It's good to be in the opening credits (unless you're William Lucking): Opie does not kill Clay, merely gives him a few flesh wounds. Jax wings Opie's hand to keep him from doing any real damage, then sends him up to the cabin to hide out. So, there's that – Jax is, at least, not throwing Opie to the club's mercy. But he's going to have a hell of a reckoning with his pal later.
Susan Smith, Criminal Mastermind: Jax decides that the official story behind Clay's shooting is going to be that some random African-American dudes did it. Because a racist motorcycle club plus racial profiling will never equal bloodshed.
Naturally, the club concludes the Niners are behind the shooting, and Tig decides to take out Laroy. Unfortunately, he is as successful in this as he was in taking out Opie in season one. And, as in season one, Tig succeeds in taking out the target's old lady instead. Unfortunately, Tig escapes with a little help from the rest of SAMCRO. Let the race war begin!
Romeo, Romeo, Whyfore Art Thou a Lying Weasel: Lenny the Pimp reaches out to Jax, and one quick visit to Stockton, Jax has a few troubling pieces of intel: Juice is missing, Bobby Elvis signed into Stockton but never signed out, Otto's made a deal with the Feds, and he had to have given up someone to do so. Jax takes that to Romeo and points out that the Feds may be circling. Romeo's all, "Eh, no need to call off any meet with the Irish until after I've checked in with all my moles in assorted federal agencies." A few scenes later, Romeo swears that his contacts have told him "Otto Delaney never sold out your club." Are Romeo's contacts bad? Or is he lying? We don't find out this week. And the meet's planned to go ahead.
Ladies, That's a Deal-Breaker: Gemma heads over to the Teller Knowles estate to try and manipulate Tara into giving her the letters. Her tactic: a truth blitz. Gemma starts by telling Tara that Opie shot Clay, then moves into the why (because Clay killed Piney) and jumps to her main point, which is that the letters have made Clay murderously eager to cover his ass. She also reveals to Tara that Clay's the one who put the hit out on her. Tara gives up the location of the letters, and rethinks the wisdom of having a father-in-law who is perpetually threatening to kill her. For one thing, Thanksgiving would be simply fraught with tension.
Once she has the letters, Gemma does a little judicious editing of the contents (i.e. taking out anything that implicates her) and then drops them in Jax's lap. First he learns that Clay killed his dad, then he learns that Clay was behind the attempted hit on Tara. Jax watches his mother lay out the "Clay must die" case and you can see the wheels turning in his head. A few beats later (and an excellent exchange between Tara and Gemma where Tara proves that she's got Gemma's number), Jax comes out and informs Tara and Gemma he's going to have to kill Clay. Tara then shocks the hell out of mother and son by whipping out a syringe and explaining the incredibly chilling scenario she's dreamed up for doing the job.
And with that, Tara appears to have out-Gemma'd Gemma. The real tragedy of this series may not be Jax being unable to escape his fate; it might be that Tara's sunk into it with him.
Heckler's Exchange of the Evening:
Jax, onscreen: I will find the truth.
Mr. Sobell, offscreen, into his Manhattan: You couldn't find your dick with two hands and a map.
Reader, I married him.
The episode right where the other one ended: on Jax's shocked face. He's panting as he watches Opie, and Opie's watching Clay. Clay gasps a little and Opie levels his pistol to shoot again, and that is when Jax wings Opie's gun hand, causing the shot to go wild and miss Clay. Opie reels, and Jax knocks him to the ground, then rushes to assess the damage.
Outside Unser pulls up right as Rat is sprinting across the lot. Rat says, with breathless panic, "I heard shots!" He and Unser head inside and see Opie on the ground by one of the tables, Clay drenched in blood and slumped against the wall, and Jax urging Clay to just keep breathing. Jax shouts to call an ambulance, and Unser shouts back, "Gunshots! Sheriff's going to be all over this." Clay gurgles that Jax should get him outside and the story is "it happened in the garage."
We get a shot of Opie's gun on the table, but it's not like anyone in SAMCRO watches CSI -- and it's not like the San Joaquin's sheriff's department is going to be bringing out the forensic A-team for a shot biker -- and the bikers are already moving Clay per his wishes. Unser, ignored, squawks about the need for a cover story, and Clay blithely opens a new chapter of intragang warfare by saying, "Just say it was black."
As Jax carries Clay out, he tells Unser he'll take care of Opie, and orders, "Just get rid of those guns and take care of the blood!" Unser mutters, "I'm getting real good at that."
