DVD Reviews

Sons of Anarchy: Season Two – Blu-ray Review

By Dana Rae Aug 31, 2010, 20:33 GMT

From the creative mind of Kurt Sutter (“The Shield”), the adrenalized drama centers on a notorious outlaw motorcycle club intent on protecting their sheltered small town against encroaching drug dealers, corporate developers, and overzealous law officers. The club is equally determined to protect their ruthless and illegally thriving arms business. Charlie Hunnam stars as Jackson ‘Jax’ Teller, a man whose love for the brotherhood is tested by his growing apprehension ...more

The highly anticipated second season of Sons of Anarchy comes to Blu-ray and kicks the drama up a notch from season one thanks to the members of SAMCRO facing a new foe.

The Blu-ray release of the series fits the grit of the storyline and brings out the battle scars and leathered of the bikers.

Sons of Anarchy: Season Two really sees the show coming into its own with a griping storyline that pushes the boundaries of television and a season-ending cliffhanger that promises greatness for Season Three. Warning: spoilers ahead.

The Sons find a formidable enemy has moved to Charming, and he is a hard one to fight against as he is well-connected politically and poses a good Christian front. He is Ethan Zobelle, played expertly by Adam Arkin. The actor’s performance in season two gives television one of its darkest villains and you hate the guy almost from the second he is on the screen.

Joined by white supremacist AJ Weston (played by rocker Henry Rollins) and The League, Zobelle goes straight for the heart of the gang when he targets Gemma (Katey Sagal) – who he thinks he can use to break the Sons apart in one of the vilest ways imaginable. His reasoning is that if you take the matriarch from the men, they are just like little boys and will fall to pieces.

What they do to Gemma is horrific. But the strength of the character of Gemma shines through, and I applaud the writing and the acting - even if I was horrified by it.

In a show about tough bikers, Sagal’s Gemma is probably one of the strongest, and the actress carries that strength and dignity throughout the season. Even when it appears she is going to break, Sagal (who was robbed at the Emmys in my opinion) shows the true heart of the character and how far she is willing to push herself to keep those she loves safe.

The plan was for Gemma to run to her husband Clay (Ron Perlman) and her son Jax (Charlie Hunnam) with what had happened, but she doesn’t. Since she knows the two men will want revenge without a thought of their safety, she keeps the incident to herself and, with the help of her old friend Chief Wayne Unser (Dayton Callie), concocts a story about a car accident to cover the bruises and cuts on her face.

During the season, the gang is put over time and time again by Zobelle, and several members end up in prison thanks to his tricks – such as misleading information which results in SAMCRO raiding a church.

In addition to dealing with Zobelle, the Sons find themselves in and out the porn business (which provides some laughs in an otherwise dark season). With the help of Otto’s wife, they set up shop in a warehouse and hope to reap profits from adult films. The warehouse mysteriously burns down and the money comes from an unexpected source: insurance.

They also have to deal with a rival porn king, Georgie Caruso (Tom Arnold), who oozes used-car-salesman-meets-pimp aura and greasy-sleaziness. Otto’s wife falls victim to tragedy because of her involvement.

During the season, other characters deal with personal issues. Opie (Ryan Hurst) deals with the loss of his wife Donna (her death and the details of it were in the first season). The secrets of Donna’s death slowly unravel and Opie is faced with retaliation against the club or forgiveness.

Opie is a character in turmoil, and Hurst is excellent in the role. He internalizes most of his anguish. The actor finds that balance between letting a character’s pain become an outburst and keeping it together. His character grows a lot in this season and some of the growth is very difficult. Hurst manages to do this and keep the character of Opie very likable.

Tig (Kim Coates) has to deal with his involvement in Donna’s death and keeping the secret from Opie upon order of Clay. His character is always a little crazy, but this season shows how far that death pushed him over the edge.

Jax knows what happened to Donna and he must deal with this and keep it from Opie - which further drives a wedge between him and Clay. Due to Donna’s death and his belief the club has gone away from the principals his father wanted for SAMCRO, Jax wants to go Nomad and get out of Charming. Once again it is the show’s heart, Gemma that has to step in to keep everyone together and strong.

As the season winds down, the pace speeds up and the audience is drawn into the world of SAMCRO. Money troubles, gun troubles, Zobelle troubles, personal troubles. Jax and Tara (Maggie Siff) try to find a balance between personal life and the club, which are really one and the same. Tara becomes more of an ‘old lady’, and the tension between step-father Clay and Jax heats up.

Jax is also busy being a father to his infant son, Abel, and Tara steps in and helps Gemma with raising the baby. Tara’s medical profession comes into play; she patches up bullet wounds, scraps, burns, and helps Gemma deal with her role as a rape victim physically as well as mentally. Gemma and Tara began to see each other as equals, and Gemma accepts Tara and gives her respect as the one Jax has chosen to be with.

I can’t say it more plainly: This is a great show. The writing is superb and the ensemble acting is probably some of the best on television. I have been hooked on this show since the pilot episode, but this season really got me.

Maybe it was the situation with Gemma that I identified with … I found myself biting my lip and wincing with her pain and wondering how it would all play out. The climax comes in that moment we are waiting for Gemma to tell what happened and the situation with Zobelle explodes.

The tension builds and builds, like a storm blowing in. The club rallies the people they care about and they lock themselves inside of the clubhouse to wait it out in the next to last episode. The season’s cliff hanger in the last episode will leave you clamoring for more, more, more.

The Blu-ray comes with some decent special features that SAMCRO fans will love. They include commentary on select episodes, a round table feature and a look at the moral code of SAMCRO.

Even if bikers and motorcycle club is not exactly your thing (they aren’t really mine), this show is one that is so well done in terms of writing, acting, directing, that if you give it a chance, you will be hooked. I know I am and I can’t wait for Season Three to continue the saga of SAMCRO and the lives of Gemma, Clay, Jax, Tara, and the rest of the characters.