Sons of Anarchy Recap: “Laying Pipe”
Original Air Date (FX): Tuesday September 25, 2012
Season 5 Episode 3
The following contains spoilers from the episode.
To everything there is a season, a purpose for everything under the sun. A time to be born, and a time to… what the hell just happened? If you feel that mixture between being impressed and wanting to cry, you know exactly what I’m talking about.
Earlier this week, Sons of Anarchy creator/executive producer Kurt Sutter confirmed the gossip surrounding tonight’s episode. “It’s happening” was the final word. So, going into “Laying Pipe”, we all knew someone wasn’t making it out the other end in one piece. The million dollar question, up until now, was very basic: Who will it be?
I’ll say this much, it was a hard pill to swallow.
The Sons are in prison now, and at the top of the episode, they begin to talk about how to protect themselves on the inside, and from whom; with the kind of money and power Pope has, even the guards are potential killers. And just like that, Jax is called back by a guard for a meeting with the man himself, Damon Pope.
Harold Perrineau continues to be one of the highlights of this season as, scene after scene, he gives us shades of a ruthless killer in the guise of a business man. The Sons have been faced with all kinds of adversity before, but never has it come in so slick, efficient and terrifying a package as this man. But even with his connections, Pope has decided these men are “too hard to kill”. So, to hasten the process, he presents Jax with an offer. Although calling it an offer is probably the wrong terminology; there’s no saying no in this situation.
Pope wants Tig in prison for life, and he wants one of the other three to come out in a body bag as retribution for the death of the Niner and the cop. Well, one of the other two, Opie or Chibs, because Pope never suggested Jax sacrifice himself. That’s an idea only Jax would have. But, once again, there’s a rock and a hard place with no real exit strategy in sight. Someone has to die. Pope says so, Kurt Sutter says so, and we can’t wish our way out of this one.
Back on the outside, Gemma and Tara are constantly at odds over Gemma’s demands to see her grandsons and Tara’s reluctance to give them over to a woman who has alarmingly large hickies and is high a good portion of the time. But, as we all know, Gemma doesn’t play nice. Or fair. Which means we see the return of Abel’s “recovered” junky mother Wendy, played to perfection once again by Sopranos’ alum Drea de Matteo. These scenes are basically what you’d expect. Gemma pushes, Tara pushes back, all the way to the point where Tara says she can’t guarantee Jax won’t kill Gemma if she doesn’t back off and stop trying to hurt their family. Ouch. Tara 1, Gemma 0.
Post Jax’s meeting with Pope, everyone is talking about it, both in prison and out of prison. For the Sons on the outside, it’s all about business. Surprisingly enough, Clay actually comes through on this one as he calms down the cartel and diffuses the situation — for now. But not so fast, Clay’s back to his old self as he pressures Juice to tell him who Gemma has been with, complete with the crocodile tears. And we all know Juice can’t say no when you play to his emotions, so off they go into a scene that includes Gemma beating up teen pop sensation Ashley Tisdale in a “therapy room”. That’s right, Ashley Tisdale. In the midst of the emotions and the tragedy of this episode, I can’t fully process the hilarity of that moment, but I’m sure we’ll get to more of that in upcoming episodes.
Back in prison, the plan is in motion, as Jax and crew engage in an all-out brawl in the yard, which gets them thrown into holding cells, two by two. Jax and Opie, as they sit in their cell, are confronted by the solitary guard who lays out the plan for the death of one of the four. Someone is going to get into a fight. And that man isn’t going to walk away from it alive.
It’s at this point that Jax tells Opie everything. He tells him how Clay killed his father, and how John could see it coming ahead of time. About the letters, and the fact that Piney’s death at the hands of Clay was for no other reason than he knew what they said. Finally, knowing why Clay killed Piney sinks in and Opie’s reaction is violent. With Jax pinned against the wall, he asks why he wasn’t allowed to kill Clay when he had the chance. Jax tries to explain it was because of the RICO deal with the Feds, and that he had to choose between killing Clay and saving the club. That he made the choice he needed to make, in spite of what Clay deserves. Opie understands well enough to calm down, but his opinion is clear. “You made the wrong choice,” he says.
There is absolutely no doubt that the moments leading up to the death fight, and the fight itself, are the most raw, brutal, and heart-wrenching series of events we’ve seen on this show to date. And while there will undoubtedly be speculation regarding who Jax would have picked, if he would have ultimately sacrificed himself, that choice was forcibly taken from him. Opie puts himself in the fight, and on either side of a glass window we watch as both men, Jax and Opie, die. One is headed for a body bag, and the other leaves behind the man he once was; the one who believed he could make things right for everyone in the end.
As he meets with Pope a final time, after Opie’s death, we can see the change in Jax already. This is a different Jax Teller than we’ve ever seen before. This is a man who just watched his best friend get bludgeoned to death with a pipe for the crimes of lesser men. And the Jax that walks out of that situation is going to do anything he can to end this, once and for all. Including making a deal with Pope which includes sacrificing Tig once it’s all over. Pope is nothing but pleased as he notes the change in Jax. “There you go,” he says. “Finding the hidden advantage in an circumstance. Using pain to take you to the next level. Those are the things that turn players into kings. Be smart, Mr. Teller. It’s who you are.”
Indeed it is. And with that, along with plans for Jax, Chibs and the doomed (and not nearly repentant enough) Tig to get out of prison, we’ve come to the end of an unforgettable and gut-wrenching episode of Sons of Anarchy. Well played, Mr. Sutter.
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