Even though some baaaaaad stuff is about to go down, tonight's Sons of Anarchy was mostly about peace, love and understanding, a nice soft breeze before the violent wind that's going to blow through Charming in the next two weeks.
That's not to say this was a leisurely episode. Quite the opposite; in the first half-hour, all of the following things happened:
- Jax and Clay reconciled.
- Tig almost had sex with Gemma.
- And then confessed to Opie that he was the one who killed Donna.
- Opie learned Chibs was working with the ATF.
- Jax discovered Zobelle's connection to the Mayans, and therefore finding a weakness he and SAMCRO can exploit.
And the great thing about this episode is that -- aside from Opie punching out Tig and Piney's later attempt to shoot Clay -- these developments lead the characters to make thoughtful, reasonable decisions that -- more often than not -- help themselves and others, behaving almost like the type of organization John Teller envisioned.
Jax opens the episode talking with Tara about last week's big revelation (that Gemma had been raped by Zobelle's goons), Tara asking Jax what his dad's peace-loving manifesto would have had to say about vengance.
Had the rape happened on John Teller's watch, Jax argues, "he might have written a whole different book."
But for now, Jax has managed to tamp down his need for vengance, he and Clay -- the two club members who have the most right to be outraged -- proceeding with caution. Clay has finally realized that he won't beat Zobelle with force.
Meanwhile, most of the other characters seemed to be following the priest's advice for Gemma, to look for chances to be of service. This mainifests itself in a lot of ways.
Tig actually learns something from his encounter with Gemma, and tells Clay that his wife needs to feel desired. Opie -- who had already shown mercy on Agent Stahl -- knows the horror that can result from the club rushing to judgement about its members, and successfully advises Clay to hear Chibs out. Likewise, Gemma knows how liberating it is to unearth a painful secret, and tells Chibs to bear his soul. Even Piney firing his gun at Clay is a roundabout -- and possibly suicidal -- act of service: he wanted to kill Clay so Opie wouldn't have to. And Clay lets him go, his only real admonishment for Piney not wearing his cut in the clubhouse, because he's not a total monster.
Of course, this era of goodwill won't last. Next week's episode is called "The Culling," which is never really a positive term in a crime-related show. Even without Zobelle in the picture, Jimmy O is extraordinarily bad news. And in the long run, Jax has recruited Opie to his crusade, telling him that they were responsible for making Clay, and now must "unmake" him. The first step, apparently, is for Opie to read John's book.
Other thoughts:
- In the middle of all the revelations and drama, this episode managed to make me laugh out loud with Tig's reaction to Half-Sack's infection.
- Again, I can't say enough good things about this show. It's one of the best quality jumps from season one to season two that I've ever seen.
- Next week. Guns. Lots and lots of guns.
Tom Coombe
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