Mayans M.C. Season 4 Premiere Recap

Season 4 of Mayans M.C. kicks off exactly where the third season left off. Absolutely no time has passed — the recap rolls straight into new footage. The other Mayans charters are at the gates of Santo Padre in full attack mode. As members of the club make their way inside, we learn that the gunshot at the end of Season 3 wasn't Bishop shooting Taza. The conflict isn't over, as they are rolling on the ground fighting over the gun, but both men begin the season alive.

The opening credits offer a brief reprieve from the action but the gunfire picks right back up when the show returns. Hank takes a bullet to the knee early on in the fight but appears to be okay, at least for now. A young club member dies and the power gets cut to the entire compound, causing a woman hanging in the club bar to try calling the cops. Bishop smashes her phone and lets her (and the viewers) know that getting police involved is a no-go, regardless of how bad things might get. This opening fight shows just how much EZ has grown into a leader within the club, as he's the one taking the battle to the other charters and everyone else is following his lead — Bishop included. Angel, on the other hand, is taking more of a backseat, as he's on the verge of becoming a father. Nails, along with Angel's unborn child, are in the clubhouse with everyone else.

It's becoming increasingly clear with just about every scene that Bishop is losing control of his club. He's panicked and making matters worse for everyone, which works in stark opposition to EZ's calm and controlled demeanor. On one hand, EZ is becoming the person that fans hoped he'd steer clear of in the early seasons and that's a tough pill to swallow. It's hard to watch his innocence completely disappear. On the other hand, it's clear that he was made for this. Santo Padre wouldn't have lasted minutes without EZ and everyone in the clubhouse is aware of it.

Things start working in Santo Padre's favor when a woman at the bar suggests they "fight fire with fire" and toss molotov cocktails back at the other charters, making up for their lack of ammunition. EZ delivers an onslaught of fire while Creeper makes a move for the truck and rams it into the gate where the enemy Mayans are trying to break in, resulting in one of the gnarliest scenes in the franchise since Otto bit off his own tongue. Creeper, unfortunately, takes several bullets in the act. It won't be surprising if this ends up haunting Angel, as he was supposed to go with Creeper but stayed back to protect Nails.

Here's a nice surprise: Everyone probably forgot that two main characters weren't at the clubhouse at the time of the attack. Gilly had gone to rescue Coco from the drug mountain that held him captive at the end of Season 3. They aren't much help initially, as they get pinned down outside the gates, but they end up sneaking around and into the clubhouse. Everyone is pinned, out of ammo, and Bishop can't keep himself together. All of the drama starts coming to a head and Coco lies to the rest of the club about his drug abuse, claiming his daughter has been in trouble and that's why he disappeared. He's bailed out by the Mayans outside calling for EZ's head.

The club hunkers down and we get some somber and important moments from a few characters. Angel and Nails discuss what protecting their baby looks like. Hank calls his mother for what could be their final conversation. EZ scans the room and sees his family in shambles. EZ calls out Bishop's lack of leadership, pondering who should pay the price for an individual's sins. He yells out to Canche and takes responsibility for everything, including his son's involvement in the explosion, asking for him to spare the others if he turns himself over. EZ walks out and offers himself to Canche but his brothers won't let him do it alone. They all walk out behind him, together, ready to pay the price as one. They're fully behind in EZ as he gets knocked out.

Canche has every member of the Santo Padre charter on their knees, ready to be executed. He calls out the names of Mayans brothers that were killed as a result of Santo Padre's actions. Just before Angel is killed, Marcus kills the gunman and makes his triumphant return to the Mayans M.C. Not a single man in the compound dares disrespect or disobey him, despite his absence. The first episode of the premiere concludes with Marcus establishing that the club still, in fact, belongs to him.

Episode 2 begins with a serious time jump, moving four months into the future after the battle. Nails and Angel are happier than they've ever been, preparing for the eventual arrival of their baby. Bishop has been demoted to Vice President and Marcus has taken back his spot on the Mayans throne, changing the entire dynamic of the M.C.

