Sons of Anarchy Season 4 Finale Lead-in: SAMCRO Implodes

Whoa.

If you watched Sons of Anarchy Episode 4.12, “Burnt and Purged Away”, you know exactly what I’m talking about. If you haven’t watched the episode yet, you need to “check yourself”, watch it (twice if need be) and then come back for the discussion.

I speculated in the past that Opie (Ryan Hurst) and Jax (Charlie Hunnam) would team up to tag-team kill Clay (Ron Perlman). The theory is still holding up, just with a slightly different twist than expected.

At the end of episode 11, “Call of Duty“, Opie finally learned that his father was killed. Thanks to Unser (Dayton Callie), Opie also learned that it was Clay who killed Piney (William Lucking).

OBITUARY FOR PINEY

In “Burnt and Purged Away”, Opie confronted Gemma (Katey Sagal) regarding her facial bruises. Although he was led to believe that Gemma had his best interest in mind by Unser, Opie doubted the truth in Unser’s words. Opie smartly asked general questions regarding Gemma’s bruises. He had to know the truth about Gemma’s involvement and if she was potentially complicit in his father’s murder. If that were the case, then Jax would potentially also be at fault.

All of these thoughts were in the back of Op’s mind when he called Jax to the crematorium to watch Piney’s body get burned to ashes. Jax arrived and hugged a semi-reluctant Opie. Although Opie had invited Jax, he made it clear that he only invited the VP because Piney would have wanted him there. Then, Opie tossed Piney’s leather into the furnace with the body.

Everything seemed like “mourning as usual” to Jax, however, we and Opie knew different. Outside the crematory, Opie pulled his gun on Jax. He accused Jax, stating that Jax knew Clay killed Piney. Subconsciously, Opie knew that Jax could not have known the truth. But, he knew that Jax would stop him from doing what needed to be done. Jax tried to persuade Opie to bring his grievance before the club.

“What table?! You’re out, remember?!” Opie to Jax

Opie put a hole in Jax’s tire. Apparently, Jax’s proposal to bring Clay’s guilt before the table meant nothing to him. And, why should it? If Jax knew the truth about Clay’s involvement in JT’s death or Tara’s (Maggie Siff) attack, Jax would have reacted the same way as Opie.

Back at the club, Clay was waiting, gun in hand, for Opie. Unfortunately for Clay, Opie got the drop on him and pushed Clay’s gun aside. Opie wanted Clay to die with the gavel in hand. Then, Jax showed up. While my words could never match the adrenaline of what happened on-screen, I have to say it was one of the most powerful scenes in Anarchy history.

Hurst delivered, in my opinion, Opie’s most emotional scene ever. There were several great Hurst moments in Season 2, but this one easily trumped them all. Seeing the veins pop out of Opie’s faced as he clutched the gun and pointed it at Donna and Piney’s murderer made me jump out of my seat. Then, I watched it again, just so that I could jump out of my seat again. Jax threatened to “kill” Opie if Op shot Clay.

Opie looked at Jax as if he wanted to say “seriously?” And, then Opie put two slugs in Clay’s chest.

If you jumped out of your seat and threw up your hands with the Touchdown sign, then I was right there with you.

It needed to be done. But, Clay is not dead. The two shots, while deadly, were not “lethal”. Clay can still be saved – for now. Unfortunately, Jax will probably have to shoot Opie to disarm him. Then in the two-part finale, Jax will invariably finish the job. We all know Clay has to die. Opie started the process and Jax will finish it. The tag-team theory will prevail (nod your head if you agree).

“I am protecting what it took me 20 goddamn years to build. That’s what I’m doing.” – Gemma to Unser

If this were Breaking Bad, the episode would have just focused on this one amazing dynamic. However, in SOA, about 10 other things happened that will affect the finale.

Here’s what to look out for:

Galindo is still after Tara. Do you think that she’ll die? In season 1 or 2, I could imagine SOA without Tara. But now, I can’t see the show without her. Tara is necessary. Her involvement adds so much depth to both Jax and Gemma’s characters. Yet, I have no idea how she will be able to escape Galindo. Romeo (Danny Trejo) is convinced that she is a threat. The only way to stop Tara from dying is to kill Romeo and his number two, Luis (Benito Martinez). If that happens, won’t the entire Mexican cartel come crashing down on SAMCRO?

