Our episode opens with the bloody aftermath of what was once Diosa North. Jax sits smoking next to a corpse… Happy is speaking rapidly into his phone… Collette lies dead on the floor…
Nero summons Jax into the kitchen and asks him directly who would do this and why. Jax tries to deflect, but Nero is having none of that. He says he needs direct answers for Jax and soon. Because what happened tonight is just the tip of the iceberg to where SAMCRO is heading. Bobby interrupts the confrontation and says that someone eventually needs to call in the cops. Jax volunteers to stay and talk to Charming PD. Bobby sternly warns him not to ride alone at any time now. All out war has come to Charming. Nero says he will go to Stockton to tell Charlie the horrible news.
At the Come On In Motel, Gemma gets a call from Happy just as she is planing her next move with Juice. Told of the craziness, she kicks down some Medical Mary Jane to Juice (without telling him the truth) and heads out to the scene of the crime. Juice partakes…And lets the dark, little gears in his mind start to turn.
At Chief Jarry’s place, Chibs gets the phone after quick shower. His face goes blank while our favorite COP partakes in a little of the good herb herself ( which must be some kind of series land speed record even for the bent Law Enforcement we’ve seen on SOA: four episodes, one roach). He tells her sternly that he has to go. And that she should get dressed herself.
After the intro, Jarry summons Unser to Diosa. She flashes on him for not having helped her to prevent this. Unser doesn’t have much to say on the topic. In the kitchen, she makes a last ditch appeal to Jax to give her some intel on who did this dirtiest of deeds. Jax plays it cool, tries to make it seem like some random cowboy craziness. Jarry warns that payoff or no payoff, the Feds will soon be all over her and the club for answers. Jax coolly runs his fingertips of the flame of his Zippo as he ignores Jarry’s words.
In Stockton, Nero gets to Charlie’s coffeehouse only to find out that the bad news about Diosa has proceeded him. Even worse, some of Henry Lin’s soldiers are waiting for him outside. Bursting into the coffeehouse, Lin’s lieutenant demands a sitdown with Henry and Nero. They make it abundantly clear that this is not a request.
At the docks, Redwoody is in lockdown. Every living member of Redwood is onsite and ready for action, along with the surviving members of the Diosa operation. Lyla is a mess as Gemma arrives. Wendy and the boys are inside as well. It’s as grim as it gets.
Bobby relays to Jax the bad news that the warehouse with the Chinese guns has been hit and another message in blood has been written. Before Jax can give his game plan to the club, Wendy comes and tells him he needs to talk to Abel. The flesh and blood Son of Anarchy is getting wise to the “life-in-wartime” atmosphere that has been part of his daily routine in recent months. He asks Jax if someone else has died. Jax responds that his job is keep everyone in the warehouse safe and protected and that he won’t let anybody hurt Abel or Thomas. It’s a promise that increasingly is getting more and more hollow.
At Charlie’s, a steaming Henry tells Nero that he’s tired of the BS and that Jax and the club are marked for destruction. Nero tries to tell him that Jax told him he was keeping the peace. Henry lets fly with the all the moves SAMCRO has been making against him and lets Nero know he wants Jax delivered up by tonight. To grease the wheels, Henry tells Nero that his men are watching Nero’s son as they speak. Nero tries to bring the noise, but Henry tells him to save the fury for Jax, who has been playing them both for fools.
Around the Reaper, the assembled SAMCRO assesses their problems. Tig (somehow upright after last eps. shooting) says he has made arrangements to bring in some back up. Jax seems far away, but recovers in time to restate his traitor theory. Nobody knew where the guns were hidden except for Redwood and Indian Hills. Not privy to Jerry’s vendetta against him, Jax wonders aloud if someone at the table has betrayed the Sons.
This thread will wait its turn, however. Jax has a plan to hit Henry. And to do it, he’ll need Charlie’s help. But first, a test of his loyalty is needed.
