Mayans M.C. Season 1 Episode 8 Review: Rata/Ch'o
Brandon Vieira
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Despite wanting to give everyone a chance to shine, certain characters are better off not being the center of attention.
One such character is Lincoln "Linc" Potter.
On Mayans M.C. Season 1 Episode 8, Linc played such a large role that his presence felt overbearing.
Sons of Anarchy got it right with Linc. They give him just enough time for the audience to get to know him, but not enough time that his eccentric ways became eye-roll inducing.
That wasn't the case on Mayans M.C. In fact "Rata/Ch'o" relied heavily on him to tell the story, and it affected the episode's overall quality. The problem is that Linc's character talks in riddles and gives these grandiose monologues, so after just one scene, we've had more than enough of him.
However, Mayans decided to have Linc appear on so much of the episode that by the time he delivered his third speech, I was exhausted. I watch TV to escape and be entertained, not to solve riddles.
Related: Mayans M.C. Season 1 Episode 7 Review: Cucaracha/K'uruch
The show made a smart decision to share Linc's screentime with Miguel and Emily whose stoicism balanced out Linc's over the top eccentricity, but even they couldn't save the episode. That's saying a lot considering how great both Miguel and Emily have been portrayed thus far.
If it wasn't for Emily and Miguel, I might've tuned out entirely because it became work for me trying to understand exactly what Linc was saying.
His riddle me this and riddle me that antics have officially made me despise the character which is disappointing because he was a great side character on Sons of Anarchy.
The one positive thing that Linc did was bring out a much more fierce side of Emily. Slowly, we are seeing Emily becoming someone else. She is no longer the scared wife and mother we first met.
Now she is a woman who has been taken advantage of too many times and will do whatever is necessary to protect her family. By Season 2, I predict Emily will officially turn into Dark Emily.
You're very entertaining Mr. Potter, and I'm sure beneath that mask of eccentricity, you're just as scared as the rest of us. But no matter what loss you threaten me with or what gift you promise to deliver, I won't turn on my husband. And if you really did your research, you would already know that.
Emily
The first person who will feel the wrath of Dark Emily? Mr. EZ Reyes. Even though this all could've been done without Linc's foolishness, he did provide Emily with valuable information.
After reading intel the DEA gathered about Miguel from a prospect, Emily finally knows EZ is behind what happened. She hasn't told Miguel yet, and I don't think she's going to.
Whether it's due to her former feelings for him or she wants to handle things herself, Emily will confront EZ about what he's done.
The wrath of Emily this way comes.
There were a few other noteworthy things that occurred on "Rata/Ch'o," but similarly to the way Linc was handled, there was a lot left to be desired.
Inconsistency has been a real flaw on Mayans M.C. since the beginning. Mayans M.C. Season 1 Episode 7 was solid, but once again the follow-up episode just wasn't able to deliver the goods. The main reason for that was because of convoluted plotlines.
For example, Miguel and Adelita's relationship. Even though Adelita didn't make an appearance, it seemed as though Miguel has decided on her offer to work together.
Emily: They own us, Miguel. They can touch everything we have, everyone we know.
Miguel: Not everyone. These ignorant, fucking puppeteers, are going to find out what it feels like to be played. I've got 2000 forgotten soldiers just waiting for a devil to lead them.
It would be fun to watch Adelita, and the rebels work alongside Miguel to take down Linc and the DEA. However, my excitement was soon squashed when Nestor agreed to help Father Rodrigo in exchange for flushing out Adelita.
So is Miguel not going to work with the rebels after all? Or does Nestor not know about Adelita and Miguel's deal? What's going on?
Related: Mayans M.C. Season 1 Episode 6 Review: Gato/Mis
I'm just confused at this point. Hopefully, by the end of this season, Miguel and Adelita are working together and take down Linc, the DEA and Father Rodrigo, and they can all move on to bigger and better things.
While what is exactly is going on with Adelita, Miguel, the rebels and the cartel has just left me confused, the entire storyline with Riz felt a little pointless.
It's understandable why Mayans M.C. did it; to show how desperate Angel has become that he's willing to throw other Mayans under the bus to protect himself.
But did they expect anyone to care about what was going to happen to Riz? Unlike SOA, Mayans hasn't been able to flesh out most of the M.C. The only ones who have gotten any character development are EZ, Angel, and Coco.
Throwing Riz at the forefront of the M.C. portion of the episode at this point in the season was useless.
His beef with Angel was wrapped up in a cute little bow (actually more like a cage), and the chances of Riz being more than just a background character for the foreseeable future are slim to none.
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The only upside to this mini Angel/Riz feud was it provided the only action sequence in the episode. Is it even a Kurt Sutter show without an action sequence?
Coco: Dude, you looked good in that cage man. You're like an ugly, skinny Connor McGregor.
Angel: You're so fucking kind, thank you.
At least Coco was able to provide "Rata/Ch'o" some much-needed highlights. The talk he and EZ had about Coco's mom and him killing her was surprisingly profound.
Who knew Coco could be so poetic?
I didn't murder a whore. I freed my mother, gave her some peace, and took away the noise.
Coco
Unfortunately, Coco's storyline with Letty got brushed to the side for the Lincoln Potter nonsense, but he's bound to play a significant role on the next episode. Especially since it's his mother's dead body that got found in EZ and Angel's car.
EZ was once again not a major focal point on "Rata/Ch'o," but he should be on the next two episodes. One of the dirty little secrets he's hiding will be revealed to the M.C. by seasons end.
I'm just curious to see how he's going to get out of getting himself killed.
Hopefully, with only two more episodes left in the season, the storytelling will be more coherent, and we will finally get answers to all the things that were left up in the air on "Rata/Ch'o."
If the pattern of inconsistency that Mayans M.C. Season 1 has had so far continues, Mayans M.C. Season 1 Episode 9 will be fantastic!
What did you think of "Rata/Ch'o"?
What answers are you hoping to get by the end of Season 1?
Do you think the overuse of Linc and Riz was a misstep?
How do you think Emily will react to EZ being the informant?
Let us know in the comments below and if you need to catch up, make sure to watch Mayans M.C. online right here on TV Fanatic.
Brandon Viera was a staff writer for TV Fanatic. He retired in May 2019..