As Rat and Jax carry Clay through the clubhouse, Jax makes up the story: "He was shot by two black guys outside the garage. If you ever want to make patch, that's your story until I tell you otherwise." Rat's all, "There's another story? I was too distracted by the two black men shooting up the place to notice." Gentle readers, open up your death pool on Rat... now. If it's one thing this show has taught us over four seasons, it's that people who lie for SAMCRO have a funny way of coming to harm.
We go from Clay moaning through bloodied teeth to Gemma popping awake in the middle of the night and sitting up in bed. She hustles out of the bedroom, her spousal ESP pinging away.
Cut to Jax hustling the wincing, bleeding Opie into the tow truck. He then orders Rat gone and dashes over to check on Clay leaned up against a tool chest in the garage. Clay has looked better. Jax asks Unser, "You think he's going to make it?" and Unser neutrally shrugs. He hustles Jax out, and sits down to Clay to wait for the cops to show. The two men do not pass the time conversing about all the silly misadventures Gemma's talked them into over the years.
Tig then turns to Happy and Chibs and says mournfully, "This is on me... Clay wanted me to stay. He had a feeling something was going down." Chibs tries to reason with Tig by pointing out that they don't know anything, but Tig's decided that facts will only get in the way of his conclusion: "A brother asked for help. I turned my back." He storms off and Happy just shakes his head. I am sure he'd rather be home making his mom a cup of tea and organizing his silverware by type and size.
Meanwhile, Gemma watches the medical team roll Clay down the hall. After Gemma plays the wife card, a doctor says, "We're prepping him for surgery. Follow me and I can bring you up to speed." "That's okay. Just keep him alive," Gemma shrugs. Funny she should request that -- she seems like she'd be okay having Clay code on the operating table.
Morning finally breaks over Charming, and poor Roosevelt has to spend it hanging with Potter in the war room. We establish that Potter has swallowed the Niner speculation in re: Clay's shooting, and Roosevelt asks, "[Clay]'s in critical condition, and we've got two other members in lockdown. Do you really think this meet is going to happen?" An eminently reasonable question, and as such, it has no place in Potter's universe. So OF COURSE the meeting is still on. Potter says the opportunity to do business is too great, so both the IRA and the cartel will plow on, and besides, they're committed to playing out their strategy. "That means you don't get Clay," Roosevelt points out. "It appears someone else is determined to right that wrong," Potter says, his eyes shining. Either Potter has an ether chamber in the back where he repairs for quick snorts between table tarantellas or he's out of his mind with anticipation at bringing the full might of the U.S. Attorney's office down on a boatload of gunrunners. I wouldn't rule out either possibility.
And now the long national nightmare is over: Jackson Teller is shirtless on camera. In fact, he's clothes-less on camera, as he's in the shower. We get the full rear shot of Jax in the shower, and it appears that Charlie Hunnam suffers for his art by never eating a refined carbohydrate. I, for one, appreciate the sacrifice.
Tara comes in, takes a long and frankly lustful look (which explains a lot about why she sticks around) and notes the pile of bloody clothing on the floor before sitting on the commode. Jax comes out of the shower and Tara asks, "Rough night?" Jax tells her that Clay got shot and is in critical condition. Tara asks who did it and Jax lies, "I'm not sure." He hastens to reassure Tara that this changes nothing: following today's deal with the Irish, he'll "put my goddamn family in a car and we'll drive the hell out of Charming." Tara gives Jax a brightly poisonous smile and asks, "Just like Jax? Change your clothes, wash off the blood --" "Yeah, Tara, just like that," Jax snaps. He rolls his eyes all, Lord, why does this woman insist on using past history as an indicator of future probability? and crouches down in front of Tara so he can give her the full puppy-dog eye treatment. He says, "I know it's not going to be an easy shift -- I'm not delusional -- I also know you're not clear right now." Tara begs to differ: "I'd argue I'm the clearest I've ever been." Jax replies, "Trust me, babe... rage feels that way. Have Phil and Elyda help you pack. I'll be back to help you tonight." He stands up and we get a shot of his back, with its SAMCRO tattoo across it, in three different angles in the mirror. It's a tidy reflection of Jax as the son of larger-than-life parents, the motorcycle outlaw, and the family man. (I may be reading too much into it, but why include the shot otherwise? Unless it's to make up for the lack of shirtlessness in prior episodes...)
