When the most recent episode of –FX’s Sons of Anarchy sequel series–ended, fans were left with a potentially deadly turn of events for a fan-favorite character. In a season of the show that has seen the titular motorcycle club on the verge of falling apart–and that’s before you take into account that dead Sons of Anarchy member that still needs to be dealt with–this particular twist was heartbreaking.
Warning: The following contains spoilers for Mayans MC, Season 3, Episode 7–“What Comes of Handlin’ Snakeskin.” If you haven’t watched the episode yet, stop reading this now and head over to FX on Hulu to catch up. Otherwise, please continue on.
After struggling with a heroin addiction all season, Coco (Richard Cabral) finally went too far. At the end of the episode, we see his lifeless body in his daughter Leticia’s (Emily Tosta) arms after an apparent overdose.
For Cabral, this was the culmination of three years of storytelling, with the seeds for Coco’s downfall having been planted back in the first season. “We were planning this right after Season 1, right? And for Season 2, it didn’t unfold like that,” the actor told GameSpot. “So me and [showrunner] Elgin James had this conversation right after Season 1 that we were gonna try to trickle this back [in] because it only made sense. How much greater a storyline is after you killed your [heroine-addict] mother, that all these demons will haunt you? It’s a beautiful arc.”
And it’s one that Cabral has a personal connection to. “It comes down to me and Elgin, and Elgin having an understanding of who he was prior to being in the industry and Elgin having an understanding of who I was prior to being in the industry,” he continues. “So there was a lot of personal influence that was able to come to Coco. And Elgin knew that I had a little bit more. Being that this is a Southern California story, being that this is a Mexican story, and being that there was heroin influence–and my family has been involved in heroin since the 1970s. I’ve seen it in a personal way.”
Still, while he worked with James to flesh out this particular story, the actual overdose of the character caught him off guard. However, in his mind, this is exactly what Coco wants.
“The first time when I first read the whole season, I didn’t catch [the overdose],” Cabral remembered. “I didn’t know that he was gonna die, but I didn’t even think twice about it because everything else is like he’s trying to attain death anyways. So if it’s not that, somehow this guy is trying to die.”
What makes it such a strong moment, though, is that it was Leticia who found him. “It truly just broke my heart. And I remember that day it was really hard,” the actor admitted. “I remember people behind the monitors just crying that day, you know, [because of Leticia] finding me, her dad, possibly dead in her arms.”
As for what happens next, fans will have to wait to find out. Mayans MC airs Tuesdays on FX.
