In this week’s Sons of Anarchy recap, we’re getting closer to the end of the road for SAMCRO. I ended up having to watch the episode the day after it aired. I’m currently far away from home and my beloved DVR and internet. I was weighing whether or not I could wait until the end of the week or if this was 90 minutes of must-see television time that I was willing to sacrifice all too precious data to watch. Short answer…um heck yes. A friend text me in the very early morning hours, warning me to stay away from all social media (which, of course, was my plan anyway). Of course, I just knew something momentous must have finally happened.
Did Abel spill the beans about his Mommy’s “accident”? Alas, no. Was Bobby going to be rescued? Sadface, not at this point and time, no. Would Unser, Nero or hell a crow eater figure out Gemma’s real truth? Nah, but Unser seems like he’s getting damn close. So, the reveal I want to see every week hasn’t happened yet, but it’s getting closer. I can feel it. The episode was pretty intense from start to finish and quite honestly I was sold the moment I heard those opening strains of “All Along the Watchtower” playing and saw Jax Teller sitting on a rooftop. If you have the balls to use that song in your episode, movie or whatever then something pretty badass had better follow. Let’s break it down.
Jax’s quest for vengeance against the wrong person has brought the club into the darkest time and place it’s ever been in. August Marks sends a very clear message to the boys that he wants to know the location of the dead pastor and any copies of the signed statement that Jax used last week as leverage again Marks. If the Sons did not comply, Bobby’s eye would not be the last memento the club would receive. As Marks’ hired gun, Moses, intended this new crisis sends Jax reeling. The SAMCRO Prez is focused on one goal only, and that is rescuing Bobby before anymore damage can be done.
Chibs pulls him out of this tailspin. He reminds them of all the shit the club has done up to this point and the reason why they sought vengeance in the first place. “Tara,” Jax says. Oh, Gemma. Look what you’ve done. No, Jax is far from blameless, but look at all the hell you’ve caused. Jax admits that they’ve stirred the wrong pot and that Marks is smarter and has no vulnerabilities while that’s all Jax seems to have. The boys hug it out, and there’s a sweet moment when Jax says “I love you, Filip” and Chibs is all “I love you too, Jackson.” Shit is serious when you have Chibs calling him Jackson and not Jackie boy. I won’t lie. I spent the rest of the episode anxious about my favorite Scot. Thankfully, SAMCRO’s VP made it another week.
Later, Moses drops in to see Bobby for a smoke and hoping that the injured Son will give up the location of pastor’s body. The older man doesn’t care about the threats being thrown at him; he’s resigned to whatever his fate may be after this ordeal. He tells Moses that someday in weeks or years, someone wearing a reaper would show up and avenge him.
The Niners are helping their allies search for Bobby as Tyler continues to play double agent within Marks’ organization. Tyler’s guys are searching all properties they can think of where Bobby could be held. The Niner’s leader is worried and rightly so about getting caught. Look what happened when Jax crossed Marks. Tyler wants no parts of that, though he’s going to continue helping out as much as he can. Jax tells the other man that he can’t be halfway in, if he wants the endgame that Jax promised. Oh, Jax and his promises. I’ll tell you what I told Nero…run.
For his part, Nero seems very serious about selling his shares of Diosa to Alvarez and getting out of town, as soon as, possible. His uncle told him that he didn’t even need to wait for escrow to go through. He came get going now. Nero wants to make arrangements for Lucius. Wendy tells him that she has some connections that would be able to help with that. He’s grateful and tells her that he wants her and the boys to come along, as well. It’s doubtful that Jax would agree to that happening, but Nero thinks that with everything happening it’s exactly what Jax would want. The closer Nero gets to his exit, the more worried I get because…Gemma what else. That woman is poison. Look what she’s done to her son and grandson. Granted, Jax’s continued absence from his sons’ lives is an enormous problem that has nothing to do with Gemma’s brand of crazy. Before it didn’t matter as much because they had the buffer that was Tara (before she went a little off the deep end herself).
Now, poor poor Abel is hitting other kids with metal lunch boxes. He’s standing watch to look after his baby brother to protect him again the world. Wendy gets a call from Abel’s school asking for one of the legal guardians to come in immediately. When did Gemma become a legal guardian? Whatever. She goes and has a problem with having to speak with the principal and shrink. Gemma gets into it with Abel’s teacher (Courtney Love). The batshit Granny thinks maybe Abel should go after Teach next with his metal lunchbox. She sees no problem with what he did, or maybe she does. Earlier back at the cabin, the preacher’s wife speaks with remorse about how her actions have effected her own son, Grant. “My weakness has driven him to violence. It’s not his nature.”
Gemma goes into full denial moment. She thinks it’s not the result, the reason that should matter most. “Why we did it is what counts.”
Um, no. Jax and everyone else from Charming to Oakland would beg to differ. Gemma’s impulsive actions at the end of last season broke Jax’s last tie with even caring about doing the right thing. Her son is just so far gone, and Abel seems like he’s following in his father’s footsteps. Will Gemma’s guilty conscious over Tara’s death and what she’s, done to her boys finally force her to come clean? I hope so, but I doubt it. Gemma will hold on to that lie until someone else forces her hand. Will she realize that young Abel somehow knows the truth? Oh, I hope so. That was perhaps one of my favorite moments of this season, Gemma and Abel at the table.
