You know what isn’t a great way to grieve or try to get past the death of a loved one? By waking up and staring at the spot on the floor where he or she died. You might as well hire an artist to visually document the occasion. But I guess if you’re mulling over the way you murdered a relatively innocent man in roughly the same way your loved one was killed, you’re allowed to do whatever you want.
Such are the mornings of Jax Teller, who spent last week’s Sons of Anarchy premiere wheeling and dealing gang violence by the ton, all while Gemma was fibbing about the situation behind Tara’s death. And since a motorcycle club leader can’t just spend all day sitting in his kitchen, it’s no surprise that Jax’s life gets even more hectic in “Till and Toil.” He’s telling lies of his own, assuring August that retribution for Tara’s murder can be pushed aside, a moment that is soon followed by a shot of Lin’s henchman’s head in a fortune cookie box, the carving fork still sticking out of it. I think that’s what one calls a statement.
His big plan this week? To call up Jury’s Indian Hills crew to help them break up a drug-and-gun meet for the Chinese. What starts off as a logic-eschewing gunfight soon heads to a series of dirt roads, where Chibs almost falls out of the back of a pick-up truck attempting to run a shipping truck off the road. (Don’t you dare scare me like that, Chibs.) The soon-to-be-dead henchman reveals that Lin trades their weapons for heroin, heroin that SAMCRO takes into its possession as all the bodies are rounded up. Predictably, Jax spends the rest of the episode denying that the club had anything to do with the ambush. The perfect crime?
Not exactly. Jury calls up a couple of guys to assist SAMCRO, not letting on that one of them was (I’m assuming) his son. Jax fucks up by continuing his “no witnesses” policy, killing the two guys and planting drugs and guns at the scene to make it look like they offed each other. He definitely didn’t plan on Jury recognizing one of the planted shotguns was the one used in the fight against Lin’s men. For all that Jax hates Juice based on betrayal, he has certainly been guilty of it himself over the years, sometimes repeatedly in the same minute. But will Jury opt for revenge or something else?
This week on “Isn’t Juice the Worst?” the nude exerciser lets Unser go, only to find the former sheriff is willing to let bygones wash away, as he’s sick of seeing bodies pile up. Unser wants to help Juice leave town, but Juice has nowhere to go and no one to love him. (Somebody ask Linus if Juice can borrow his blankie.) Gemma finds out that Unser knows Juice is in town, and then she discovers that he’s been made a “consultant” for the Charming Sheriff’s Dept., and that he’s digging up info on Tara’s murder. Here’s hoping no one gives Gemma access to the Cloud, because she’d start finding all kinds of shit.
Katey Sagal’s performances are almost always wonderfully understated, and she gave one of my favorite line readings ever tonight. She’s telling Juice that she framed Lin’s man for Tara’s murder, and says Jax already took his revenge out on him. She gets silent for a few beats, her eyes unable to focus on anything, and then says, “He needed it…Closure.” The worst lies we tell are the ones we tell ourselves, and I’m not even sure Gemma understands objective truth anymore.
But does anyone? Here’s a truth I think we can all get behind. It’s great to have Sons of Anarchy back in our lives on a weekly basis.
Stuff That Fell Off the Back of the Bike
“Mom. Dad.”
“What if you find her on top of your dad slamming a big black dildo in his ass while he’s calling out my name?” Who doesn’t love to see two grown men faking oral sex while on a stakeout, even if one of them is completely against it? If Tig and Rat don’t get at least a webseries after this season is over…
“Formidable. As smart as he is dangerous.” – Unser’s blurb on the back of Jax Teller: The Movie.
Is there an Anti-Emmy Awards for the very worst of the worst acting on television? If so, the kid who plays Abel should win everything. It’s like he’s being told to read the lines as if he was suffering from lockjaw and acute boredom. I’m sure he’s a swell kid though.
“I enjoy when I hear a rapist share a good law enforcement anecdote.” Why don’t more action series feature ruthlessly violent men sitting down in a café drinking espresso?
I have never heard someone sound so happy to not have anyone else around to party with.
Since when is Chuckie so protective of Gemma? I’d like to know if he has any personality traits that stick around from week to week. I hope not. He’s awesome.
Unser doesn’t mind passing the fuck out with his door unlocked and a confidential police file sitting right inside the doorway. I always wonder what the authorities on Sons of Anarchy think of Unser when they talk to him, because he’s not exactly bringing his A-game anymore.
I cannot wait until Lin dies.
So, you know who Nero never fights with? Women. He gives Wendy a ride, and instead of being awkward, it turns into a series of bonding moments between the two. I wonder what they’d have thought hearing Gemma tell Juice to “take the junkie’s car.”
Yelawolf! The song playing over the final few minutes is “Till it’s Gone,” a track from one of my favorite rappers out there. It’s on the other side of the world from last week’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” cover.
I hope this week nets the same kind of record-breaking ratings that the premiere earned.
