FX’s Mayans M.C.
Season 1, Episode 10: “Cuervo/Tz’ikb’uul”
Directed by Elgin James
Written by Kurt Sutter

* For a recap & review of the penultimate episode, “Serpiente/Chikchan” – click here
* For a recap & review of the Season 2 premiere, “Xbalanque” – click here
Dita (Ada Maris) finds her dead son’s hospital records, left out by Miguel (Danny Pino). The cartel boss knows she only did it because he isn’t like his father. Didn’t stop him from letting Adelita (Carla Baratta) chop Devante’s head off. And more than ever, Emily (Sarah Bolger) supports her husband, as the lines between wife and accomplice blur further.
On his own, EZ (JD Pardo) sees two cuervos – Spanish for ravens – feasting on the carcass of roadkill as if they were vultures by the roadside. At the casino, Angel (Clayton Cardenas), Gilly (Vincent Vargas), and Coco (Richard Cabral) head off after their post-meeting party.
They see a little less of the carcass on their way, only a single raven left to feast.

EZ goes to see Felipe (Edward James Olmos). He fills dad in on Potter’s (Ray McKinnon) favour— the assassination of Kevin (Maurice Compte). Not even like Kevin did anything other than threaten to become a vocal “whistle–blower” against the DEA. What’s EZ going to do? If he doesn’t fulfil the request, he goes back to jail. Dad tells his son they’ll find a way out of it.
At the table, Alvarez (Emilio Rivera) tells Bishop (Michael Irby) and the club he feels things will go well with the cartel and the rebels’ deal, as well as everything planned to make the feds think Galindo is working fully with them. Alvarez mentions he wants to “keep [a] promise to Jax Teller” concerning the drugs that were causing chaos through Charming. Redwood lads are already on the way down to mule some guns for the rest of the deal, too.

Kevin goes to see Felipe at the butcher shop, where we see the old man’s considering killing the second cousin himself. Felipe’s consumed with trying to save his son, to the point he’s entertained doing the unthinkable. He chooses not to— at least right now. A little later, Angel turns up at dad’s shop looking for a way to get in touch with Kevin. Felipe admits what he nearly did, then tells his son this isn’t the way out. The eldest brother just wants to help get EZ out of the club/out of town. Meanwhile, Potter keeps an eye on the prospect to make sure his and the DEA’s loose ends are cauterised.
And so Angel goes to Kevin’s place, pulling a gun on him. This causes trouble because the biker doesn’t know Kevin’s boss Bowen (Curtiss Cook) is there. Chaos erupts, ending in both the DEA men murdered— Bowen by EZ, the cousin by Angel. Holy. Fucking. SHIT!
Afterwards, Potter comes over to survey the less than “ninja–level damage,” and despite the mess things will go fine. The line between “avarice and Executive Order” have been erased in this current U.S. administration, making it easier than ever for shadowy nastiness. Potter’s return in this series is a great juxtaposition with Sons of Anarchy. He was at least attempting to do things in the name of justice then, only to become no different than the men he’s hunting.

In cartel land, Miguel tells his main man Nestor (Gino Vento) to take a backseat currently in the field. He feels the killing of the nun was lacking in “vision” and needs a softer hand, which is grimly hilarious for a bunch of psychopaths. Will this cause problems for the boss later? Will Nestor remain loyal?

“He doesn’t belong here, with me,
in this dead fucking town.”

EZ and Angel have to get the corpses of the DEA men someplace proper. Along their journey in the tunnels they talk about their second cousin. EZ doesn’t have much memory of Kevin from earlier days, though Angel has a less than stellar family memory to share, illustrating the cycles of violence these men have endured throughout their lives— from institutional violence to family violence to the plain ole street violence and organised crime they see in their chosen line of work. Once the bodies are buried, Angel tells EZ he has to quit the club then hit the road.

Later, EZ meets with Potter to watch his criminal history evaporate onscreen. That doesn’t mean he’s entirely free. The attorney tells EZ, for disposing of one problem alongside Bowen’s death: “You owe me one.” Can’t bode well for future plans.
Back at the clubhouse it’s a celebration! The club’s moving on to big things, and Angel’s got himself the new title of Secretary to the Mayans M.C. Then it’s time for EZ to speak with Bishop, who’s sitting down with Alvarez, Taza (Raoul Trujillo), and Hank (Frankie Loyal Delgado). But is he really going to leave? Father Gore has a feeling he’s staying. In the meantime, Reapers arrive, as none other than Happy Lowman (David Labrava) from the Sons of Anarchy comes to party with his pals. Looks more like it’s Alvarez departing the Mayans, as he takes off his cut, leaving it at the table before heading off from the clubhouse. Where’s he headed? To work for Miguel and the cartel as the new consigliere.
And what did EZ talk about with Bishop? The MC Prez tells Angel “blood can‘t sponsor blood,” so they’re going to have fix their charter. The prospect asked for Bishop to sponsor him instead. Whoa. This is going to cause serious repercussions going forward. He and Angel are already not doing well, as the older brother confronts him. But EZ says he has to make his own decisions and try living his own life. He wants to do something other than merely survive for once.

Things go sideways once EZ helps an SOA prospect with some beer. He remembers following the guy who killed his mom, leading to his accidental shooting of a cop, and that guy who killed his mom is the SOA prospect’s sponsor: Happy.
Stellar ending to this season! Lots of things that were unexpected. Means big, exciting things for Seaosn 2. So much wild stuff is poised to happen next year. Come back for more recaps and reviews with Father Gore.