The Mayans M.C. ending explained: what happened?

Clayton Cardenas and JD Pardo in Mayans M.C. (Image credit: Prashant Gupta/FX)

NOTE: this post contains spoilers for Mayans M.C. season 5

Some unexpected moments led to quite the shocking Mayans M.C. ending, as the series wrapped up with Mayans M.C. season 5. Some storylines were left hanging, like Devlin's (Dana Delany) case against Potter (Ray McKinnon) and the future for the Broken Saints after the destruction caused by the Sons. But the main storylines were brought to conclusions that were inevitable in some cases.

Let's take a look at some of the biggest moments from the Mayans M.C. series finale.

What happens to Emily in Mayans M.C.?

Sarah Bolger in Mayans M.C. (Image credit: Prashant Gupta/FX)

Emily (Sarah Bolger) finally managed to break free of Miguel (Danny Pino) by killing him. Considering the long and combative history these two had, maybe it was inevitable that she'd have to kill him to get free.

Emily tried to leave before, but Miguel always hunted her down. When she came up with the plan to take Cristobal and run from the grocery store, on some level she must have known even if it worked she would never be free. So Emily played the long game and created a fool-proof plan.

Now it makes sense why she was adamant that security cameras were installed and why she was so picky about their placement. When Emily was walking around looking at the video feed of the cameras as they were being installed, she was plotting Miguel's murder. Emily was smart enough to know that to get away with two murders she'd need video evidence that would back up her story.

It was a great plan. Miguel and Luis (Michael Anthony Perez) had no reason to suspect she'd turn on them. When she hugged Luis seemingly in shock and horror about Miguel being shot he didn’t fight her when she thrust the gun into his hands and positioned his arm to shoot himself.

With one perfectly executed plan Emily gets Miguel's money, freedom and revenge for Luis killing her sister. Emily may be the only Mayans M.C. character to escape the series finale getting exactly what they wanted.

What happened to EZ in Mayans M.C.?

Vincent Rocco Vargas and JD Pardo in Mayans M.C. (Image credit: Prashant Gupta/FX)

It wasn't a shock that EZ Reyes (JD Pardo) didn't make it out of Mayans M.C. alive. EZ wanted the crown and he got it. But there's always someone coming for the king. What was shocking is his brutal death came at the hands of his brothers in the club. However, it was EZ's own choices that brought about his death. His desperate choice to have Creeper (Joseph Raymond Lucero) killed to hide his deal with the Feds ultimately was his downfall.

EZ wanted to be a leader remembered for elevating the Mayans. When he got the other club members on his side to overthrow Alvarez and name him president, he promised he would make the Mayans a name that would be feared and respected.

But once he had the Presidente patch he struggled to keep it. He didn't have a strong enough plan for dealing with Packer and the Sons, or for dealing with the cartel and the other clubs. When his brothers started to lose faith in him he started acting erratically. Even Angel (Clayton Cardenas) was afraid of him.

The other members saw his uncertainty, which didn't inspire confidence. When Loza (Frankie Loyal) told him there was a rat in the club, EZ should have fessed up to the brothers and plead his case. They still might have killed him, but there was a chance he could have saved himself. Once he ordered the hit on Creeper it was over for him. He gambled that no one would find out and he lost.

The assassination of EZ mimicked the assassination of Julius Caesar. EZ made several of the same strategic mistakes Caesar made. But his real crime was thinking a club who overthrew an existing president to put him up based on his lofty promises wouldn’t do the same to him.

The most tragic part of EZ's death is that Sofia (Andrea Cortes) never got to tell him that she was pregnant. EZ never got to know that he could have been a father. Sofia was collateral damage in the spectacular downfall of EZ Reyes. And so was Angel, in a way.

What happens to Angel in Mayans M.C.?

Edward James Olmos and Clayton Cardenas in Mayans M.C. (Image credit: Prashant Gupta/FX)

Angel was given an impossible choice by the other members of the club. Kill the brother he loved or be killed and leave his child alone in the world. He chose the former. It's easy to judge Angel's decision to stab EZ and be allowed to take Maverick and leave as the wrong choice. But Angel made the right choice.

By making that choice, Angel was able to break free. He continued the family line and can give Maverick opportunities no Reyes has had before. Felipe (Edward James Olmos) couldn't break free and give Angel and EZ a life outside of the club, but Angel was able to become the father that Felipe wanted him to be.

One of the recurring themes in Mayans M.C. was the struggle to do better and to elevate the family; to do better for your kids than your parents did for you. Angel was able to honor Felipe and EZ's legacies by making sure that Maverick wouldn't grow up the way Angel and EZ did.

All episodes of Mayans M.C. are now available to watch on Hulu.

More on Mayans M.C. season 5

Sonya has been writing professionally for more than a decade and has degrees in New Media and Philosophy. Her work has appeared in a diverse array of sites including ReGen, The Washington Post, Culturess, Undead Walking and Final Girl. As a lifelong nerd she loves sci-fi, fantasy and horror TV and movies, as well as cultural documentaries. She is particularly interested in representation of marginalized groups in nerd culture and writes reviews and analysis with an intersectional POV. Some of her favorite shows include Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead, The Handmaid’s Tale and The Sandman.