Hey everyone! Welcome to episode 71 of Girl Of Mayhem. Today we are going to be talking about episode 4 from season 5 of Sons Of Anarchy, titled Stolen Huffy.
Let me give you guys a couple of disclaimers before we get started. First, I am in no way affiliated with the cast or crew of Sons of Anarchy, I am merely a fan doing a fan podcast. Second, I am not part of an MC, nor have I ever been so any info I get about that lifestyle is secondhand through another source such as the internet.
Now let me give you guys some ways you can contact me with your feedback. As always, you can email me at girlofmayhem@gmail.com, call me at 559-762-2278 and leave a voicemail, or comment on the website http://girlofmayhem.com. You can also find us on Facebook at http://facebook.com/girlofmayhempodcast and tweet me at @girlofmayhem on Twitter.
Don't forget, I still want all of your feedback!
Our description for this is episode is as follows:
"Complications arise as the Sons band together to face a new adversary."
The music for this episode includes Greg Holden with Lost Boy (the song that's playing at the end of the episode - a much requested song!), The Coppertone with Black Water, Slowtrain with Bound To Find You Out, Wild Flag with Endless Talk, The Chimpz with Mr. 44, Keaton Simons with Grim Reaper, and The Ike Reilly Assassination with Hard To Make Love To An American.
Now let's get to our recap!
When we open, we see the guys on their bikes, led by Jax. We see a moment between Jax and two younger boys who are sitting on their bicycles. As soon as I saw this, I wondered if this was supposed to be a nod to him and Opie when they were kids. Indeed when we find out later, this scene has some significance that us diehards will immediately recognize.
Then we have our illustrious Gemma waking up in a jail cell. I am fairly positive this is not Gemma's first time in a jail cell, but she looks a little baffled as to where she is when she comes to. Almost immediately she has a confrontation with Carla the ladies from Diosa. Gemma finds out from Carla that someone called the cops on Diosa, and that's why they are all there. Just before it looks like they are going to eat Gemma alive, a guard announces she is being bailed out.
And who is bailing Gemma out? Not Jax or Tara. Certainly not Clay. Not even her ever present admirer Unser. It's Wendy. How's that for irony? Wendy says the perfect thing, "You must really be out of friends if I'm your emergency contact number". And isn't that the truth? Who does Gemma really have left? Jax is fed up with her after learning the truth, Tara is sick of Gemma pulling her stunts and trying to manipulate everyone to get her way, Unser has already taken a beaten, Clay is a woman-beater, and Nero is arrested too. Not that many people left to turn to for Gemma at this juncture.
Gemma tells Wendy she'll pay her back, and then they talk about Tara and the kids. Wendy says she'll fix the situation with them, but Gemma informs her that Jax is really the one she should watch out for "You are still the woman who tried to kill his first born son."
Gemma tries to catch a ride home with Nero who has just gotten released after sending Wendy on her way, but Nero informs her that they have to bail out the other woman first before he can leave.
Meanwhile we see Jax and the guys arrive at the clubhouse where Tara is waiting with the kids. We find out that Gemma does not know that Opie's dead yet (although I find this bizarre as I am positive someone in the jail would have told her, it's not like she's an ordinary woman). Jax asks Tara to check on Lyla, because clearly Lyla must be distraught.
Then we have a meeting at Church. Jax is talking to the club about Opie. All the guys look upset (as well they should) and Jax mentions how Opie hasn't been right since Donna was murdered (really? you think?). Jax says "He went out a warrior" which is more than true, he spent his life helping this club and got nothing but grief and heartache for it. Jax then informs them of the deal he made with Pope and says they need to vote on it. After some angry outbursts, such as Happy wanting retaliation and Greg the Peg stepping in to voice his opinion (um, lets stick to worrying about the home invasions Greg, you haven't even been a patched SAMCRO member for more than a week!), Jax shuts them down. Bobby tries to explain how dangerous Pope is by saying "He could kill us just as easily with a phone call as with a bullet. We're just white smoke...". They vote and make the deal with Pope final. They then move on to discuss Opie's service, and they talk about doing it correctly.
Outside of the clubhouse after the meeting, the guys step out and Unser shows up. He tells them Gemma was arrested and about the raid on Diosa. Jax and Chibs decide they'll go see Nero to help out, and Tig says the guys at the clubhouse will "take care of everything for Opie". Unser is then informed of Opie's death, and needless to say, takes it pretty hard. I thought this is the case for several reasons. One, Unser genuinely liked Opie, and knew what a stand-up guy he was. Two, Unser probably feels tremendous guilt for his part in knowing everything about the past, about Piney, etc and not doing more for Opie. Bobby sees how shaken Unser is and is kind in telling him to come by later for the service (although truthfully I pretty much expect Unser to be at any SOA event that's not officers only).
Back at Diosa, Carla and Nero enter the building, trailed by Gemma. Carla goes to investigate the mess that's been made, and Nero is visibly upset. Gemma doesn't really seem to serve a purpose there, she just observes quietly.
