Sons of Anarchy Season 7: Episode 2- “Toil & Till”

Unser
“…So… Am I getting laid or what?”

Table setting.

That’s all I could think of while watching this abbreviated episode of Sons of Anarchy (abbreviated meaning this only clocked in at an hour and sixteen minutes with commercials). As we head into the “final ride”™ of SAMCRO, a lot of pieces heading into the home stretch have been put into place.

Of course only a table setting episode of SOA would feature the murder of multiple Triad members, a high impact car chase, and the cold-blooded murder of two innocents tied to the Indian Hills chapter of the Sons.

It should be noted that Jax marked those red shirts for death even before Lin demanded perps for the raid on his gun deal, and that tells us explicitly that Teller and the Sons are no longer protagonists of their series.

They are the enemy.

But who takes the reigns as our hero? In this tale of woe I don’t believe there will be any White Knight. A rumor I read online pontificates that Jax may be playing a long con on his mother, and he knows Gemma murdered Tara and is waiting for the right place and the right time to strike, just as August Marks recommended at the top of the hour. It’s not a BAD theory per say considering Kurt Sutter has done this type of bait and switch before, but the collateral damage caused by SAMCRO thus far hasn’t exactly showcased a man with a plan– It’s shown us a merciless villain being born from the ashes of his murdered wife.

I will say setting up another charter to come into conflict with Jax and Co. was an unexpected (and smart) turn of events. Where it will land I have no idea, but if I’m not mistaken Jury’s crew was forced to join the gang back in Season 2 for protection, and now it looks like Jax, Chibs, and Bobby have just laid waste to his (illegitimate?) child. There will be blood.

STUFF:

  • LOVED the Breaking Bad homage during the cold open with Happy. Of course in the usual SOA twist a box full of fortune cookies also contains the head of the poor sucker from last week.
  • Wendy is still pretty meh, but more scenes with Nero Smits should help me tolerate her considerably. I’m still rooting for Nero to walk away from this thing unscathed, but good people don’t normally survive in this world.
  • How stupid is Unser? Pretty fucking stupid. You’re holding all the cards, you’ve got Juice for leverage, all the information you need on Tara’s death, a new lease on life, and your constant hard-on for Gemma leaves you vulnerable enough for her to find EVERYTHING YOU HAVE.
  • I’ve got no thoughts on the new Sheriff yet, or the lack of movement on the Juice storyline. Hopefully that’ll pick up next episode.
  • Tig & Rat Boy spinoff series. You know you want it.
With my Leave of Absence from work earlier this year, I began devouring TV shows and movies on Netflix by the pound, powering through series upon series until I was all caught up with each individual selection. I originally did this when the 5th and final season of Breaking Bad was about to premiere, and sitting through all four seasons on Netflix was like a religious experience for me at the time , and made me realize what I was missing out on. I soon realized binge watching doesn’t always turn out to be so enlightening, but as a completest I always feel the need to finish what I’ve started.