There are a lot of new faces around the table at Santo Padre, several charters are in town for a major meeting. One of those new faces belongs to a character named Manny, played by Good Girls alum Manny Montana, who figures to be a prominent character this season (he was seen briefly in the first episode, fighting with EZ on the roof and getting stabbed, seems he's okay now). Canche and the Yuma club are in charge of the pipeline with Galindo out of the way, which clearly isn't sitting well with the members of Santo Padre, who feel as though they're being kept from any work. Alvarez has his work cut out for him. Manny approaches EZ to try and mend things between them and their clubs. It's hard to tell how that relationship is going to play out over the course of the season, Manny could prove an important friend and ally to EZ, or a serious danger. Bishop still harbors a lot of hate for the Yuma charter, and some members of the club say they're with him. EZ isn't too sure, thinking more about the Mayans as a whole than the specific Santo Padre charter. Felipe makes his first appearance of the season, trying to talk with EZ at his trailer but being completely ignored. He leaves a note for EZ that was given to him by "someone who came looking" for EZ at home.

There has been a lot of talk about the war between the Mayans and the Sons of Anarchy in Season 4, and the Sons are finally here. The San Bernardino charter talks about Montez being missing (we know he's dead) and a potential battle with the Mayans. Some members want to fight, the president disagrees. It's an unsettled issue. 

Brother bonding time with EZ and Angel. They disagree about how to deal with their dad, but they're actually in a great place with one another. EZ encourages Angel to forget about his past, specifically the child he had with Adelita. Coco is still dealing with his problems (convinced he has a handle on things) but Gilly is far from over it. Both are on probation, and we know Gilly didn't do anything but save Coco's life.

It looks like there's going to be a dog this season. EZ heads to an animal shelter and falls for an abandoned pitbull, as well as a woman who works there. One of the bartenders at the club leaves after being made fun of by members of the Yuta charter, eventually stumbling upon a mysterious container outside, surrounded by butterflies. We don't see what's inside just yet, but based on her reaction, a dead body seems like the most likely cargo.

In a meeting for recovering addicts (which Coco was invited to but declined), Creeper bares his soul about his issues with what he's been asked to do for the club. After the meeting he's approached by a woman that understands his feelings better than others. There's definitely something there. Coco's girlfriend and daughter seem ready for a breakthrough but the latter isn't ready to forgive the former for fueling her father's addiction. At the clubhouse, Taz tries to make amends with Bishop but the VP isn't having it, telling his former friend that "some misguided sense of loyalty" is the only reason he's still alive.

As the VP of the San Bernardino SOA charter plots a move against the Mayans, the former bartender reveals to her sister that she found something, but the audience is still kept in the dark about what exactly it is. Hank shows up to the Alvarez home (amidst one of the show's most touching moments to-date) and we learn that he's working directly with the boss to report where members of the club stand. They both know that Bishop might be becoming a serious problem and Hank tells Alvarez that the club "needs" him in order to be made whole again.

While playing his new dog (who is instantly the best character on this or any show), EZ finally opens the note left behind by his father. He flashes back to his time in prison where he worked for the leader of a Latino gang inside in order to stay protected. It seems as though that's who the letter is from.

Nearly two hours into Season 4 we finally have an Emily sighting! She's working at a restaurant, riding a bus, and living in a cheap apartment, trying her best to start a new life without Miguel. This kicks off the typical episode-ending montage, checking in with characters like Taza, Coco, Angel, all of whom are trying to move on from the past in their own ways. As it turns out, the bartender's sister used to date the SOA VP that has been gunning for the Mayans. Turns out what she found in the barrel was a kutte, likely belonging to Montez. War is coming.

New episodes of Mayans M.C. air on FX on Tuesday nights. They will be available to stream exclusively on Hulu the morning after they air.