Wait… What is SAMCRO these days?

Otto (Kurt Sutter), aka the SAMCRO Rock, has just betrayed the club,because he thinks the club betrayed him. Thank you, Lincoln Potter (Ray McKinnon)… now, go eff yourself. I digress. More importantly, Otto is upset because the club did not look out for Luanne (Dendrie Taylor) – his only request after a near decade in jail.

Jax named the new SAMCRO hierarchy. Bobby (Mark Boone Junior) at the top, Chibs (Tommy Flanagan) as VP and Happy (David Labrava) as the sergeant.

Well, that’s out the window. Bobby lies in a jail cell thanks to Otto’s signed testimony.

But, wait. Who’s that in a holding cell right next to Bobby? It’s none other than SAMCRO’s other rat – the suicidal one – Juice (Theo Ortiz).

Somebody please help me. When the dust settles from this amazing season, who will be left to watch in Sons of Anarchy Season 5?

First, we lost Miles (Frank Potter). He was somewhat forgettable. Then, we lost Piney. I’m still beyond upset. Next, Kozik (Kenny Johnson) stepped on a land mine and blew up in the SOA surreal episode “Call of Duty”. I imagine Kurt Sutter was listening to Downing Pool’s “Bodies”/”Let the Bodies Hit the Floor” song when he concocted that exploding-body-parts scene.

So that’s three members dead, one on death row (Otto), and two more members locked up (Juice and Bobby).

We’re going to need a few more members for Season 5. While I’m sure Filthy Phil (Christopher Reed) is a nice guy, I can’t see him replacing any of those members.

Before I suggested that Ron Perlman deserved an Emmy and Golden Globe nod for this season. I still stand by it. However, I neglected to mention that Kurt Sutter deserved Emmy and Golden Globe award nods too. I have been adamantly lobbying for the series to get an award since Season 2 and against the awards committees when the series got shafted. So, I apologize if anyone thought I left that out on purpose.

In closing, “the crow flies straight”. I just have no idea where to come Season 5.

Theories?

For now, I’m just looking forward to a jaw-dropping two-part finale and I’m hoping that Clay is the only member that dies. Fingers crossed for Tara. And, let’s see what Roosevelt (Rockmond Dunbar) does regarding the Juice situation. He seemed genuinely upset to learn that Juice actually betrayed his club.

Turntwo8

everybody is wrong. At some point near the end of the show, Jax will wake up and this will all be a dream.
DocStien

Disagree. THe actor is the SAME in EVERY roll I have seen him in, TV and movies.
And though Kurts writting and inventing of this ( and other characters) was interesting, this is past prime considering all the other things going on now. Lets weed him out.
I dont think Tara is a good actress, but she is important to the Gemma and Jax story
Breaultt

There is no show with out Tara .. Tara keeps the show real.. LOVE & WAR
Vortexf14

I think Jax will use Wendy to fake Tara’s death …Why else bring her back…
I get the feeling the truth about John is ready to come out …

So excited
pam

I think Gemma is worse than Clay. She was not happy that Tara told Jax
about their conversation and i think Tara is going to pay dearly for
that…it actually does look like Tara being thrown through that window
in next weeks previews…only because there appears to be something
hanging from one arm which could be her sling. Getting back to Gemma,
she is always saying she is protecting her
family…how, by setting her
son up to kill her husband? He could get life. What kind of Mother would
do that? Why won’t she do it herself then? Because like she said once
before, she couldn’t handle jail.

To me it looked like Clay was shot in the shoulder and on his side…he
has to be alive…which is really horrible because he gets out of going
to the meet with the Irish and Cartel and therefore wouldn’t be
arrested! Tara can’t help him because of her hand and I can’t see her
helping him now anyway. Jax knows someone has flipped. The Irish don’t
want to work with Jax and with Clay gone, it’s the MC’s way out of the
drug business! Wait till Opie finds out that Juice killed his friend
Miles, he will really hit bottom…Donna, Piney, Jax and Miles…too
much. He’s already gone to prison for 5 years for the club. I think
Chibs will be the one to get Juice but I still don’t think Otto really
turned, it’s that request about Lenny that seems a bit odd.

