and will make it through the border checkpoint without any issues.

EZ and Angel believe the shutdown is payback by Potter.

They make it back to the bar and discover it’s full of Border Patrol agents.

Gilly wants Coco to pay but he’s totally broke so EZ gets the round. Angel wonders what Coco’s spending his money on and Gilly notes Coco stinks like a hobo, so he’s not broke from buying soap. The jokes turn personal when Coco calls Gilly a bitch and Gilly says he should stop whining about a little glass in his eye.

A punch is thrown and Coco lands on one of the agents playing pool. That ignites a brawl and eventually, after finishing off their beers, EZ and Angel join in.

The woman driving with the car seats is stopped by Border Patrol agents and looks incredibly nervous as she turns over her license. She tries to make small talk but her fingers drum on the steering wheel as she lies about being on her way to pick up her 19-month-old twins. She’s instructed to pull over but panics and attempts to speed away.

The Border Patrol deploy a spike strip and she winds up crashing into a police car before being placed under arrest.

The club assembles around the table and Bishop (Michael Irby) lays into the foursome for drawing more attention by beating up soldiers. Their action has placed a larger target on the club. Plus, they lost product with the arrest at the checkpoint. Bishop explains that means they’ll have to meet with the other kings that evening empty-handed.

Taza (Raoul Max Trujillo) asks what they’re going to do about Palo (president of the Vatos Malditos) and reveals he doesn’t think Palo’s finished. Bishop believes it’s over – they lost Riz but Palo lost everyone.

The new prospect, Steve, is a bundle of nerves and as the Mayans leave their meeting he stumbles and smashes bottles of beer. EZ’s nice enough to hand him a towel while the others can only say, “What the f*ck, Steve?”

Taza and Bishop remain at the table and continue to argue about Palo after the meeting’s over. Bishop demands Taza let it go and leaves.

EZ confronts Taza about why he thinks Palo isn’t finished. Taza reveals Palo cut his own brother’s throat and held him while he bled out. They don’t know the guy like he does.

Speaking of Palo, the VM pres rings up Sons of Anarchy’s Allesandro Montez (Jacob Vargas) and asks why he hasn’t been searching for his missing cousin.

Miguel Galindo (Danny Pino) puts in his first appearance of season three with a visit to Dita’s therapist. He demands to know what they talked about during their sessions but doesn’t learn anything useful because of patient/doctor confidentiality.

After the meeting, Miguel’s informed of the mule’s arrest and that they don’t have an effective way to get the product in from Mexico right now.

Over at the DOJ, an order comes in to release Adelita back to Mexico. Potter signed off on the order which is basically a death sentence for Adelita.

The Reyes brothers do a little more bonding over women, with Angel giving EZ a hard time about Gaby. Angel warns his baby bro if he calls her “special,” he’s going to throw up in his mouth. Laughing, EZ assures his brother Gaby’s definitely special.

They’re still joking around when Bishop interrupts to inform them they need to return to the clubhouse at midnight. He’s decided he’s taking the club as backup for his meeting with the kings.

Mayans M.C. Season 3 Episode 1
Sulem Calderon as Gabriela Castillo and JD Pardo as EZ Reyes in ‘Mayans M.C.’ season 3 episode 1 (Photo by Justin Lubin/FX)

EZ uses his free hours before the meeting for a quick date with Gaby (Sulem Calderon). They’re all cute and flirty as they get to know each other better.

Miguel returns home to a crying baby and a distraught Emily. She fired Maria for allowing Pena to enter their home without her permission. Miguel’s upset she let Maria go since she was family but lets that go to find out what Pena wanted. Emily explains Pena’s blaming them for the town’s sorry financial shape and asks why they can’t get material locally. Miguel reminds her their profit margin depended on lower material costs. As it stands right now, they can only turn a profit if they write off the project.

After a quick, perfunctory kiss, Miguel says he’s going to grab a shower and head back to Mexico.

Bishop and the club arrive on a bridge which is apparently a neutral location for the meeting. The other kings have also brought their members, and tensions run high as Bishop explains the mule was busted at the border. The kings blame Santo Padre for the fact guns and drugs have stopped flowing, and there’s no money coming in for any of the charters.

They want Bishop to double the heroin for a few months, but Bishop doesn’t believe that’s possible. He’s told it’s an order – not a request.

Bishop refuses and warns them they can’t survive without his pipeline. He suggests they just try and make it without Santo Padre. With that, the meeting’s adjourned.

Two of Miguel’s men walk down a dark street, bitching about the way Maria was treated. One steps in dog poop and they spot the woman walking a dog up ahead. They catch up to her and shoot her in the back. It turns out the dog walker was Dita’s therapist. The dog, fortunately, is uninjured and barks as his/her mom’s dead body is tossed in the back of a van and driven away.

EZ returns home from the meeting and considers the contents of his secret box. He takes the letters and photos inside and slowly tosses each piece into a fire. He kisses his mother’s photo before adding it to the burning pile as flashbacks of killing Dita flow through his head.

While Angel’s having a threesome, Adelita’s being scrubbed down in preparation for her return to Mexico.

Miguel’s late-night trip to Mexico wasn’t for business. He arrives at Governor Palomo’s door and is greeted with a hug and kiss before being pulled inside.

Palo’s walking down a deserted road when a Border Patrol agent pulls up behind him. After obeying commands and laying down, the agent approaches to check his ID. Palo slices his Achilles and then shoots him with his own gun. He then uses the agent’s car to run over him not once, not twice, but three times before driving off.




RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR