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SEND BIKERS, GUNS MONEY Kozik's back, along with some guys from the Tacoma chapter, and he's brought a boatload of BFG with him. We learn that the Irish are not rarin' to get into bed with the cartel, but rather than listen to the instincts of a bunch of old terrorists who are probably alive because of the aforementioned instincts, Clay mulishly insists that he will broker a Mexican/Irish gun deal in our time. He's a regular Kissinger of the underworld.
Clay uses this presumed big-money deal as a cudgel to keep Jax in line, as the younger man is not too keen on his stepfather using his mom as a speedbag. Clay could not care less, so long as Jax is still on board with this cartel foolishness.
Speaking of cartel foolishness: Romeo and Luis show Jax two bound bodies, their faces mutilated beyond recognition, and claims those were the people who attacked Tara. Jax points out that there were three assailants and you can see Luis inventing the "We're on it!" lie as it comes out of his mouth. Also, the bodies do not look as though they belonged to people of northern European stock (which, remember, the abductors were). Jax wants to be there when Romeo takes out Thug Number Three, and Romeo cuts his eyes all, You bikers are easier to manipulate than an Atari joystick. Clay helps the fiction along by arguing that SAMCRO's presence will somehow bolster the Irish King's confidence in the pending meet.
Cut to Jax trying to talk the rest of SAMCRO out of the pending Lobo hunt, arguing that for him, it's personal. Tig points out that so far as he is concerned, "personal" is a broad umbrella that covers many things including "shooting up our clubhouse" and "beheading the president of SAMTAZ." So everyone else decides they're also in, for various reasons. Then they go off and spend an interminable amount of time killing more Mexicans per minute than Cortés. Also dead: Kozik, who is blowed up real good, and his body parts rain down on or near Juice.
Following the firefight, Juice skips across the landmine-strewn field to allegedly clear it for everyone else, prompting Chibs to stage the world's first one-man Scots-Irish biker intervention. Juice finally admits that he's got an African American father. Chins' response: "So?" Juice is both relieved -- he's not about to be killed for his heritage -- and remorseful, because if he had known this early on, Miles might not be dead and Juice would certainly not be calling in to the Feds every four hours.
WENDY AND THE LOST BOYS: Jax chivvies Tara out of her darkest mood by promising that Operation: Get the Hell Out of Charming is still a go. Margaret also contributes to the cause: She's managed to get Providence to make Tara an offer and pay her while they wait out her recovery. It's a win-win: Tara gets out of Charming and St. Taypayers Regretting Every Bond Measure can stay within its budget. Alas, 17 minutes into the episode, it all goes to hell when Wendy comes by and tells Tara she wants back into Abel's life. This leads to Tara having a total meltdown and probably re-breaking all the bones in her hand. Oh, girl. Gemma, however, is On It. Wendy threatens lawyers, but Gemma cares not for any foolish civil code. Wendy will dance to Gemma's tune or else.
THEY WILL SEE YOU WAVING FROM CHARMING HEIGHTS: To the surprise of absolutely nobody outside SAMCRO, Georgie Caruso decided it was okay to double cross a gang of homicidal biker thugs, and he helped line up the funding that will make the Charming Heights development possible. Bobby Elvis and Tig were dispatched; they took along Opie since he could ask his estranged wife as to Georgie's whereabouts. One painful conversation with Lyla later, the SAMCRO boys track down Georgie to a photo op with him and his premium sex dolls. Bobby Elvis demands that Georgie make things right, and it is left to poor Opie to corral Tig, who is paralyzed with both fear and arousal, and get him to help kill Georgie immediately after Georgie admits that he set the goons on Luann.
TIG AND CLAY: NO LONGER BFF: At the beginning of the episode, Tig rebukes Clay for his recent "Shut up and stop asking questions, worm!" attitude, pointing out, "I'm the guy who steps between you and the shit that's trying to kill you. I'm your right hand." Clay, who is hellbent on hurtling toward his inevitable sticky end at a velocity approaching that of a cheetah on Adderall, tells Tig to cram his stupid feelings. By the end of the episode, when Tig has seen Gemma's face, he's compelled to turn in his Sergeant of Arms patch. As he speeds out of the club house, Clay looks across the motor yard and sees Gemma standing in the office doorway. He closes the door to the clubhouse and a single tear falls. Whether it's for what he ruined with Gemma or what he ruined with Tig is anyone's guess.
WELCOME BACK POTTER: The AUSA finally comes clean to Otto about who he really is, and what he's really doing (using Bobby Elvis as a way to establish history for the RICO case). In return, Otto tells Potter what he wants: his money to go to Luanne's sister; a better set of specs; more privileges for Lenny; a sooner execution date. Otto's waiving his appeals. "I want to go as soon as I can," he says. Because now that he has no Luann, and he has no club, why bother? Finally, Otto says, "I want to be the one to tell Bobby I gave him up. Face to face. Me." And he promises to start providing all sorts of criminal background on both Bobby Elvis and Clay.
