SPOILER ALERT: The following reveals major plot points from tonight’s episode of FX’s Mayans M.C. titled “To Fear of Death, I Eat the Stars.”
With just three episodes left of FX’s Mayans M.C., the Reaper is working overtime slaying more fan-favorite characters following the brutal killing of original Sons of Anarchy character Happy Lowman (David Labrava) last week.
This will be more of a true post-mortem than a recap because co-creator Elgin James decided to kill off two important characters tonight in the episode titled “The Fear of Death, I Eat Stars.” We could be mad they’re gone but this is the world they chose to live and they lived it hard. Do not fool yourself into thinking anyone is safe at this point in the game—not even anyone at the top of the call sheet.
Hank (Frankie Loyal) is safe this week, btw. He’s the main photo to keep the spoilers under wraps.
Ok, enough stalling and let’s tackle tonight’s first death. The brutal stabbing of Luisa “Adelita” Espina (Carla Baratta) at the hands of her protege Mini (Melony Ochoa). Earlier in the episode, Angel Reyes (Clayton Cardenas) is caring for his and Adelita’s son Maverick who is sick when she’s nowhere to be found. Adelita has always had a thing for quick exits but Angel is concerned about her disappearance this time.
He grills his father Felipe (Edward James Olmos) about his partner’s whereabouts but he’s as out of the loop as he is. Angel decides it’s easier to convince himself she will be home later but there’s nothing that will prepare him for the inevitable pain he will have to face.
Adelita is basically on a suicide mission when she steps to the crazy cartel lady who always belittles her and blows her brains out. Finally, some peace even if it’s short-lived. This is a big compound Adelita walked into solo with a gun and bags to fill to the brim with cash, as fearless as ever. In this male-dominated world of dollars, drugs and death, she was always someone you wanted on your team. Injured from the melee, she gets into an SUV and peels out of the driveway loaded with money and dodging bullets to get to Mini.
The situation is tense when she arrives and Adelita seems to not notice or care too much. She’s elated to present Mini with all she’s stolen for her only to face a line of questioning. “Have you been working for the cartel? asked Mini. Adelita replied, “I was forced to but I used the time and access to get the people ready. This is the money that you need to get started, stolen from the LNG. You can use it to help all the farmers. All they need is you to lead them.”
Adelita caresses Mini’s face gently looking proudly at how the latter has stepped into the role she was destined for only to have the moment ruined when Mini calls her the devil before stabbing her to death. A poetic way to go, according to Baratta who spoke to Deadline about her final moments as Adelita and what she learned from playing the character.
DEADLINE: What has your journey been like playing Adelita for 5 seasons?
CARLA BARATTA: I feel like we’ve both been on this journey that we both grew together. We share so many similarities in our lives, like having a baby and then I had another baby. I tried not to judge her and the things that she was going through. Instead, I wanted to understand why she was doing the things that she was doing. This has all been a blessing for me. I learned a lot as a human and as an actress. Playing Adelita taught me to be grateful for the life that I have and the environment that I grew up in. I know the impact one’s childhood has on who we become which is why Adelita is the way that she is. I feel like everything comes full circle for her with Mini because [Adelita] raised her to be an assassin. But on the inside, when a child grows up seeing all this violence, they tend to make bad choices.
DEADLINE: It was pretty poetic that it was Mini who takes Adelita’s life.
BARATTA: It was. I feel like it was a beautiful and painful way to end it and it was proper justice. If Adelita had been by someone else, it wouldn’t have had the same impact because it’s not just about her being dead but about why she’s dead. She raised this person to be the next Adelita, and Adelita killed Pablo who was like her brother. So seeing all of that, I’m sure Mini knows that’s what she has to do. So in a way, I feel like Adelita accomplished what she wanted.
DEADLINE: Is there anything you were thinking about as Adelita when she was dying?
BARATTA: Yeah, I didn’t want to think a lot when I was doing that scene because I [Carla] had had a couple of nightmares a couple of days before and then afterward. The nightmare wasn’t about actually being killed but about betrayal and seeing people taking off their masks, which I feel was what Adelita was feeling at that moment as well as thinking about her family and her son. I know I was thinking about my kids and it broke my heart. Afterward, I couldn’t stop crying. I was in my trailer sobbing but it wasn’t about Adelita’s death, it’s about what comes afterward for her baby and her family. It was hard.
DEADLINE: Maybe the loss can be a new beginning for Angel?
BARATTA: Yeah, exactly. A part of me wants to believe that Adelita getting killed was for the best. This season you can see she’s not mentally stable and she’s just lost. She goes from killing mode to mother mode and it doesn’t make sense. A person cannot live such different lives concurrently and be ok; It just doesn’t happen. I feel like it’s all for the best so Angel and Maverick can grow together and learn from all of these situations. I hope they have a more stable future. I think Angel knew she wasn’t going to be there forever because whenever he woke up, he was looking for her. He was just waiting for that moment she wasn’t coming back.