On the way out the door, Gemma spins a tale about needing to go to Oregon to see her dad in the nursing home ( and spurs for long time viewers bittersweet memories of the late, great Hal Holbrook). Jax is nervous about letting Gemma out of his site, but relents as she insists that she needs to see his grandfather one last time. He asks her if she is armed and after she assures him she is and that she will take Unser as backup, he reluctantly agrees to let her go. In an odd moment, he kisses both Gemma and Wendy before walking out the door. Considering Jax tried to OD her with a speedball last season, his show of affection is seemingly as surprising to her as to us.
Outside the door, Jarry is hanging out, hope to talk to Chibs. Jax tells Chibs to deal with her and catch up to them later. Jarry starts to work Chibs, who stays stoic as usual. He tells her to lay low while the club handles the payback for Diosa. Jarry is rightfully incredulous. She reminds him that there are a mountain of dead women at Diosa. Women whose deaths will fall under the jurisdiction of the FBI. The whole thing will soon be out of her hands.
Jarry tells Chibs that she has been taking the money from SAMCRO to build trust with the MC. Chibs asks her if their encounter last night was just another of her trust building exercises. She tells him that she just wants to help, even going so far as to call him Phillip to prove her sincerity (and sends us Crow Lovers scrambling to recall the last time Chibs real name was uttered on the show. To my recollection, it was in Season 3, by his Galen-stolen IRA Ex-Wife). He agrees to find something that can help her pin the killings on someone, ensuring that this star-crossed affair is gonna end badly. They steal a kiss from each other as he leaves.
The rest of the club rolls us to Charlie’s as they are greeted by a very angry Nero. He throws hands on Jax, wrestling the Chairman to the ground before the rest of the guys break them up.
After the break, Nero roars at Jax for all the lies and secrets. Now, Nero’s son has been dragged into the equation and he has to make a choice. Jax relates the Gemma fairy tale that the Chinese killed Tara. Nero is taken aback and says he needs to see Gemma in order to make a decision, but that he’s tired of taking sides. Jax says he understands.
Bobby gives Charlie some side eye over his security at the docks. Wasn’t one of his men supposed to be keeping an eye on things? Charlie relates that his man at the docks is an active Stockton PD he employs on the side. He says they can catch up to him at his pawn shop where he fences everything that Stockton PD steals while they Serve and Protect. Tig mutters about how his tax dollars are being used.
Back at Redwoody, Gemma tells Unser it’s time to roll out. Before that can be settled, Brooke finds Gemma and Wendy and says she needs help with a very upset Abel. The child has armed himself with a hammer and is watching over his younger brother with a flame in his eyes. He says he’s not gonna let any bad guy hurt his brother and smacks the hammer against the wall to prove his seriousness. It’s a heartbreaking scene, as the child actors, Evan and Ryder Londo, show that they can portray the grim effects of violence and instability on the psyche of young Abel. Sutter and co. really touches a nerve here.
At the cop’s shop, Charlie and the club confront the lax night watchman about his failure to sound the alarm. When he tries to disassemble about his whereabouts, Tig suggests they pull his pants and shove some of his stolen wares into certain orifices. When faced with the Deliverance treatment, the cop squeals, saying he was offered $2,000 to miss checking on SAMCRO’s warehouse last night. Charlie is infuriated that his well-bribed man took another offer, pulls out his Nine and engages in some impromptu target practice. No sooner than the body hits the floor, he apologizes to SAMCRO for the failure to communicate.
At the Motel, a restless Juice goes outside for a Coke. There he sees the headlines of the Diosa massacre in the morning newspaper (remember those things?). Worse still, he’s spotted by a desk clerk who sees him go into a room that is rented in Unser’s name. Worser still, he happens to be an Asian man, which sends Juice into Paranoid Conspiracy Land as he locks the door and hides under the bed. The desk clerk gets the key and comes into the room, leading Juice to bonk him on the head. When that doesn’t keep him down, Juice shoots him in the back… And several other places for good measure.
Back at Redwoody, Nero talks to Gemma about what she saw (supposedly) and why she kept it from him. Gemma lies like the pro she is, but somehow we get the sense that Nero is gonna find the loose ends in this one. But for the time being, he plays along, telling Jax that he will help him against Henry.