OPIE, THE SCHLEPROCK OF SAMCRO: First, Opie and Lyla mutually decide their marriage is over. Then he and Jax have a spat over Jax’s pending departure. Then, when Opie goes up to the cabin to check on his dad, he discovers Piney's body. Fortunately, Unser is on hand to explain exactly what happened, and helpfully reminds Opie that Clay has killed Opie's wife and his father. Since Opie was already in an "I hate everything" frame of mind, Unser has effectively loaded a rocket launcher and aimed it directly at Clay. He closes the episode with "Clay's got to go, son, before he kills someone else that you love."
EXCHANGE OF THE NIGHT:
Margaret, on seeing Gemma's battered face: "What in God's name happened to you?"
Gemma: "I flew my broomstick into a brick wall."
It's another brand-new morning in Charming. That seems to be a thing this season -- nearly every episode begins in the morning, the time of the day when you can entertain the hope that nothing will go pear-shaped and you'll end the day slightly ahead of where you began it. It could be seen as a metaphor for the gamble Clay and Jax are making: Maybe nothing will go wrong, and we'll end our days in SAMCRO slightly ahead of where we began them. Jax is in a chair by Tara's bedside, and he's scribbling away in his biker diary.
Tara groggily comes to, and Jax sets aside the notebook and perches to her in the bed. She apologizes for "kind of" losing it, and Jax shrugs, "It's okay. You love me, Tara. That's where it takes you." Truly, a love that takes one into the haunting visions of a dead-end life with no purpose beyond trying to make sure your sons don't become felons by the time they're seniors in high school. Tara tries to explain that this latest chapter in Tara Knowles: Victim! was not authored solely by Jax alone, but shrugs when she realizes she'd have to deliver a really long monologue recapping everything stretching back to season one -- and before -- and honestly, how can we expect that when she's recovering from an attempted abduction and major hand surgery?
Tara admits that she's lost: A slamming van has destroyed her escape route. "No hospital wants me," she says bitterly. Jax points out that Tara's MD didn't get smashed in the van door, and Tara rebuts that one does not set up an MD practice without first enduring a lengthy establishment period. Jax is all, "Hi, cartel money. We can live off that until you get your practice going." Then Jax assures Tara her hand will get better. Rather than point out that she is the barber here, Tara just whispers, "Okay," to all his assurances. Jax gives her the full stare and quietly requests, "I need you to believe I can do this." Tara says she does, and then tears up as she realizes, against all logic, that she does.
(I liked this scene, mostly because it illustrates that the same qualities that make Jax a leader in the club -- his ability to pin you with the sheer force of his sincere conviction -- make him a lousy partner. How could he not be? He believes what he says when he says it, but that doesn't mean anything Jax says holds up to time or reality.)
Morning at Gemma's. Somehow, she got bandaged up -- I would expect that any self-respecting biker household has first aid supplies that put most ambulances to shame -- and Unser comes into the kitchen, clumsily expositing that sleeping on the couch sure was comfy. For real, the Morrows don't have a guest bedroom? Or it didn't occur to Gemma to offer? Anyhoodle, Coffee Talk with Unser commences, and Gemma gives her marching orders: "Finish what you started with Piney. Point it at the cartel. This is about the club now -- this landing on Clay is the last thing they need. Wait a few days before you call it in." Oh, and too bad about the emotional impact Piney's death will have about Opie. Unser then asks the million-dollar question: "What are we going to do about Clay?" Gemma assures him she's on it. She also assures Unser that she's got few illusions about who her husband is anymore. "Clay would kill me, no doubt about that. But don't worry, sweetheart. I'm not going to let that happen," she says. Oh, Clay should just pick out his cemetery plot now. He may be able to take Gemma in a fistfight, but I think she's got him on long-term strategy.
Tig and Clay are having breakfast, and Tig asks, sotto voce, if Clay and Gemma got into it. Clay shrugs that Tig doesn't need to know. Tig paces in frustration, then reigns himself in and asks sharply, "What do I need to know, Clay?" What follows is a conversation that should be shown in MBA programs across the land, as it beautifully illustrates how managers can alienate their employees by dismissing their concerns:
CLAY: "I ain't gotta talk to you about my old lady."
TIG: "You don't want to talk about nothin' no more. Ever since we got out, man, I mean, you cut me off. I got no idea what's going on with you."
CLAY: "Jesus Christ, you and fat Elvis. A couple of chicks. What, I marry you too?"
TIG: "Yeah. Sorta. You did. 'Cause I'm the guy at your side [that] steps between you and the shit that tries to kill you. I'm your right hand, Clay."
CLAY: "What do you want, a pat on your back every time you climb on your Dyna? It don't work like that around here, pal."
TIG: "Oh. You know why you're losing this club? Do you? Ain't cause of the drugs. It's 'cause you crawl in there, and you shut those doors, and you lock all of us out."
Clay has no reply for that because it's true: he's a wounded animal holed up in his den. But he will die before he concedes that Tig's right, because to Clay, concession equals ceding authority, and right now, leading the club is all Clay's got left. So he watches his strongest remaining supporter in the club walk off.
