It’s looking like there’s enough chaos running strong in this weeks episode of Sons. Simple and complex lies push through the club as Jax and crew descend a bit further while Jax tries to climb out of the gun trade and put Samcro in a “legit” place. With the church-school shooting on heavy fallout, tension shifts into keeping the Sons from being ID’d as the owner of the KG9 weapon that was used in the massacre. Jax plays events close within and begins his new path which, as it stands, is reaching darker habits than we thought.
(FULL RECAP)
Gemma and Nero are fooling around in bed when Nero’s cousin, Arcadio shows up to tell him not only about the boy, Matthew, who was responsible for the shooting, but that it was his weapon, originally given by Samcro. Gemma advises Nero to get the mother away and that the club can help.
Bobby is driving with Quinn to Vegas, looking for another recruit to form the Nomads.
Toric meets with Clay and gives him a file that specifies the deal he wants to make, Immunity for taking down the Sons. Clay only agrees to sign it provided he can speak to both Gemma and Jax first.
Tara is released and she hands Ellie, her lawyer, a few pads of notes to go over. Jax picks her up and they leave together without any dialogue. They arrive back at Jax’s house and Gemma is there with the kids. Tara embraces them as Gemma tells Jax about the shooting and Jax realizes how his club is connected to it.
At the school-church, an ATF official informs Toric about the casualties and information about the weapon used. Toric spots the DA (CCH Pounder) and goes to speak with her.
Jax and Tara discuss their original plans to move to Oregon and how it’s not a viable option anymore. Jax feels if he leaves then Opie will have died for nothing. Tara thinks she might end up back in jail regardless. Jax mentions he’s meeting the Irish to cut ties with them. Gemma makes a half-hearted “welcome home” remark to Tara.
Nero arrives and speaks with Jax about getting help with moving Matthew’s mother out of town. Jax suggests putting her in the cabin in Pinegrove. Gemma then tells Jax that Clay wants to see them both.
Bobby and Quinn show up at a bar in Vegas and meet Hopper, another possible recruit.
After Jax leaves, Gemma tells Tara that she wasn’t responsible for her arrest. Tara says she knows and shows her Jax’s Will, ripped and scribbled by crayon. Gemma asks what did she expect. Tara thanks her for taking care of the kids while she was gone.
The DA (Pounder) goes over Matthew’s mother’s record and affiliates. Cop informs her she still doesn’t remember anything but the DA pushes toward tying the shooting to the “Biz-lats” Toric meets the DA and tells her that the gun is connected to Samcro. He tries to persuade her to look at the bigger picture with stopping more murders and hands her his card.
Jax, Nero, and crew arrive at Arcadio’s house where the mother is still grieving. She freaks out and tries to run as Arcadio is confused about the situation. She runs into the bathroom and shoots up drugs as Nero tells Arcadio what their plan is for getting her out of there. Jax is fearful that she’ll flip if the police take her back into custody. He tells Nero he’ll meet them at the cabin after his dealing with the Irish.
Gemma meets Clay as he tells her that he understands why she framed him for Pope’s murder. He praises her for keeping him strong and that he kept her from keeping him straight. Gemma asks why she’s there. Clay says that she did the right thing and that no matter what goes down, nothing will land on her. Gemma gets upset and then leaves.
Jax and crew meet with Galaan who introduces Connor, another Irish contact who will handle the gun trade in the states. Galaan asks about Clay and Jax sticks with the story that in a rage he killed Pope. Galaan expresses Clay’s plan about hiding in Belfast and that Jax wanted to move Samcro out of the gun trade. Jax agrees and tells him about the church shooting. He thinks Samcro will take the fall from it. Galaan advises against leaving the gun trade and Jax suggests hooking up with the San Bernadino charter to handle the inventory. Galaan tells Jax that Clay needs to reach out to their customers and keep them in camp and that he’s shipping all his guns to Jax with a plan to double the price on his KG9’s.
Jax wants the guns stored for the time being, but Chibs advises against it and that they need to be delivered to their customers. Jax doesn’t care, he doesn’t want guns on the streets.
Back at the prison, Toric tells Clay to sign the deal and Clay refuses until he can see Jax and tell him why he’s doing it.
At the hospital, Tara is pulling files and runs into her old boss. She asks that some bloodwork be done on her specifically for a pregnancy test.
Clay realizes the end of the day has come and he won’t be receiving any more visitors.
Meanwhile at Jax’s house, Ellie informs Tara that the information on her note pads won’t indict Jax or her of any crimes. Though Tara isn’t certain about Wendy, she’s still pushing for her to be the guardian of both kids should something happen to her as well as announcing her divorce at the hearing.
