Written by Duana


Sons of Anarchy Season 4 Episode 2 recap

So I got completely wrapped up in last week, but why do I think there will be fewer cuddly puppies and bunnies for me this time around? Also, I had a panic attack this morning because I couldn’t remember the name of Jax and Tara’s son. Which probably says more about me than the show…(PS, it’s Thomas).

Clay’s holding his heart and Gemma feeds him coffee. Times like this I want an old lady too. But she’s standing over him at the kitchen table in leather – she means business. She brushes off the Russian bodies that were found, instead focusing on the fact that Maureen Ashby gave Jax the letters from JT. She’s mad. Clay makes inappropriate comments about what was probably in the letters, and Gemma invokes the word ‘gash’ w/r/t the Belfast woman and family. Clay tells Gemma they’re good, so – who bets they’re not? But there’s oatmeal on the stove, so…

Tara’s running the domestic scheme with Jax, in terms of who watches the kids when. She calls Jax ‘Daddy’ and Abel looks at her like ‘seriously’? Then the report of the bodies comes up, and Jax asks if Tara really wants to know. She does – but the amount he’s able to spit out before his mom walks in only makes her madder…

Meanwhile, Opie’s mad that Lyla has to go to work. “[The director] takes his girl-on-girl seriously.” She, too, makes the connection between the Russians and their wedding, and also swallows Opie’s line that nothing happened.

Tara’s not mad enough that she doesn’t give Jax a hell of a smooch on her way out. Then Gemma gets a chance to fuss over whether she and Jax are OK, and the whole “You know I love you, right” makes her guilt not just palpable, but smell-able. Take it easy, Gemma.

Charming housing development. Bodies getting photographed. Roosevelt and Lincoln discuss, and Lincoln says he didn’t see this coming. Why are they getting so bold? Roosevelt rolls his eyes like he can’t believe he has to deal with this moron, but Lincoln has moved on to the fact that Mayor Hale is also the town’s biggest developer. There’s a Mayor McCheese joke, so I’m good.

“Mayor leans on Roosevelt” seems like a phrase I’m going to type a lot this season.

Okay, we’re at the auto yard and Clay tells one of his guys to keep some noise going outside. They meet up with some of the Mayans, and I don’t know if I should know them all. But Jax and Clay meet a head guy called Romeo. Clay admits he had to put the Russians down, and Romeo says it’s no problem. They’ll have each others’ backs. Jax shows them the weapons hidden in a junked-up old car. Romeo’s guys test out some of the weapons, and I’m not sure any noise is going to cover that; they’re going to buy everything every two weeks. They all keep saying “Except the Glocks” so I’m going to make a point of it.

Some money and figuring as Clay literally stacks hundreds of thousands of dollars on his bicep. It’s a good look.

Jax is annoyed that they’re trafficking blow now, but Clay swears it’s just ‘muling it’. Jax is furious because this was not part of the original deal, nobody voted on this. Clay swears this is all for Jax, which Jax sees through in a second. Says it’s all about Clay cashing out, and Clay cries poor at the lack of their retirement cushion and medical care. He knows he only has a year or two. Clay says he needs Jax to back him on this in the vote, so the ranks don’t get split. Jax gets his negotiating pants on, and says if he does, he’s out when Clay is. I feel like this is a GIANT error in judgment. Jax wants to know if Clay will promise to let him walk, and what else can Clay say? He says OK.

Vote – guys are pissed because SAMCRO’s never been in the drug business. Discussion over who can protect them from whom, and whether or not it’s worth the risk and attention it will rain down on them. To make his point, Jax pulls out giant bricks of money, banging them decisively on the table. They guys are all dumbfounded, so Jax and Opie go to check on the Ammo. Clay keeps Tig back, says he wants this – then Clay and Bobby sit down together. Bobby knows why he’s doing it but swears it’s a mistake. They love each other, but are gonna do what they have to do.

Do you think Gemma would neglect the kids while she ransacks Jax’ house looking for the letters? Because I do. She’s interrupted when the nanny arrives, and gladly hands off the babies. And then, because kids do the darndest things, Abel tucks a letter into her purse and Gemma realizes where the letters are.

Jax and Opie. Silence. Jax gets all teenage girl and asks why he won’t talk to him. Then says he thought while he was on the inside that the only way to take care of Tara and his boys was make some big money. That’s why going with the cartel is a good idea. For someone who hated this idea an hour ago, he’s got pretty good arguments. Opie says he can’t afford to go away again because Lyla can’t take care of his kids. Jax swears up and down they’re gonna be fine.

Roosevelt gets let into the secret room, and I’m about over the quirkiness of Lincoln when I see he’s drinking chocolate milk. Lincoln lost his entire team (minus one) because they all knew the double agent with the Russians who died. Roosevelt says he’s got to move, he can’t wait around for Lincoln to get a lead. Lincoln dickishly says “Be the badge”. I’m gonna use that.