We then have Wendy at the hospital. She runs in to Tara, who is with Abel. This may be the first time Wendy has seen Abel in years. Wendy and Abel share a moment, and I see this as intense foreshadowing. Now, if I may take a moment, I have some thoughts on the Wendy and Abel scenario that I would like to share.
First, if you had listened to the podcast since the beginning, you know I despise Wendy. I think it's disgusting that any woman would use drugs like that while pregnant. Also, I think it's absurd how intimidated Wendy was by Gemma, to the point that she abandoned her child. And I don't entirely buy the fact that Wendy is clean and sober and will remain that way forever and ever. I do think that people can change, and can turn their lives around. I think it takes a lot of hard work, and they have to realize that certain people will never trust them again.
I don't know if I've softened up as far as Wendy goes, but I actually feel bad for her as far as the Abel thing goes. Yes, she made tragic mistakes. Yes, she abandoned her own child because drugs were more important. Yes, I think Tara stepped up and became that child's mother. But the truth of the matter is, Abel deserves a chance to know who his real mother is and deserves a chance to decide if he wants anything to do with her. Clearly he is much too young at this point to really understand the circumstances, so bringing Wendy in would be confusing. But Jax never knew the whole truth about his family and look what has happened in the wake of that, and in the wake of him finding out. Abel cannot suffer the same fate. So only time will tell what will happen with this particular storyline, but it's interesting to think about what the right thing to do in this situation should be.
In Tara's office, Wendy and Tara talk. Tara is unsympathetic to Wendy, and Wendy understands but say it's not about them, it's about Abel. "You can stop me from getting him, but you can't stop him from wanting to find me."
Like I said earlier, Jax not knowing his real family history led to problems later. Will Abel suffer the same fate?
Over at Diosa, Jax and Chibs arrive to help Nero. Jax is upset with all the trouble Gemma has caused and says "go home, Mom". Nero doesn't try to stop her from leaving, and Gemma looks visibly hurt. Two of Nero's crew members arrive and they want to kill Emma Jean, who they believe was the rat that caused the Diosa raid. As soon as they leave Nero looks at Jax and says that if they really want to help they can "save the chick your mom almost killed". He tells them where she is (at a seedy motel with "clients").
Back at the clubhouse Gemma storms in to the workout room where Clay is with Juice, etc (um, hello shirtless Juice!). She wants to talk to Clay alone and suggests that anyone who is not Clay exit.
Gemma and Clay have a conversation and Gemma tells Clay "I need distance, Clay. Stop checking up on me". Clay says "I don't even know who you are anymore" (along with a string of other things). Gemma replies "Why don't you bounce my face off the floor? Maybe then you'll recognize me." Clay talks about needing to get ready for Opie's "thing", and then realizes Gemma doesn't know what happened so Clay tells her. Gemma takes it hard (as expected, first of all she considered Opie a son, and second of all she has to feel some guilt too). She reaches out and her and Clay embrace, then she runs off and when alone says "What the hell's happening to us?". A better question could not have been asked, the club, the family are completely falling apart.
Now we have a long scene that starts at the seedy motel room that Emma Jean has moved her clients to. Jax and Chibs locate the room (they know it's her room because of the hearts hanging from the door knob). Jax gets her to answer the door and he has her "client" leave. (Chibs gives the "john" a humorous slap on the butt as he's leaving.) Jax talks to Emma about the raid on Diosa, says everyone thinks she's the one who called vice to initiate the raid. She swears it wasn't her, they gather her up to get out of town, and as they're getting ready to leave on their bikes Nero's crew members show up. They're names are Lupe and Fiasco - really?!? For those of you who don't know Lupe Fiasco is a famous rapper, so I just found this too weird.
Anyway, Lupe and Fiasco say they're going to "take it from here" and Jax and Chibs hightail it out of there with Emma Jean. A car/bike chase ensues, but eventually Jax wipes out at a house where a family is living. Nero's crew catches up. Jax and Chibs try to stop them from doing anything stupid, with Chibs saying "Look around. I don't think we want to be doing this in front of an audience", as not only the family that lives in the house where Jax crashed is watching, but so is most of the neighborhood. The guns get withdrawn, and the two parties work it out. Lupe and Fiasco back down, but Fiasco says "I want her thumb. And her tit". Fairly disturbing if I may interject for a moment. Jax apologizes to the family and they depart.
Back at the clubhouse, Nero and Carla show up. Jax is more than irate that Nero's crew members showed up while they were grabbing Emma Jean. At this point, Nero realizes Carla had sent them over to the hotel as well, and when he looks at her she says "I was protecting you". Ratboy is told to watch Carla, and then Gemma shows up. She wants to know why Emma Jean is there, and Jax continues his impatience with Gemma and tells her it's none of her business. He has a great quote at this point, where he tells her "You know what, Mom, I kind of have a few things on my plate today, like burying my best friend, so your need to be loved, worshipped, and adored is a little low on my list today". I do have to say, I actually felt bad for Gemma for a second, while I agree she has been on way too much of a power trip (for years!) and Jax is going to have a very difficult day (and thereafter) dealing with Opie's death, Gemma just looked so crestfallen and hurt that Jax would say that to her that I couldn't help but feel a little bad for her.