Nero heads to Henry’s restaurant (which spares no cliche) and tells him that Jax is going to ambush him at the meet spot he’s arranged to return the Tong’s heroin. He tells Henry to bring every gun he can get his hand on. The crime boss agrees to the meet, with the intention of killing Jax once and for all.
At the Motel, Unser and Gemma show and find a dead clerk in the room. When Juice repeats his mixed up thinking about the events that led to the shooting, he almost lets the true story drop in Unser’s hearing. Confused, Unser pumps Gemma. Gemma repeats fake story about Tara’s murder on demand. Unser knows it sounds shaky, but also knows that they have to get Juice out of there and clean up the crime scene. He volunteers to stay behind and cleanup while Gemma takes Juice to Oregon. Juice leaves with a weird “thank you” to Unser. Unser in turn calls Jarry and tells her Lin is behind Diosa massacre.
At the docks, Lin and his boys roll up on Jax and Chibs three cars and 15 men deep. They shoot up the warehouse behind the two… Until they figure out that it’s empty except for their heroin. Jax spins a desperate tale about Marks being the root of all evil and that if Henry spares them, they will help the Tong bring down the Black market on guns. Henry is very unsure, but after consulting with his right hand man (which leads to a script problem as two Chinese national crime figures who supposedly speak fluent Mandarin converse in front of their hated rivals in English) they take Chibs and Jax with them. As the convoy leaves the scene, Ratboy follows behind in the van.
On the Oregon trail, Gemma waits til Juice is asleep and makes a detour south (never trust that PHx MJ!).
In Stockton, Henry’s motorcade is stopped by what looks like Stockton PD. Being a law-abiding crime syndicate, Lin and his men pull over to be patted and cuffed… Only to find out that Jax has planned the whole scam along by using` Charlie’s ex-PD connections. With his men cuffed, Jax revels in his chance to make Henry pay for the death of Tara, which, of course, Henry knows nothing about. But Jax isn’t hearing it and decides to fight Lin to the death. Which, also of course, takes a long time.
Too long in fact as Jarry calls Chibs and lets him know the REAL cops are converging on them right now. Jax has to be pulled away by Bobby who tells him that they can get Lin on the inside. The actual boys in blue pull up as SAMCRO pulls away, leaving a very bruised Henry wondering what the hell Jax was raving about.
The ending montage features the Forest Rangers adaptation of the 5th Dimension’s “Age of Aquarius/ Let the Sunshine In” in the background (proving again that everything sounds better by the Forest Rangers), but there ain’t no sunshine visible as Gemma makes her way with Juice through the nighttime desert. A groggy Juice wakes up enough to realize that they are hundreds of miles off course. A crafty Gemma tries to spin a tale of Oregon being too dangerous right now and that Juice needs to go Mexico.
On the road, Jax and the club roll up on a night spot controlled by Henry. They lay waste to the men guarding the door. Despite setting Henry up to take the fall with the cops, Jax’s misplaced revenge continues.
Juice queries Gemma about how he will get into Mexico. Gemma too quickly answers that Nero is eager to help save Juice. Juice calmly relates that statement is a lie given that Nero knows that Juice killed Junkie Mom last season ago on Jax’s order. Gemma, caught off guard, goes for her gun. Juice forces her off the road before she can get her gun out of her purse.
As the SUV lies in a ditch, Gemma tries to make a run for it. However, given that nobody is that fast in six inch boot heels. Juice runs her to ground, his weapon at the ready. When Juice asks if she really was going to kill him, a tearful Gemma confesses that she wasn’t sure but that she no longer could trust his unstable mental state. As she begs for her life and Juice considers his next move, the Reaper makes his end of show appearance.
Wow, Crow Lovers, what do you think? Has Gemma finally reached the end of the road? Will Good Guy Juice lose out to New Evil Juice? What will he do now that he holds Gemma? And the secret that could destroy SAMCRO? Is Henry the most confused crime lord of all time? How many plot threads can single season resolve? Be back next week and see! Until then, discuss, discuss, discuss…
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