Sons of Anarchy Recap: “Orca Shrugged”

The following contains spoilers for Sons of Anarchy

Sons of Anarchy Recap: “Orca Shrugged”
Original Air Date (FX): Tuesday October 9, 2012
Season 5 Episode 5

In case you were curious about the title of this week’s Sons of Anarchy episode, let me tell you now, before we begin, that the answer to this question will not disappoint.  There’s also a big surprise in store for the faithful Kurt Sutter fans, which the network has been keeping under wraps — and for good reason.  The impact of this surprise is definitely worth the secrecy.

Long-time fans of the show will remember the way Jax used to read the things his father wrote in the early seasons; John Teller’s philosophy on the club, his place within it, and how it all went wrong.  These things not only introduced us to the erstwhile President of SAMCRO, they carefully shaped the perspective of Jax — heavily influencing his growth as a character, and the way that growth has impacted everyone around him.  It’s good to remember that as this week’s episode begins with Jax writing similar things to his own boys on the weight of his experiences, and how these things leave a mark.  “It’s hard not to hate,” he writes. “People things, institutions.  When they break your spirit and take pleasure in watching you bleed; hate is the only feeling that makes sense.  But I know what hate does to a man.  Tears him apart, turns him into something he’s not; something he promised himself he’d never become.  That’s what I need to tell you.  To let you know how hard I’m trying not to cave under the weight of all the awful things I feel in my heart.  Sometimes my life feels like a deadly balancing act; what I feel slamming up against what I should do.  Impulsive reactions racing to solutions miles ahead of my brain.”

Through this we not only get a glimpse of where Jax is, but we see Gemma (having one night stands with women) and Clay (sitting around loading his gun while drinking).  And then we’re shown Tara, left alone in the middle of the night so Jax can sort all of this out.  “Every day is a new box, boys,” he finishes.  “You open it, you take a look at what’s inside.  You’re the one who determines if it’s a gift or a coffin.”

Next we see the Sons taking a meeting with the Mayor of Charming.  He has the deed to a building they want to use for Caracara (the porn/escort collaboration Jax negotiated with Nero in the previous episode). He’s reluctant, to say the least, but Jax isn’t really taking no for an answer on this one.  He threatens putting a stop to “Charming Heights”, which we can all remember from previous seasons.  The amount of drama that has revolved around this housing development never really seems to end.

Jax presents all of this to the club, and they unanimously vote it in.  Now all they have to do is figure out how to get the building situation in order, but we’ll get to that later.

In the meantime we see Tara visiting with her doctor.  He tells her the hand is healing much better than expected, and she may even be able to perform surgery again.  Later in the episode, for reasons yet to be revealed, she tries to do just that and can’t; her frustration with her hand is undoubtedly going to continue to be a source of angst for her.  We’ll see where that goes.

This episode gives us back a little drama with the Irish, while, in the middle of a “meeting”, the man who loves doing business with Clay basically tells Jax he doesn’t trust him, he’s arrogant, and reckless.  What better way to combat those kinds of insults but with a proper fist fight, which I have to say is strangely satisfying; with all the pent-up anger and hate Jax has been feeling lately, it’s almost cathartic to see him punch a man in the face a few dozen times. After that’s all over, everyone brushes themselves off to watch a fairly impressive machine gun demonstration — so the cartel knows what they’re getting.  The unfortunate part was that the gunfire was aimed at the Son’s bikes.  Nothing that can’t be fixed with a little money from the Irish, and even Jax looked amused.  This episode is definitely on the lighthearted/comical side, which is surprising (and a little refreshing) after all the heaviness that surrounded Opie’s death.

Gemma finally finds out why Nero was blowing her off in the next scene, as he confesses it was part of his business deal with Jax.  The drama continues.  Especially when Jax tells Gemma, later on, it’s not something he’s going to cave on.

But, finally, we’re at the heart of this episode, where we get a visit from a familiar face that fans of The Shield won’t soon forget.  Let me set the scene for you before the big reveal.  We have a very hefty man who is seemingly standing in the way of “Charming Heights”; his vote is important to get it through.  We have Chuck (the former compulsive masturbator who lost his fingers and now wears an artificial hand) giving this man a cupcake laced with some kind of drug.  The man falls asleep.  Enter the Sons with a plan.  What is this plan?  This plan is to invite a transvestite prostitute over to take pictures of himself/herself and the man in compromising positions — which can be later used for blackmail. Charming Heights goes through, Caracara has a home, and all is well.  But first, the pictures have to be taken.

Enter Venus Van Dam, played by The Shield alum Walton Goggins (“Detective Shane Vendrell”) in full drag, and with large breasts. This is something the network was purposefully keeping under wraps, and, after watching the episode, it’s obvious why. You not only have to see it for yourself, it’s even better if you’re surprised. With that said, I can’t really describe it any more completely than that. You just need to get the show, and watch these scenes for yourself.  Especially if you’re a fan of The Shield.

Pictures are taken, not only of the man that was their initial target, but his stepson as well (played by True Blood’s Marshall Allman) — both with Venus Van Dam.  It’s a busy day in Charming, and I also need to mention how many times Tig makes comments about wanting to sleep with Venus too.  Tig never fails. And speaking of, when the man starts to come to, he reacts by biting Tig on the ass.  Which is the “surgery” Tara attempts to perform after the fact.  It’s a bite that requires a few (dozen) stitches.

But “Orca Shrugged” isn’t all comedy.  We’re reintroduced to the problem of these break-ins, which someone pointed out was perpetrated by the Nomads SAMCRO took in; Chuck Zito was the man going through the contents of Gemma and Clay’s safe in an earlier episode.  The tragic part of this latest break in is that it takes place at the Sheriff’s house, resulting in his pregnant wife being shot in the stomach.  The episode ends before we find out if the baby (or his wife) actually will survive, but I’m guessing one or both won’t make it.  I’m also guessing this is going to be a turning point, kicking the investigation into high gear, ultimately exposing the members of the club who are behind it, and unleashing a whole new kind of hell upon SAMCRO — from the inside, and from the outside.  Stay tuned as we all watch and see how this will play out.

At the end of the day, the deal is made, and the Sons come out ahead.  Jax returns home to find his wife, mother and sons peacefully sleeping, and a dead woman’s breast and thumb in a cooler on the table (as a stand-in for what Nero’s crew demanded come off of Ashley Tisdale in “Stolen Huffy“).  The look on Jax’s face says it all.  “This is my life?” says the face of Charlie Hunnam.

Yes, at the moment, this is the life of Jax Teller.

And, with that, we come to the end of another fantastic (and surprising) episode of Sons of Anarchy.