In next weeks previews Gemma tells Jax the truth about JT (probably her version). So Jax not only finds out the truth about Clay, he also finds out that Tara kept the letters from him. Where does he go with that? Jax is about as messed up as Opie at this point.

If there is just one thing I can wish for in this series it’s that Jax and Opie sit at the head of the table in the end.
pam

I think Gemma is worse than Clay. She was not happy that Tara told Jax
about their conversation and i think Tara is going to pay dearly for
that…it actually does look like Tara being thrown through that window
in next weeks previews…only because there appears to be something
hanging from one arm which could be her sling. Getting back to Gemma,
she is always saying she is protecting her
family…how, by setting her
son up to kill her husband? He could get life. What kind of Mother would
do that? Why won’t she do it herself then? Because like she said once
before, she couldn’t handle jail.

To me it looked like Clay was shot in the shoulder and on his side…he
has to be alive…which is really horrible because he gets out of going
to the meet with the Irish and Cartel and therefore wouldn’t be
arrested! Tara can’t help him because of her hand and I can’t see her
helping him now anyway. Jax knows someone has flipped. The Irish don’t
want to work with Jax and with Clay gone, it’s the MC’s way out of the
drug business! Wait till Opie finds out that Juice killed his friend
Miles, he will really hit bottom…Donna, Piney, Jax and Miles…too
much. He’s already gone to prison for 5 years for the club. I think
Chibs will be the one to get Juice but I still don’t think Otto really
turned, it’s that request about Lenny that seems a bit odd.

In next weeks previews Gemma tells Jax the truth about JT (probably her version). So Jax not only finds out the truth about Clay, he also finds out that Tara kept the letters from him. Where does he go with that? Jax is about as messed up as Opie at this point.

If there is just one thing I can wish for in this series it’s that Jax and Opie sit at the head of the table in the end.
Winter Steel

Unser is an amazing character and played by an amazing actor. He CAN’T go! What I love about him is how he’s made his own path between the law and the outlaws. He’s as deep and integral to the show as any member of SAMCRO.
Trit Style

for the life of me i cant imagine where they are going to go with breaking bad. that show is a close second for favorite shows but BB can be a bit too slow at times. nice writeup, i was looking to see how many episodes were left for sons and found this page
Gamergirl1488

Yeah I think that it would work if Clay doesn’t die and he is under protective custody from Opie, but he flees town. Tara gets her Dr. ID and pays Clay a visit and makes some sneery comment about the letters then gives him a large dose of morphine so it just looks like he didn’t pull through from the wounds. Jax is going to find out that it was Clay’s doing and Galindo behind the action of Tara’s attack, but he and the rest of the club pull in some Nomad’s, go and handle Galindo Cartel, call in an important meet just Romeo and his regular 3-5 guys and then Jax has the ambush and blows them all to hell. Then he needs to let SAMCRO go. Take Gemma, Tara and the boys then get out. But after they’re gone for a few days and the feds don’t get the Irish or SAMCRO cause the meet never happens, Juice is released, he is going to find out about Bobby and what Otto did and he is going to have to go back to Charming. Wendy is going to notice when he gets back into town and Jax is going to get served with Family Court Custody Papers. Then he wont be able to leave town with Able. Maybe Gemma will kill that junkie slut… Or something like that… =)
KenK

Great write up. For twists in the finale, how about Tara paying a visit to a bed-bound Clay, and treating him to some bad medicine with a smile?
http://twitter.com/BagsHooper Bags

Ra’che, glad you enjoyed it. I hear what you’re saying about Clay. I also have to agree with you on Breaking Bad. Giancarlo Esposito did a spectacular job and “phew” what a great scene.
Betts

I hoping Unser goes. For gd sake,talk about beating a dead horse- he is soooo annoying
Ra’che

Bags H. This is a great commentary! Thank you! We’re all waiting for that great finale. I just hope Clay doesn’t die now. I want him to get to the point where he feels he is safe and suddenly meet his doom. just like Gustavo Fring (Giancarlo Esposito) in Breaking Bad.
Zillofest

Excellent write up. Really captured the feeling of the finale.