Meanwhile, on one of the most awkward truck rides on TV -- and indeed, is it ever going to be an evening of bonhomie when you're driving the man you just shot to the nearest emergency room? -- Opie is busy telling Jackson that he is going to kill Clay. Jax says, "You're going to let me find out what the hell happened," and Opie tells Jax to ask his mom, on account of Gemma and Unser being the ones to discover Piney's body. Jax doesn't buy Piney's story. Why Jax doesn't believe Opie is God's private mystery, since Opie is the one member of the club who seems constitutionally incapable of lying, and since Jax has known Opie since he was a wee* lad.
(* "Wee" in this case being approximately 6 feet tall.)
Anyway, Jax is eventually persuaded that Opie speaks the truth, and lays out Opie's moves: after a trip to emergency care, Opie will be fetched by his estranged wife (O, to have footage of that call...), and then he will repair to the scene of his father's slaughter while Jax figures out what in the hell is going on. He vows, "I will find the truth, I promise." If he does, that'll be a first for anyone on this show. Opie sardonically comments, "Just what I need. Another promise." Jax has the nerve to look hurt, which is rich coming from the guy who has not yet apologized for winging his pal.
Then we zip to St. Bond Measures, where Clay is gently bleeding all over the table as many doctors who are not presumably embroiled in destructive romances with bikers labor over him. Out in the waiting room, Tig paces around, as mindlessly nervous as a cat in front of an empty kibble bowl while Unser spins his semi-plausible tale for Roosevelt.
Right as Unser gets to the part about the assailants' vehicular choices -- "A Yukon, I think. Looked like two African-American males" -- Roosevelt looks up and you can totally tell he's thinking, "You white people have no original moves. This didn't work for Susan Smith and it's not going to work now." Roosevelt then asks the bikers present -- Chibs, Tig and Happy -- if they were present, but none of them were, so Unser's story stands. Especially convenient: Happy claims the Teller Morrow security cameras don't record. Roosevelt smiles wryly and says, "Of course they don't." He wanders off, and Tig immediately begins grilling Unser about who he saw. Chibs decides that why, sure, Clay was shot by the Niners, and as Unser frantically tries to backpedal ("I'm not sure! I didn't see colors!"), Gemma saunters into the waiting room. Unser chases off after her.
Tig then turns to Happy and Chibs and says mournfully, "This is on me... Clay wanted me to stay. He had a feeling something was going down." Chibs tries to reason with Tig by pointing out that they don't know anything, but Tig's decided that facts will only get in the way of his conclusion: "A brother asked for help. I turned my back." He storms off and Happy just shakes his head. I am sure he'd rather be home making his mom a cup of tea and organizing his silverware by type and size.
Meanwhile, Gemma watches the medical team roll Clay down the hall. After Gemma plays the wife card, a doctor says, "We're prepping him for surgery. Follow me and I can bring you up to speed." "That's okay. Just keep him alive," Gemma shrugs. Funny she should request that -- she seems like she'd be okay having Clay code on the operating table.
Morning finally breaks over Charming, and poor Roosevelt has to spend it hanging with Potter in the war room. We establish that Potter has swallowed the Niner speculation in re: Clay's shooting, and Roosevelt asks, "[Clay]'s in critical condition, and we've got two other members in lockdown. Do you really think this meet is going to happen?" An eminently reasonable question, and as such, it has no place in Potter's universe. So OF COURSE the meeting is still on. Potter says the opportunity to do business is too great, so both the IRA and the cartel will plow on, and besides, they're committed to playing out their strategy. "That means you don't get Clay," Roosevelt points out. "It appears someone else is determined to right that wrong," Potter says, his eyes shining. Either Potter has an ether chamber in the back where he repairs for quick snorts between table tarantellas or he's out of his mind with anticipation at bringing the full might of the U.S. Attorney's office down on a boatload of gunrunners. I wouldn't rule out either possibility.
And now the long national nightmare is over: Jackson Teller is shirtless on camera. In fact, he's clothes-less on camera, as he's in the shower. We get the full rear shot of Jax in the shower, and it appears that Charlie Hunnam suffers for his art by never eating a refined carbohydrate. I, for one, appreciate the sacrifice.
Tara comes in, takes a long and frankly lustful look (which explains a lot about why she sticks around) and notes the pile of bloody clothing on the floor before sitting on the commode. Jax comes out of the shower and Tara asks, "Rough night?" Jax tells her that Clay got shot and is in critical condition. Tara asks who did it and Jax lies, "I'm not sure." He hastens to reassure Tara that this changes nothing: following today's deal with the Irish, he'll "put my goddamn family in a car and we'll drive the hell out of Charming." Tara gives Jax a brightly poisonous smile and asks, "Just like Jax? Change your clothes, wash off the blood --" "Yeah, Tara, just like that," Jax snaps. He rolls his eyes all, Lord, why does this woman insist on using past history as an indicator of future probability? and crouches down in front of Tara so he can give her the full puppy-dog eye treatment. He says, "I know it's not going to be an easy shift -- I'm not delusional -- I also know you're not clear right now." Tara begs to differ: "I'd argue I'm the clearest I've ever been." Jax replies, "Trust me, babe... rage feels that way. Have Phil and Elyda help you pack. I'll be back to help you tonight." He stands up and we get a shot of his back, with its SAMCRO tattoo across it, in three different angles in the mirror. It's a tidy reflection of Jax as the son of larger-than-life parents, the motorcycle outlaw, and the family man. (I may be reading too much into it, but why include the shot otherwise? Unless it's to make up for the lack of shirtlessness in prior episodes...)
Tara calls Jax's name at the door and he turns back to her. She demands, "Tell me you love me." Jax gives her an appraising look before saying matter-of-factly, "I love you, Tara." She winces and turns away. And he asks, a little tentatively, "Do you love me?" Tara says, almost to herself, "If I could stop, I would." Yeah, well, you should have thought about that two kids ago. She stands up, tells Jax she loves him, then walks out of the room. Jax closes his eyes and sighs, Lord, I do not need my old lady losing her mind today. At least, not until after I clean up the inevitable clusterfuckery that will surely go down at the meeting this afternoon.
He walks out of the bathroom and beholds Filthy Phil eating a mixing bowl full of cereal and reading the back of the cereal box. Jax asks, "You need a bigger bowl?" and Phil laconically replies, "I like cereal." How on earth did this simple giant get attached to SAMCRO? And does any motorcycle manufacturer on Earth make a bike big enough to support his frame, or does he just tootle around on a human-scale motorcycle looking like one of those Guinness World Record twins? I have so many questions to be answered, and yet they're all going to be ignored because it's blah blah blah cartel this and blah blah blah JT's letters that.
Jax heads to the hospital and meets up with the skimpy remains of SAMCRO in the waiting room. (My word, unless Teller Morrow Motors hired a bunch of civilians in the past 14 months -- there's no way that place is still running; everybody who works there is either in jail, shot in the hand or hanging out at the hospital reading back issues of Women's Day.) We find out that Clay got rushed back to surgery because he's having trouble with a lung. Happy says, "Goddamn cigars," and honestly, that The Truth project should just pay David LaBrava to stare menacingly into a camera and say that, because it will put anyone off smoking anything for life.
The boys then move on to ever grimmer news: "Bobby signed in at Stockton and didn't sign out," Chibs says. Jax is not clear on what that means, and Chibs says, "Maybe Lenny can tell us. He wants a sit-down today. Lowen said he's pretty jacked-up about it." Jax mutters, "Oh, my God." Happy helpfully points out that both Opie and Tig are MIA. Jax says Opie's hanging out with Piney up at the cabin -- technically not a lie since much of Piney is still all over the walls and floor -- and hypothesizes that, "Tig's so jacked up about this Clay thing he's probably neck deep in cold pussy." I really hope that's a euphemism for indulging in the company of Inupiat ladies. Let me have my illusions.
Meanwhile, in "Oakland" -- and I put "Oakland" in quotation marks because I have lived in the nickel and dime off and on for fifteen years now and I can assure you, not even the Grand Lake, Rockridge or Temescal districts look that yupscale -- Tig is busy stalking Laroy and his lady friend. Laroy, it should be noted, has nice manners, as he opens the car door for his lady before driving off with her.
At the Teller Knowles estate, we see Filthy Phil adeptly feeding and rocking young Thomas, and when I paused the scene, the baby was beaming. Oh, please -- spin off the prospect into his own series. Gemma comes in looking like a maenad after a bad night in the woods and demands to know where "she" (presumably Tara) is. Phil nods toward the bedroom, then adds, "Jax is looking for you. It sounded important." He resumes tending the adoring baby.
