Pardo talks the Mayans M.C.
season 5 premiere and why EZ is focused on “survival at all costs.”
Turns out beingel presidenteisn’t as easy as EZ Reyes thought.
J.D. Pardo (center) in ‘Mayans M.C.'.Prashant Gupta/FX
In tonight’s two-episode premiere ofMayans M.C., we see that EZ (J.D.
And that’s what we’re going to see EZ do."
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Things are not going well for EZ right now.
Clayton Cardenas, J.D. Pardo, and Michael Irby in ‘Mayans M.C.'.Prashant Gupta/FX
He’s clearly putting on a brave face, but the club is starting to doubt his leadership.
How will this affect him going forward?
PARDO:It’s definitely affecting everyone.
Danny Pino as Miguel Galindo on ‘Mayans M.C.'.Prashant Gupta/FX
He doesn’t stop.
He sees the goal.
There’s only survival.
And yes, we’re going to have casualties, but we will get there."
EZ really takes the punches and just waits for that one moment to take the club to the top.
Nestor gives him a copy ofOn Warby Carl von Clausewitz.
Were you familiar with that book?
I started to go through the book when it was given to me.
It goes to leadership, right?
It’s like, “This is going to hurt everybody, but I will will fix it.
You might not understand it, but we’re going to get through it.”
There is a time where it has to be democratic, and everybody has to have a vote.
I’m not going to get emotional.
I’m gonna win."
This seems to be EZ’s approach, even though the club doesn’t love it.
Yeah, they don’t.
It’s because they’re about to enter war.
It’s very scary.
But do you really know what you’re saying?
You’re saying that we are all willing to sacrifice ourselves to win.
That’s what makes EZ special.
There’s almost a disregard for his own life, you know?
Speaking of Angel, in the premiere he surprises EZ with the news that he’s an uncle.
Angel wants EZ to realize that he has family to live for beyond the club.
How will meeting his nephew, Maverick, affect EZ’s outlook on waging this war?
Plans go out the window, and then you just fight.
EZ wanted a family.
And as we’ve seen by now, in season 5, he really doesn’t get over that.
That was his first life, that was the dream.
Based on what happens in the second episode, it seems like he’s taking the latter approach.
Is he not worried about the threat to his brother’s family?
It rightfully concerns everybody especially Angel.
It’s one of those moments where, like I said, EZ take the punches.
He’s like a feral animal.
EZ uses his brain.
Where is this alliance?
How is it that no matter what they do, they keep getting pushed back and they keep losing?
They’re side-stepping the Mayans."
EZ has learned the structure now.
It’s a little bit about his ego in that one specific moment.
Because he could look at Angel and say, “You know what, brother?
I hear you, man, I don’t want you to get hurt.”
We can do this."
And everyone’s screaming like, “No!
We’re gonna die!”
And he’s like, “I’m not going to listen to you guys.
I’m going to push forward.”
I think the two are sort of intertwined, and that’s where the lines get blurred.
The Mayans club is his brotherhood.
He gets really caught up in that, and it becomes a moment of “Can I deliver?”
rather than, “I’ve got to ensure my brother’s safe.”
In the season premiere we meet the Broken Saints, an off-the-grid club made up of all women.
Is there a possibility for the club to align with the Broken Saints down the road?
Absolutely, there’s a possibility of an alliance.
That’s really the question throughout this season.
I’ve always felt that for EZ Reyes, this season was a race against time.
Or can he put the Mayans on top before the consequences come?
This is a very serious situation on a lot of levels to have Creeper inside right now.
It can open a case against the Mayans.
The Feds are involved.
Creeper’s such an important piece for the Mayans.
He’s a brother.
We’ve fought together and he’s always been down for the club.
He’s ready to beat him to death until he gets the answer.
They’re like, “What happened to you, man?
You’re going off the deep end.”
What do you think EZ was hoping to get from that visit?
Ousting Alvarez wasn’t because EZ didn’t like Alvarez.
EZ looks up to Alvarez.
You do get to see the respect between the two in that moment.
Here is EZ saying like, “I just need someone to talk to.
I just need to be around somebody who understands what I’m going through.”
I get what you’re going through.
And by the way, don’t come here again or I’ll kill you."
True, but it is a pretty brutal rebuff from Alvarez.
How hurt do you think EZ was by Alvarez’s reaction to his visit?
Do you think he regrets the coup in that moment?
I don’t think he regrets it.
When you’re winning, everything feels good.
When you’re losing, everything feels bad.
What I love about EZ is that he doesn’t buckle.
He’s sensitive, but he’s not overly sensitive.
This is what I deserve from you."
And that’s what we’re going to see EZ do.
What can you tease about when and if we’ll learn the identity of the culprit?
And I’m like, “Somebody burned the warehouse down!
Are you kidding me?”
Like, his plan was working, it was all working.
Don’t say that none of his plans work out.
If we didn’t have traitors in our midst, then everyone would be in a better place.
[Laughs]
Mayans M.C.airs Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET/PT on FX.
