(S0205) - "When relationships become a ledger of profit and loss, you have no friends, no loved ones, just pluses and minuses. You are absolutely alone." - John Teller
It's almost the mid-season for Sons of Anarchy and that can only mean one thing: someone, nay anyone, can die. It's precisely the reason I asked Katey Sagal in my last interview if she ever worried about her character being killed off. A show this violent and heavy always carries the air of collateral damage.
And episode five's "Smite" proved it when Chibs, played by Tommy Flanagan, almost got caught dead center of a car bomb planted in the club's garage by the local Aryans and may or may not have croaked in the ensuing explosion.
In the words of Jean Paul Sartre, "It's on, gopher."
And it couldn't have come at a better time because things were starting to get almost ridiculously complex. It's refreshing to see a show that creates so many boundaries and plotlines for a whole world of colorful and creative characters. Recently, however, they involved so many that they were starting to become a jumbled mix in my head of budding felonies and underhanded deals. It does manage to keep them nicely tied together with a few loose ends here and there that are sure to be tied up in the end, but it's time the show started making with the warring already. All talk and no fist flying makes Danny a dull boy.
Of course, the hardest parts to watch are Gemma's scenes as she struggles to come to terms with the effects of her rape. This week, I found my brain screaming at the television for Gemma to just break down and get some help. Why is she so afraid to feel anything? She certainly has the club's best interests in mind, but is she willing to sacrifice what's left of her sanity for it, and wouldn't that effect the club just as much? Gemma's story really knows how to push your buttons.
The most interesting character so far is definitely Chief Unser, the kindly old police chief who everyone knows is in SAMCRO's pocket but still has loyalty to his town by his alliance with the club. He finally breaks down and tells someone about Gemma's rape, but the surprise is that he told his deputy chief, David Hale, in order to draw him away from the Aryans' grasp. It's a smart move that could backfire since the Aryans have made their own power play against him and the club in one fell swoop. Only Survivor has less cut-throat alliances.
[Watch clips and episodes of Sons of Anarchy at SlashControl.]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
10-07-2009 @ 8:05AM
Katie said...
I have only started watching this show at the start of the second season but I cannot get enough of it and already, I am wishing it was Tuesday again. I do have one question though. It probably did not mean anything but did I miss something with Opie and the stripper with the car he fixed?
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10-07-2009 @ 8:26AM
Steve said...
Opie was interested in the stripper until he saw her drugs on the floor of the front seat next to her kids toys.
another solid episode. The League are so evil. I can't wait for SAMCRO to get some payback.
No mention of Otto getting blinded in jail by the Aryans??
10-07-2009 @ 9:42AM
Adam said...
For me this ep rocketed "Sons" way past "The Shield". In "The Shield" you always knew the strike team would come out on top; the only question was how would they do it. With SAMCRO, they are so obviously outmatched by the league I wonder if anyone not named Jax or Gemma will make it out alive or free, and that includes Clay. Zobelle has them right where he wants them, and it was quite telling to see Jax fly off the handle after trying to keep the peace. God I can't wait for next Tuesday!
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10-07-2009 @ 10:04AM
Lykens said...
God every week i wait for the war to start. I finally think we are there. This coming Tuesday has to be it. On a different note anyone get the feeling Clay is behind John Tellers death?
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10-07-2009 @ 1:25PM
Steve said...
i think it was laid out last season that Clay and Gemma have been hiding the true details of Jax's dad's death from him.
10-07-2009 @ 10:15AM
TopiaryCow said...
That's a great quote, thank you.
When Gemma is sitting in the psychiatrist's office and sees the obviously messed-up other patient sitting there, and goes "un-uh" she's saying "I'm not like that". She's decided not to be a victim needing help but reassert herself as a strong woman, outside the system, able to take care of business. That's my take on it, not that she's refusing help, but that she's deciding not to go down the road of victimhood.
Thought the scene with Unser and Hale was great. But with video evidence showing Opie at the crack house, does it really matter that Hale is back to being neutral? Evidence is evidence. This looks bad for Opie.
Couldn't help thinking, aren't there any NICE girls that need mechanics in that town? Opie hooking up with a porno star will not help his world...
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10-07-2009 @ 4:41PM
CJ said...
This my FAVORITE show, by far. I just can't wait until Tuesdays. And I agree, Unser is the most interesting character. I love how he's weaved into everybody's lives.
Gemma and Tara reading John Teller's book. Interesting that Gemma would read it, as she has knowlege about John Teller's death, and Clay's role in it... but then again, her rape was a direct way to get to Clay, and then the MC. I can't even imagine the fallout when Jax and Clay find out about it.
I hope they really get into John Teller's death in future seasons. This has the ability to make or break the club, even more than Donna's death or even Gemma's rape.
13 episodes is just not enough!
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10-07-2009 @ 6:02PM
MDD said...
Dumb question.. Who does the voiceover voice for John Teller?? I thought Scott Glenn but I hear he was removed from the original pilot... Thanks
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10-08-2009 @ 12:02AM
Willie said...
With the deputy's knowledge of Gemma's rape, he's the key player in following episodes. Should he tell Clay or Jax it will unit them in a common cause. Jax's mother, Clay's wife, the s@#t's gunna hit the fan. Club member losing an eye in the joint to the skinheads. Clay already wants immediate retribution. A united force of superior numbers means the skinheads are gunna get it, but good!
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10-13-2009 @ 9:48PM
sophie said...
Tommy FLanagan (Chibs) plays an Irish guy or scoth.?
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10-13-2009 @ 11:55PM
WannaBcharliesGirl said...
I'm glad I'm not the only one that can't wait for Tuesdays. I can't stand for SOA to end! Has anyone guessed which club member will get killed? Do you think it's half-sac, Opie, or Piney? Could it be Clay??? And what about the Irish? Did anyone else catch the comment Zoebelle made about "finally get to meet" when the Irish arrived at the church?
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10-14-2009 @ 11:11PM
CJ said...
I think it's going to Unser (and that would break my heart--he's my favorite character, after Clay and Gemma)... but if they follow Shakespeare's Hamlet, and Tara is Ophelia, it just may be her.
10-14-2009 @ 12:09AM
Traci Canterbury said...
I just wanna say that I've been watching son"s of anarchy since season one, and I fell in love with the show from the first episode. I think Jemma totally kick's ass. Not only her but Jac"s, Opie, and Clay I love these sexy hard tough biker guy's I mean they come off as hard gun trafficking biker's but in reality they are actually nice guy's
who are trying to make charming a better place to live, I don't know what it is about the show but I love it I hope it has many many new seasons ahead.
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