Gemma finds Tara doing her best to pack one-armed, and asks, "Another vacation." Tara says, "Yup. 'Cause the first one went so well." Gemma comes into the room, sets down her bag and tentatively moves toward Tara. She opens with news of Clay's injury, which does not surprise Tara, then moves on to the news of who did the shooting, which does. Tara shelves the whole "Jax said he didn't know" thing for a moment to pump Gemma on why Opie would do such a thing, and Gemma tells her that Clay killed Piney. She continues, "Clay put a shotgun to his chest. He killed because he thinks he had the letters." Tara says dazedly, "No... he didn't -- Piney never even saw them." Gemma knows that but, she says, Clay will do anything "to stop that truth from leaking out." She then adds, "He's the one who tried to have you killed, Tara. Clay hired those men that came after you... he took money out of safe to pay them off. I confronted him. [Points to her face] That's why he did this. Clay will keep on hurting everything and everyone that gets in his path until he gets those letters."
Tara does not seem surprised, on account of how Clay threatened her the day before. Gemma makes an emotional pitch for the letters, promising that everyone's nightmare will be over if Tara will just hand over the letters. Tara says, "If we do get out of this alive, then you know Jax and I are leaving." Gemma's voice says, "I know," but her face is frankly disbelieving. Tara gets up and pulls out a key, then tells Gemma that the letters are in the storage unit, toward the back, under a stack of old Teller Morrow receipts. As Gemma gets up to leave, Tara's face takes on the same bitter, remote look she had when she talked to Jax, and she calls out, "Gemma? Tell me you love me." She looks at Gemma, who nods and looks her in the eye before saying, "I love you."
Meanwhile, out in Stockton, Lenny is busy filling Jax in on Otto's adventures: "I heard it from the guards. He met with a Fed attorney, gave up something, got me visitation and yard time." Jax soon connects the dots between Otto and Bobby, and figures if Otto flipped, it would have something to do with Luann. All he's missing is the knowledge that Bobby and Luann had a thing, because apparently nobody noticed Bobby consumed with grief a few episodes ago.
Tig continues staking out Laroy and his old lady, and as if that weren't tedious enough, he's also listening to Tommy James and the Shondells' "Crimson and Clover." While Laroy and his lady friend are busy enjoying each other's company at a sidewalk cafe, they are also protected by three discreetly positioned SUVs filled with Niners, so it's not like Tig can walk up and shoot Laroy in the head. So he settles for the second-best thing: aiming his car at the couple, and during the bridge of "Crimson and Clover," sending the lady flying through a plate glass window; her neck is julienned in transit. Congratulations, Tig. You are now two for two on killing women when you were aiming for their men.
Gemma is in the storage unit, and she soon finds the accordion folder in which Tara stashed everything. She sits down to read, and notices a box that's been there since season one, labeled "JOHN MISC." Gemma finds a manila envelope in there and pulls out a stack of pictures: choppers in what is obviously meant to be Vietnam; a picture of herself as a very young woman, sporting a livid surgery scar and a haughty look that predates Angelina Jolie's act by thirty years; a picture of John Teller looking for all the world like Jesus Christ, Biker Dude; a weirdly-staged shot where John and Gemma resemble a medieval staging of Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene. Gemma sets that photo aside, then slides the rest into the envelope and puts the envelope back in the box. Then she puts on her reading glasses and dives into the letters. Through the entire scene, she's moving as if she's in pain.
Tig, meanwhile, has called for backup on account of bringing the wrath of the Niners down on his fool head.
We cut to Gemma rocking back and forth as she reads a letter. She has to put it down and take a deep breath to compose herself. She pulls out a letter or four, then visibly steels herself. She hides some letters in her purse, then stalks out of the storage unit and closes the door on the past. We get a shot of the Gemma-and-John picture being plunged into darkness. AHOY, SYMBOLISM!
Jax has then moved from Stockton to whatever crapbag locale he and the cartel are meeting at right now. He's briefed them on the shooting, and Luis insincerely sys, "We're sorry about what happened to Clay." But the cartel really wants to know how today's going to run. Jax has no worries about the Irish Kings -- for starters, he can always break the ice at the meeting by asking what everyone's opinions are on the new English translation of the Latin liturgy, since the Irish will thrill to chatting about Catholicism -- but he is worried that Otto's probable flip to the Feds will bring in Bobby Elvis, and Bobby could tip off the Feds to this whole gun deal. Romeo says, "We've got contacts that could find out about Otto. Don't do anything until you hear from us." Jax gives Romeo a You have to be kidding? look. Whether it's because he's impressed by Romeo's network or appalled that Romeo is not worried about the Feds is anyone's guess.
