Sons of Anarchy – But which son?

Usually with these Sons of Anarchy reviews, I choose one element of the episode to focus on. But this week, there was an hour and a half of huge events, so we just kind of have to go through it all. First off, can we pour one out for the dearly departed Kozik? I was so excited to see him back, and to see he and Tig getting along. I was really hoping that he was finally going to get transferred over. Instead, his body parts got transferred all around the field. I’m going to miss him.

The big issue, of course, continues to be Gemma and Clay. In the light of day, Gemma is standing by her decision. I was a little afraid that she was going to waver, but as she tells Unser, she understands that Clay is going to kill her and he must be dealt with.

What’s interesting to me is the fact that she seems to be manipulating Jax into doing the deed, which seems weirdly unnecessary. For all of her faults, Gemma Teller is a genius who can read people better than anyone. She knows that Jax is hurting and angry about Tara, and just looking for anyone or anything to take it out on. Her going to the hospital and showing Jax what Clay did to her is obviously going to incite him. Maybe it’s because she doesn’t want it to come back on her, but she could have easily told Jax to kill Clay and he would have gladly done it. Instead, she just showed it to him and backed away. While this may work out well for her, she’s knowingly putting Jax in a terrible position. No matter how much the club is turning against Clay, I can’t imagine that Jax can kill him without facing some serious repercussions.

The main theme of this episode is competing interests. Everyone is working off of their own agenda, including Unser, as we find out. His main purpose is to protect Gemma, so he’s going to make sure that Clay’s death doesn’t come back to her. Instead of Gemma’s plan of having Jax do it, he’s setting up Opie to be the one who kills Clay. Instead of pointing Piney’s murder toward the cartel as he tells Gemma he’s going to do, he goes straight to Opie and comes clean. Yes, it’s best that Opie knows the truth, but Unser’s underlying motives are clear. Either way, things are looking worse and worse for Clay.

It really looks like the only thing that could save Clay’s life at this point is Otto’s betrayal. If he can help break SAMCRO apart before Jax or Opie kill Clay, then Clay may have a chance for survival. Otherwise, I don’t see him surviving the season.

Things are also looking worse for Jax and Tara, as everyone’s favorite junkie whore returns to Charming. To be fair, she seems to have cleaned up her life and is no longer a junkie whore, but I do understand where Gemma’s coming from on this one. Forgiveness is tough when your son’s estranged wife does a shitload of drugs while she’s pregnant and almost kills your grandson.

I’ve often wondered about Wendy. I kept on expecting her to come back last season when Abel was kidnapped. Since we never saw her, I figured it was a storyline that was just going to be dropped. As much as Jax and Tara don’t need any more stress in their lives, it’s cool that they brought her back.

Jax is certainly stressed out, but Tara has gone beyond that, to damaged. She’s always been a quiet, steady member of the clan, so her completely losing it is going to have some big implications on Jax and his future decisions. Jax needs a steadying force, and if he can’t get it in Tara, who knows what ridiculous decisions he’s going to end up making.

Speaking of ridiculous decisions, what’s up with Juice? He finally comes clean to Chibs and just as I expected/hoped, Juice’s father being black is a total non-issue. Apparently all that matters is what his birth certificate says, and says it says, “Hispanic,” he’s good. Talk about an arbitrary and stupid rule. But regardless, everything seems to be okay… so why is he continuing to work against the club?

My theory is simple: he doesn’t believe Chibs. SAMCRO members aren’t known for being the most honest people in the world, especially when it comes to shit you can get killed over. It’s very likely that Juice assumes Chibs is telling him everything is okay, only to be heading directly to Clay to tell him everything. I have to believe this, because otherwise, Juice is the bad guy. I can’t have Juice be the bad guy, because honestly, there’s really no one left to root for.

Clacked by Kona Gallagher
on Nov 15, 2011 @ 23:01 EST5EDT