If last week’s episode was the big turning point of the season, then tonight was the build-up to the final stretch. Obviously, Gemma’s confession played a major role in getting us this far, because now Jax has squashed his plans to go nomad in favor of putting a hurting on Ethan Zobelle and his men. Though Jax and Clay relay the news of Gemma’s rape to the rest of the club, they warn them not to do anything until they’re at full power. That means getting plenty of guns, and for the time being, they’re a little short on firepower. Clay suggests they meet with Jimmy O and rekindle their business relationship, but even though Jimmy promises to no longer sell to LOAN (even offering Zobelle’s next shipment to the Sons for free), it’s not going to matter much if their Russian pipeline is as dried up as Cameron suggests. The Sons don’t know that, however, and to be completely honest, I’m not exactly sure Jimmy O knows about it either.
In what could easily be considered the biggest reveal of the night (if not the season), Tig completely breaks down in front of Opie about Donna’s death. He takes his share of the blame and even sends a little Clay’s way as well, but he’s quick to mention that if Stahl had never set him up to look like a rat, Donna would have never been killed. Fair enough, but that doesn’t stop Opie from kicking his ass before he leaves to confront Stahl. He doesn’t shoot her, though, but rather waves a gun in her face before handing her the clip and saying, “The outlaw had mercy. You remember that the next time you try to twist the truth.” Yet again, Opie proves why he’s one of the coolest characters on the show. It’s also good to see him back on Jax’s side, because if Jax is ever going to take over the club, he’s going to need a right-hand man like Opie to help him push the Sons in a new direction. Plus, now that Opie’s forgiven Clay and Tig for the good of the club, I think he’s going to have a lot more say in what goes on.
In fact, you can already begin to see the effect he’s having on Clay. Not only did he manage to prevent him from overreacting to Chibbs’ confession about his deal with ATF, but after Piney stormed in and tried to kill Clay, he defused the situation in a matter of minutes. Frankly, I’m a little surprised Clay let Piney off so easily, but I guess he just figures it’s the least he can do to put Donna’s death behind him. Still, it’ll be interesting to see how much Opie plays the guilt card in the future, because it could come in real handy later down the road. For the time being, though, everyone is focused on bringing down Zobelle, and when Jax discovers that he’s doing business with the Mayans behind Weston’s back, they realize they have an ace up their sleeve. My guess is that they’ll turn LOAN against one another without so much as raising a gun, but with Chief Wayne seemingly on his way out, it makes sense that they might need his help one more time.
As for Gemma, well, she may not think that coming clean was the best thing for her (she tells Tara that Clay won’t want her anymore because she’s “damaged goods”), but after an odd sexual encounter with Tig that thankfully didn’t come to anything, she’s even more demoralized. Of course, Tig knows exactly what’s going on, and before everyone departs for the night, he advises Clay to show Gemma that he still loves her. It might have just been sex on an office desk, but that final scene between Clay and Gemma was a lot sweeter than it sounds. It’s moments like these that make “Sons of Anarchy” one of the best shows on TV.
I was very sorry to hear earlier this morning of the death at age 79 of a personal favorite of mine, 