Romeo orders Luis, "Call Medina. Have him vet out every agency. Find out what this is about." Luis, looking shifty as usual, nods.
Right as Jax gets on his bike, Chibs calls to inform him that Tig needs a little help escaping a pack of righteously pissed Niners.
Cue the music and a whole lot of petroleum-fueled shenanigans. I would like to note that these roads in no way resemble any of the highways around Oakland, mostly because there are not nearly enough Priuses. Anyway, this entire scene is a demonstration in why it's good to belong to a biker gang: Because they can make it very difficult to follow one person in a chase.
A montage of bike riding later, everyone's back to Teller Morrow motors after that little misadventure, and the minute the bikers are off, Jax is in Tig's face, demanding to know what happened. Tig says wearily that he went after Laroy, but does not add, "And, once again, missed the biker and took out his old lady instead." Jax is all, Lord, save me from the dumb, but Chibs has bypassed divine intervention and appealed something even less provable: Tig's sense of logic. He points out, "We don't even know if it was the Niners." Tig protests that everything he knows points to Laroy. Which is fair, on account of Tig not knowing that Opie's on the warpath or why Opie wants Clay dead, and a stunning illustration of the perils of incompletely informing people.
In any event, this whole scene foreshadows the coming race war in season five, because there is no way Laroy's going to want to broker peace with this club.
Tig zips off, presumably to go have a good cry, and Happy corners Jax to point out, "[Tig's] right. It had to be Laroy. He's got to die. Like, a lot."
Jax is saved from having to explain why the Niners had nothing to do with this whole mess by his ringing phone. It's Romeo, briskly informing Jax, "I had my contacts look into Otto Delaney. Not sure who was talking to, but he never sold out your club." Jax expresses skepticism at this news, but Romeo chides him, "I pay a lot of money for information, Jax. It's accurate. Trust me. If I thought it was a risk, I wouldn't be making this call."
(This is the scene that has convinced me that Luis is either working with the feds or hoping to take Romeo down at the meeting. Remember, Romeo delegated the information-gathering to Luis, so he apparently trusts him. And if Romeo's working off bad intel, who do you think he got it from?)
We focus on Jax listening and looking skeptical. And here's hoping Jax decides that his source on the inside is far more trustworthy than the one who's merely chatting with him for business reasons. But no -- he decides the meet's a go and tells Happy to head out to the Coke-K corral and pull one of each type of big gun in anticipation of the outlaw summit. Then Jax dispatches Chibs to deal with Lowen offscreen (you have been missed, Robin Weigert) and see what the deal is with Bobby. Oh, and if Chibs could scare up Juice, that would be awesome. Thanks!
Jax then walks off to the clubhouse, muttering all the to-dos he's got to knock off before the meet, and it's evident he's slipping right into the president pro tem role. It should be interesting to see how easily or well he wears the authority.
We zip to Clay's hospital room and Tig comes in on little cat feet. He looks at Clay's bloodstained cut sitting on a chair, then takes in the sight of Clay sleeping in the bed. Tig says softly, "Sorry, brother. I should have stayed, had your back. I mean, just turning in this SA tag -- I don't know, man. I was just kind of lost in this cartel shit. I love you, Clay. I do. I guess I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around you stepping down. I don't know... I don't know what I'm going to look like when that happens, you know?"
Oh Tig. You need a minder. And look! Here comes Gemma now, summoned as if by black magic. Gemma looks at Tig and her face softens into warm, maternal sympathy. She says, "This is not your fault, baby," and Tig stumbles toward her, his face crumbling. Gemma pulls Tig into her arms and as he sobs on her shoulder, Gemma murmurs, "Oh, honey. It's okay, sweetheart. It's okay. Ohhh, he knows you love him, it's okay." It's all very reminiscent of how Gemma comforted Clay following Donna's murder in "The Sleep of Babies."
Tig pulls himself together and asks how Gemma is, and she says that she's fine. For some reason, Tig chooses to see this as Gemma being a strong earth mother, as opposed to a woman who's already mentally a widow. She asks after Jax's whereabouts, and then asks Tig for a moment with Clay. Once alone, Gemma looks down on Clay's unconscious figure, coldly shrugs, "Sorry," and walks out without a second glance.
Jax is sitting at the table in church, poring over a stack of papers and making notes. He looks up when Gemma comes in, and suddenly, he looks very young, like a boy playing grown-up. But when he opens his mouth, it's all adult: "I've been looking for you. Shut the door."
