| “ | We are the sons and daughters of Tenochtitlan. We sacrificed human hearts to the sun to quench the thirst of the sky, unconquerable for a thousand years. And then another world, in floating mountains from Spain, with thunder in their Gospels and hot slaughter in their cannons, arrived on our shores, and the two worlds of the world met... brown and white, Aztec and European, Hummingbird Wizard and Jesus, Malinche and the Virgin Mary. And they begat the children of the royal sun. | ” |
| — Rio to Mateo | ||
Children of the Royal Sun is the fifth episode of the first season of Showtime's Penny Dreadful: City of Angels and the fifth episode of the series overall.[1]
Synopsis[]
Mateo grapples with the aftermath of his actions. Josefina confides in Sister Molly, who's shocked to discover Josefina is Tiago's sister. Tiago and Lewis's investigation takes them from the Sonoratown slums to the Vega House. Dottie befriends Brian as Alex lectures Townsend about his personal life. Peter receives an alarming phone call from Elsa and Tiago confronts Mateo.
Plot[]
At a lounge late at night in Los Angeles, there are people on the dance floor dancing to some jazz music, while some women sit around smoking. Magda materializes and in a blink of an eye, she turns into her Elsa disguise. She looks around and takes in her surroundings till she makes eye contact with a man. He comes to her asking if she cares to cut a rug with him, but she smiles. Then in her German accent tells the man that she doesn’t think he really came over to dance with her. The man scoffs and asks her if she knows something he doesn’t. Magda, as Elsa now continues by telling the man that in fact she believes that he wants to take her home. the man, in a trance-like state says that he does. She smiles once again, as she convinces the man to believe that he wants to hurt her.
Meanwhile, Mateo sobs as he recalls the sound that Officer Reilly before he killed him. Rio comforts him and calls Mateo her warrior and an avenging angel. She tells him that Mateo doesn’t need that regret as Mateo continues to sob. She then tells Mateo that she and Fly are his family now. As soon as Mateo has calmed down, Rio proceeds to say to him that it’s time to purge, to say goodbye to the blood of his enemy, to stopping himself from hiding his pride and his power. All while she undresses Mateo. Till eventually he is naked in front of her. She then yanks his golden chains around his neck and says that it’s also time to say goodbye to his weak and worthless gods. Rio takes a measuring tape; first measuring Mateo’s shoulders, then his chest, followed by his waist and then his legs. The two kiss and get into the nearby bed.
Elsewhere, Molly and Tiago are kissing as well until they end up on one of the couches. Molly sits in Tiago’s lap and unbuttons his dress shirt. She sees the scar he has from a handprint he got courtesy of Santa Muerte, and caresses it before kissing that part of Tiago’s body.
Meanwhile, Mateo and Rio are now post-coital when Fly barges in. He takes out his blade and Mateo tries to tell the other man to not blame Rio, that it’s all on him. Eventually, he throws his blade but it lands on the wall, and nowhere near Mateo or Rio. Instead, he joins them in bed and caresses Mateo while he watches Rio kissing Mateo. Eventually, he gets to kiss Mateo too and then Rio.
Molly and Tiago are also in bed after having sex, and she talks to him about how at their lowest point, they were living in Florida without a penny. She goes on to say how they pitched their little tent near a marsh. Molly laughs as she reveals how they were in that state during hurricane season, and her mother had to do everything she could to keep it from flying up to God. Eventually, Molly asks Tiago when he got that scar, and he tells her that it was when he was a kid. He recounts how he was in the fields, his father was working, and there was a fire. He continues by saying how he saw his dad burning right in front of him. Tiago tela Molly how he tried to save him, but in the end he couldn’t. Instead, he got burned. Molly, for his part, tells him that what he has on his chest isn’t just a burn, but instead a blessing.
The next morning, Lewis is out front waiting for Tiago. Instead, he bears witness to a horde of cops arresting countless Mexicans on the street. Tiago gets off a bus, and rushes to Lewis and asks him what is going on. He tells Tiago that the cops are on a vendetta, but the younger detective remains clueless. Until Lewis mentions that Reilly was murdered the night before. Lewis tells Tiago that Reilly’s throat was cut from ear to ear, and essentially was butchered like a fucking pig. Lewis continues by saying how on top of that, Reilly’s naked body was tossed in front of the station like he was yesterday’s trash. Lewis deduces that it was meant to be taken as a declaration of war. His partner once again asks Tiago where he was the last 24 hours because no one knew where he was. Tiago tells him to drop it, but Lewis presses on and says that he won’t be the last person to ask him.
