Shows on television come and go. We’re addicted to them, binge-watch them, and every now and then, revolve around them every week they’re on the air. However, when they left, they left. I doubt the same will be said of the enigmatic ‘Sons of Anarchy’ which has boasted some of the most iconic characters of our time (Charlie Hunnam’s Jax Teller) and a few of television’s finest cross-marketing (The Reaper merchandise, Harley-Davidson, etc) approx. As the final season draws to a close, we find ourselves on the brink of our seats, waiting for the action-packed finale. However, we are still there, so rest assured. Actually, do not.
The tenth episode of this fast-paced season of ‘Faith and Despondency’ brought us a new journey, and the end of many. This episode opens with some of our favourite Sons engaging in mundane behavior, some more surprising (Tig and Venus! Juice and Tully!!) and a few, less surprising (Gemma/Nero, and Jax/new girl). This new girl happens to be a porn star, but one who really seems to care about Jax. We’ve all seen what happens to women who care about him. Hope the best for you dear. Tig’s storyline gets more interesting, if less strange, finally getting out of character. We’ve seen him and Venus flirt many times, in addition to hint at their affection, but this is the first time we have seen them really in bed together. This really wraps around Tig’s character in my eyes, because he finally has a constant. A minor storyline of the episode focuses on Venus’ feelings that she is not good enough or ahem, woman enough for Tig, prior to developing a warm relationship with Alexander (Tig). Finally Tig! Venus Goggin has been a standout for the last two seasons, with well-deserved award nominations. Now!
Sutter is a genius at knowing how to wrap gifts to give us, and avenging Bobby is no different. After his horrible, yet requiring death, death, we find Jax hatching a genius plan with new general Tully (Leyland meets chaos when he tries to kill Eglee, at the hands of Wayne). This includes the Rat and TO being kidnapped by Moses (damn you Tyler), in retaliation for the arrest of August Marks, and to find out where the accused are. TO couldn’t stand the torment, and apparently gave up his safe house. As Moses walks into the house, we realize it was an arrangement by Son and their new White Power allies. After all of Moses’ men are gunned down, Jax and crew take him outside the same way Bobby was killed (eyes, hands, and ending with an execution-style head shot). I do not think I’ve enjoyed melee fighting the bad guys since the end of season 3. We all see Moses meets the reaper ultimately, but this explains it as cleanly as we’d hope. What happened to Mark next? I do not know, but I doubt it isn’t that different from its predecessor, Mr. Pope.
With all this going on, nobody paid attention to the mentally scarred Abel, who had a wound on his head that he claimed was from his younger brother. As the school examines the story, we find Teller’s gang mired in a child services ordeal, because of his claims it was from Gemma. Two of SOA’s most heartbreaking scenes took place tonight, starting with Abel cutting himself with a fork in the school bathroom. After coming home, and Gemma is prevented from seeing the kids, Jax has an interesting talk with his son, which leads him to explain to Abel how Wendy is his birth mother, in front of Wendy (cue heartbreak scene two). It was another storyline that needed closing, but it ended with Abel telling his father that Gemma killed Tara. Uh oh.
Despite the crazy reveal, Sutter delivers another masterpiece, even giving us Juice being jail food for Tully and essentially being the head of coke. The fact he can pack so much in 60-70 minutes, it is crazy. The man really left some of the best for last, leaving me wanting more (only four episodes left), with so much story left. Go Netflix off this show, and stay tuned. You will thank me later.
Rating: 10/10