Clad in a low-pulled hat and giant sunglasses, Gemma heads to the hospital -- not as a patient -- and as she's going through security, Margaret gets a good look at her. She comes over and asks Gemma, "What in God's name happened?" "I flew my broomstick into a brick wall," Gemma cracks impatiently. Margaret's not in the mood to joke. She grabs Gemma by the elbow and walks her down the hall, saying urgently, "This is why Tara has to get out. Do you understand that?" Gemma protests, "My son would never do that!" perhaps conveniently forgetting that she suggested he do precisely that to Ima a few episodes ago -- and Jax did. Because Margaret is not omniscient, she can only rebut, "I'm sure Clay's mother said the same thing about him."
TANGENT AHOY! Margaret's mention of Clay's hypothetical mother brings up a good point: What do we really know about Clay? About where he comes from and what shaped him as a person? Almost everyone else in the club, we have something. But Clay ... all we have ever seen is that as a young man, he was orbiting the Gemma-JT axis; as a young man, he was under Piney's wing. He's a human mockingbird, quietly moving into other people's lives and taking them for his, creating nothing of his own.
Okay, back to the scene. Gemma whips off her sunglasses and says, "I love Tara. You have no idea how much." Margaret replies, "Then don't stop them from leaving." As it turns out, Margaret has tapped into the administrator-fu and made a deal with Providence Hospital: they still want Tara, even with the healing hand, and they're willing to take her on while she's recuperating. This way, Tara's got her way out and St. Please Pass Another Bond can get one well-compensated and incapacitated surgeon off the books. "If you really love her, you will let her take this job, Gemma," Margaret says. She walks off, leaving Gemma reeling.
No sooner has Gemma shaken that off than she runs into Jax in the hall. Jax ... is taken aback at how badly his mother has been battered, and the only reason he does not leave the hospital, hop on his bike, then hunt down Clay to kill him is because Gemma decides not to tell him that "Oh, your stepdad rang my bell because I called him out for siccing a hitman on your wife." Instead, she pushes every button she installed during Jax's childhood. They're in the chapel, and Jax shakily admits, "I thought we could pull this off. Cash out. But I was an idiot. I am as delusional as he is." Gemma says, "No," but does not add, "You are perhaps more delusional, because you are staking some part of your future on the premise that your old lady is going to make it to the end of the season with either her career or her sanity intact." Instead, she says that Jax is a better man that Clay is. Frankly, that's not a difficult accomplishment.
She then asks, "You planning on leaving? Charming? I can't take any more lies, Jackson." Jax winces and looks his mom in the eyes before nodding. Gemma asks, "Does Clay know?" Jax admits that he does, then adds, "Don't take this to Tara, Mom. Please, not now." Gemma looks at Clay with an expression of love and sorrow, and Jax adds, "Us leaving ... it's about my sons." Gemma looks at the son that is following in his father's footsteps, however unknowingly, and a lifetime's worth of hard lessons flickers across her face as she pats his shoulder and says, "It always is."
That moment up there? EMMY REEL. Given the ten pounds of makeup Katey Sagal was working underneath, that she could call to mind the parallels between what Jax is trying now and what JT tried so many years ago with just a subtle shift in expression? Amazing.
So! Gemma decides not to visit Tara for the day, which is unfortunate, because her replacement is not much better for the patient's morale.
We zoom to Tara impatiently watching the St. Thomas Surgery Channel on her hospital room TV and -- having had two surgeries that required overnight hospital stays in the not-so-recent past, I think I speak for every patient everywhere, both real and fictional, when I say that it will be a great moment during the Healthcare Reform Act of 2015 when it becomes federally mandated for every hospital TV in the land to stream your Netflix queue. ANYWAY. Tara -- not a fan of the TV. Also apparently not a fan of sleep, which is personally baffling to me because if I had the opportunity to sack out without being interrupted by a baby who needed fed or had the middle-of-the-night yayas, I would be on it like a sunbonnet. ANYWAY. AGAIN. Tara has a visitor! And -- quelle surprise -- either Sons of Anarchy has a bigger budget than it did in the first two seasons or the Joey residuals aren't materializing on this timeline, because Drea de Matteo has returned as Wendy. The upshot: She's been clean for two years, she's got a bona fide career, she's just moved back two weeks ago, and she'd like to get to see "my son."
Wendy referring to Abel as "my son" really does not sit well with Tara. She tremulously points out, "I'm his mother. I'm the one who raised him when you walked away." Wendy says calmly, "I know. And I am grateful you were here to do that, but legally, I am still his mother." Tara says, "You gave up your rights." Still calm, Wendy says, "Custody, yes. Not the right for him to know the truth." Tara does not ask, "Might that truth include how you were high as kite during your pregnancy, spat him out into the world before he was ready, then abandoned him as a sick preemie?" Instead she just sits in her hospital bed. Were I her, I'd be wondering what sadistic god thought now would be a good time for another woman to show up and threaten to take away my kid. So Wendy finishes the conversation by telling Tara she'll be in touch with Jax, presumably to arrange a visit. "I'm going to get to know my son," she says, then leaves.
Tara sits there for a moment, and then completely loses her mind, slamming her bandaged, splinted hand into the bedside table over and over in time to her screams.
