If you couldn’t catch last night’s episode of Sons of Anarchy and don’t have 90 minutes to watch it, I’ll sum up the story for you: Jax is out of control, his son Abel is a burgeoning psychopath, and Bobby lost a body part.
“But Emily,” you’re thinking, “that sounds like a summary of last week’s episode!” You’re right, it is! Last week Bobby lost an eye, Jax plotted with Tyler, and Abel learned Grandma killed Mom. This week Bobby lost a finger, Jax plotted with Tyler, Abel got violent, and the club dealt with the rat. (Or did they?)
Let’s start with the rat, because it was one of only two interesting points in the episode. The boys know someone told Lin about the location of his guns, and they’re determined to find out who it is. All signs point towards Jury, so the boys meet him to talk about it.
This was a good scene—since Jury was JT’s best friend, he’s able to give Jax a new perspective on his old man. Jury tells Jax that his dad couldn’t live with what the club had become. Then Jury suggests that JT willingly let himself die. “My old man didn’t kill himself!” Jax screams. “It doesn’t matter,” Jury replies, “As long as he ain’t here to see what SAMCRO did to you.”
Oh, here go hell come, Jury should NOT have said that! Even though Jury denies being the rat, Jax shoots him dead in broad daylight without calling a vote first. No Jax, that’s not how SAMCRO does it. You need a unanimous vote before a member meets Mr. Mayhem! Jury’s VP justifiably flips out and screams, “Your boy is out of control. He’s going down.”
I wish that were true. It would be nice to see Jax pay for his killing spree this season. Sadly, I don’t think Jax is going down anytime soon. At least, I don’t think he’s going down with a bullet. No, I think his downfall is going to be his own mental torture. I think nearly all of his club members will be dead within the next five episodes, and Jax will be left to rot with his own guilt and confusion. That’s what seems to be happening with Gemma anyway.
Speaking of Gemma, last week I told her to sleep with one eye open because Abel heard her confess her murderous sins to baby Thomas. This week, Abel took it to a whole other level, and that’s why he’s the second interesting plot point this episode. Or should I say, the most terrifying part of the episode. First, he gets sent home early from school for whacking a kid in the head with a metal lunchbox. Then, he kind of blackmails his grandmother when she tries to talk with him about it. “It was an accident” Abel said. “Do you understand what an accident is?” Gemma asks, to which Abel coolly replies, “Do you?”
Oh yes! YES! He said it. He went there. Finally, someone put Gemma in her place and it’s… a child. Her four year-old grandson. And he just kind of, maybe threatened Gemma—and she doesn’t know what to do about it. But that wasn’t even the most frightening thing Abel did.
OK, raise your hand if you think Abel killed those birds and scrawled that message on the wall. Yes, I understand he’s a child and the house was full of adults who would probably have caught him, but this is Sutter-land, and real world rationality is often suspended here. So, hands up if you think Abel is capable of disemboweling his grandmother’s birds, and scrawling “No Son is Safe” in crayon on the wall, and stabbing a stuffed animal.