After the events of last week’s episode, it didn’t seem like Kurt Sutter was going to waste any time in getting to the showdown between the Sons of Anarchy and the Neo-Nazis, but when I actually had the time to sit down and think about it, I wondered if Gemma would actually tell Clay about what happened to her. Fast-forward a couple of days to tonight’s episode, and sure enough, Gemma is keeping mum on the subject. For the time being, the only people that know about Gemma’s attack are Wayne and Tara, and even they don’t know who was responsible. She’s made them swear not to tell anyone else, either, and in order to cover it up, Wayne wrecks Gemma’s car to make it look like she was in a crash. It’s only a matter of time before Clay finds out, however, because she’s acting really vulnerable around him, and he’s gotta know that someone as headstrong as Gemma wouldn’t be that shaken up over something like a car crash.
If nothing else, Gemma has certainly succeeded in pissing off Charming’s newest residents – namely AJ, who can’t believe that Gemma hasn’t told Clay the truth. When he runs back to tell Ethan (henceforth known as Mr. White) the bad news, Mr. White suggests they might have underestimated Gemma. Whether that means they’re going to attack her again remains unseen, but they’re definitely not about to give up after one failed attempt. In fact, Mr. White already has another plan in play (providing intel to the Mayans about a gun deal going down between the Sons and the One-Niners), though I have to think that goes against everything he believes in. After all, he didn’t tell AJ that he was working with them, and we already know his feelings on that subject matter.
The shootout at the aforementioned gun deal happened as a result of Jax’s decision to pin the Mayan murder on the One-Niners, and though Clay wasn’t happy about it to begin with, he was doubly pissed when it resulted in Bobby taking a bullet to the shoulder. Jax’s reasoning for the frame-up was great (“Spur of the moment, seemed like the right thing. Sure you can understand.”), but I can’t help but feel like Clay still came out on top when it was all over. He really does seem to know what he’s doing when it comes to running the club, and though Jax is going to continue to crucify him for Donna’s death, he still needs to learn a few things before he takes over. Then again, it was going to end up badly for the Sons no matter what Jax did with the body, so he really had no choice.
Plus, he quickly redeemed himself by coming up with a new way for the club to make some extra cash. When Otto’s wife, Luanne, has to shut down her porn studio due to an investigation by ATF (no doubt ordered by Agent Stahl out of spite), a rival producer known for the sleazy treatment of his female stars (Tom Arnold) tries to steal Luanne’s girls. Jax and Co. effectively persuade him to back off with the help of some baseball bats, and in return, the Sons get a 50% stake in everything Luanne earns. It’s kind of a shit deal for her, but it’s better than what she was expecting when she agreed to meet Jax at the abandoned warehouse, to which he replied, “You think I brought you here to Adrianna you?”
Comparisons to “The Sopranos” be damned, it’s nice to see the writers have finally begun to embrace the similarities between their show and the former HBO hit. Casting Drea de Matteo was certainly a coup from the start, but this easily trumps her guest appearance any day of the week.
