'Mayans MC' actor Clayton Cardenas shares how Angel deals with emotional baggage while facing new challenges in Season 2
'Mayans MC' is an enthralling television series. Created by Kurt Sutter and Elgin James, the 'Sons of Anarchy' spin-off was born out of the belly of its parent show but had soon forged its own praise-worthy mythology.
In its essence, 'Mayans MC', which takes place two-and-a-half years after the events of 'Sons of Anarchy', focuses on the struggles of EZ (JD Pardo), a prospect in the Santo Padre charter of the Mayans MC.
In season two, one of the most burning questions was answered — the question that pushed EZ's life this way. We got answers about EZ and his brother Angel's (Clayton Cardenas) mother Marisol's murder.
While EZ had spent a lot of time tracking down and being on top of the quest, Angel had largely kept it in all within himself. The Reyes brothers' reaction to their mother's death was poles apart.
In an exclusive interview with MEA WorldWide (MEAWW), Clayton Cardenas opens up about the tricky subject that death is. "With Angel, you really start to see how he has dealt with their mother's death toward the end of season one in episode eight, I believe."
"He quickly internalized her death — pushing it so far down that to even think about the events that took place seems unfathomable. In that episode, he tells his brother EZ that he has to let it go. He can’t keep thinking about who killed their mother. It is wasted time that will drive you crazy," he shares.
And so, for the longest time, he had kept this shut away. Until EZ found more evidence — tracking down Happy (David Labrava) and getting him to disclose more details.
Even when the brothers are in Happy's house torturing him for answers, they share a heart-to-heart. Angel was always under the impression that his parents preferred the "golden boy" EZ over him.
"You see all the emotional baggage that Angel had deep inside of him regarding her [Marisol's] death come out like an explosive comet. The rage, the pain, the misery and regret all come out at once," he shares.
"You see how single-minded he becomes and that might not be the most productive state of mind for him in the situation but that’s just Angel, man," Cardenas says.
But this is not the only conflict Angel finds himself in. The latest episode 'Xquic' had him losing his baby mama Adelita (Carla Baratta) to the feds.
Before this episode, it was never mentioned outright that Angel is the father of the baby. And while we were hoping for something to work between the two, Clayton says that he is hoping too.
"You should be hoping because I for damn sure am hoping [for something to happen between the two]. I think with the end of season one, you get to see a possibility of what they could become."
"With the beginning of season two, you get to see the beginning of something we all hoped for," says the actor.
At this point though, their fate together and the fate of the baby remains unknown. Adelita's rescue mission did not go as planned.
"With the rest of the season playing out with the circumstances that are given, we get to see if they can withstand everything that is thrown at them and evolve the relationship even more," he adds.
What happens next is something we have to wait a week to find out. 'Mayans MC' airs on Tuesdays at 10 pm on FX.
This is part 1 of the exclusive interview with Clayton Cardenas on 'Mayans MC'. Watch this space for part 2.