Gemma does, then sits down.
Jax: What happened to Piney?
Gemma: Clay killed him.
Jax: [Sighs] I know Clay and Piney were beefing over this cartel shit --
Gemma: It wasn't over the cartel. It was over these. [She hands over the folder full of letters.] Maureen Ashby put them in your bag before you left Belfast. They're letters from your father. Tara found them before you did.
Jax: Tara had these? Why didn't she tell me?
Gemma: [Nobly bypassing the opportunity to say, "Because you young couples, you don't communicate anymore"] She knew they would break your heart. Same way they did mine. When Thomas got sick, your dad stopped going to Belfast. He started writing to Maureen --"
Jax: What does this have to do with Clay?
Gemma then leans in and quietly gives Jax the truth: "JT and Kellan decided to get the MC out of guns, away from the IRA. Clay thought it was a mistake. He was afraid John would destroy the club. So he decided to kill him." Cut to Jax looking shocked by this -- whether it's because he's surprised that Clay actually did this (Ha! He knows Clay'll kill anyone in his way) or because Gemma's actually not lying to him or because he's horrified that his mother is married to his father's murderer? The answer depends on how dumb Jax is during any given episode.
ANYWAY. Gemma explains, "The first time, he sent John into a Mayan ambush, unprotected. Your dad made it out, but he knew it was Clay who'd set it up. And he knew Clay would try again. He predicted it would be mechanical. He was right." Jax finally realizes that JT's fatal accident on 580 was the work of Lowell Sr., acting on Clay's behalf. And as all of you will remember from Season One, Lowell, Sr. was killed a week after the accident and his body dumped in with some Mayan corpses -- something that made no sense given that it was the Mayans who allegedly killed him. And that was how we learned, in Season One, that Clay silenced Lowell Sr. And now, three seasons later, Jax is finally figuring it all out. We can actually see the wheels turning as he processes everything.
Then Jax asks the $1,000,000 question ("How do you know all this?") and Gemma, bless her lying little heart, says vaguely, "The letters, the speculation, the Mayan ambush." Then she hones her pitch so she can really begin to manipulate Jax: because those letters prove that Clay killed JT, Clay would do anything to sit on them. Jax has an a-ha moment and says, "Piney got a hold of these." Gemma replies, "He must have threatened Clay. (Drops her voice to a sorrowful whisper) That's not all. I found the cover letter Maureen wrote telling you to read them. It was in your house. I knew Tara was the one who found them. I -- I panicked. I told Clay."
Over the space of 30 seconds, Jax's face slides from studiousness to incredulity to a barely-restrained rage. Quaking with fury, Jax asks, "Clay knew? That Tara had these?" Gemma confirms, "He tried to kill Tara. That thing that happened at the park? That wasn't the cartel. That was guys Clay hired to kill your wife, Jax." Jax has stopped quaking and he has passed into a frightening place of utter stillness.
Gemma uses this opportunity to paint Tara as lying for all the right reasons: "Don't be upset with her. She didn't want you to read them [because] she didn't know what you might do." Jax, however, is not having it and demands to know what Gemma's agenda is. She self-righteously says, "I know how dangerous secrets can be, and it's time we all knew the truth. Clay Morrow killed your father, stole that seat away from this family, gunned down your father's best friend. He tried to kill your wife." Jax is listening with a terrible alertness. Gemma presses, "He's a murderous traitor, and there's only one thing to do now, Jackson. For your father. your family, and your club. It's in you. It's who you are. Clay has to die."
Interesting how Clay's mortality wasn't on the table when he and Gemma were on the same page about keeping everything covered up, huh? I don't even think that Gemma would have minded Clay killing Tara -- provided it happened to Tara alone and Gemma had plausible deniability. But when Clay told Gemma that he wasn't signing off on her agenda? DONE. It is stunning how Gemma matter-of-factly sends men to the executioner once they recast their priorities and she's no longer at the top of the list. Tig better watch his back.
Jax just sits and has a think as Gemma says, "Read them. See them in your father's own hand. And then you kill him, Jax. You kill Clay before he's on his feet and strikes first. And when it's done, you take your place at the head of this table." That is when Jax looks up at her, and there is nothing like compliance in his face. Might this be the beginning of Jax Teller deciding he's his own man?
