Biker gang rides again
FX show a familiar journey into ‘Sons of Anarchy’ aftermath
“Mayans MC” protagonist Ezekial “EZ” Reyes has a lot in common with “Sons of Anarchy” lead biker Jax Teller. Both are dreamy and thoughtful, and like to read things as their brows furrow intelligently. They are ready to throw down, but would prefer to sit down and have a discussion. In a different, less tragedy-filled timeline, you could see the pair starting a book club together. The soul of the 2008-14 series “Sons of Anarchy” runs through “Mayans MC,” a muscular, well-paced, illogical and, most of all, familiar show that premieres Tuesday, Sept. 4, on the FX Network. It’s taut and entertaining, seemingly made to please the first show’s core fan base. “Mayans” also repeats some of the hang-ups of the previous Kurt Sutter-created series, although hope remains for future course corrections. While the Mayans were headquartered in Oakland in the “Sons of Anarchy” world, “Mayans” mostly follows a smaller chapter of the motorcycle gang, in the fictitious
California border city of Santo Padre. The action always feels as if it’s taking place just across town from Charming and what little is left of the “Sons of Anarchy” crew, with enough crossover moments in the first two episodes that the new show feels more like a sequel than a spin-off.
Reyes ( JD Pardo) is a former scholar with a violent event in his past that pushed him back toward his motorcycle gang family. “Mayans” begins with Reyes recently out of jail and joining the gang as a prospect. There are no obvious “Sons”-style Shakespearean parallels early on — a blessing, considering that the narrative sweep of that show lost its momentum by the last of seven seasons. (Even the deepest of Shakespeare’s works was never meant to take place over 92 hours.)
“Mayans” propels the viewer into the action immediately, with a mission that goes violently wrong, then goes even more wrong; the opening credits feel like a shock when they arrive at the 15-minute mark. The series starts off throwing multiple characters and conflicts on the screen, with a complexity that rivals “The Wire” creator David Simon’s densest works. And there are even more factions and sides and double-crosses to come.
Sutter’s strength was always with dialogue and keeping the show’s vibe right, dating back to his time as a writer and director for “The Shield.” His weakness is a tendency to fall into frustrating contrivances to juice up the plot. (How about if we add a kidnapped baby into the mix!)
These cliches seem even more prevalent in the new series. In the opening sequence alone, there’s a race-against time as a truck’s gas tank is about to blow, and a bad guy is recognized by a tattoo on his wrist. This is 5th-season-of-“The A-Team”-level storytelling, in the beginning of the first hour of a prestige TV show. (We don’t know where to start with EZ’s former high school girlfriend Emily, who happens to be married to the notorious drug cartel leader the Mayans can’t shake.)
But past every groan, there’s a moment of startling humor, or touching humanity, or the kind of brutal violence that will have fans expressing their shock on social media in real time. One particularly cruel gesture is impossible to watch without letting out a painful yelp of your own. If there was an Emmy category for this kind of gory-terrifying-inventive shocker, “Game of Thrones” and whatever biker drama Sutter is working on would walk away with a trophy every year.
The show suggests that in addition to the Latino actors being hired on screen, there are Mexicans in the writers room and on the production design team. When a biker needs a bullet removed by a back-shop doctor, the rest of the pack jokes that he’s “L.A. Mexican” and can’t speak English. The familial bonds of recent immigrants is a more subtle fabric in the narrative.
Sutter, “Mayans MC” co-creator Elgin James and their writing staff aren’t just expert world-builders, but they’ve crafted this slightly alternate reality like a “Grand Theft Auto” video game, with near-absurdist moments, as when a scene-setting “Eight Years Ago” title card appears on a high school entrance sign. It’s a clever approach, which makes the mix of humor and violence a little easier to digest.
The addition of brutal and unambiguously evil Mexican drug cartel leader Miguel Galindo (Danny Pino) also helps to settle the drama in a Western-like setting. More so than in “Sons,” the Mayans are unambiguously the good guys. Their methods may differ, and cause internal fractions that lead to heartbreak and even murder, but you, the viewer, are free to root for all of them.
Time will tell how well this all fits together. We barely get to know any of the characters in the first two episodes, beyond EZ, Emily, EZ’s carniceria owner father (Edward James Olmos) who has his own secrets … because everyone on this show has secrets.
“Mayans MC” makes a good case to stick around to get to know them. This is more of a good thing, with a chance to make a series that is even better.