Let's be clear about something before I delve into a season of Sons of Anarchy recaps: I don't think it's a particularly great show. It's a good show. It has moments and even whole episodes of greatness, but its first two seasons were plagued with two many issues to put it among the best shows on television right now.
I think a lot of it has to do with the writing and directing because the acting on the show is top-notch. Ron Perlman and Katey Sagal and Mark Boone Junior and even a much, much improved Charlie Hunnam carry their characters with ease, which shouldn't be considering that some of the dialogue they have to read errs on the side of ridiculous. Of course not every actor is great. Maggie Siff is rigid at best and Ryan Hurst is downright awful (his go-to acting method is to wear a knit cap and stare broodingly), but acting isn't the show's problem.
There are moments over the past six months during which I spent time catching up on Sons that I found myself really wondering why people praise it so much. I read a review or a message board comment or something a while back that compared it to The A-Team with higher production values. And that's not necessarily a bad thing. In fact I think it's a favorable comparison. It is at its best when it doesn't take itself so seriously, but those moments are too few and far between. And ending season two and starting off season three with the kidnapping of a baby doesn't exactly help in that matter. But I'm going to try and keep an open mind and hope that the pulpier elements come to the forefront.
And for about 55 minutes, I didn't think that was going to be the case. Outside of a few minor progressions (like some brief investigation into where Cameron might be and the introduction of the awesome Hal Holbrook as Gemma's dementia-ridden father), nothing happened that couldn't have been accomplished with one brief scene of dialogue. Everything was about Jax feeling emotionally crippled, Gemma feeling helpless on the lam, Clay feeling the need to console but push Jax into action. The expression of feelings like this are all well and good in brief doses on a show like this, but to fill a majority of the episode with it is almost too much to handle.
But maybe that was all the point. Give us an episode where the first 55 minutes dull us into not really caring and then slamming us with a final scene that forces us snap out of your (sorry, I'm going to be blunt here) sleepy boredom. The final scene of the drive-by at Half-Sack's funeral might have been shock value for the sake of shock value, but it was effective and almost made up for the lesser elements that came before it.
And so where are we left following the shootout? Well for starters, Hale is dead which I didn't see coming. I've always liked him as a character with him being torn between his hatred of what SAMCRO represents, but the occasional realization that their existence can also be for the greater good of Charming. I don't know how the lack of this moral center will effect the show going forward, or if it's even gone at all. I can see a character like Piney continue his rebellion against the changes that have occurred with the club since John Teller's death, even if Jax is too focused on getting Abel back to want that on his plate.
Also, Opie's girlfriend's son was shot which is pretty brutal and almost glossed over too much, in my opinion. When a kid gets shot, even if it's the rarely seen son of a minor character, there needs to be more shock about it. Still, this obviously opens up the Opie storyline for the season in some way, shape, or form.
Jax breaks out of his funk and slams the head of one of the shooters into the pavement multiple times, which for some reason the cops in the vicinity just let him do. From the previews, this doesn't look like it will be the only violent outburst we see from Jax this season as he starts the long, drawn-out search for his missing son.
Speaking of the little Turnip Head, Abel is alive (Good news!), but across the pond in Belfast with Cameron (Bad news!). If this leads to a SAMCRO Overseas Adventure, I'm all for it because that'd be a fun little turn of events. And that's what this show needs more of. If we get too many episodes like the first 55 minutes of the premiere, it's going to be hard to stick with it.
Lingering Thoughts
- Who's the Latina caretaker living with Holbrook? I know I've seen her in other stuff and can't place it.
- Gemma mentions that her father is a reverend. I hope everyone's ready for scenes revolving around Christian guilt!
- Dayton Callie was promoted to series regular. Good for him, he's always strong as Unser.
- There was something about new members joining the Charming Chapter that I didn't quite catch. New blood could be good or could be bad for the show. I've seen it go both ways on other shows.
- I miss Half-Sack.
OVERALL GRADE: B-
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