TVSquad

(S02E04) - "If you come across something that don't make you miserable, enjoy it." - Chief Unser to Tara

Was I the only human being on the planet who was completely snowed by the BS claim that SAMCRO was headed out of town to do a charity blood drive for Charming? The thought of any shady dealings never crossed my mind for a second. I probably wouldn't even have any doubts if they devised a charity scheme that's more their speed like a "Ride Joust for Diabetes" or a "100-Yard Coke Line Snort for Macular Degeneration."

It's not a sign of my stupidity. Believe me, I've got much more convincing signs of that. For instance, I drive a Pontiac, a brand new Pontiac ... with a 30,000 mile warranty.

It's a sign that the characters are becoming more endearing and real and they play on your emotions more than if they were just flat images on a high definition television screen. They are flesh and blood and bone, and all the little synapses and thoughts that make them human beings are connecting. They have made the audience, or at least the audience that sits in my living room each week, part of their family.

Of course, I'm sure I'm not going to be invited to the club's random excuse of the week to get hammered and break stuff or Luanne's next porn film wrap party. I'm not talking about that kind of family bond. I'm talking about the kind that makes them real and enduring characters, the feeling that you know them better than they know themselves. That's the kind of moment aspiring screenwriters dream about, so they can take everything you think you know about them and completely make you jerk your head around when you aren't looking. That and finding steady work that doesn't force them to live off Ramen noodles and ketchup for the rest of their lives.

Some of SAMCRO's definition of family did seem a little over the top, like the sleeping cap that Jax's baby had on with the club's Grim Reaper logo stitched across it like he bought it off the rack at Baby Hot Topix. I understand that the brotherhood runs through their veins, but do these people have any item of clothing that doesn't have their logo burned, stenciled, stitched or inscribed on it? Does the clubhouse have an overpriced gift shop positioned right next to the exit?

That bond is starting to weaken as Jax and Clay continue to butt heads. This time, Clay turned the tension up to 11 when he made his first official threat to Jax to stop bringing up Donna's death or he would kill him. The word "kill" is thrown around an awful lot these days. Two friends are playing on the playground when one gives the other a "wet willy" and he says he's gonna "kill" him. A football coach puts his best linebacker on the field and tells him he wants him to "kill" the quarterback. However, when the word "kill" is being used by a leather clad meathead who runs more guns than Smith and Wesson, it's a safe bet he's using the word "kill" to its most specific definition. Expect him to dole out more damage than an "Indian burn" or a "nipple cripple," even if the points are the same.

These guys are known for going over the top, like their plan to spring Tig from the bounty hunters by driving a frigging truck into their hotel room. Sure, it's television and a less destructive plan would have made more sense and certainly attracted less attention, but it was smart of Tig to drive the bounty hunters crazy and force them to beat on him so they would have to stop and patch him up to give the club more time to catch up to him. I've always wanted to be in a situation like that, where insulting my captors is the only way to survive. Sure I do that now, but I'm getting paid for it.

Add in Gemma's ongoing personal battle with the sexual assault the encroaching Aryans caused and things could get to a furious boiling point fast. It's weird seeing her in such a vulnerable state, almost to the point that she's unfamiliar with these feelings or doesn't know a way to work through times without sticking a tire iron in someone's face. Thankfully, she has Police Chief Unser to turn to who has really shined as a steady father figure for Gemma, even if he has no earthly idea what to do or how to help without spilling the beans on this yet to be opened can of worms.

[Watch free clips of Sons of Anarchy at Slashcontrol.]