Sons of Anarchy – Clay can’t be saved

Am I the only one who thought of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid during this episode? When Jax tells Tara that he’s out, I automatically flashed to that final scene in Butch Cassidy when they’re about to go out, guns blazing, facing certain death.

The wounded animal comparison that Unser makes is especially apt when it comes to Clay. He’s in pure survival mode and nothing else is getting through to him. Clay isn’t thinking about the club, his marriage, or his family. Clay is thinking about himself, and he isn’t going to let anyone stand in his way – not even Gemma.

This is what’s so fascinating to me about Clay’s quest for survival: He doesn’t seem to have an end game. Again, this is where the wounded animal comparison is apt, because I cannot figure out how he thinks this is going to end. Anyone who’s been around Gemma for five minutes knows that she’s basically the most perceptive motherfucker on earth. She wasn’t fooled for a second when Piny showed up dead, and there’s a less than zero percent chance that if/when something happens to Tara, that she won’t know exactly who’s responsible – no matter how many assurances Clay has that it won’t blow back on him.

So does Clay just not care? Is he so focused on himself and the fact that he’s foresaking his marriage, his family, and his club just not matter to him? Or, is he so completely confident in the fact that Gemma will follow him through anything, that he doesn’t need to care? We’ve already seen many instances in which he’s shown that he doesn’t truly respect Gemma or see her as a partner, just as we’ve seen many instances in which Gemma has stuck with Clay despite it being against her own best interest and those of her family.

But beyond all of that, there’s the central fact: She allowed him to murder her husband so the club could continue to run guns. Her love for Clay withstood his murdering the father of her children for his own financial interests.

Clay doesn’t even know that Gemma is already actively helping him cover up Piney’s murder, but he probably assumes it on some level. Why not? She rolled with JT’s murder twenty years ago, and there has to have been countless other heinous acts on which she’s supported him; above and beyond what we’ve just seen on the last four seasons of the show.

So here’s the big question: Does Tara live or die? I still firmly believe that this season is going to be a game-changer, but killing Tara may be too much of one. Besides, there are plenty of other opportunities for shit to go pear-shaped and change the entire fabric of SAMCRO.

First, there’s the giant shit sandwich that is the club’s involvement with the Galindo cartel, not to mention the group of extremely pissed off Niners that their latest escapade created. There’s the RICO case in general and Juice’s instability and disloyalty specifically. There’s potential (and totally understandable) turn against the club. Unser may decide to get the cops involved; Bobby may decide to make a crazy play. This is the first time that the Sons have been in such disarray, and any one of them could blow everything apart. Tara’s death doesn’t have to be the driving factor.

On the other hand, Piney’s impending death was telegraphed pretty clearly, as Tara’s seems to be. So perhaps Tara isn’t long for this world. Abel will lose another mother and Jax will find a reason to stay; a reason to fight.

Clacked by Kona Gallagher
on Nov 03, 2011 @ 11:04 EST5EDT