The music kicks in and we see Jax reading, reading, reading. Gemma's outside, flat on her back on the canvas in the boxing ring. (Could that be any more metaphorical? This entire season has been one where she's been KO'd by events.) Unser comes on over and tells her that Clay came through surgery and will be out of ICU in a few days. Gemma flatly says, "Good." Unser asks what happens now and Gemma confidently says, "Things are in motion." "Yeah. I have no doubt," Unser wryly says. That poor man: he is going to spend his final days being lied to by Gemma and dragged into drama he doesn't even need.
Just then, Tara pulls up. Gemma uses this as her cue to say that Tara gave her the letters, and Jax is reading them now. Unser swears, and Gemma reassures him, "Not all of them. We're protected. Clay? Not so much." Tara stalks over and asks Gemma if she's got a minute. Unser gets up and says, "I'll, ah, go give Chucky a hand." He scarpers away.
Tara clears her throat and says, "I've been waiting for you." "I know," says Gemma, sans apology. Tara then asks where the letters are and whether Gemma brought them to Clay. Gemma says no, and Tara jabs, "How many did you take out before you gave them to Jax?" Cut to Gemma trying to figure out how to play this. She finally asks, "If you knew? Then why did you tell me where they were?" Tara says sharply, "Because I'm smarter than you are, Gemma. And I know Jax better than you do." Cut to Gemma rolling her eyes all, Lord, please do not add 'school my son's baby mama' to my to-do list for the day. Please.
Jax picks that minute to come loping out, letters in hand. He gives both women a displeased look, then sits down and tells Tara, "You should have told me." Tara says, "I was going to. But when you got out, you were so eager to leave, I just... I was afraid it would push you back in. I'm sorry." Jax lets it sit -- for now -- but fixes Tara with a look so she can be brought up to speed on exactly how angry he is, and tells her, "I have to kill him, Tara." Tara knows. She opens up her bag and pulls out a small leather case, then pushes it across the table to him, saying, "And this is how you do it." Tellingly, Jax looks at his mother first, but her bafflement confirms that Gemma did not put Tara up to this.
Gemma comes over to watch Jax open the case, and he pulls out a syringe. Tara says, "It's a blood thinner. Inject it into his IV line and pull the tube from his chest. He'll bleed into his lungs and drown." We get a shot of Tara looking both lovely and remorseless. Jax studies her face for a moment, then looks down at the syringe. Tara says, "It'll happen quick. You know, just look like he pulled it out in his sleep." We cut to Gemma looking at Tara and you can practically see her reassessing her son's old lady as she stares. Only now is it beginning to dawn on anyone that someone trained to save lives can easily take that information and twist it to suit a more sinister agenda.
Across the courtyard, Chibs gives a sharp whistle and summons Jax, as it's time for them to meet up with the cartel and the Irish Kings. Jax turns back to Tara, genuinely at a loss for words, and then puts the syringe back in the case. Gemma is staring at Tara; Tara tosses a cool look over her shoulder, and then focuses that calm, pitiless stare on Jax. She stands up, takes his hand and pulls him to her. She orders, "You kill him. And then you come and get me and our boys and drive us out of this poisonous town." And... way to play Jax, Tara. Make him feel as if he's the one who engineered the escape! It's a callback to the first episode, and to the conversation Tara had with Margaret about how she had to let Jax lead them out.
Jax nods and keeps his eyes on Tara as he says, "I will. I promise." He then kisses her. Gemma watches, looking resentful and alone. When the kiss breaks, Jax looks at Gemma apologetically; Tara looks considerably less sorry for Gemma. After he walks away, Gemma shakily sighs and attempts to put Tara on the defensive with "What are you doing?" Tara says quietly, "Everything you taught me. He's mine." She walks off, and -- SYMBOLISM AHOY -- the scene closes with Gemma up against the ropes.
Then the music swells up again as the singer tells us "It's such a hard way to fall/no I ain't going to go to Heaven/ they have locked me in these walls/ it's such a hard way to fall," and we see Jax hopping on his bike in the sunshine, then shift to Clay, weak and alone in a darkened room. A hard way for Clay to fall indeed. The question is whether -- or why -- Jax gives him a final push.
Lisa Schmeiser is an Oakland-adjacent writer and reporter. Send her promises of ether chambers, mixing bowls full of cereal and syringes full of blood thinners at lschmeiser@gmail.com.
Think you've got game? Prove it! Check out Games Without Pity, our new area featuring trivia, puzzle, card, strategy, action and word games -- all free to play and guaranteed to help pass the time until your show starts.
What are people saying about your favorite shows and stars right now? Find out with Join the conversation now!