Tiago admits that he hated Reilly and saw him as an insult to the badge. Lewis reminds him that Tiago did threaten to kill Reilly in front of Captain Vanderhoff no less. An angry Tiago swears on his mother that he didn’t kill Officer James Reilly. Lewis seems to believe him. Tiago then says that he really hopes it wasn’t Mexicans who killed Reilly. Because if they were, at the end of the day, they still have to do their jobs.
At Molly’s house, Josefina confides in Molly as she recounts how she got molested by Reilly. She admits that she didn’t cry nor did she scream. Instead, all she felt was shame. Molly gets up and sits near Josefina. She tells the younger woman that the pain will go away. But that the first step is being brave enough to tell her story. She continues to comfort Josefina by telling how sadly, there’s been too many before her who have experienced what she has, but that they’ve come out the other side stronger than ever. Molly then tells Josefina of the time when she was 10 down in Florida during hurricane season. She remembers her mother up in the front seat, laughing, drinking and overall having a good time. Until she didn’t see her mom and the rest was a blur. Eventually, Molly finds out that Josefina is Tiago’s sister after the other woman mentions how her brother is the first Chicano detective in the LAPD.
At Joyful Voices Ministry, Randolph tells Miss Adelaide of Molly and Tiago’s sexual exploits. She scoffs and calls her daughter a foolish little girl. Randolph asks his boss if he should continue to follow them, but Adelaide tells him no. She mentions that they know how this will all end anyway.
In Sonoratown, Lewis and Tiago pay Sofia a visit regarding Reilly. She asks how’d they find her, and Lewis mentions how they all knew about his Sonoratown honeys. That it didn’t take much asking to get to her. Tiago asks her when was the last time he saw Officer Reilly alive. She claims to not remember. When prodded about what she does remember, Sofia angrily says she was minding her own business. At the threat of being taken into jail on suspicion alone, she caves. Sofia tells them how one minute she was in bed with Jimmy next to her, but then the door was kicked open and four people barged in. She goes to say that they cut him with a razor. Tiago asks if she saw who killed Reilly, but she says she didn’t since Fly Rico pushes her out the door. After more prodding, she gives out Rio’s name and two young Pachucos as well.
At a diner, Brian is deeply immersed in working on some formulas when Dottie pays him a visit. She tells him that Lewis sent her, referring to herself as Brian’s guardian angel. When Dottie asks him how the numbers are coming, Brian tells the older woman to leave him alone. He eventually tells Dottie that his expertise is in theory, not practical application. She is quick to remind him that Nazi friends Brian keeps do a lot of practical application. She passes a message to him from Lewis about how he will do everything he can to protect Brian from the Nazis. She reminds him though, that in order to do that, he needs to not answer their calls, meet with them, and if they try to get to him, then to contact her or Lewis immediately. Unbeknownst to either of them, that Kurt is watching them from a nearby place in the diner. He goes outside the diner and calls his boss.
Meanwhile, Lewis and Tiago arrive at Tiago’s childhood home. Tiago tries to get him to stay in the car while he comes inside the house to speak with brother Raul. Lewis wonders how his brother will be of any help, and Tiago says that Raul is connected to many people because of his union work. Lewis senses something is amiss, and asks Tiago if he’s telling him everything. In the end, Lewis steps out of the car, and Tiago follows suit. Eventually they talk to Raul, who says that no one should have died the way Reilly did. He continues by saying that people should die with dignity if that is how they lived. Raul finally asks what they’re doing here talking to him when they should be on the streets looking for Reilly’s killer. Tiago admits that he needs something from; to know where Fly Rico is. Lewis decides to take a walk, just as Maria comes in. Tiago suggests to his mother to take Lewis to introduce him to Santa Muerte.
Inside her altar, Maria says how Santa Muerte’s magic is very powerful. That when you pray to her, she gives you what you want. She then shows him another Santa Muerte, this one made of gold, which is meant to be prayed when you need a raise. The next one she shows him is one coated in white, which stands for purity of heart, and that the green one is for justice, while the red is for love. The black one in her altar is for protection from all evil. Lewis jokes that this last one would be useful for every cop. Maria admits that none of her children, aside from Raul, believe in Santa Muerte. He thanks her for allowing him inside her altar and that he feels quite honored. Maria mentions that Tiago has talked a lot about Lewis, who tells her that she did a great job raising him. Before Lewis and Tiago leave, Maria gives him the Santa Muerte coated in black. Telling him how she will look out for him. She asks Lewis to take care of her boy before he leaves.
