How Mayans MC Pulled Off That Major Sons Of Anarchy Surprise

The fourth season of Mayans MC has rolled across the finish line on FX and, based on the events that unfolded, the war between the Mayans and the Sons of Anarchy is only going to get worse going forward. Beyond that, tensions within the Mayans organization seem to be growing by leaps and bounds.

Warning: The following contains spoilers for the Season 4 finale of Mayans MC. If you haven't watched the episode yet, look away now.

Of course, regardless of what happened in the Season 4 finale, there's one moment longtime fans of the franchise are sure to be talking about. Tig is back! Kim Coates reprised his role from Sons of Anarchy for the first time in a pair of scenes that help further expand the Sons of Anarchy into the world of Mayans.

Coates certainly isn't the first Sons of Anarchy cast member to appear on Mayans--Tommy Flanagan previously reprised his role as Chibs, while Michael Ornstein recurred as Chucky, Ray McKinnon appears as Lincoln Potter, and David Labrava and Ivo Nandi both pop up in their SOA roles. It could be argued his was the most impactful, though. Specifically, the scene he shared with Emilio Rivera, who plays Marcus Alvarez on both shows, was an important one--and one Coates asked for.

"Cut to a month ago or five weeks ago and I'm in Georgia, I'm filming," the actor told GameSpot. "My my people call me and they go, 'Are you sitting down? The Mayans have called.' I just took a breath and I thought about Tig and I thought about all the stuff that went on for those seven seasons. I said to them, 'I will do the show if I have really good scenes, especially with Emilio.' That's all I said. I literally said they have to write for me. I don't care about a cameo."

Of course, showrunner Elgin James was quick to oblige. "I was worried when we sent it to Kim," hje admitted. "I'm like, 'Yo, this may sound like fan fiction. We were so fired up to write this for you.' He's such a strong voice, which was so easy for us."

Thankfully for all involved, he loved what they wrote for his two scenes. "This scene was like two old warriors who have known each other for so long now," he explained. "And it's really ironic that it's come to this again." In his mind, Tig is absolutely ready to go to war with the Mayans, though he realizes Alvarez's heart isn't necessarily in the fight anymore.

Still, while Alvarez may not be excited about the brewing war, Rivera couldn't have been happier about the scene. "Since Sons of Anarchy, [Tig] was always my favorite character. I love [Kim's] character," he said. "The way he played it, he played the shit out of it. So for me to do the scene with Kim was like a dream come true."

And for fans out there wondering if they had to recreate Tig's kutte, wardrobe, and motorcycle, the answer is no.

"I pulled that f***ing kutte out of my closet--it was hidden--and I had my bangles, Dawn and Fawn, and my belt and my knife and my boots and my bike in my garage," Coates revealed. So the kutte he's wearing in the episode is the exact same one he wore on Sons of Anarchy. And if you were paying close enough attention, you surely noticed he's still Vice President of the Redwood chapter of the club.

As for what Tig's been up to in the years since Sons of Anarchy ended, not even Coates knows--and he's fine with that. "I needed to know where Tig was coming from and where it's going and what is kind of happening," the actor said. "So I got a nice big overview from Elgin as to what was happening." That's all, though. So we won't know if he's still with Venus (Walton Goggins) or what else is happening in Charming.

There's always the possibility of finding out one day, though. After all, now that Tig has been reintroduced and the way is bound to get worse before it gets better, hopefully, we haven't seen the last of the character. More than that, though, hopefully, Mayans MC will get a Season 5 renewal so we can see what happens next in this story.