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The Bainne of Jax's existence, 'Sons of Anarchy' turns the Pike
By April MacIntyre Nov 17, 2010, 4:50 GMT
There\'s a lot of story left and very little time to tell it in season three, which for us fans of the series is a good thing; showrunner Kurt Sutter should always leave them wanting more.
The Bainne of Jax's existence, "Sons of Anarchy" turns the Pike
Clearly if there were any doubts of who in SAMCRO possesses the biggest swinging pair, it was answered tonight as matriarch Gemma (Katey Sagal) grabs her son, incredulous that Jax (Charlie Hunnam) let her grandson Abel go off with strangers.
Gemma is the backbone, brain and balls-out facilitator who gets shit done.
Jax has tapped into his deceased Pop's self loathing, aided by the manipulative Father Ashby (James Cosmo) who has played so many sides against each other, he has run out of allies and options.
His complicit nuns in the illegal adoption house where Abel was stowed are left fearing for a baby's life, as a now fully enraged Gemma holds a gun to a wailing infant and asks the horrified nun, "you know the story of King Solomon, dontcha sister?"
Well, shite doesn't get more real than that. FX is going to get letters.
The bitterness and grief of John Teller's "other" woman Maureen (Paula Malcomson) will get another dig in at Gemma, as she plants Teller's decades-old revealing love letters showing his fears about Clay (Ron Perlman), who he realizes is getting closer emotionally and sexually to Gemma, inside Jax's bag.
There's a lot of story left and very little time to tell it in season three, which for us fans of the series is a good thing; showrunner Kurt Sutter should always leave them wanting more.
The most immediate issue after SAMCRO blows what Opie (Ryan Hurst) refers to as that "moss covered shithole" is of course, Tara (Maggie Siff) now the hostage of a grief stricken Salazar who is thwarted in the cash grab that went awry under Tig (Kim Coates) and Agent Stahl's (Ally Walker) watch.
The club is winging their way home out of the Belfast fires straight into the Charming frying pan, and after dealing with the Tara situation, Jax has some major life decisions to mull, especially after he reads dad's letters to Maureen.
What Sutter did brilliantly this season is illuminate the power of held back human emotions, specifically long simmering bitterness and jealousy, as Jacob Hale's odd-man out lack of a connection to the club is heightened now that his brother, who did have empathy and relations with SAMCRO, is killed.
Even Darby's racist heart is softened by his age and suffering through a fire, as he is affected by Lumpy Feldstein's plight and feels for him.
SAMBEL obviously was the poorer relation in the club totem pole, and it was tamped down, hidden until their well-off California chapter came over and ripped up scabs all over the Short Strand revealing the cancer. Maureen Ashby was not the preferred woman to John Teller, just a diversion, and that still hurts. And Jax's ambivalence about his own future seeped over to his relationship with Tara, swamping it, allowing him to make a string of bad decisions the whole of the season, until the very end when he finally held Abel again.
This season was loaded with Emmy award performances by Charlie Hunnam, as last season was Katey Sagal's showcase of her talents. Although Bainne was clearly a brilliant one for her acting scenes too. Hunnam is the soul and Sagal is the engine of this potboiler.
My gut tells me Agent June Stahl, best villain ever, is not long for this Earth (Ally Walker has a Lifetime series now)
What did you think of this key episode? Talk back.