At Townsend’s office, he is trying on different ties in hopes that one of them goes well with his eyes. The two of them discuss how Councilwoman Beck is proving to be a powerful adversary that won’t easily back down from her vision of the motorway. Charlton eventually asks Alex if she knows anything about Kurt. Alex doesn’t give him an answer, but instead says that Charlton has needs, just like everyone else does. She says that she applauds his new outlook on life and throws out how love is a glorious thing. However, he should never ask anyone else about Kurt or any boy for that matter ever again. She further taunts him, telling to imagine what Beverly Beck would do with that information or worse yet, what his father would say.
Tiago and Lewis eventually see Miss Romero and asks him about Fly Rico’s whereabouts. Bernadette tells her daughter that no one can hurt them as she tries to calm her down . Tiago gets angry, and reveals how he know about Bernadette being undocumented. She responds in kind by calling him a son of a bitch. Tiago threatens her with deporting her and separating her from her little girl if she doesn’t tell them what they need to know. After Tiago tells her that this isn’t a game, she caves and gives the two detectives Fly Rico’s address.
Thus, they find themselves at a building called Royal Park. While inside the car, Lewis asks if Tiago knows who Frederick March is. Tiago doesn’t and naively asks if it’s someone on the force. Lewis explain that March is an actor who won an Academy Award for a movie called Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. He asks Tiago if he knows the movie, to which Tiago sighs and says that he gets what his partner is trying to say. Lewis mentions that he told Maria that Tiago was a good cop today, but is now wondering if he should go back and revise his opinion. Lewis admits that he didn’t know who the fuck Tiago was today. He also knows that Tiago is hiding something from him regarding the night before. He goes on to say that Tiago has been up and down in terms of moods, and that makes him nervous because he really doesn’t like stepping into a dangerous situation with an unstable yo-yo at his side. Tiago, nevertheless continues to say that he is fine. Lewis asks what happened with Raul, but all Tiago says is that his brother told him some things. When prodded further, Tiago says it’s private family things.
At The Craft residence, the Craft are playing a game of sorry. Trevor tells his dad that he needs to sell at least ten magazine subscriptions to raise money for his debate team’s trip to Bakersfield for regionals. He asks Peter if he will buy one, but Peter says he will buy all of them. Trevor wonders if his dad buying them all is like cheating, which catches Peter off guard. The phone rings and Linda asks Peter to let it go and not answer the phone. But nevertheless, Peter gets up and goes to answer the phone. On the phone, Elsa tells Peter he needs him because something terrible has happened to Mr. Branson. He comes back and tells his family that he needs to go because there was an emergency at work. Linda reminds him that this is why he has office hours, but Peter lies and says it’s the hospital who called. Linda angrily says that she knew this was too good to goddam last.
At Elsa’s house, Peter finds her bloody and with Mr. Branson’s body and a knife lying near the kitchen. She tells Peter that she couldn’t be raped one more time. She tells him that she sent Frank away and is thankful that he didn’t see anything. Peter goes to her bathroom and rips the shower curtain from the railing and then walks out.
At his home, Charlton is drinking before he puts some music on the phonograph. He closes his eyes and tap dances. Until his doorbell rings. He opens it and it’s Kurt on the other side, who compliments on the nice tie. He says he brought Chinese as he gets inside Charlton’s house.
Out in the woods, Elsa and Peter have buried the body of Mr. Branson and then they kiss. They breath deeply as they proceed to have sex on top of the newly covered are hiding Mr. Branson’s body six feet under.
Back at the Royal Park building, are still on stakeout fury until they see a young mexican kid riding his bike in the middle of the night. The kid makes eye contact with Tiago, who realizes they’re using him as a lookout. The two detectives rush in, and Giago eventually catches up to the kid. The kid runs away but the two detectives proceed to go upstairs to where they were told Fly Rico was hiding.
They hear some light swing music playing inside, and Lewis reminds Tiago he needs to be cool as a cucumber. Tiago breaks through the door and sees Rio, Mateo and another Pachuco playing a card game. Tiago raises his gun at Mateo, but gets tackled down by Fly Rico. Rio then throws a table towards Lewis and they all use that as a way of trying to escape. Tiago picks up his gun and tells Lewis he will get Rico as there two of them split up on opposite sides. Lewis catches up to Rio and Diego and threatens to shoot them both. Rio rushes out the door and leaves Diego behind, who sees no other way out but to surrender. Mateo and Fly Rico split up; with Tiago choosing to cheer down his younger brother. Mateo ends up near a locked gate and can’t escape. Tiago raises his gun again, and Mateo tells his brother to just shoot him already. Tiago asks if Mateo killed James Reilly, and Mateo confesses today he killed the other officer with his two hands. He then says that if Reilly was here now, he’d do it again. Police sirens are heard wailing in the distance, but Tiago can’t bring himself to shoot another brother. He yells at him to runas he stays behind in the alleyway.
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