In tonight’s 90-minute Sons of Anarchy the bulk of the episode was put to use moving the chess pieces forward, while the extra minutes seemed devoted to good old Reaper revenge.
If you missed “Crucifixed”, stop reading now and come back after you’ve had a proper viewing. This episode counts as a game-changer. Not in the sense that any one highly unexpected event took place, but in the sense that the various loose ends flapping about, just waiting to make lethal connection with one another, finally started to organize into a fabric of vengeance, leverage, and deception. Let’s take a closer look:
A Tale of Two Juices
At the end of last week’s Sons of Anarchy it looked like Juice’s minutes were numbered. In “Crucifixed”, Juice got a small reprieve from Eli who had him ‘brought in for questioning’ so he could give him the heads up that Jax was onto him. Juice decided to face his destiny and had a sit down with Jax and told him everything. Knowing that Juice was close to Clay in recent months, Jax told Juice he could earn a pardon by helping him prove that Clay ordered the break-ins. Juice shared his own intel with Jax, that Frankie had told him about the documents Clay had kept from the safe, and Jax told Juice that if he retrieved the documents he was free.
A Bit of Vengeance
Jax and the crew hunted down the man that killed Opie in jail, Hightower, who turned out to be under the protection of an allied MC, the Grims. Without consulting Bobby, Jax had ordered Chibs to kill the man. Bobby was furious that Jax would double cross a long time ally. Will the Grim seek their own revenge? Is there room in the season story for another rivalry?
Et Tu, Clay?
You can’t get much by Clay. Sensing that something is tugging on Jax’s nether regions, Clay goes to visit Lenny the Pimp to see if he has heard anything inside about shady deals, or what not. Lenny doesn’t have all of the goods, but he paints a picture of Otto that makes it pretty clear he has flipped on the SOA. The rest comes together naturally inside Clay’s mechanistic brain. You can’t really see this, of course, there is just this sudden gleam that Ron Perlman has perfected and you’re like… ah-ha, he knows. And the award for best gleam goes to ….
Leverage, Leverage, Everywhere, and not a Drop to …
Tara’s slow and deeply personal approach to getting Otto to flip seems to have worked, there is just one last request: Otto wants Tara to bring him a crucifix that he’d given Luann. Suffice to say it was all a ruse and Otto winds up using the crucifix to murder a nurse. The savage act nullifies his testimony and insures his death sentence all in one. With Rico gone, Jax is now free to dispense of Clay how he pleases.
Speaking of Leverage
So know you know why this episode is a game changer. Without Rico, the CIA has no leverage over Jax and he can begin to undue some of the deception he has had to employ to get life back to normal for the MC; only one problem: Clay has approached Romeo and convinced them that he knows what is up. Clay’s plan is to basically throw the Sons of Anarchy under the bus and keep the guns and coke moving with a smaller crew. The problem is, as we know, it’s not only about the money for Clay. Deep down Clay wants the gavel back in his hands, and in order to do that he must engage in a war for the hearts and minds of SAMCRO. That could make things go in a direction that the Galindo won’t be too happy with.
The Rest
There were a lot of other worth-mentioning moments “Crucifixed”. Here are just a few:
- Damon Pope is in the chute as a possible investor for Charming Heights. Anyone else think that the SOA bonding with the Mayor is maybe a bit too convenient to happen?
- Gemma made her first solid advances and seducing Clay, and you could tell she was throwing up in her mouth the whole time.
- Tara officially received the offer she has been waiting for. Unfortunately she’s married to a felon and could wind up being charged as an accessory to murder before the whole Otto thing is put to bed.
- Jax’s moment at odds with Bobby sent him to Chibs for moral support. Seems like Chibs might be in line for VP?
- Some pledge got shot. Really not sure who he was. Remember when the pledge’s were actual characters? Farewell nameless pledge. You will be missed. I think …
- Tig’s time is running out. Pope told Jax to act soon, or he would intervene. This cannot end well.
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