Sons of Anarchy Recap: “Authority Vested”

Sons of Anarchy Recap: “Authority Vested”
Original Air Date (FX): Tuesday September 18, 2012
Season 5 Episode 2

There’s no question about it: last week’s season five premiere of Sons of Anarchy was pure chaos.  Tig’s daughter was burned alive, Laroy was dismembered, and after warrants were issued for their arrest, Jax and Chibs went into hiding.  Oh, and there was an orgy.  Involving Jimmy Smits.

But this week brings it all back home, to the heart of the show, in an episode that can best be described as being all about family; the family you’re born into, the families you create, and the things you’ll do to care for and protect both.

“Authority Vested” opens with Opie, as he’s asked where Jax is by the Sheriff’s department.  He doesn’t know, but seems to keep getting dragged into these situations.  Ever since we were first introduced to Opie, he’s been struggling with his place in the club; with the exception of Otto, no one seems to have given more or paid a higher personal price.  But, unlike Otto, Opie is in a consistent battle between what’s clearly been his unwavering loyalty to the club (and Jax) and his desire to get out and live a better life.

One of the most fantastic things about this episode is the time it spends on getting to know Jimmy Smits’ new character (Nero Padilla) a little better.  Nero really puts himself out on a limb for SAMCRO in this one, hiding the Sons from the Sheriff’s department in one of his “therapy” rooms, lending them his truck, and (later in the episode) driving Jax to safety during a high speed car chase with the Niners.  So far, he seems to be one of the good guys.  And, to top it all off, Jax and Nero bond over their kids.  Nero’s son, we learn in this episode, is in a special facility for the disabled because he suffers from spina bifida — as a result of the mother being a junky.  And Jax knows a thing or two about having a son born to a junky, and the drama that follows.

But back to the action of the episode.

After borrowing Nero’s truck, Jax and crew manage to find Tig, still at the scene of the crime (multiple crimes).  They recover the body of his daughter, and burn the rest of the bodies, getting Tig safely back to the brothel where Jax assigns Gemma to keep an eye on him.  Meanwhile, Wayne calls Clay and tells him to get over to the house.  It’s not only been robbed, but Wayne was severely beaten.  They all assume it’s retaliation from Pope, but is it?  We’ll get to that later.

For all the action Harold Perrineau (Damon Pope) saw in last week’s episode, he’s extremely subdued in this one.  Pope directs traffic entirely from his office, as he waits for confirmation that the Sons are arrested, locked up and vulnerable to attack.

At a meeting with the SAMCRO attorney, Jax reveals as much as he can to their counsel about their involvement with the CIA, and how necessary it is to get rid of the current charges against them.  They also find out where Tig’s second daughter is, and decide to go and get her out of town.  But before they do, Jax makes a decision.  Just as he’s about to leave Tara to go take care of yet another club problem, he hesitates, turns back and asks her to marry him…today.  “I don’t want to wait anymore,” he says.  “Whatever happens, Tara, I want you to be my wife.  I always have.”  Ah, nothing says romance like a brothel. But in true SOA style, spontaneity reigns and they decide to do it.

This is followed by a perfect moment Jax has with Tig’s daughter’s boyfriend.  After much ado about walking in on her having sex, and the confusion as to whether or not she was being attacked, things eventually calm down and Jax pulls the boyfriend aside.  “Do you care about her?  Then you’ve got to pack a bag and get her out of town.”  It’s yet another moment where you can see the writers layering in Jax’s own desires, and his inability to get out, into the scene.  In that moment, he’s telling someone to do the thing he couldn’t (and may never) do himself.

At this point, I’d like to take an aside.  If you were responsible for the murder of a man’s wife, killed his father in cold blood, and had recently been shot in the chest by that same man, would you casually walk up to him while he was holding a saw?  No?  Well then, your name isn’t Clay Morrow, because that’s exactly what he does when he decides to visit Opie.

But this is a very key point in the episode, not just because Clay tells Opie he confessed to the club that he killed Piney.  It’s important because he reminds Opie the only reason he’s staying away is because of his hatred for Clay, who doesn’t have much longer, and that Jax needs him.  Then Clay leaves him to think.  And think he does, because the next time we see Opie, he’s at the porn studio giving his ex-wife Lyla money to take care of his kids because he’s “going away” for a little while.  Where is he going, you ask?  Just wait.

In the meantime, Gemma finds out Jax and Tara are getting married via a careless attorney giving her the rush-order marriage license at the club.  Her reaction is classic, and when she brings it to the brothel right as the wedding is about to begin, fans of SOA are given another glimpse at Gemma’s softer side.  In the dressing room, she tells Tara she understands why she’s put distance between them, but to remember there’s no one who understands what she’s going through better than Gemma.  And she’s right.  She also gives Tara the wedding rings she and John used to wear, solidifying that parallel we saw last season, between the picture of Gemma and John, and the final image of Jax and Tara from the finale — the queen standing behind the burdened king, who’s sitting at the head of the SAMCRO table.

The wedding of Tara and Jax is surprisingly beautiful, in spite of the brothel setting, the fact that no one is really dressed for the occasion, and the “john judge” presiding over the ceremony rushing through it.  Its beauty is in its simplicity, because it truly is a touching moment between these characters, who have seen more than their fair share of heartache and loss, as they’ve consistently been up against overwhelming odds.  The most symbolic moment of the ceremony was Tara taking off Jax’s club rings to make way for the wedding ring.  Chibs also has a touching moment, when he stands up to give his best wishes to the bride and groom.

As we come to the end of the episode, Jax, Tig and Chibs are saying their goodbyes before turning themselves in.  All seems to be going exactly as planned until Opie shows up just in time to punch the Sheriff, get himself arrested, and take his place at Jax’s side.  Opie, after all his protesting and saying he was done with the club, turned it all around.  Should we all thank Clay for this one?  I think we may need to.

So, in the end, Pope is told about the arrest, Clay is still broken and alone, Gemma escalates her relationship with Nero, everyone was all wrong about who was responsible for the robbery (who are those guys?), and Jax looks down at his wedding ring…as the Sheriff’s department drives the Sons off to prison.  Again.

And in case you were wondering, the incredible closing song this week was Soldiers Eyes by Jack Savoretti.

Can Jax and Opie keep everyone whole behind bars?  We’ll have to wait and see.