SPOILER ALERT: Stop reading now if you have not yet watched last night’s episode of Sons of Anarchy. Then, stop everything you are doing and go do it. Wow. Seriously. You won’t regret it.
Following “Family Recipe,” there’s likely one pressing question on the minds of all SOA fans: Will Piney’s corpse be discovered next week? The quick answer: yes. By whom? Watch the official FX trailer for next Tuesday’s “Kiss” right now…
WHO DO YOU THINK WILL DIE NEXT ON SONS OF ANARCHY?
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SAMCRO gets word that the Niners have made a new alliance that directly impacts their own agenda.
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The past of Clay Morrow collided with the present dangers of the drug world on Sons of Anarchy this week, resulting in the death of yet another SAMCRO member and a future for this club that looks bleaker than ever.
“Family Recipe” wasted no time answering the most pressing question from “Fruit for the Crows.” Yes, the tree branch snapped, Juice survived his suicide attempt. But only in bodily form, really. His guilt-ridden, cornered mind was elsewhere from the moment he hit the ground, forced to not only adjust to life again – but to be thrown into an escalating war between the Galindo cartel and Lobos Sonora.
How do you fight for your life when you only just wanted to take it? How do you stand up for a family you only just betrayed? Theo Rossi has been nothing short of outstanding in this role over the course of season four, depicting Juice’s pain and confusion with quiet, sullen looks and eyes that are somehow always on the verge of all-out waterworks.
And the reaction of Chibbs – a friend who was blackmailed by Stahl and can relate to the predicament faced here by Juice, even if he isn’t aware of it yet – when he stumbled upon the truth? Anger… followed by shock… followed by sympathy? Riveting. Emotional. Perfectly done all around.
From Juice’s second chance to Piney’s final breath: Wow. Of those involved in the Clay/Tara/Piney threat triangle, this member of the Original 9 was the most likely to take a fatal bullet, but that didn’t make the closing scene any less powerful, especially considering Piney’s previous chat with Jax.
Piney is was a man who returned to an active life in the club for reasons as opposite as can be from the motivations now driving Clay at the head of its table. The latter wants money and to make a comfortable exit. The former wanted respectability, brotherhood, inspiration from the son of his late best friend. Jax screamed at Piney that he didn’t want to talk about the past, but will he ever understand how the past holds the key to a safe future for SAMCRO? And also for Tara and his boys?
Will Piney’s death – even if the club believes it was committed by the blood-smearing LS – finally wake Jax up to the dangerous path he has agreed to go down? And even if it does, at this point, what can be done about it?
And then there’s the affect Clay’s actions will have on others:
- Tara. It’s unknown whether or not she’ll learn of this incident before departing for Portland, but imagine if she ever discovers the truth. Piney was murdered, after all, via a chain of events that started when she told him about Maureen’s letters.
- Opie. Father and son often fought, but no one could doubt their love for each other.
- Gemma. She was aware of Piney’s threats toward her husband, and certainly aware of Clay’s murderous side. How much inner club killing can one woman take?!?
- Bobby. On a practical level, he just lost one surefire vote against Clay for the Presidency.
So, RIP, Piney. I can’t say at the moment whether or not your death was in vain from a storyline standpoint. But from a dramatic standpoint? You died a martyr for the cause of cold-blooded entertainment.
Piney’s death and Juice’s near-death were the two key developments on a packed episode that also showed us how Clay and the Sons have been able to survive in Charming for so many years. It goes far beyond intimidation. There are politics at work here, as Clay proved in his shrewd speech, donation and support for Elliot.
There’s also the occasional need for chili, though you’ll understand if I never go near any meal made by Chucky again.
That light moment eased the tension for a few seconds, but SAMCRO finds itself a key player in the middle a world it scarcely understands. Clay may know how to work the residents of Charming, but he and his crew have no idea how to respond to a bag of heads being dropped at their doorstep. Jax admitted as much when he bid goodbye to Tara.
This is war, Romeo’s right hand man said. And he’s right, of course. But the Sons have been at war for most of the season. Their biggest enemy isn’t slicing up bodies and driving by in a hail of bullets. He lies within.
