From Dusk Til Dawn Recap S1E1: Pilot

The original from Dusk Till Dawn came out is 1996, and it quickly became a cult hit. Not only did Robert Rodriguez shine as a director, but George Clooney and Quentin Tarantino were pretty kickass as the Gecko brothers. It spawned a pair of sequels that never quite captured the fun and gore of the original, and now the Gecko brothers are back in a television format.

The pilot delves into the series, following the beginning of the first Dusk Till Dawn flick, but with a few changes. Richie’s delusions are given a supernatural twist, and D.J. Corona’s Seth isn’t quite as tough as George Clooney’s portrayal which admittedly is a huge disappointment. While the guys have yet to make it to the Titty Twister, and there by finding the real vampire action, its not a horrible first outing. Santánico Pandemonium is barely in this first outing. The casting is surprising in some aspects, but very capable, and if Zane Holtz can get a handle on Richie’s twisted childlike awkwardness it may just work. The concept certainly worked for the flick, but extending it out over 10 more episodes is going to be a stretch unless they add a few new elements to make it more than just a drawn out version of the movie.

The vampires have been waiting, waiting to rise, and now is their time. A girl runs through the jungle. It’s dark and she stumbles. A shaman catches her, and the men place the beauty in a hole of snakes. They strike her as she screams, and one of them glides down her throat.

A ranger looks over some crime scene photos. The girl’s eyes have been removed, and placed in her palms. The two officers debates on the merits of holy water, but the elder doesn’t believe in that “voodoo shit,” still he’ll consider it. The younger, Freddie, continues to pour over the photos. Earl the elder one, goes to Benny’s World of Liquor to use the restroom. Earl gets his bottle of hooch, and his spidey senses tingle, its gonna be a bad day. He asks if anything strange has come through, but nothing memorable has. Earl tells him that he’s looking for the Gecko brothers, but Pete tells him that they haven’t been spotted. Earl uses the restroom, and finds a knife handle. He goes back out, about to ask if he’s sure no one unusual has come in and Richie Gecko splatters him all over Pete. Bye-bye Don Johnson, thanks for playing. Richie points his gun at Benny.

And its all welcome to the intro. The intro promises plenty of mayhem, pretty girls, and a nice cast list including D.J. Cotrona and Zane Holtz.

Earl wakes up, so maybe Don Johnson is sticking around for more than just the pilot. The Texas Ranger starts his day. He’s all alone, he has a daughter, but work always got in the way. He tells Ranger Freddie about his family woes. Freddie asks if he should baptize the baby, but Earl tells him no, tells him to spend as much time as he can with his family, to make the most of the time he has, because its fleeting. The rangers hit the road, and hear about the Gecko brothers latest crime scene.

The Gecko’s make a pit stop at Benny’s World of Liquor. Richie’s happy trigger finger has put a large target on their backs. Seth plans to grab some supplies and lie low. Seth goes to use the bathroom, while Richie is left to shop. Seth relives some of their disastrous exploits. Richie notices a pretty girl, and offers to buy her a drink. She refuses, but he keeps talking. Jessie keeps it innocent, but Richie’s mind wanders and he sees the vampire trying to seduce him. She slips and calls him crazy, and he freaks out a bit. Jessie tries to warn Pete that the guy is messed up, but Pete isn’t really listening. She pays, and her and her friend, Libby, go to leave.

Seth tries to convince himself that Richie will be fine, that he just needs to get him to Mexico. He leaves the knife handle behind, and comes out to find Richie with Jessie bent over the counter, and Libby and Pete at gunpoint. Richie tells Seth to start the car. Richie thinks that Jessie made him, and that they’re planning to turn him in. Seth talks to Jessie, and tells her to keep quiet. Someone is coming, and Seth gives Pete a chance to give an Oscar worthy performance. The Rangers have arrived, and its up to Pete to get them to leave without letting them know that the Geckos are there otherwise the girls will get it. We’re back to the beginning. Seth and Richie hide in the back of the store while Pete tries to get Earl out.

In the car Freddie contemplates baptism.

Seth isn’t pleased with Pete’s performance. He should have hurried Earl out, but Pete tells him that Earl would have seen right through it, and been suspicious. Richie whispers that Pete was trying to warn the sheriff with a vault comment, and Seth gives him a final warning. Richie heads back to the girls who are duck taped in the back, and the brothers get into position.

Freddie’s paper flies out the window, and he gets out to chase it.

