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Well this episode is called ‘Salvage” because it might have just saved this season from absolute disaster. Kurt Sutter tweeted before tonight’s episode that it was “old school SOA,” and he honestly delivered.
The first thing I must discuss is the fact that something from all the lists I make actually happened…..VENUS IS BACK! Venus, the transgendered call girl, is back and it’s really sad how excited I got. She was sad and miserable and I was still happy because at least her intriguing presence was onscreen.
Apparently Venus has a past with Nero as he helped her when she was a little boy growing up confused, and he took her in. While I hate the Nero/Gemma dynamic, I do like Jimmy Smits and Nero’s character, but wasting him on Gemma has really ruined him. Now that he’s away from her in jail, will he turn on the club so that he can cut all ties to the club and it’s illegal activities? Or will he actually stay faithful to Gemma after she admitted to forcibly being with Clay?
Now last week we saw the Motorcycle Club blown to pieces. I’d like to think of this as a cleansing, and all the old bullshit is now dead and buried, along with Jax’s stupidity. I might have to still wait awhile on that last part, but we shall see as tonight we saw signs that the old Jax still there.
SAMCRO ventures to a town called Eden (it’s just too easy to even comment on) to meet with the other charters to discuss the IRA business. To make a long story short, SAMCRO will still have to run guns, but will see no profit from the dealings. Clay will handle all guns business, but according to Jax during the meeting, SAMCRO will be done with guns for good. Jax talks about his dad, and how the club should change by leaving the gun business.
It was the first time since last season we haven’t seen Jax being selfish. He actually spoke about the Club as a democracy and not the dictatorship he had been leading for the past few weeks. Looks like Chibs actually got through to the lad. He gets support from the other clubs with the traditional table-banging round of applause and there are finally signs of life in this club.
We also saw the return of BOBBY! Was I disappointed Bobby wasn’t starting his own crew and leading them in a different direction? Yeah, I really was. Sorry; I know that’s not a popular opinion, but I wanted someone to come in and clean house. Instead, we learned that Bobby was actually recruiting for SAMCRO. Jax had thought he was trying to stage a coup, but Bobby had no intention of doing that because he loves the club and he loves Jax. Hugs all around! Okay, this is getting really sappy actually…I might have to change my opinion.
One of the best moments of the episode was the club travelling to the meeting and all that ensued after the meeting. The club finally felt like a family again, which is what Sutter had been missing for weeks now. When they get pulled over by the police, Juice overreacts and assaults the police.
Later on, they find the garage with Juice’s bike destroyed, and also find an illegal chop shop. The boys come together, set up the cops and finally win one for their side. This hasn’t happened in awhile and we got to see some humor as Jax has the dirty cops apologize one by one to the boys of SAMCRO. It was nice to see them all laughing and having each others backs. Will this last long? Hopefully it will; as this club was damaged enough as it is and Bobby is back as the heart of the club.
While the club is getting back together, Patterson finally emerged as the main adversary of the club. She has finally acknowledged that Toric was a freaking nutcase fruit loop, but she still needs someone’s head for the school shooting and she will not stop. She does not care that Nero is innocent, and intends on leaving him in jail until she can cut a deal with him.
She is also targeting Tara, whom she has approached with a deal. Tara refuses to betray Jax….which is hysterical because YOU ALREADY ARE YOU MORON. Can the running over her face thing finally happen please? One of Patterson’s best moments is when she removes that God awful wig I was being nice and ignoring, pulls down her real hair, and gets ready to go “hood.” She tells Tara she is trying her case and will enjoy throwing her ass in prison if she doesn’t want to cut a deal. Get her, Patterson! Get her!
So now that the old school SOA is back, will the club rebound and rebuild stronger than ever? Will Gemma knock Tara’s head off with that slap we saw in the previews? Can Venus stay around forever? Will Nero or Tara rat out of the club? Can I get free merchandise and a SAMCRO vest that says ‘Hot Mess’ on it because I really deserve it for all this build up? Tune in next week for an all new Sons of Anarchy!
LOVE this review!