When Sons of Anarchy fans last saw Tara, she was told by Jax that everything would be okay and their family would remain safe. Cut to an armed Prospect in the couple’s kitchen.
Yes, this is what passes for safety in Charming these days when it comes to SAMCRO and its loved ones.
“Tara has been sitting there for a couple of days with this death threat having been issued, under this so-called protection,” Maggie Siff told me over the phone today. “And she actually has a pretty clear head on her shoulders this season.”
So what will that mean for this week’s intense episode, “Family Recipe?”
“All season, Tara has been asking herself: ‘How do I set up our lives in such a way that our children are protected from this insane life?’” Siff said. “She’ll experience a moment of clarity tomorrow night.”
To the end of keeping her children safe, Siff talked about Tara’s struggles with the infamous Maureen Ashby letters.
“She knew if she showed them to Jax, it would set into motion a chain of events that would make it impossible for them to leave Charming,” Siff said.
So Tara opened up to Piney instead because he’s mentioned in the letters as someone JT trusted and, “by extension,” Siff says, “he’s someone Tara trusts to act as a kind of guide in getting to the truth of the matter.”
Of course, a separate chain of events was set into motion as a result: Piney threatened Clay, the drug business worsened and the fate of almost every SAMCRO member could go either way as season four winds down.
Will Tara be around to see the fallout? Will she be six feet under? Six thousand miles away? Siff wouldn’t reveal, but let’s be honest SoA fans: would you event want to know right now?
Sons of Anarchy airs a new episode tomorrow night on FX. Visit TV Fanatic the moment it concludes for my detailed review.
Is this really the end of Juice? What other question could be on the minds of our Sons of Anarchy Round Table, following “Fruit for the Crows,” an episode that concluded with either the suicide of a veteran club member, or his attempted suicide.
Matt Richenthal, Dan Forcella and Christine Orlando debate this question, and a few others, in the following Q&A. Won’t you pull up a figurative chair and join them?
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What was your favorite scene from the episode?
Matt: Jax assuring Tara she was safe, and the camera then panning to her armed security guard in the kitchen. I actually laughed out loud at the dark humor. How did it work out the last time Tara was in a kitchen with an armed club member? Someone died, remember? Note to Jax: check yourself before you wreck your… marriage.
Dan: Because I’ve become such a big Bobby Elvis fan as of late, I would have to go with when the big man mustered up the courage to call up the vote for a new President. You have to give it up to Mark Boone Junior for the fear that he portrayed there.
Christine: I have to agree with Dan. I didn’t see things going that way so soon,but the seriousness of calling for a vote to oust Clay sent a ripple effect through the club. No matter what the outcome, nothing will be the same.
Is Juice really dead?
Matt: Folks are claiming they can see Juice halfway into this promo. I’m not so sure. I’ll go ahead and say yes because SoA is not a show that’s afraid to shake things up.
Dan: I originally thought yes, but now everyone’s talking about branches snapping and thumping on the ground, so I guess I’ve changed my mind. Whether it turns out he is gone or not, in the moment it was still some of the most haunting stuff I’ve ever seen on television. Just absolutely raw emotion from Theo Rossi, and I loved every second of it.
Christine: On the fade to black, there was a definite crack and it sounded like something hit the ground so I’m going to guess that Juice survives. What shape he’s in, who finds him and what happens next are all questions I can’t wait to find out the answers to.
Will Clay get voted out as President?
Matt: Yes. Jax will then be voted in and his plans to depart will suffer a serious blow.
Dan: It’s a great question to ponder. If he gets voted out, Jax most likely becomes President, and continues his arc to being as destructive and violent as Tara could have ever feared. If Clay wins the vote, you know that he will take it out on Bobby. If Clay continues the way HE has been going, I wouldn’t be surprised if he puts out yet another hit on a friend of his. Oh, actually answer the question? No he won’t.
Christine: I doubt it. I simply don’t see enough members risking ending up on Clay’s bad side because if you vote against him and he doesn’t get outed, you’re screwed.
More likely result for Tara: She leaves town, she gets killed, she does some killing?