Zip! We're at the Coke-K corral, where Kozik and the guns he's been babysitting have arrived. FINALLY. I feel like we've been hearing about Kozik and the guns for, like, six episodes straight now. Kozik then exposits that he's talked to the Irish Kings, and the "west table" -- Rourke, Gaalen and Leary -- will all be at the cartel sit-down. There's some blah-blah-blah about how the seasoned terrorist Irish are a tad jumpy about the cartel, but we already know that Clay could not give two toots about that, and it's much more interesting to note Tig draped all over Kozik. Did those two finally bury the hatchet over Missy?
Jax comes in, hugs Kozik -- who is sweet enough to ask how Tara is -- then asks Clay for a moment. The two head outside the barn, and Jax says, "I just saw my mom." "And," Clay says. It is not a question. Jax says, "She wouldn't tell me what happened, so I'm asking you." Clay deflects, "That's between me and my old lady." Jax is not planning on letting Clay off that easy. Clay tells him, "You want to pull off this exit strategy of yours, you better stop focusing on my domestic life and start focusing on the issue at hand." Jax doesn't say anything and lets Clay keep talking about how maybe Romeo's produced the guys who jumped Tara. Clay says, "I need you to keep your head in the game on all fronts. You understand?' Jax gives Clay a darkly amused look and says, "Oh, I'm focused. And this ain't finished." Clay stalks off to indicate that yes, it is.
When he goes back to the barn, Kozik exposits on the firearms the club's dealing: long-range sniper rifles, 50-caliber machine guns and rocket-propelled grenade launchers. It is enough weaponry to make one wonder if there is going to be anything living left in the Mexican state of Sonora by the time the Galindo cartel is done. Juice comments that the only time he's seen guns like these are in the computer games he plays -- "That's Call of Duty shit." All the older club members pretend Juice didn't just make a reference that sailed right over their technopeasant skulls, while Jax stands off to the side and wonders exactly how high the price for getting out really is.
Whoops! I spoke too soon about Gemma exiting the hospital. I guess she was taking the long way to Tara's room. As it happens, Tara's being rushed back into surgery post-freakout. Filthy Phil is trundling along behind the hospital bed like a dolorous thunderhead, and Gemma asks him what happened. "I don't know what happened, I swear! Some chick came with flowers, Tara said it was cool. She left a few minutes later, then I heard Tara screaming," Phil recaps. This young man has grown on me this season, if only because he's sort of what would happen if Lennie Small decided to prospect an MC. I hope to God we see him tending rabbits in Season Five. Gemma finds out who the mystery woman is by picking through the wreckage of the flowers and reading the card. (I would love to know what it says: "I'm taking back my son -- rest up! Love, Wendy"?) Phil asks, "Who was she?" and Gemma mutters, "Junkie whore." Oh, now THAT narrows it down in the SAMCRO universe.
Luis, meanwhile, has barbecued two poor, Latino-looking suckers, stuck them in the back of a Range Rover, and attempted to pass them off as the men who tried to abduct Tara. I mention the ethnicity only because the guys who really did the job were whiter than a year of Vogue magazine covers, and these guys, even prior to flash-frying, were not. Jax looks at the bodies and all he says is, "There were three of them." You can practically see Luis's eye-roll as he shrugs, "Yeah, we're into finding the others." Romeo embroiders the tale by claiming the two men gave up their third compadre and the remaining Lobos in northern California, so soon, all will be well once Galindo takes care of business. We see Luis checking Jax to see if the club VP swallows the line. And -- yes. Clay eagerly collaborates, claiming that Jax can get his avenging ya-yas out and the club can provide a little reassurance to the Irish if SAMCRO rides along with Galindo to wipe out the remaining Lobos.
DIGRESSION: At this point, does anyone else get the feeling that the Galindo cartel was sort of in over its head in Northern California, and the primary reason they're going along with the SAMCRO thing is because they can use the club as a catspaw/expendable labor in wiping out a rival who obviously mapped out the NorCal territory before they got there? Because in this season, we've seen that Sonora Lobo's got a tight game -- they locked in a deal with the primary drug distributor in Oakland before Galindo moved with the Mayans, they've got insiders in the Mayan organization, they've killed the SAMTAZ president and shot up the SAMCRO clubhouse. And Galindo? Has basically been all, "week! I promise you, week, we'll take care of those rascals!" It totally figures that when SAMCRO backs a cartel, they pick the one on the losing side.
Back in the clubhouse, Jax is busy thwacking Clay in the knees -- metaphorically speaking -- by telling them that going after the Lobo Sonora gang isn't really a business matter, but a personal one, so he thinks they should let him handle it while they sit around and look at the giant guns they're going to sell. Tig, however, begs to differ: "This isn't just about Tara. This about hurting those assholes who shot up our clubhouse and killed Armando." Perversely, this leads Clay to agree with Jax, and he admits of the body count thus far, "Nobody saw it coming, including me." Cut to Bobby Elvis rolling his eyes heavenward. Clay adds, "We're in the home stretch now, bro. I say we close this door, go back into business as usual." Bobby Elvis will sooner start the caveman diet before he lets Jax go up against Lobo alone, and both Chibs and Tig add their amens to that. Kozik enthusiastically says, "All right! Let's do it." Happy drawls, "Yeeeeep. I'm there." You know he is totally looking forward to tearing off some Lobo Sonora's soldier's fingers with his teeth and wearing them as cufflinks. (Hell, he might even buy a shirt that requires cufflinks for the occasion.) Clay has to ask Opie if he's in, and Opie dolorously rumbles that he is. Jax fights back tears before croaking, "Okay. All right."
