JD Pardo breaks down the emotional and epic ending to 'Mayans M.C.'
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00:00 At first, my natural reaction was like, "What? How could you?"
00:03 It was just time, you know? It goes by so fast.
00:11 And it was just, you know, in that moment,
00:16 it was like, "Wow, I really lived through this character for five years, and it's finished."
00:23 It ended, I think, the way that we thought it should,
00:28 that made sense for the character and made sense for the story.
00:31 It was sad.
00:32 At the same time, I think any death is...
00:35 It's a tough thing to go through, you know?
00:37 And I really didn't think that I was going to be as attached as I was,
00:44 you know, given the time that I've spent in this business and the different characters I love.
00:48 I love playing them, and then I love letting them go.
00:52 But this one hung on a little bit.
00:56 Easy made his choice.
00:59 You sound like you've given up on Easy.
01:01 You haven't.
01:02 Half our brothers were murdered.
01:04 Only thing you can trust E to do is get the rest of you killed, too.
01:10 Just believe in me a little longer.
01:13 I'm about to take this club to heights it's never seen.
01:16 I've known about the characters for quite some time.
01:21 I mean, before even season five,
01:24 Elgin and I had a conversation, I think, around season three.
01:31 And it was like, you know, we want to take Easy in this direction,
01:37 Angel in this direction.
01:39 And I was just kind of like, yes.
01:42 Yeah, that's exciting.
01:43 It was important for me to really continue to set ourselves apart from Sons of Anarchy
01:50 as much as we come from them.
01:54 And we are part of their universe.
01:57 We really wanted to, especially with Easy,
02:01 just show something that was opposite of Jack's,
02:04 because those two are constantly compared to each other.
02:10 Yeah, I knew for some time.
02:11 So it was definitely a secret that I had to keep.
02:14 I think where it gets tough is sometimes on social media,
02:18 you'll see the fans, and you're interacting with them.
02:21 And they'll say something sometimes, and I just kind of like
02:23 want to respond back.
02:25 But then I'm like, oh, no.
02:27 I, you know, for the sake of the story, got to keep this one a secret.
02:31 So Clay and I, I mean, we're always talking, you know, in scene, off scene.
02:35 And, you know, we were having this conversation before we even started season five.
02:40 Because we knew.
02:41 We knew what was going to happen.
02:42 So I think it was one of those things where just having those conversations
02:46 allows us to, in a way, process it as human beings.
02:53 And also, artistically, to kind of keep ourselves on the same track.
02:58 To make sure that we're keeping each other accountable.
03:01 We're not-- I'm not showing my cards.
03:04 You know, and that was very important for me.
03:08 I have to go, Easy.
03:09 [MUSIC PLAYING]
03:13 Where?
03:17 [MUSIC PLAYING]
03:20 I don't know.
03:21 Just not here.
03:24 Not dead.
03:27 Not dead in a bar fight, or an alley, or some [BLEEP] wreck on the freeway.
03:35 [MUSIC PLAYING]
03:39 I have to live for him.
03:43 When we were doing the scene going onto the bridge,
03:47 and it's this very intimate scene between Angel and Easy, at this point,
03:55 season five, I mean, we're there.
03:57 You know, we're already locked in.
03:58 And especially with an actor like Clay, you know, he and I can just throw it back
04:05 and forth, and we're just really locked in right from the beginning.
04:09 So it was an emotional day, and it was bittersweet, right?
04:15 Because we also knew, right before that bridge scene,
04:18 we're riding on our bikes throughout town.
04:22 And somebody had said to us, like, man, this is the last time
04:26 you guys are riding together.
04:27 And so we were just like, oh, wow.
04:30 You know, we had a moment where we were like,
04:32 wow, this is sad.
04:35 And then it's like, yeah, whatever.
04:36 Let's move.
04:37 Let's go.
04:38 You know, just the same thing that Clay and I would do.
04:40 And then we'd just go do it, and then we'd just hop in the scene.
04:42 But it's all there.
04:43 And I think it's--
04:45 the beauty for me is that a scene like that was so effortless, just because
04:50 of the time that we spent together.
04:52 You know, so we were really locked in.
04:54 In that moment, Easy doesn't ask his brother, or try to convince him,
04:59 or try to convince Angel to stay, because Easy knows
05:04 what's going to happen to him.
05:06 He knows the path that he's on.