Clay and Elliot Oswald, who looks like Stephen Keaton from Family Ties, discuss what Oswald can do for Clay, since he took the building contract. Clay informs him they’re going to be storing weapons at an old warehouse of his. I say informs because there’s exactly zero discussion. Elliot needs Charming Heights to happen because he took a bath before.

Jax and Opie go to check on the artillery – to find the guy who was taking care of it dead in his chair. Suddenly they’re in a gunfight, a rifle conveniently on the dirt – Jax and Opie peel out. But just when Opie, from the back of the truck, says they’re clear, Jax gets completely sideswiped by a black car. Opie goes flying but for some reason, he’s fine, and and Jax is the one who’s being pulled from a wreckage.

Anyway, they’re hauled into a room with two tied-up hostages, and Jax tries to get out of telling where the stolen weapons are, but when they give the order to shoot the (weeping, female) hostages, he screams that he can find them.

Gemma, in an act of excellent indiscretion, takes the kids to Tara’s office to search around for the letters. Would you not think she would leave the kids with the nanny? Hilarious shots of her looking for the letters underneath plastic models of uteri. Anyway, she digs and digs, and ultimately comes up with not just the letters, but an accident report about John Teller’s death. When you write scripts, you always say “(Character) goes white” and then the actor asks how they’re supposed to literally get the blood to leave their faces – but Katey Sagal actually does it here.

Bobby and Tig are working, but Bobby feels like Clay locked him out. And that Jax being on the inside is ‘dangerous’. But before they can continue, we hear Jax is on the bar line. Clay feels like it’s not important, though…

Gemma reads JT’s letters, particularly the part where he says the death of their marriage is his fault. She books into the bathroom when she hears Tara coming. Tara gets the creeps when she points out Gemma locked the door, but Gemma covers, all “He was hungry”. Does she really bring Thomas over every time he needs to eat? Then, Gemma, who should really, really cut her losses, starts to dig into Tara about why she’s not wearing her engagement ring.

Clay asks Unser whether Tara asked anything unusual about the history of SAMCRO or JT or what. Unser is happy to know nothing…

Clay gets on the phone, and Jax barely gets words out before a Russian tears the phone out of his hand and tells Clay they have one hour.

Now Gemma’s talking to Unser. How small is this town, in terms of travel? Gemma lays it out for Unser – that JT sent Maureen letters, and that Tara’s carrying them around. She explains how the letter says JT was worried about Gemma and Clay getting closer. Gemma is freaking out about the fact that Tara has the accident report too. Unser, trying to keep his own sh-t together, basically tells Gemma to calm down and not tell Clay yet.

The guys race off to get the guns to free Jax. But before they can peel out, Roosevelt and his boys roll into the club. So Clay delegates to Gemma who books. Roosevelt gets going with his questioning about the Russians last night – and a fire truck rolls into the bar parking lot. As Roosevelt inquires why there’s no black guys in their club, Clay says they’ve got no particular problem - and Roosevelt goes through the theatrics of ‘looking for a fire’ before using a fireman’s ax to bash through the wall of fame and sink an axe into the church table.

Roosevelt gives them a laundry list of fire violations, then says he’s willing to work with Clay. Which gets me hyper-excited. He says he was pushed to doing this, and if I didn’t know better, I’d say I saw something like respect on Clay’s face.

Opie and Jax are face down on some mint carpet, which would be kind of a sad place to die. Jax and Opie know this too, because after some gallows humor, they acknowledge that an hour is not going to be enough time to get the club there. But Romeo shows up to give the guns to the Russians. But only some of them, which doesn’t hold water. So Romeo and his deputy – who seems very clean cut – take out some Russians, just as the rest of SAMCRO rolls up. I’m waiting for a shot of someone untying the hostages.

Romeo explains they should let one Russian take the story back to his bosses. Jax enjoys pistol-whipping the lead dick, and Bobby realizes Clay hasn’t told the cartel that the club hasn’t made their decision yet.

The guys roll in, and it’s a reunion and kissing and thank-god-you’re-not-dead scene reminiscent of last episode’s. The guys all take in the devastation in the bar, and Tara’s face gets that sick look on it. So she announces she has some good news – and throws her ring on. Everyone cheers, which really, is just so, so sweet – and it does exactly what it’ s supposed to do. It lightens the mood right up, they do shots, and Clay’s oblivious to why Gemma and Unser are giving each other significant looks. Bobby pours out a bit of what looks like Patron for his homie which you can take to mean SAMCRO, as it was.

I get no promos for next week. So I’m guessing there will be looks of concern, nausea, and secrecy. Fair?