(It must be hard, watching all these people who are walking into death with you and thinking that you're lying to them all about sticking around.)
As everyone heads to their bikes, Osborne pulls up and delivers some bad news: Charming Heights is a go, thanks to a large infusion of Asian investor money. Clay has a "... the hell?" moment, since whole point to keeping Georgie Caruso alive was to have him finesse the possibility of Asian investors, not to actually facilitate a deal. Bobby Elvis is more than happy to deal with this. He takes his former cellie Tig with him, and Opie tags along since he can prevail upon his estranged wife to help track down the porn baronet. Clay pulls Tig aside to remind him that a live Georgie is no longer of use to the club. Tig nods. Why else would he be Clay's right-hand man?
Inside a visiting cell at Stockton, Potter is humming as he waits for Big Otto to come in; the incarcerated Son was the one who requested the meeting. Otto opens without preamble: "Stop talking. Answer my questions, and if I think you're lying, the conversation ends. Who are you?" Potter introduces himself for real. Otto asks, "What do you want from me?" Potter explains, "I'm building a case against the Real IRA and the Galindo cartel. The Sons of Anarchy is my way in." Otto quickly establishes that Potter needs Bobby Elvis to establish history for his RICO case. He then says, "This is what I want. And, uh, you should write this shit down." Potter takes out his pad and Otto starts: "I got money in three bank accounts. It's not a lot, but I want it to go to Luann's sister. I want to see an eye doctor, get some new glasses so I can read better. I want Lenny Janowitz to get some privileges back, like visitation or yard." Potter looks up and warns, "That might prove difficult." "This isn't a negotiation," Big Otto says. Potter resumes writing. Big Otto resumes talking: "And I want you to move up my execution date. I'll waive my appeals, I want to go as soon as I can." Potter stops and looks at Big Otto, realizing his Plan B is talking only because he's done living, and Big Otto is done because Potter's actions have stripped away Big Otto's last reason for living: to be of service to a club which, he has learned, is disloyal to him. Big Otto has one final request: "I got to be the one that tells Bobby I gave him up. Me. Face to face." Potter asks, "May I speak?" Big Otto's silence indicates he can, and Potter says he'll need Big Otto to document Bobby Elvis's involvement in selling guns. Big Otto can and will do that -- and throw in a few bonus Sons -- so long as his conditions are put in writing, large print, please. Potter notes that he'll also have to put Big Otto in protective custody, as he now knows too much. Big Otto cracks, "Fine with me. Better food," and begins laughing -- but his laughs begin to sound uncomfortably similar to sobs.
And now, the shooting begins: SAMCRO and a few token Galindo folk have waylaid the Lobo Sonora at what is merely the first line of their compound. Everyone is going to have to head into a more remote part of the California scrub to get to the main encampment. As Romeo casually executes the Lobos that they've surprised, Kozik and Jax exchange "Can you believe this lunacy?" looks. Romeo announces that Luis is going to take a unit into the woods, while he'll protect them from the rocks. The Sons split up -- Chibs and Happy vow to hang with Jax, while Kozik and Juice are covering Clay -- and everyone heads into the woods to shoot the big bad Lobos. As Juice lags, he looks back at all the dead Mexicans, the blood seeping into the ground by their heads, and you can practically see the thought bubble reading, "Call of Duty did not adequately prepare me for this."
As Luis and Clay's group moves across a comparatively clear field, there is a click and a high whine and Clay says, "Shit. Stop. MINES!" The first one blows, and everyone hits the ground as the machine gun fire starts. We see Galindo soldiers dropping all over the place, then Kozik hunches forward and mutters, "You've got to be shitting me..." as the sick whine of a mine starts up. Then there is no more Kozik. Clay -- who is hunched to the ground in fighting position -- watches the explosion. Juice watches the fallout; Kozik's arm drops right to him. Call of Duty did not prepare him for this at all.
Clay and Romeo's squad is pinned down in that minefield. The other squad is all, "Uh..." and really, the only choice they have is to use Luis's satellite phone to call for help. Or, as Jax says, "I'm ordering a pizza. A big, Irish pizza."
We're now at the Caracara studios, where we see Lyla outfitted like an even pornier version of the "...Baby One More Time" schoolgirl Britney Spears. (And they said it couldn't be done.) She's not happy to be talking to Opie, but she gamely gives up Georgie's whereabouts at Money Shot Studios. Sensing the awkwardness of the whole scene, Bobby Elvis and Tig wander off, presumably to try and figure out how the movie plans to deploy a dozen women dressed like naughty Catholic schoolgirls and a jungle gym. I swear, every visit to the Caracara studio has me convinced that whomever is responsible for the porn movies being set up in the background conceives of them using an old Mad Libs book or something. It is awesome and I hope it continues.