Matt:Can I brag first and say I’m interviewing Maggie Siff on Monday? This will be the first question I ask her! For now, my guess is that Tara leaves town. She’s too caring of a mother to sit around and place her kids in this kind of danger.
Dan: Again with the tough questions. I will go with: she does some killing. Like I said last week, I think she will murder whoever the assassin is that comes after her. Eventually she will leave town, but not just yet.
Christine: I’m voting for she does some killing but, to be honest, if I were in her shoes I’d take my kids and run like Hell. Eventually I believe the need to keep her kids safe will be the breaking point for her and Jax.
There was just no other way. Running is not an option. He couldn’t live with himself anyway… that’s where it all just crumples for him.
So said Theo Rossi to TV Guide today, after Sons of Anarchy viewers watched in sad shock last night as Rossi’s Juice appeared to hang himself from a tree located, appropriately, over Miles’ unmarked grave. The choice between heading to prison as a rat and turning his club’s drug trade over to the authorities was an impossible choice for the character to make.
But did his suicide attempt succeed? Most fans heard a tree snap just as the final credits rolled on “Fruit for the Crows.” Will Juice be lying on the ground when we tune in for next week’s “Family Recipe?”
The following promo doesn’t give that spoiler away, but it does focus on a nervous Tara and a threatening Piney. Watch now:
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An important club vote gets side-tracked when SAMCRO is forced to deal with dangerous external threats against the club.
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We don’t wanna say we told you so, Clay, but…
“Fruit for the Crows” introduced an entirely new level of danger to SAMCRO, as the worst fears of Bobby, Gemma and everyone else who had questions about making a drug deal with the cartel came to fruition. In the most disturbing, despicable way imaginable.
Using an innocent family to carry out your own hits?!? Damn, Galindo cartel rivals. That’s some Gustavo Fring $hit right there.
Of course, even with this growing threat lingering around the club, it’s the deepening chasm from within that may truly bring SAMCRO down. Where else can we start than with Juice?
Man. This was a fatal resolution that wasn’t difficult to see coming, yet still walloped an emotional punch. We can thank Theo Rossi for that, as well as the way the show dragged out Juice’s dilemma and truly made viewers believe he was left with no option other than to hang himself – and over Miles’ unmarked grave, no less. Will anyone realize the connection once they discover Juice’s body? I say no. Chibbs may have questions, but the members will forever believe Juice just couldn’t handle the fallout from killing a fellow member.
(Note: Did anyone else hear a branch breaking as the SAMCRO logo was painted over the final scene? Is there a chance the tree snaps and Juice lives? I hope not. That sort of thing can happen, but would still feel like a cop-out.)
And where did the killing of that member originate? From the kilos of Mexican cocaine, which brings the club back to its agreement with Romeo, which might very well place more individuals in Bobby’s camp and cost Clay his Presidency. No one can feel safe about the deal at this point, and even Jax can’t truly believe this is in the best interests of his family, either the one in the compound or the one at home.
Ironically, and sadly for Tara, Jax is acting a lot more like the head of the former unit than the latter. Over the last few weeks, he’s stabbed the head of the Russian mob, he’s gleefully delivered a wad of cash to his Old Lady, he’s sped after Alvarez’s shooters, taking the focused lead even with a terrified Tara back at the clubhouse.
But, hey, don’t worry, honey, you’re totally safe… now excuse me while I leave you alone with an armed young club member. You man has business he must attend to.
All those life changes Jax wished to undertake while alone with his thoughts for 14 months in prison have seemingly been replaced by the role he was born to play, even if he can’t admit it to: SAMCRO President. His time is coming, perhaps as recently as a week from now.
The only person actually looking out for Tara, of course, is Unser. What does he want with Margaret, exactly? I can only guess he’ll use her to concoct some sort of job-related threat against Tara, extending the concern of the club for as long as possible and keeping her protected… from Clay, her son’s grandfather. His plot almost makes the murderous scheme of the opposing cartel seem tame by comparison, doesn’t it? At least they aren’t killing a member of their own family.
So, the bodies are piling up, the webs of deception and blackmail (it’s hard not to feel bad for Eli now even, isn’t it?) are spinning in more directions than ever and poor Opie is single again. Who would have guessed that a porn star would be acting more rational than anyone else right now?
