Mayans MC Episode 1 Questions: The Sons Of Anarchy Timeline, The Flashbacks, And More

At long last, the world has finally seen the new extension of the Sons of Anarchy universe. Mayans MC has premiered on FX, introducing viewers to a new club of outlaws and misfits who live by their own incredibly violent rules.

The first episode of FX's Mayans MC was filled with twists and turns, leaving everyone's loyalty in question. Between the introduction of EZ (JD Pardo) and his incredibly conflicted life--including a stint in jail, an ex-girlfriend that somehow married into the cartel, and his place within the Mayans MC--and the club's relationship with said cartel, there's a lot of plates spinning right now.

While the first season of Sons of Anarchy proved to be a slow burn descent into the madness of MC life, Mayans made it clear from the opening minutes that this show is going to be very different. In no time at all, the Mayans are perhaps the most conflicted club we've seen in this universe yet, leaving it hard to trust pretty much anybody.

After watching the first episode, GameSpot sat down with co-creator Elgin James and the cast of the series to get some answers to our questions. We need to know about the flashbacks, how that cameo fits into the timeline, what's going on with Emily and Miguel, and so much more.

Once you've seen the premiere, take a look to get some clues about how Season 1 of Mayans MC will play out. Warning: The following contains Mayans MC spoilers for the first episode.

One major difference between Mayans MC and Sons of Anarchy is the use of flashbacks in the former. As seen in the premiere, EZ's photographic memory makes revisiting certain moments in his life simple. Don't expect her characters to get that treatment, though.

"We'll only get flashbacks from his POV," James explained. It will be interesting to see how that plays out, given that we know the flashbacks could include more Sons of Anarchy characters and that the Gemma Teller (Katey Sagal) cameo in the premiere is building up to something more. However, the flashbacks will also show viewers how he ended up in jail in the first place.

As we learn in the Mayans premiere, 8 years earlier, EZ was locked up in Stockton State Prison--a familiar place for Sons of Anarchy fans. You might be wondering where in the universe's timeline that falls, though, given Gemma Teller Morrow (Katey Sagal) is in the waiting room.

Going back to Sons of Anarchy, this moment would fall somewhere between Seasons 3 and 4 of the series. That happens to be when much of Samcro was locked up for a 14-month stretch. At that point Jax (Charlie Hunnam), Clay (Ron Perlman), Bobby (Mark Boone Junior), Tig (Kim Coates), Juice (Theo Rossi), and Happy (David Labrava) were all behind bars, giving Gemma plenty of reasons to be visiting.

The bigger question now is how that will play into a bigger story, which James has promised will happen on Mayans MC.

It's an intriguing road for Emily (Sarah Bolger) to go from a small-town girl with a bright future to married to the head of a cartel in Miguel Galindo (Danny Pino). How, exactly, did that happen? Thankfully, that's something Mayans is going to deal with--and not just through EZ's flashbacks.

What's been interesting to do is now we have to find out what happened to Emily, not just through [EZ]--we do see more of her throughout [his flashbacks]--but also through her own stuff," James teased. "You see as she blossoms throughout the season as well. She has an amazing arc this season and I think from [what] you see of what she's doing now kind of leads us to the path of the decisions that she's made."

While Emily's path to marrying Miguel maybe a dark one, it doesn't make their marriage a sham. "Emily is a character who I believe, maybe just before we met her in the pilot, wears her heart on her sleeve," Bolger explained. "I think that she has had to woman up. I think she has had to guard herself. To a place where Miguel actually made sense. Not only does Miguel love her, and they have love, like in this marriage it's not loveless. They are partners now, in more ways than one."

The inclusion of Marcus Alvarez (Emilio Rivera) brings a lot of weight to Mayans MC, as one of the few survivors of Sons of Anarchy. Thankfully, though he's the head of the Oakland chapter of the Mayans, he won't be heading home anytime soon. Instead, he's going to be a pretty constant presence during Season 1, which James is excited to see unfold.

"Emilio Rivera is the whole reason why we're all here, you know, because of what he did with the character that a lesser actor, lesser human being, lesser man just wouldn't [have] done and he brought so much depth to this character and so much truth," the showrunner explained. "All these years later we have a show, he's our soul, he's our godfather. He's also, in the same way of, he's the bridge between the two worlds. While we're building out this new world and given everyone has a lot to do but we don't forget where our soul is and he's throughout the season as well. Marcus isn't going anywhere."

While Angel (Clayton Cardenas) is loyal to his club, he's also working against them in trying to help bring down the cartel. As it turns out, though, it's entirely possible he hasn't thought through his plan.

"You know I think the thing is his ambition may be bigger than his britches, you know?" Cardenas said. "And it kinda puts him in situations that I don't know if he's really prepared for, but seeing the grander, in his eyes, seeing the grander scheme helps him push through."

Mayans MC doesn't even make it through a single episode without one of the club's members being gunned down. Thankfully, Creeper survived the incident. Once he's patched up and back in action, you should expect to get to know him a lot better.

"I've dabbled with some sort of addiction," Joseph Lucero sais of his character. "You guys will find that out later. I'm very volatile, angry, I have a huge insecurity because I don't speak Spanish, I'm Mexican or Latino, but I'm very f***ing loyal. I'm loyal as s***, I will die for it, but because of my recent addictions, I've gotten close with God. That has become a friction thing within myself."

Lucero also notes that his costume includes a sobriety token, which he wears like a badge of honor. Whether that will be noted on the show remains to be seen.

Bishop (Michael Irby) is the president of the Mayans MC chapter on the border, but with his cousin Alvarez there, he's not necessarily in charge. After all, Alvarez--the founder of the Mayans--outranks pretty much everyone in the organization. As Irby tells it, that could lead to some friction between the cousins.

"Not only are we dealing with the Cartels, but Bishop himself is dealing with his relationship with his cousin, with Marcus," the actor said. "He's got eyes on him too, wondering if I'm doing a good job down here with this group of misfits... I gotta say, you gotta love and hate these boys, but that is my cabinet, right? That is my people who I put together for this MC."

If there's one lesson learned from Sons of Anarchy, it's that rats have to die. To be an informant putting the club in jeopardy is the deadliest sin imaginable. Unfortunately for EZ, that's not something he's realized just yet.

"I think he's naïve, you know? I think he really believes he can [get away with it]," Pardo said. "I believe he wants to. You get to see this in the beginning, he never wanted to be part of this life. He didn't care for it. There was nothing special or fascinating about it. He was going off to a great school and he was going to get a great job and make lots of money and enjoy life."

What he's not expecting, however, is the draw of the club. "Once you become a part of that world it's like a disease," the actor teased. "It just takes over you."