What is not awesome: the conversation between Opie and Lyla, where they mutually conclude their marriage is over. Lyla astutely points out, "Nothing's going to work, Ope. Not until she's dead." The older SAMCRO boys then drag Opie out of that conversation, thus ending the scene. I just feel sorry for Lyla; she spent the last two years and change as a ghost living in a dead woman's house.
We zip over to Money Shot Studios, where Georgie is doing a photo shoot to promote the premium sex dolls that Dondo told us about earlier. Georgie is draped all over two women who look as though they wish their silicon doppelgangers were doing this instead, and we see the dolls, which...well, I suppose if the idea of women with thoughts, and opinions, and free will, and respiration isn't your thing, then these will do. Tig leads the SAMCRO boys into the studio. Georgie calls out, "Hey, boys! Here to see me?" "No -- we're here to get some tasteful shots of our genitals," Tig shoots back. Bobby Elvis snaps, "Stop grinning, idiot. Your [slur for Asians] investor cut Hale a check." Georgie claims not to know anything about this, and as Bobby Elvis and Opie glower, growl and look intimidating, Tig quietly wanders over to a doll and begins poking at its face.
Bobby Elvis ushers Georgie out to clear up what is supposed to have a terrible misunderstanding, so it's on Opie to corral Tig. He calls out to the known pediophobe, "Hey! You all right?" Tig gasps, "I'm terrified. But I'm totally erect." Cue two porn starlets immediately checking out Tig's crotch. Opie rolls his eyes all, "This is not how I imagined I'd be spending my prime years," and Tig walks very carefully away from the dolls.
SAMTAC has arrived with the Irish pizza, AKA all the weaponry we saw earlier. Well, one never puts a rocket launcher in a barn in Act One ... Anyway, Jax and Chibs are soon back on the field and using those rocket launchers to raze the local ecosystem and the several dozen Mexicans who happen to have been hiding in it. Presumably, all the NorCal Lobos have now been wiped out. Once the shooting stops, all that's left is for Clay and company to try not to get blown up as they walk back across the mined field. Clay figures he can retrace his steps, but Juice just casually skips across the field in advance. Even Romeo is all, "...What?" Clay looks legitimately terrified. Once Juice gets across, he calls, "Clear" in an infinitely weary voice, and walks away. Chibs and Jax exchange a meaningful look.
Zip! Back to Georgie, who is shocked -- shocked! -- that the Asian investors went ahead and, you know, invested. Neither Bobby Elvis nor Tig really buy this, and they quickly walk him over to his car. As Georgie blithers along, Bobby nods and Tig pops the trunk, then Opie gets Georgie in by means of a blow to the solar plexus. Bobby sighs and says, "There's only one way I'm not going to kill you. You're going to tell me the truth about Luann." Georgie pleads ignorance and Bobby says, with a gentle incredulity that belies the volcanic anger in his expression, "You know nothing?" He shoves a gun barrel into Georgie's mouth and that is enough to get Georgie talking -- "I'll tell you the truth, but you can't kill me! You guys live by your word and shit, right?" Ha -- good one! But Georgie seems to believe it, so Bobby nods and plays along, all the while shaking with rage, and we get the truth: Georgie sent a few goons to rough Luanne up, and when she had the nerve to fight back, the beating went overboard and she died of her injuries. We cut to a heartbreaking shot of Bobby's face. Reader, that was the moment when I became convinced that Bobby lied to Big Otto about one key thing, and he really did love Luanne despite himself. Once Georgie finishes his tale, he points out that Bobby can't kill him. "I know," Bobby says, and he closes the trunk with a sigh that sounds nearly like a sob. Then he nods to Tig and Opie, who made no such promises. They perforate the trunk with bullets.
Back at the SAMCRO compound, those brothers who have been busy playing real-life Call of Duty with the cartel all get off their bikes, looking stunned and exhausted. Clay orders that Kozik's cut be taken back to Tacoma. Juice asks if Kozik has any family, and Chibs mutters, "Brother. San Diego, I think." Juice makes a face and stomps off; Jax orders Chibs to handle breaking the news to the brother at some point. He then turns to Clay and says, in a tone larded through with I TOLD YOU SO, "He almost made it out."
Clay has no response. Besides, he has just spotted Unser's truck pulling in (remember: Unser was there to pick up supplies to continue doctoring Piney's crime scene) and he knows there's another awkward conversation immediately in his future. So Jax catches up to Chibs and asks him to talk to Juice, noting, "He is making me very nervous."
Clay walks over to Unser and asks what he's doing on site. Unser says he's returning tools. Clay immediately asks, "Where is she? I know you saw her; prospects saw your truck at my house last night." Unser says, "Yeah -- she called. It's a natural reaction to reach out to a friend when someone tries to kill you." Clay rolls his eyes and calls Unser out on his Gemma-crush, but Unser's not rising to the bait. Clay tries the "My old lady is none of your business" tack and ends with, "Keep your secrets and I'll keep mine." Unser says matter-of-factly, "I know you killed Piney. I know you tried to kill Tara. My telling Jax what I know only hurts him. But I'm warning you, Clay -- and may whatever shit God I still believe in be witness to this -- you ever hurt Gemma again, I'll kill you." Clay drawls, "I guess cancer gives a man a certain resolve, huh? Benefit of an end date. Nothing more dangerous than a guy who already knows he's dead." We cut to Unser, who is almost smiling as he realizes that whatever he does, he's not going to be around for the consequences.