[Quote] Abel: It was an accident. Gemma: Do you understand what an accident is? Abel: Do you?
BOOM! Gemma’s house of lies is slowly, but surely crumbling. Juice may keep her secret, but there is no way that Abel will be able to do the same. It’s only a matter of who he will tell. Out of the mouths of babes. I want Jax to receive this home truth from Abel, but since he’s never home, that’s unlikely to happen. If Uncle Unser pops up, then surely Abel will spill the beans to the already suspicious ex-cop.
Unser and Althea visited Juice in County lock-up. Juice is going away for violating his parole. He agrees to give up the identities of Tara’s killers if he can be assured solitary confinement. Althea promises to see what she can do. Unser says there is more going on here and tells the new Sheriff that Juice is likely going in to take care of Henry Lin. At this point, there isn’t much that Althea can do except give the con what he’s asking for in exchange for the names of Tara and Roosevelt’s killers. I guess it wouldn’t benefit Juice actually to admit to being an accessory after the fact to Tara’s death and then outright killing the former Sheriff himself.
While the Niners and Sons continue searching for clues on Bobby’s whereabouts, there the other business of figuring out who ratting SAMCRO out to Henry Lin. The boys catch a lead thanks to Bobby’s ex-wife’s bounty hunter husband (say that fast four times). It seems that, Gib, the dead man that Jax and the club killed and framed for stealing Lin’s drugs had connections to a militia compound.
Gib’s mother and stepfather shoot first and ask questions later when the boys show up. They know Gib is dead and that he’d recently helped out the Sons with some job. They believe Jax and the others are theirs to keep them quiet. Quick on his feet, Rat lies and says that he knew Gib from the military and that he’s there to pay his respects. Gib’s mother lets slip the true identity of her son’s father. None other than, Jury. Of course.
Jax sets up a meet with Jury and the Indian Hills VP. He lies and says that he needs some help with the problems with the Chinese. Of course, when they actually meet up, and the two club Presidents head off to cut through the BS. Jax accuses Jury of ratting him out to Lin. Jury insists that he didn’t. He does want Jax to pay for what he did to Gib, but he wouldn’t have gone about it this way. Jury goes on to deliver some home truths that leave Jax defensive. He talks about John Teller’s vision and the manuscript he wrote detailing all the things going wrong in the club. He tells Jax that he’s become a poison that John hated so much. The same kind of poisonous influence that made John check out in the first place. Jury sees exactly the kind of man; Jax has become. He asks if Jax plans to gun him down without a Mayhem vote. Of course not, but then the two get into it physically. Jury is reaching for his gun, and Jax ends up killing him.
For all intents and purposes, it was self-defense but just like every other move Jax has made this season, it feels all kinds of wrong. He goes on to lie to Chibs and the Indian Hills VP, telling them that Jury was a rat and that he admitted it. Clearly this won’t be the end of it and Jax killing another member like this is going to cause significant ripples throughout. Chibs says even though he was there to see everything; it just looked wrong. I have a feeling that Indian Hills and other chapters may rise up soon to handle this out of control SAMCRO Prez. Mother chapter or not. Murdered wife or not.
With each passing week, Jax just digs himself in deeper and pulling SAMCRO along with him. Maybe I want Gemma’s sin to come to light so badly so that he can face the truth of what he’s done as well. “Impulse causes more chaos.” Jax had a plan, but it all feels built out of impulse. At the beginning of the season, DA Patterson asked him not to react and seek the vengeance for which he hungered. Nero spoke episodes later about Jax lashing out at first because he wanted revenge, but then just raising all kinds of hell because it just felt good.
Is it funny that Jax’s pristine white sneakers which through all the gun battles, brawling, and riding have managed to remain untouched until that confrontation with Jury? Is his soul as soiled as his soles? Certainly.
After a day spent massacring Gemma’s crows and then putting them in her bed ala the horse head in The Godfather (now I wish she’d have woken up to that scene) and scrawling in crayon on the kid’s bedroom walls “No Son is Safe,” Moses returns to check on Bobby. He wants to know if the older man has changed his mind about helping them find the body. Nope.
Jax wants to make a deal and tries to set terms, but Moses and August are beyond that. They send him another message in a box. We, the audience, aren’t shrieking “WHAT’S IN THE BOX???” Because we saw the horrific moment of Bobby’s hand being sawed or rather we saw their intent and then listened to him scream. The boys looked like they weren’t in any hurry to open that box. Whatever happens, they need to figure this out because in another 24 hours Bobby loses another body part. Fade to Reaper.
Oh, Bobby. All of this because of one impulsive moment on Gemma’s part and many impulsive moments that followed from Jax.
I truly enjoyed the moment when Chibs and the rest of the club came together to keep Jax focused on their larger goal, but oh how I wish they could’ve offered to be his voice of reason earlier before all of this started to spiral out of control. There’s no way this can end well. No way the table can stay whole after this. Something major has to come down after Jax basically executed Jury in front of the rest of the club and Jury’s VP. Yes, self-defense, but not clean.
What did you guys think of that moment? Who do you think Abel will tell about Gemma’s secret? Will Bobby live to see another day…even through his one good eye? Not much road left here folks. Hit the comments with your thoughts and favorite moments from the episode.