05:08 He doesn't necessarily know the timing of it all,
05:12 but he knows it's coming, which was a big part of this season for Easy.
05:18 I think that it was a moment where you could see that it crushed Easy
05:25 to have him go.
05:26 Because this is why he's been a part of this this whole time,
05:30 to be a part of the Mayans with his brother.
05:33 Now that it's all happening, Easy's like, yeah, go.
05:38 And it hurts, but it's the right thing to do.
05:41 And, you know, just do great.
05:44 My conversations with the other actors regarding episode 10,
05:48 I mean, it was all over the place.
05:50 A part of me was just kind of like, yay,
05:51 I've been dealing with it this whole season, guys.
05:53 And then, you know, I was like, yeah, I'm going to do it.
05:55 I've been dealing with it this whole season, guys,
05:58 in the past two seasons.
05:59 You know, get over it.
06:01 The other part was that finally we're kind of all on the same page,
06:08 you know, emotionally and understanding that, wow.
06:13 It's one thing to know that it's ending,
06:14 and it's another thing to really go through those emotions
06:17 with the characters.
06:19 Because you are given a piece of yourself.
06:21 You know, and for me, I really had this idea
06:23 of desperation of what we accomplished.
06:27 So it was bittersweet, you know.
06:30 One of our brothers have been working with the feds.
06:32 We have a rat.
06:33 They came to my house and threatened my family.
06:35 We're done.
06:37 You're setting yourself up to get crucified.
06:38 Sooner or later, they'll cut you down.
06:42 Sooner or later, they'll cut you down.
06:49 We have the Templo scene, and Hank comes in.
06:53 I believe it's right after EZ says,
06:57 "My brother and I have something to say."
07:00 And Hank interrupts it.
07:03 It was a really fascinating moment for me,
07:04 because I've always been ahead of the character.
07:10 And again, this goes back to not, you know,
07:13 tipping my hand in a way.
07:15 Because we do this for the audience, you know.
07:19 I think that the day is for me.
07:22 The performance aspect and how I get to look at it
07:25 and what I get to release through it
07:29 and using my imagination, the fact that I loved,
07:32 I love being an actor, that's for me.
07:35 But at the same time, I'm thinking about
07:37 what the audience is gonna watch
07:39 and what we're delivering to them.
07:40 And that is the reason why we do this.
07:43 For me, it was like, ugh, I wanna just pull out my gun
07:48 and take Hank out and stop this from happening,
07:53 but I have to be within the character
07:55 and within that moment and act as if, you know,
07:59 EZ doesn't know what's going on.
08:01 So I have to go along with it.
08:04 Like, yeah, sure, what are you bringing up?
08:06 You know what, you're right.
08:07 We should patch our brother in.
08:09 Okay, how does everybody feel about that?
08:11 And I was so, I knew I was gonna have problems with that.
08:14 And so I was really on Elgin.
08:17 And I told him, I said, you know,
08:19 you're right there watching the monitors.
08:21 If I'm showing it in every, in any way,
08:24 stop it and let me know.
08:25 Like, I will go back and do it again.
08:27 Just, I just can't, I can't tip it for the audience.
08:30 I really can't.
08:31 EZ did not know that he was about to be sabotaged
08:36 in the Templo in that moment, that that was the end.
08:39 He didn't know it.
08:40 (grunting)
08:44 - You're a (beep) rat.
08:46 How did you make the deal?
08:48 Creeper was onto you and you had to (beep)
08:51 Iron War and Storm 88 and take our (beep) brother
08:55 to keep your secret?
08:56 Put us in bed with (beep) cops.
08:59 - In that last moment where Gilly's holding onto EZ
09:03 and they're holding onto Angel.
09:06 And yes, EZ is a very, you know,
09:08 he can talk himself out of a lot of things.
09:10 I mean, he's a very smart man.
09:12 There was a part where, you know, as the character,
09:16 I'm so locked into it.
09:18 The whole purpose of EZ in this moment,
09:21 within this season, was that he wanted to die.
09:24 He realized after the death of Gabby,
09:28 where he lost his soul, that death was gonna come for him.
09:33 And he accepted that because it was a realization
09:40 that that was the only way he would be with his mother.
09:44 His, the loss of EZ's mom was so profound.
09:48 He died in prison.
09:51 He died in that moment when his mom died.
09:54 The connection there was so strong.
