Still up after that oh-so-long episode of “Sons of Anarchy?” Well tuck the kids in tight and be sure to hide all the forks because finally-finally the moment we”ve all been waiting for happened.
Or, did it?
Tuesday night”s “Faith and Despondency” took a long time getting there (arguably an entire season, let alone this supersized episode), but by the closing seconds Jax finally heard the truth that we”ve wanted him to hear for weeks now: that his mother was the one who killed Tara. And he heard it from Abel no less. At this point in the season I was ready for the truth to come from anyone, but there”s something poetic about a five-year-old being in the know regarding Gemma”s true ways while Jax continues to be blind about them despite everything she”s done. Not having seen the previews for next week, I just hope that Jax actually believes Abel and starts looking into the allegations rather than brushing them under the rug the way he did with his kid”s problems last week. The look on Jax”s face before the grim reaper took over the screen definitely showed us he was coming to some sort of realization about dear old mum, but he”ll clearly want to investigate fully. With Gemma taking Nero up on his offer to blow dodge, at least we know he”ll have the space.
And, after Tuesday”s installment the SAMCRO leader will also finally have the time. In the first hour we witnessed the Sons master plan go through in the most roundabout way possible. While there were plenty of things I didn”t like that filled the extended episode (eyeballs getting ripped out with bare hands, Ratboy and Tio being pummeled and close-ups of fingers being sliced off come to mind), I”m so happy these rivalries are finally at rest. With Moses and the rest of Marks” crew dead, Marks and Lin in jail and Leland stiff as a board, I”m more than ready to get back to the club itself. Sure, there”s that little old issue of a traitor within and the fact that Jax”s Jury actions are still being discussed by other charters, but there”s a tone of finality about his revenge that makes me wonder a) what he has emotionally left to actually give and b) what he”s going to do with those reserves now that he”s onto Gemma.
Whatever it is, it has to be better than Abel”s little act of justice. As much as I appreciate the full-circle aspect of the storytelling (and actually loved the fact that Jax finally told the kid who his real mom is), I found it a little ridiculous that a five-year-old was smart enough to frame his grandmother. Even if Gemma is brought to whatever justice the club deems fit, that kid is going to need a lot of long therapy sessions. But then again, who doesn”t on this show?
Aside from the big reveal, there were two other standout moments of the night: Jax telling Abel that Wendy is his first mommy, and Tig giving into Venus” sudden declaration of love. Tig has been a great source of comedic relief this final season (especially when paired with Ratboy or Happy), but Kim Coates had his best moment of the entire series there-including the stuff with his daughter in the pit. In both cases the scenes felt realistic, like we were actually watching characters have real conversations rather than just hugging it out or running around shooting people. I”ve missed that aspect of the show as of late and felt that we actually got more progression in the show”s last nine minutes than the last nine episodes. Personally, with only three episodes to go, I”d prefer more of that than angry parking garage sex (or “sexy” musical montages!) and exposition for new characters whose names I can barely remember.
But I”m going to be optimistic and take Tuesday night”s closing moments as a sign that the last three episodes will consist of a lot of payoffs for loyal fans, and actually won”t feel rushed. Here”s hoping.
“Bullet”points:
*** Could have done without all the Winsome stuff at the beginning. Was the whole point of her and Jax to show that he”s still a good guy because he kept his word to her? Or is there actually more to that character? I”m still scratching my head.
*** Does anyone else out there really want to buy Unser a better fitting shirt? And what”s with his character suddenly getting a potential love interest? When the heck did that happen? Still, the hand holding stuff was kind of cute.
*** Happy collects fingers. Just wanted to point that out again.
*** Is anyone else over Chibs and Jarry”s borderline BDSM sex life?
*** “I shot a guy in the junk for you.” What I imagine would have also been an appropriate response from Tig after Venus”s declaration.
*** “I don”t know why you”re still here.” No one does Gemma, no one does.
What did you think of the supersized episode? Good moments? Bad moments? Unneeded moments? Sound off on all that and more, below.
Sons of Anarchy airs Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET on FX.