Jessie looks at Richie, and he thinks her eyes have changed, and she whispers that Pete is selling him out. Richie checks the situation, and as Earl pulls out the knife handle, Richie shoots him. Freddie just outside hears the gunshot, and takes his own at Richie. Seth goes to secure the scene, blocking the door. Richie tells Seth that he heard Pete say crime scene, but Pete was just referring to Earl making a mess of the bathroom. Richie shoots Pete before Seth can stop him. Freddie closes in, but Earl is still alive. Seth tries to talk Freddie out of this standoff. The Geckos have nothing to lose, and they’re willing to walk away, but Freddie isn’t ready to walk away, worse his phone is nowhere near his phone to call for back up. Earl puts up some sass, but Seth is ready to pull the plug if he has to. Richie is with the girls, but they’re flashing between their innocence and images of monsters. He tells them that there’s nothing wrong with him, and he won’t let them think otherwise. Richie comes to check on Earl, and Seth asks about the girls. The girls are fine, Seth tells Richie to keep an eye on the rangers while he calls into his contact Carlos. Earl chats with Freddie, wondering if he miscalculated his number of good days.

Seth calls to Carlos, which is played by freaking Fez (Wilmer Valderama). Seth has to break the news that they haven’t gotten to Mexico. Seth wants Carlos to come and get them in the little no name town, but Carlos isn’t jumping to help him out. Seth offers up more money, but Carlos is distracted by pretty girls. Carlos tells him that he will work something out, and to trust Richie because he sees things that Seth does not. Just what did Carlos do to Richie? Carlos doesn’t explain, but the idols behind him clearly show that he knows something.

Pete isn’t dead either, and he’s plotting something. He conveys the code to Freddie, and before Pete can act on his plan, Seth returns. He plans to have everyone live, but that also means that Freddie has to surrender. He gives him a quick count, and Freddie puts his hands up.

Freddie plans to met Earl for breakfast. His wife worries that Earl is too old. But Freddie knows that he’d be perfect, that if something happened to him, Earl would raise Billie, their daughter, to know right from wrong. His wife reluctantly agrees, and Freddie wonders at her easy agreement. She knows that Earl loves Freddie, so she knows he’ll love Billie more.

Freddie tries to slow Earl’s bleeding, but he needs to try to get the Gecko’s to leave. He has a plan, and Pete is again working on getting his safe open, and again Seth interrupts. He comes to check on Earl, but Freddie tells him that Earl needs medical attention. He points out that Richie needs medical attention too. Freddie offers to clear a path for them, to throw the other ranger off their scent if he will just let Earl get medical attention. Freddie worries that Richie will kill someone else, but Seth tells him not to worry about Richie.  

Richie believes that Libby and Jessie are spies, sent to watch him. Seth tries to get Richie to leave it be, and tells him that Carlos is planning on coming to get them. Seth tries to get Richie to relax.

Carlos calls back, but he’s not coming. The Gecko brothers have brought too much heat. He’s been shut down, the boys will have to make their way to Mexico to a bar and he’ll meet them there.

Earl tells Freddie goodbye, tells him to tell Ramona goodbye. Freddie tells him that Ramona has been dead for two years. He tells Freddie that the hooch is too high a price to pay, that he’ll never get off the floor. He would have said yes to being there for the baptism, but Freddie still has good days ahead.

Seth continues to argue with Carlos about getting across the border. Seth makes a decision to get moving, and Richie wants to do it the hard way. Seth doesn’t want to kill anymore people today.

Earl tells Freddie that he needs to kill the Geckos for him even if he has to follow them to hell, Freddie swears to it, and Earl dies. Richie is ready to kill the others, but Seth is still against it. Freddie tells them that all he wants is to get the girls out of there, and to get Pete some help. He repeats 4602, which is the penal code for concealed weapons, as Pete finally gets the safe open. Seth hasn’t put it all together as Freddie goes on and on about the code. The distraction gives Freddie time to get away, but not before Seth gets a shot off on him. Pete throws the gun over the counter as Richie goes to handle the girls. The not so dead Earl jumps up, catches the gun, and shoots Rickie in the hand, and continues to fire. Seth chases down Freddie, while Richie and Earl exchange shots. Seth shoots Freddie several times, and Earl’s luck and bullets run out. Earl grabs his hat, and Richie gives him a final send off with a bullet straight to the head. All the while Santánico Pandemonium whispers in his ear that something is coming for him, that shes the only one that can protect him. He falls to the ground as he imagines demons attacking him. It’s just the girls that have gotten free. Jessie tells Seth that there is something really wrong with his brother. Seth lights the place on fire, straightens out Richie, and grabs some duck tape on their way to Mexico. Seth reiterates that they were suppose to maintain a low profile. In the car they go, and off to Mexico.

Freddie isn’t dead, his bulletproof vest took all the slugs, but Earl certainly is. Freddie remembers his promise to Earl as he watches the brothers drive off.