NOTE: this post contains spoilers for Mayans M.C. season 5 episode 8, "Her Blacks Crackle and Drag."
After the shocking deaths in last week's episode, EZ (JD Pardo) has some tough decisions to make, ones that will change him forever.
First EZ has to clean up the mess Guero (Andrew Jacobs) made killing Diaz. He finds a way to turn the situation to his advantage. Diaz and the other man are dumped at the Grim Bastards door by Mayans wearing Sons of Anarchy jackets. Lucky (Gilbert Glenn Brown) is furious at the implied threat to his club. He comes to EZ and makes an alliance with him against the Sons.
Letty (Emily Tostaa) is on her way to Packer (Robert Patrick) to tell him about the drug making operation on the Broken Saints ranch in exchange for Hope's (Vanessa Giselle) freedom. Packer is trying to add to her punishment, pushing her addiction by not letting her eat until she does drugs. Letty is desperate to get her out.
Gilly's (Vincent Vargas) situation with Paul's (Phil Brooks) family comes to a head. Paul is unstable and spiraling. Gilly tries one last time to get through to him. He's able to get Paul to go to rehab so that he can try to be a father to his son.
Miguel (Danny Pino) goes to see Felipe (Edward James Olmos) and they get into some family history. Miguel tells Felipe he'd forgive the abusive man who raised him before he'd forgive Felipe.
Alvarez (Emilio Rivera) rides to SAMCRO to find out who killed Diaz. He's told the Sons aren't responsible, instead to look in his own backyard for the murderer. That's tough for Alvarez to hear but he knows in his gut it's true. He doesn't believe EZ is enough of a leader to keep the Mayans strong. However, after ordering Creeper's death and covering up Diaz's murder, EZ has control of the prisons and an alliance with the Grim Bastards. That means SAMCRO stands alone.
A hearse arrives at the Mayans clubhouse bearing Creeper's casket. All of the Mayans and Creeper's sister gather to honor him and say an emotional goodbye. It's ice cold for EZ to preside at the funeral of a fallen Mayan when he's the one responsible for his death. Katie (Stella Maeve) attends the funeral, knowing EZ is the informant and knowing that information got Creeper killed.
Letty tells Packer about the Broken Saints and the drugs, but it isn't enough for him to give her Hope. Letty waits until Packer and most of the Sons have headed for Broken Saints to break in and get Hope.
After they get away, Hope tells Letty to stop the car. She gets out on the side of the highway, crying. Hope tells Letty she will never be free, Packer will always come after her. Despondent and feeling like there’s no way out, Hope steps in front of a truck and is killed instantly.
EZ stands in the shadows as Creeper's coffin is loaded back into the hearse after the entire club has said goodbye. After a solemn funeral the Mayans drink hard in honor of Creeper.
At home Alvarez burns his Mayans patches. The brotherhood he built means nothing if Mayans are killing each other.
Angel (Clayton Cardenas) still doesn't know what happened to Adelita. He brings Maverick and some bags of their stuff and moves into Felipe's. Angel is overwhelmed by having to take care of Maverick alone.
EZ, meanwhile, is struggling to process the fallout from everything he's done. Sofia (Andrea Cortés) knows he's pulling away from her. She tells him he needs to start letting her in or he will lose her. But EZ can't. The burden of leadership is heavy and solitary. EZ has to wrestle with his conscience alone.
Guero and Bottles (Alex Barone) head to the Broken Saints ranch to hook up with some of the Saints. They have to stop for gas but neither of them will get out of the truck to pump. Both know if one gets out the other will drive off without them. So they continue, hoping they can coast to the ranch and refill there.
They run out of gas just before reaching the Broken Saints' land. On the horizon they see smoke and a lot of flames. They run to the ranch. Buildings are engulfed in flame, including the cook shed. The women struggle to get everyone out of the shed, including Elio (Luis Fernandez-Gil). They get Elio out just seconds before the cook shed, the product and all the supplies explode.
Without the drugs, EZ has no leverage. He won't have control of the prisons or Iron War and Storm 88. SAMCRO just effectively knocked down everything EZ built. With just a few episodes left, EZ's going to either have to step up and become a legendary leader or he will be responsible for the demise of Mayans.
New episodes of Mayans M.C. season 5 premiere Wednesdays on FX. Episodes are available to stream on-demand via Hulu.