Wendy's arrived at the Teller/Knowles house, where Chuckie is playing manny. He cheerfully offers to shake hands, but that's enough to threaten Wendy's hard-won sobriety, and then claims that Tara called and said it was okay to see Abel. Wendy rushes to the back bedroom ...
...Where, in fact, Gemma is sitting in the glider and waiting for her. Wendy cusses, then asks the universe, "Why am I not surprised?" "Because drugs dull the senses?" Gemma replies. Wendy brightly replies, "Not anymore." Gemma informs Wendy that the boys are at her house. Wendy looks around Abel's room and smiles at how great it looks (the framed motorcycle pictures are a nice touch). Gemma says, "Yeah. [Tara's] a real good mom." Wendy concurs. The preliminaries done, the two women move into battle mode. In the same calm, upbeat and resolute tone she took with Tara, Wendy tells Gemma, "I am clean and sober for over two years. I finished my B.A. I am now a certified substance abuse counselor. I have a two-bedroom outside of Altamont, I have a French bulldog named Ramón. I had my tubes tied, and I recently decided that I like women." THAT is an impressively busy three years. Wendy asks, "What's new with you?" "Absolutely nothing," Gemma says. Wendy reassures Gemma she didn't come here to stir up trouble: all she wants to do is know her son. Gemma says, "I'll help you to get to know your son, but it's by my rules, on my schedule ... Tara's under psych observation. She didn't take your visit very well. It's a bad time. That's all you need to know." Wendy pretty much sums up the status quo for the folks in Charming with "When is it ever a good time?" Gemma shrugs, "I'll tell you when. Until then, no contact. Not with Jax or Tara, you understand me?" Wendy says matter-of-factly, "If you try to box me out, Gemma, I swear to God I'll get a lawyer and make this shit loud and messy." Gemma's flat, heavy look tells Wendy exactly what she thinks of her puny human laws. The two idly exchange threats and insults, and the visit it over. We see Gemma looking crafty, no doubt wondering how she can leverage this.
In the clubhouse, Juice is just getting out of the loo when Chibs pushes him back in and inquires, "What the hell was that today? Was that another attempt to swing from a tree?" Juice attempts to protest that he's okay, and then breaks down, panting. "Kozik, man. Shit!" He sits down and begins sobbing, and Chibs pats his back, whispering, "Jesus Christ. What's going on with you, boy? Huh? Tell me." Juice admits, "The sheriff found out some shit when he was digging into my profile and he's threatening me with it ... He says he'll tell the club unless I start giving him intel." Chibs asks the hundred dollar question: "Tell the club what? What does he have on you?" Juice finally says, "My dad -- he's black." Chib's reply is priceless: "So?" Stop and let that swirl around your brainpan for a moment. Juice is baffled because this is against the rules. Chibs asks what Juice's birth certificate says -- "Under race, which box is checked?" Juice says he's Hispanic. Chibs says with an air of finality, "Hispanic. Then that's what you are. Half of us don't know who the hell our fathers are. The paperwork is the only thing that counts." Juice tries pulling himself together. Chibs asks sympathetically, "This is why you tried offing yourself?" Then he begins laughing, "Jesus Christ, boy. You're an idiot. All of this is going to be okay. Listen to me: You tell that sheriff time you see him, he can suck your daddy's big black cock. There's not a damn thing he can do to you." Juice's phone alarm rings and he claims he's got to take some antibiotics. Chibs tells him, "It's time you heal this, you understand? No more. No more, Juicey." Chibs tells him he loves him and then, because this is two men in leather hugging in a bathroom, he beats feet before someone passes him some poppers and a Bette Midler soundtrack. Once Juice in alone in the bathroom, he calls to check in.
(Oh, Juice -- this season's tragic figure. He gets the fatherly approval he needs, but it's all based on lies, and it's going to keep eating him up inside. And I still think Chibs is going to go down as a result of Juice's deal with Potter.)
At the clubhouse bar, Opie, Bobby Elvis and Tig are learning of Kozik's death. Tig is absently stroking Kozik's cut as he asks if Kozik went fast. Yes, but he knew what hit him, which is horrible. Bobby asks if everyone else is whole, and Clay triumphantly reports that the Lobos are finished. We shall see about that, but not immediately. It's time to talk about Georgie, and Tig breaks the bad news about the Charming Heights funding. Clay stalks off into the Church to go drink alone. Bobby brokenly says, "Georgie confessed to Luanne. It's done." Jax tells him to go visit Otto and give the man some closure, and Bobby nods that he will. Tonight, however, he is going to drink a lot in honor of Luanne.