At the cabin, Matthews mother is on edge even though Nero reassures her things will be okay. Jax arrives just as Gemma does and tells him that Clay made a deal with Toric. A gunshot is heard in the cabin and they scramble to see the mother stole a shotgun and pleads for Arcadio to follow her and escape. Arcadio has no choice and pulls his gun. As they try to escape, Nero shoots and kills Arcadio and Jax chases down the mother. Nero implores Jax not to kill her. Jax complies.
Bobby is seen driving on the road with two bikers.
Toric is in his room, he’s upset and is very jittery, likely due to his chaotic nature and drug abuse. He hits his knuckles on the table several times before signing the deal he made with Clay by forging Clay’s name.
Nero is in grief over killing his cousin as Jax grabs drugs from one of Nero’s men and tells his crew to clean up the cabin.
Toric runs into the DA and hands her the deal he forged to reopen the Rico case. The DA feels it’s too generic to run with. Toric advises they need to run slowly with it but the DA disagrees and wants an agreement of cooperation that is more potent to her. Toric agrees to make it happen. The DA is hesitant to work with him but said she will provided they have someone local taking the fall for the shooting.
At the cabin, Juice is alone with the mother and injects her with the drugs. He then suffocates her to death. After telling Jax it’s done, he washes his hands hard.
Toric shows up at Colette’s escort house and scopes the place and takes interest in a woman there.
Back at the cabin, Nero confronts Jax about whether he made the call to have the mother killed. Jax denies it and says she took something earlier and the extra injection killed her. Nero seems to believe him.
At the prison, a guard informs Clay that he’ll still be sleeping in protective custody. Clay is surprised.
Jax returns home to Tara. They embrace as he asks about her day. Tara doesn’t tell him the meeting she had with her lawyer. They kiss.
Toric gives the escort woman an address to go to and leaves.
Bobby is seen at another bar, circling his next location and the names “Quinn” and “Hopper” on his list.
Nero and Samcro bury Arcadio and the mother.
Jax and Tara have sex though, Tara is seen starting to tear up.
(END RECAP)
I’m always pleased to watch any kind of Sons episode, even if they seem somewhat like filler. There are always loose ends to tie and new threads to weave, making the overall plot turbulent but organically necessary. Peter Weller directed the episode which seems why he didn’t guest star, but hopefully he will again soon. For the moment, nothing specific is resonating with me aside from the final moment with Tara crying while making love to Jax. She’s not into it and we can clearly see she has conflicts that she can’t tell Jax about anymore. I’ve always been a Tara fan more than Jax, and as much as I want to see them stick together, I’d rather see her safe and she’s seems to be truly hurt that that’s no longer the case for her.
Clay’s scenes continue to drive the tease that his moment of revenge will soon come. He didn’t get the satisfaction of staring Jax in the eyes, but that’s something the audience will have to wait for, and when it happens it will be worth the wait. Gemma and Clay interaction is always fiery and opposing. Ron and Katey always work their scenes together well with his passive aggressive nature and her explosive comebacks. She’s truly done with him and Clay knows it.
I like the inclusion of CCH Pounder onto the show. Yet another “The Shield” alumni makes their way into Kurt Sutter’s biker-masterpiece and I was a major fan of that drama. We’ll see if she has a lasting impact in due time.
Easy to spot is the growing dissention between Jax and Chibs. Here you have a tried and true member trying to maintain the order that Samcro has been through over the course of many years, specifically the system they keep toward their gun trade operation. With Jax making significant waves with the Irish, it will soon escalate into matters that Chibs will potentially lash out and not in a good way.
Juice’s part in the mother’s death plays heavy in his heart knowing he has to perform any cruel deed to win back Jax’s favor. His hand washing is poetically placed just to seal his attempt to clean his mind of all the muck he’s been put through. I expect him to crack yet again in the near future.
Bobby is on his way to breathe life back into the Nomad group. Will he be back in time to help or hinder Samcro? I don’t know. Bobby is a big piece of conscience that Samcro needs, and without him, Jax could be making tougher decisions that drive a bigger wedge with his club. Speculations aside, Bobby needs to come back and help set things right.
This didn’t feel like an episode that needed to spin the top faster than what Samcro can handle so soon into season six. In a way, the audience suffers some of that intensity we’re used to feeling when watching the show. True there was a short shootout, a few deaths and Nero’s loss will be propelling him into unstable territory if Jax continues to deceive him. Nero’s trusting, but he’s not without his wisdom to see through the subterfuge if he puts his mind to the task. Overall, this episode was about putting more pieces in place rather than really engaging the plot. Everyone is moving toward safety, if nothing more than for reasons to save those who are “family” or revenge because of family.
I can see Jax’s descent and Gemma isn’t even trying to pull her strings on him, yet. The danger he’s worried about is a lot closer than he thinks. Looking forward to next week, I hope you are too.
No more words
bladeofthesashurai 