09:55 And he, throughout the show, you see him like searching
09:58 and trying to figure and trying to grab at different things
10:01 and maybe I could be this and maybe I could be that.
10:03 And it's finally this full acknowledgement of,
10:07 oh no, I will only have peace when I go.
10:09 There's nothing for me here.
10:11 And leading up to that moment,
10:15 EZ is struggling with the fear of physical death.
10:20 It's one thing to say, like,
10:21 that's where I'll have my peace.
10:22 I'm gonna finish putting the mines on top
10:24 and then I'm gonna go.
10:25 But then it's like, wow, there's such an unknown there.
10:30 And as intellectual and logical as EZ is,
10:34 there's, he can't grasp that.
10:36 That's the fear, right?
10:38 And so there's all these moments within this last season
10:42 where he thinks, well, maybe, maybe there's a chance.
10:46 Maybe it doesn't have to end this way.
10:50 And then he's fighting, fighting, fighting, fighting.
10:52 And then there's the surprise right there at the end.
10:54 And he's looking at his brother and he's being held back.
10:56 His brother's being held back
10:57 and they're threatening to kill his brother,
10:59 who is the true love of his life.
11:01 We try to have this moment.
11:03 I was thinking about, can I find this moment
11:05 where EZ stops fighting?
11:07 'Cause he's fighting the hold
11:08 and he's trying to get out of it.
11:10 And it's just like, can I have a realization
11:12 where it's like, oh, this is it.
11:14 This is the moment.
11:15 And then it's like, as scary as it is,
11:18 it's like, no, I'm ready.
11:22 There were a lot of technical aspects
11:24 that had to be considered in filming that,
11:27 the last scene where EZ is killed.
11:29 And funny enough, we had to wait
11:32 about a week before we shot that scene.
11:34 So we were off a week and that was the last scene
11:37 that we had to shoot.
11:38 There were just some technical issues going on
11:42 that we just had to have some time.
11:45 And getting in there, I remember thinking,
11:48 is this too much time between this last scene?
11:52 This scene is so important, how am I gonna do it?
11:54 I already knew that the camera
11:57 was probably gonna be right here.
11:58 So I wasn't going to see anybody.
12:00 I was gonna have to use the matte box and pick my spots.
12:05 And so there was a moment where I was just wondering,
12:08 am I capable of selling this important moment
12:13 to the audience with everything?
12:15 'Cause especially when the camera's that tight,
12:17 you're thinking, less is more,
12:21 but it's still an emotional scene.
12:23 And then plus I'm being held.
12:25 And I think of one of the first takes we did,
12:27 Rocco, who plays Gilly, was,
12:30 I mean, he's a real dude,
12:33 and he's done a lot of law enforcement.
12:35 And so when he grabbed me, kicked my knees out,
12:38 and I was really bent over,
12:39 and I think the camera was looking up at my chin,
12:42 and I was trying to do it,
12:43 and then I just stopped, and I was like,
12:44 whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on, hold on, hold on,
12:45 let's do it again, give me a little bit less.
12:47 And I think then in that moment, it just clicked.
12:51 And I was like, yeah, yeah, this is what I do.
12:56 It just came, it just came.
12:58 It was the perfect ending for "Easy,"
13:00 'cause it was like, it needs to be my brother.
13:03 I want it to be my brother.
13:05 Easy would not want to be killed by his son.
13:07 That wasn't gonna happen.
13:09 He wasn't, you know, not by the cartel,
13:12 not by somebody on the street who has a hit out on him
13:15 or whatever it is.
13:16 It was interesting at first,
13:19 when I read that last scene of Potter's men
13:24 coming in and taking over after Easy's death,
13:27 and there's Bishop taking the seat again,
13:29 and he's like, all right, back to business.
13:31 At first, my natural reaction was like, what?
13:34 How could you?
13:35 Once I got away from that, it was, oh yeah, life moves on.
13:40 And how, you know, selfish of us sometimes
13:47 to think that, oh, we're gone, so it's gonna stop.
13:49 No, time doesn't stop.
13:50 It just keeps moving.
13:51 I love that.
13:52 As a storyteller, I loved it.
13:54 I loved how everything just kind of,
13:56 they assumed their natural position.
13:59 Bishop takes the throne, and they're like,
14:01 okay, now what do we do?
14:02 And then here comes Potter,
14:03 and the rest is up to the imagination of the audience,
14:07 how it ends.
14:08 (upbeat music)