When you watch a series for so long, there usually comes a point where things grow stale and get predictable.
Mayans M.C. was never one of those shows.
Launching years after the conclusion of Sons of Anarchy meant there were certain expectations, and the series successfully carved out its own identity to deliver one of the most brutal shows on TV.
It all ended with Mayans M.C. Season 5 Episode 10, which I’m surprised to say was a near-perfect series finale.
It’s hard not to have certain expectations when watching a series/franchise end, but “Slow to Bleed Fair Son” covered all the bases to bring this story to a close.
E.Z.’s journey across five seasons has been one of the best-developed arcs on the small screen, with JD Pardo embodying this man who found himself making decision after decision to benefit other people.
Ultimately, though, the truth about E.Z. being the rat had to come back to reiterate that the past has a way of coming back to haunt you.
If you watch Mayans M.C. online, you know the only way to take someone like E.Z. Reyes out was with the element of surprise.
E.Z. is analytical, and he’s been one step ahead of everyone else because he’s been thinking several steps forward.
But nothing could prepare him for the shock of the people he’s fought alongside for years telling him they know the truth and all taking turns stabbing him with his own knife.
Despite E.Z. being more selfish in Mayans M.C. Season 5 than before, telling his one-time brothers that Angel didn’t know about him working with the FBI took a lot.
Even in his final moments, he thought about how Maverick couldn’t grow up without a father, so he had to ensure his brother made it out of that situation in one piece.
E.Z. and Angel’s relationship has been strained since Mayans M.C. Season 4, with Angel struggling to agree with many of his brother’s actions.
Angel has struggled with watching his brother make these decisions, all while knowing that, at some point, E.Z. could have made better decisions in life to avoid joining the Mayans.
It must have been horrific for Angel to be in the clubhouse and be told that he had to be the first person to stick the knife into his brother’s abdomen to survive.
How do you tell someone to do that and expect them to follow through with it? Angel had barely come to terms with the fact that his father had been murdered, and now he was about to lose his brother.
Angel understood that he had to embrace change, so he asked his brother earlier in the episode if he would allow him to leave the Mayans and start a new life elsewhere.
Angel felt like he was losing everyone in his life and was well aware that he ran the risk of dying while being a part of the Santo Padre charter, so he knew he had to make better decisions to secure a future for himself and his son.
The series had been missing the bond between the brothers because they’d been pulled in different directions since the end of Mayans M.C. Season 4, so it was nice to have that bond back for the final episode.
Even E.Z.’s Mayan brothers were struggling with their decision but knew they had to make an example of E.Z. for his crimes.
Working with the feds was a big no-no, but knowing that he also had Creeper killed will have been the straw that broke the camel’s back in their eyes.
Creeper faced so much hardship in his life, and them knowing that it could have all been avoided had E.Z. not lied and subsequently had him killed, maybe this would have gone in a completely different direction.
Despite the Mayans making their big power play against the Reyes brothers, it was clear they wouldn’t be a functioning club for much longer when Patricia faced pushback in her quest to take down Lincoln Potter.
Dana Delaney has been an excellent addition to the cast as this woman tired of people abusing their power, so she set her sights on Lincoln and missed.
Her boss telling her that his boss would be far more interested in resolving the bodies piling up from the war between the Sons of Anarchy and the Mayans flawlessly set up those final scenes.
Could you imagine the media uproar if someone from within the government was revealed to have committed the crimes Lincoln did?
It would be EVERYWHERE, so the chances of it ever being exposed were slim to none.
Then again, Patricia may have been able to get her message across had Emily not enacted her revenge plot on Miguel.
Miguel was the only person who could tell the feds everything there was to know about Lincoln’s crimes. Patricia knew all her work was for nothing when she got the call that Miguel was no longer in the land of the living.
We’ll get to that in a little because we need to address the elephant in the room:
Is the Santo Padre Charter gone? After murdering a pregnant Sofia in cold blood, I wanted them to get some form of comeuppance.
Getting rid of Sofia was the most straightforward way for them to tie up loose ends without any blowback.
Sofia’s presence on-screen had been growing, and a part of me wanted her to tell E.Z. she was pregnant and for E.Z. to realize being the President of the Santo Padre Charter wasn’t for him and for the two to run off into the sunset.
I can’t even say we were robbed because what happened to E.Z. was far more realistic than him escaping and running away.
But it’s hard not to think about the possibilities. E.Z. has been open to embracing change since meeting Wendy on Mayans M.C. Season 5 Episode 9.
He finally understood that he needed to lift the veil between his two lives, so it’s unfortunate that his lies caught up with him when he was doing that.
E.Z. leading the Mayans to victory against the Sons of Anarchy was something I didn’t expect. A part of me always felt like Mayans M.C. would end and leave the scope for a comeback of sorts for the original series.
That being said, E.Z. taking out Isaac was gratifying. Isaac has had the lay of the land for far too long and always thought that no one could take him down.
Isaac always thought he knew what was best, and even in his final moments, he knew his death wouldn’t be remembered for years to come.
He was a despicable man who got a wretched death and didn’t deserve to be remembered.
The most frustrating part of the finale was the heel turn for Letty as she conceded that it was time to kill the Mayans because, somehow, they were responsible for Coco’s death.
She should have channeled that energy into going after Isaac or the other people from Meth Mountain.
After what happened to E.Z., I was oddly on board with her opening fire at the clubhouse, but watching her take the dog and return to the Broken Saints was better because a part of her understood that was the only place for her.
I also wouldn’t mind a female-focused spinoff centering on the Broken Saints. All of the women have stories to tell about why they’re there, and with the Mayans’ demise, there’s an opening.
Katie and Lincoln showing up at the clubhouse with trained operatives who went in and killed everyone inside was a twist I didn’t see coming, but it takes the Santo Padre charter off the canvas, seemingly for good.
Katie knew she wanted to get revenge on these men, but she probably didn’t bank on E.Z. being killed before she got there.
Will Katie find peace knowing these men have been taken off the streets, or will she still struggle with what was taken from her?
Let’s get back to Emily. If you’ve kept up to speed with my Mayans M.C. reviews, you know I’ve wrestled with what would become of her.
She seemingly had a thirst for blood on Mayans M.C. Season 5 Episode 8 after taking matters into her own hands to save her son.
The episode ended with her back in bed with Miguel, so it was certainly a talking point that she could love this man again.
The truth is, Emily knew she had to bide her time, or she ran the risk of being caught or killed when she least expected it.
As soon as she looked at the picture of her sister, it was obvious Miguel’s time was almost up. Erin’s death on Mayans M.C. Season 4 Episode 9 changed Emily because she knew she had to save herself and her son and get some vengeance.
I didn’t expect it to be so well thought out. Killing Miguel must have given her a sigh of relief, but she knew she had to make it look like a murder-suicide.
Luis has been Miguel’s right-hand for a long time, so it was perfect that Emily said she knew he would be the one to pull the trigger.
Emily bided her time and got revenge when everyone least expected it, and the fake story of how Luis had a thing for Miguel was a stroke of genius.
Emily has also never really gotten away from her love for E.Z. and you could see she looked fondly at him while he rode by her with his brother. It makes me think she believes there’s a future for them in the aftermath.
We were robbed of her finding out about E.Z.’s demise, you guys.
It’s hard to believe this journey is over, but I’m intrigued by what happens with the franchise next.
What are your thoughts on E.Z.’s downfall? Were you surprised Miguel didn’t tell the truth about being E.Z. and Angel’s half-brother?
What are your thoughts on Katie and Lincoln wiping out the Mayans?
Hit the comments.
Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.