Episode Title: “Poenitentia“
Writers: Charles Murray & Kurt Sutter
Director: Guy Ferland
Previously on “Sons of Anarchy”:
I think we should all be wise to the tricks of “Sons of Anarchy” by now.
Kurt Sutter and company can write compelling stories, but they very rarely kill off their main characters. Was anybody really surprised that Clay Morrow (Ron Perlman) lives to fight another day? This show has bent over backwards to keep Perlman in the fold even it occasionally means that Clay’s continued survival flies in the face of all logic. This marks at least the second time that Clay’s connection to the Irish has saved his life.
Which brings us to this week’s cliffhanger ending, and it is a good one. The character in question is obviously in deep trouble, but don’t look so shocked if he miraculously comes out of that situation alive. Remember when Opie shot Clay as a cliffhanger? He survived. Or the time that Jean Carlos “Juice” Ortiz (Theo Rossi) attempted suicide as a cliffhanger? He also survived.
At this point I’d be more surprised if “Sons of Anarchy” actually has the balls to finish what they started this week.
This is your warning that there are FULL SPOILERS AHEAD for last night’s episode of “Sons of Anarchy.” So if you happened to miss it then you should probably skip this review or else Tig will have plenty of time to catch up on his reading.
And it is Tig (Kim Coates) who finds himself staring death in the eyes during the closing moments of this episode. “Oh s***!” is an understatement. August Marks (Billy Brown) and his mean are there to help Tig into an early grave for killing Damon Pope’s daughter. If and when Tig gets a chance to think this over, even he will have to realize that Jax Teller (Charlie Hunnam) set him up to die.
But here’s the thing: Tig has a trump card, if he chooses to play it. Tig also killed Damon Pope, but that death was orchestrated by Jax. While the truth wouldn’t win much favor with August, it might be enough to spare Tig’s life if he can point the finger at Jax. Even if Tig can pull that off, his chances of getting out don’t look too good. Except when you remember that Sutter has a tendency to let his favorite characters get out of these corners.
With Walter White permanently out of the picture after this Sunday, Jax is well on his way to earning the title of the most unlikable protagonist on television. On some level, Jax’s decision to give up Tig can be understood. Tig has lost it since the death of his daughter and drowning the Iranian torture porn producer in a tub full of piss nearly got Jax and his new allies killed. Plus August has already been making noise about getting his hands on Tig.
Yet that doesn’t make what Jax did any less of a dick move. He even gives Tig the Judas kiss goodbye! Who does that?! That should have been Tig’s cue that something was seriously wrong. Jax’s dickery also extends to the way that he’s stepping out on his wife with Colette (Kim Dickens), the madame with whom Jax and Nero (Jimmy Smits) recently entered a business relationship with. Jax slept with Colette once and he acts like she’s his woman now… only to be surprised when he catches her screwing Robopimp, Charles Barosky (Peter Weller).
Weller is actually a lot of fun as Barosky, and he reminds me of a Damon Pope who doesn’t mind getting his hands dirty. The Iranians shot up his storefront and nearly took out one of his guys, so Barosky slits one of their throats on a pricy yacht (with Jax reluctantly in tow) and tells them to get the hell out of his city. Barosky is also the first person to realize that one of Jax’s crew (Tig, again) caused this mess when he killed the porn producer.
Clay had a really good subplot this week as he refused to sign on as a rat for Lee Toric (Donal Logue) while apologizing to Jax. For once, Clay seemed sincere as he voiced his regrets and prepared for the inevitable end of his life. The scene in which he was jumped by August’s men inside the prison was intense, because Clay shouldn’t have been able to fight them off. And he didn’t. Instead, they forcibly recruited him to take out one of the Aryan Nation leaders in the prison yard; which has earned their protection… for now.
Also looking for protection this week was Wendy (Drea de Matteo), who actually got sympathy from Gemma (Katey Sagal) when she related a story about being attacked by a man who threatened her with gang rape. Given Gemma’s personal history, that most have resonated with her and she embraced Wendy before giving her an untraceable gun to protect herself. But Wendy’s story is just a story, as seen when she wipes the bruise off her neck. If this was a con, then what does Wendy want?
The early theory is that Wendy is working with Tara (Maggie Siff), who disappeared for a long stretch in this episode for a vague doctor’s visit. There is some circumstantial evidence to suggest that connection between them. Gemma has not been open about being raped, so Wendy couldn’t have known on her own how well that work on her. But Tara would know. She helped Gemma hide that incident from the club during the second season.
Tara also seems very cagy around Jax and Gemma as she lets on that she’s pregnant but she doesn’t show any joy over the news. I just had a horrible thought: what if Tara’s test results are from an earlier hospital visit and she actually spent this episode at an abortion clinic? Tara is already planning a divorce from Jax while scheming to get their children away from him if she goes to jail. Perhaps Tara doesn’t want to add a third child to the mix.
Toric was out of control this week as he murdered one of Nero’s girls in a darkly comic way before deciding to pin the murder on Nero himself. Obviously Nero deserves better since he’s one of the only “moral” centers of the show. But that’s the point. We care about Nero, so this gives him a very personal stake in the fight against Toric. Unfortunately for everyone, DA Tyne Patterson (CCH Pounder) has given Toric a badge as a special investigator attached to her office. I’m sure that will end quite well.
Seeing Sheriff Eli Roosevelt (Rockmond Dunbar) show up again was a welcome surprise, I just hope he has a larger role this season. Eli seemed very disinterested in associating himself with Jax in any way… and who can blame him? Jax is rapidly becoming poison to those around him. That’s why Bobby Muson (Mark Boone Junior) seems to be on the verge of starting up a group of NOMADS or possibly his own chapter in the Sons of Anarchy. It’s been a very slow burn with that story, so hopefully Bobby will re-enter the main storyline soon.
Overall, this was another step up from the previous episode and the ending was legitimately exciting. Now the payoff just needs to deliver.