Speaking of Big Otto, he's looking through the typed agreement. Save for the clause granting (founding SAMCRO member) Lenny some of the prison privileges that were revoked, everything's in there. Potter signs the agreement, and Otto says, "I'll tell the stories, but I'm not signing off on any transcripts until Lenny gets his privileges." Potter agrees. He then says, "I have to ask: If you're turning over the rest of your club, why the concern for Mr. Janowitz?" Otto shakes his head and says, "You wouldn't get it." Potter ruefully laughs and says, "I wish that wasn't true." He leaves Otto alone with his thoughts. (And personally: I think the reason Otto's watching out for Lenny is because he sees Lenny as the one brother he has left who did not betray him. He's sending a message to the rest of SAMCRO.)
Night, and Jax and Opie meet up outside the clubouse. Jax tells Opie, "Tara freaked out on me yesterday. Crazy shit. It's all coming to a head." Opie grunts that he's sorry, but he's sort of wrapped up in the reality of his marriage being over. Jax says he's sorry about that, and Opie asks, "Why?" "Because I wanted you to be happy," Jax says. "Oh, is that what you are?" Opie asks sharply. Jax calls him out on his pissiness, and Opie says, "When Donna wanted me out, I didn't stay 'cause of what you said. I stayed because I knew that trying to be anything else would be a lie -- and that's the worst thing a guy can do to his family." Jax looks off into the middle distance, trying to gather himself, before saying, "I didn't plan this, Ope. It just played out this way. I'm sorry. I never meant to lie to you." "And I'm sorry I believed you," Opie says. He then heads over to the office and bids Unser to toss him the keys to the tow truck. He's going to go grab his dad -- "I have a feeling he's in no condition to ride." Yes, one could say that. Unser decides it's probably a good idea to follow Opie out, and Tig watches them both go.
Gemma pulls in, under cover of darkness. Jax comes over and hugs her; he can barely look at his mom without wincing. There's some chitchat about the day, where Gemma conveniently neglects to tell him about Wendy, but mentions that Tara smashed up her hand and she's now floating on a sea of sweet, sweet sedatives. Jax zips out to go see his lady.
Tig comes over and his face freezes when he sees Gemma. As he comes closer, Gemma registers his expression and she looks down. Tig strokes her hair, whispers, "Gem, Gem ... this was Clay," and Gemma says, "Not now, Tiggy." My God, watching that woman at work is like watching a master class in psy-ops.
Tig stalks into the clubhouse and into the apartment where Clay's staying, and we see that his cut is missing the Sergeant at Arms patch. He hands it to Clay and says quietly, "You're right. This ain't the way it works." After searching for something else to say and coming up empty, Tig walks out. Clay looks stunned and slumps on the edge of the bed.
In the hospital, Jax enters Tara's room. She's sleeping. He strokes her hair then takes off his hat and carefully curls up around her in the bed.
Tig takes off as Clay stands in the door of the clubhouse. From across the parking lot, he sees Gemma standing in the door of the office, watching him watch Tig. She gives him a look that plainly says, "Your move," then closes the door. Clay closes the door to the clubhouse and leans against it. We see a single tear streak down his face. Lonely rests the head that wears the crown.
Opie pushes open the door to the cabin, and one can only presume the reason he's not knocked over by a carrion reek is that Piney got his nickname owing to his glade-fresh scent. Opie then notices his dad on the floor and drops right by the body: "Oh, God -- Pop. Dad? DAD? Oh, shit! Dad?" He rocks back and forth to the body, rocking back and forth, until Unser interrupts him. Opie pulls a gun on Unser, frantically demanding to know why Unser's there and what he knows. For someone who is staring down the barrel of a gun wielded by a giant out of his mind with grief, Unser is incredibly cool. He tells Opie he knows who killed Piney, and that's why he followed Opie to the cabin. "Clay killed your old man. Clay killed him," Unser says. Opie reflexively protests, "That's bullshit." "I wish it were," Unser says. He explains, "Piney had some kind of leverage on Clay. He was using it to get the club out of the cartel deal. Clay came up here to change his mind. Things went south." Opie asks how Opie knows this; Unser admits that Gemma told him and she wanted to make the scene look like a cartel hit.
You've got to give Opie credit: He's in shock, he's in pain, and he's grappling with is a lot of betrayal at once, but he's smart enough to ask what reason Unser might have for telling Opie. Unser lies, "Gemma confronted Clay about Piney. He almost killed her. Beat her bloody. Clay's out of control. You're no stranger to that. He tried to kill you and killed your wife." Opie is on his knees, rocking back and forth and sobbing in front of Piney's body. Unser continues, gently and inexorably, "If you don't believe me, go see Gemma's face, Ask her who did it." We get a terrifying shot of Opie -- he looks like a Viking marauder in the grip of a berserker frenzy -- and Unser says to this mountain of fury, "Clay's got to go, son. Before he kills someone else you love." The episode ends on Opie's steely face.
Well! I personally cannot wait to see whether or not Clay is anything more than a wet smear on the pavement by the end of week. It should be goooooooood.
Lisa Schmeiser is thinking Opie is one horned helmet away from sacking Oakland. He could do it! Send her mead and flaming longships at lschmeiser@gmail.com.