Emma Jean steps in at this point and tells Gemma (Gemma and Emma, sheesh) that nothing happened between her and Clay, all she did was rub his shoulders. I'm not sure if this comes as a shock or not to Gemma, but I'm going to assume it does. Emma also mentions she was not the one who called the cops. Then Nero leaves with Emma Jean, to get her out of town, back to the "heartland".
We are then with Jax in his office. He is looking at a picture of him and Opie when they were kids - on their bicycles, which brings me back to the foreshadowing from the opening scene where the two kids on their bicycles look admiringly at Jax on his motorcycle as he and the Sons ride by. Tara comes in, looks through his photos, sees a bunch with Jax and Wendy. Jax notices what she's looking at and says he will get rid of the pictures of him and Wendy, but Tara says not to, that he should keep them for Abel. Tara then notes that she wants to tell Abel the truth, and Jax says not until he's older because "No other woman is going to call him 'son' but you".
Opie's body then arrives at the clubhouse (I cannot just bring myself to say "corpse"). Skeeter (who we haven't seen in awhile!) says "He looks good". Considering Opie was beaten to death, I'm assuming this is a good thing... 6 of the guys carry his coffin, which is quite large, but then again, Opie was a big guy. Lyla arrives, visibly upset, and Jax goes over to talk to her and try to comfort her.
They go to see Opie, it's an open casket. Bobby has everyone else leave when they come in. Lyla doesn't know how she's supposed to raise her kid plus Opie's kids (what the hell happened to Opie's mother by the way? And why don't we ever see his kids anymore? My guess is because it's too expensive to have any more child actors than Abel and Thomas)). Jax reassures her and tells her the club is there for her, and that all the guys out in the clubhouse (bikers and their friends/families) "That's your family. You need anything, just ask".
Gemma is in the office doing work (I still want to know exactly what she does, I'm sure it's the books or something but still). Nero pulls up, she sees from the window and goes out to greet him, in sight of Bobby, Chibs, and Clay, who don't seem to happy. Jax sees this too, and goes to pull Nero aside. We find out that Emma Jean's on a plane back home.
While Jax and Nero are talking privately, Jax asks Nero about the exact kind of money he makes doing the escort service. Nero reveals that he's looking to make an "end game" of 1.3 million because he wants to buy his uncles property which is 23 acres and is a farm for his son who loves animals. Jax says that he wants to hire Nero as a booker for the Caracara girls, because men want the "porn star experience" and they have dates that can be between $1500 and $5000 (more than Nero's girls make). Apparently there is an old Elks Lodge on 88 that Jax can acquire where Nero can restart his business, and Jax offers a 50/50 split on his girls. Nero says he would consider it but only if there is no more drug/gun running on the Sons behalf. Jax has his own condition, with wanting Nero to stay away from Gemma. Nero considers this for a bit, and then they shake hands on their new deal.
Gemma is back in her office and Wendy has come in to get the money from Gemma (Gemma is repaying Wendy for bailing her out of jail). Wendy finds out about Opie, and wants to pay her respects, but cannot. Tara shows up as Wendy's leaving. Tara starts to go after Gemma, but then Gemma directs her anger to Carla, and then we have this big cat fight where Gemma starts off fighting Carla and then Tara jumps in. People have compared this scene to when Gemma and Tara took care of the "Caretaker" (at least this is what I've heard on the internet).
We then have our ending, which begins with Jax on the roof (there has been great joy taken in the fact that we now know how he gets up there, from a ladder in the clubhouse). We flash to the Sons and other mourners paying their respects to Opie and leaving trinkets in his coffin. We see Nero putting a battered Carla in his truck, and then Tara hiding away and smoking pot. We shoot back to Jax looking at the photo of him and Opie, and Bobby coming to get him to say his final farewell to Opie. Jax walks into where Opie's coffin is, and leaves the photo of him and Opie saying "I'll see you later, brother". Then everyone rises and follows him out of the building to the hearse where Opie's coffin is put back in. After the procession out of the clubhouse with the coffin, Tara finally shows up. Jax then closes the hearse door. The song Lost Boy is playing during this part, and I have heard that a lot of people think this was a very fitting song for this part. And that's then end of episode four from season five.
Personally, I thought there would be a little more ceremony for Opie. But then again, we've had all types of funerals already, including Donna's, Half Sack's, and Piney's. I just thought there would be something a little grander. But the darkness of it might be foreshadowing for what's to come in this season, and the final two of the series. Plus Kurt Sutter has said that Opie's death will color the rest of this season, and that color has to be a dark one if the wake was any kind of hint.
I will be posting in a couple of days my recap of Orca Shrugged, so stay tuned for that. And this week we have a new episode, so by the end of the week I should have a recap of that. Also, I will be calling in to the Watchers Of Anarchy, and they broadcast live on Saturday evenings, so check them out (the link is on this website).
Until next time, take care everybody.
No comments:
Post a Comment