You never got along with Lyla, Tara, but follow in her scantily-clad, panicked footsteps. Make a run for it. Go. Get as far away from Charming as you can. Things are only gonna get worse from here.
We don’t wanna say we told you so, Clay, but…
“Fruit for the Crows” introduced an entirely new level of danger to SAMCRO, as the worst fears of Bobby, Gemma and everyone else who had questions about making a drug deal with the cartel came to fruition. In the most disturbing, despicable way imaginable.
Using an innocent family to carry out your own hits?!? Damn, Galindo cartel rivals. That’s some Gustavo Fring $hit right there.
Of course, even with this growing threat lingering around the club, it’s the deepening chasm from within that may truly bring SAMCRO down. Where else can we start than with Juice?
Man. This was a fatal resolution that wasn’t difficult to see coming, yet still walloped an emotional punch. We can thank Theo Rossi for that, as well as the way the show dragged out Juice’s dilemma and truly made viewers believe he was left with no option other than to hang himself – and over Miles’ unmarked grave, no less. Will anyone realize the connection once they discover Juice’s body? I say no. Chibbs may have questions, but the members will forever believe Juice just couldn’t handle the fallout from killing a fellow member.
(Note: Did anyone else hear a branch breaking as the SAMCRO logo was painted over the final scene? Is there a chance the tree snaps and Juice lives? I hope not. That sort of thing can happen, but would still feel like a cop-out.)
And where did the killing of that member originate? From the kilos of Mexican cocaine, which brings the club back to its agreement with Romeo, which might very well place more individuals in Bobby’s camp and cost Clay his Presidency. No one can feel safe about the deal at this point, and even Jax can’t truly believe this is in the best interests of his family, either the one in the compound or the one at home.
Ironically, and sadly for Tara, Jax is acting a lot more like the head of the former unit than the latter. Over the last few weeks, he’s stabbed the head of the Russian mob, he’s gleefully delivered a wad of cash to his Old Lady, he’s sped after Alvarez’s shooters, taking the focused lead even with a terrified Tara back at the clubhouse.
But, hey, don’t worry, honey, you’re totally safe… now excuse me while I leave you alone with an armed young club member. You man has business he must attend to.
All those life changes Jax wished to undertake while alone with his thoughts for 14 months in prison have seemingly been replaced by the role he was born to play, even if he can’t admit it to: SAMCRO President. His time is coming, perhaps as recently as a week from now.
The only person actually looking out for Tara, of course, is Unser. What does he want with Margaret, exactly? I can only guess he’ll use her to concoct some sort of job-related threat against Tara, extending the concern of the club for as long as possible and keeping her protected… from Clay, her son’s grandfather. His plot almost makes the murderous scheme of the opposing cartel seem tame by comparison, doesn’t it? At least they aren’t killing a member of their own family.
So, the bodies are piling up, the webs of deception and blackmail (it’s hard not to feel bad for Eli now even, isn’t it?) are spinning in more directions than ever and poor Opie is single again. Who would have guessed that a porn star would be acting more rational than anyone else right now?
You never got along with Lyla, Tara, but follow in her scantily-clad, panicked footsteps. Make a run for it. Go. Get as far away from Charming as you can. Things are only gonna get worse from here.
SAMCRO will be revving its engines for at least one more season.
FX just announced that Sons of Anarchy would return in 2012, not exactly a shocking announcement considering the drama is enjoying its highest-rated season yet through six episodes. It’s averaging 5.8 million viewers per week.
“Everyone at FX is very grateful to Kurt Sutter, his many writing, directing and producing collaborators and his masterful cast for making such a compelling and beautifully crafted show,” FX president John Landgraf said in a statement. “It is no small challenge to bring the themes of a great, ancient play like ‘Hamlet’ into a wholly original television setting and to tell this complex story in a way that is both riveting and accessible to a broad audience. The fans know how beautifully ‘SOA’ meets this challenge, and we thank them for their loyal and passionate viewership.”
Sons of Anarchy airs a new episode tomorrow night. Visit TV Fanatic the second it airs for a detailed review.
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