DEADLINE: Have you said goodbye to her yet?
BARATTA: I feel like I haven’t. It’s like I’m just waiting for the next season to come and to have the tattoo again, and her shoes and her wardrobe. That’s one of the reasons why my family decided to come to Colombia because we needed closure. I needed to just separate myself a little bit from the Mayans world and I needed the mental and physical space to rid myself of the heaviness of this character. So this is my way of saying goodbye to her. I’m taking some time and being with my kids enjoying a simple life. We’ll see what’s up next soon but for now, it’s just my and my family saying goodbye from far away.
Another death that was shocking yet not unexpected was that of loyal soldier Neron “Creeper” Vargas (Joseph Lucero), who was slaughtered by Mr. Mayhem in prison for knowing too much. Behind bars, he learned his fearless leader EZ Reyes (J.D. Pardo) is a snitch, and just seconds before revealing this truth to Hank, a group of his jail mates stabbed him to death.
Secrets have a funny way of getting out anyway so EZ better not think he’s in the clear just yet. Pour one out for the homie Creeper and read what Lucero had to say about his time on the series and how the opportunity helped him grow as a human being and as an actor.
DEADLINE: What’s your journey been like playing Creeper across 5 seasons and really getting to flex your dramatic muscles this season?
JOSEPH LUCERO: I remember being at the junket before Season 1 and seeing all the leads like Sarah [Bolger] and Danny [Pino], Richard [Cabral] and Michael [Irby] doing their interviews and I’m sitting back waiting for my character to come alive. It’s been a lot of me waiting patiently. One of the first things [series co-creator] Kurt Sutter told us supporting actors was that sometimes we might feel like we’re in the background, even for seasons because that was his vision for this ensemble. When Season 3 came around, that ensemble really became an ensemble and further, we became a family. So we had these two different energies telling this one story. From Kurt, we had his genius as a storyteller and from Elgin, we have his brilliance from having lived the story. We benefitted from those two truths and they were both beautiful which you can see in the unfolding of all 5 seasons.
DEADLINE: When Creeper went to jail, it felt like his death was inevitable. You’ve been very open about your past when you were incarcerated, did that affect you at all being back there as Creeper?
LUCERO: I had the blessing of getting to know Elgin so well on an emotional level and we have a very secure, trusting relationship. I told him who I was as a little boy and how I grew up. I believe that’s how our stories became so entwined and so real for me because of who Creeper is in his life. I’ve had the honor to play that and to carry that through a character in Hollywood. What do I do with that? That was the scary part because I’m bringing me truth to the character which includes a lot of pain, a lot of hurt and a lot of shame. And I brought it but that that was scary. Elgin trusted me and taught me to not be tough and instead to be vulnerable. He wrote these words to show this pain and to humanize this character. I had to tap into this darkness and pain. I cried a lot especially this season because I remember being in prison and wanting to make it home to my son but here’s Creeper who doesn’t make it out of prison.
DEADLINE: Did going back to prison, albeit on a TV show, help you face your demons?
LUCERO: That was the hardest day for me because we shot in an actual prison. It was very emotional for me but I had Elgin, Emilio [Rivera], J.D. and Danny [Pino] who stayed with me until we finished shooting that final scene around 4 in the morning. We had like 50 or 60 guys there from the neighborhoods and they’re wearing their blues. I remember taking those last breaths as Creeper and I felt like I really died in the sense that I was finally able to kill off that spirit—finally. It wasn’t meant to be that way but that’s how it turned out when I surrendered. These guys have shown me so much love and trust and I’ve learned so much from them.
DEADLINE: Would you say Creeper died an honest man?
LUCERO: He died an honest man and I, Joseph, believe Creeper died a loyal man. He was loyal to the club, to his sobriety, to his woman who even when he betrayed him was still loyal to her. But most importantly, he was loyal to himself. I wouldn’t have made the same decisions because I just wanted to come home to my kids but that’s the difference between Joseph and Creeper.
DEADLINE: Has playing this character been therapeutic for you?
LUCERO: Yeah, it’s definitely been therapeutic. The lightness you see in me today is the human aspect—today, I feel worthy. I now have this body of work and I’m doing this interview with you right now. And it’s not about a crime I committed or someone I may have hurt. I’m so proud of what I’ve accomplished because my kids get to see it and even if I never do anything else, they can always press play and be proud of what I accomplished. I wish my dad could see me right now. This is why today you see me lighter. I have my mom and my babies and I have a career. All I ever heard from people is that I was never going to make it and that I would never change. People doubted me but here I am. Now I want to play a cop or an attorney or maybe even a superhero. Maybe I can just play a guy who is feeling life no matter how life comes? I created this persona because I wanted to look tough but I’m just an emotional guy who wants to love. This is who I am now and I love it.