Sons of Anarchy, S5 E9 – “Andare Pescare”

Air date: Tuesday, November 6, 10pm ET/PT on FX

Rating: ★★★★★

Tensions run high in SAMCRO as Jax and Clay continue to battle for the gavel.

The frantic search for Frankie Diamonds (Chuck Zito) intensifies the battle for the gavel between Jax (Charlie Hunnam) and Clay (Ron Perlman) as each man makes moves to solidify his footing within the Club. As the glue that holds SAMCRO together continues to come undone, “Andare Pescare” keeps us glued to our seats. We are witness to two competing alpha males as they face a ticking clock in the hunt for a common enemy that, accelerated by outside pressures, allows them to flesh out details that ultimately may become game-changers. As Kurt Sutter has established in this series, things in Charming never go as expected and in the course of 24 hours many developments unfold.

Nero and Gemma: Charming We Have a Problem!

When people don’t get in line with what’s expected of them, especially when others’ well-being is dependent on their deeds, it creates problems for everyone. Nero (Jimmy Smits) and Gemma (Katey Sagal) clearly get each other as the latter recognizes how Nero brings out a kinder person in her. What is problematic is they don’t realize their affair isn’t good for some key SAMCRO players. To paraphrase Tig (Kim Coates), it always comes down to pussy for men, and I’m uncertain whether Nero has fully thought through what is at stake for him if he continues to pursue Gemma. My internal radar went off when Nero tells Gemma, “Please don’t let that ever be me,” as they take care of Carla’s (Wanda De Jesus) ashes in the cemetery.

Gemma is forced to spy on Clay if she wants to have a relationship with her grandchildren.

Gemma is wise to seek reassurances from Jax and Tara about their deal to provide her access to their family if she spies on Clay for them. However, when Jax asks his mother if they’re good and she replies, “Not really,” I became annoyed with Gemma and the victimized tone in her response. Don’t get me wrong, I feel bad for any woman who has to pretend to be affectionate (and more) with a man she despises. I also think what Jax is asking of his mother is horrible, but I can’t blame him for making demands and establishing boundaries. Jax has a lot at stake here and much of it has been caused by Gemma’s enabling Clay. My annoyance with Gemma only began to subside as she took concrete steps to sweeten up Clay.

Margaret- The Annoying Good Samaritan

Is there a notice posted out there for someone to serve as Tara’s (Maggie Siff) surrogate mother? There must be and apparently the runner-up for the role is Margaret (McNally Sagal). The woman went from hospital-administrator-riding-Tara-hard-for-her-association-with-the-MC to becoming Tara’s strongest wanna-be mom or something like that.

People often say no good deed goes unpunished but can the good deed be punishment itself? In this case, it may, so Margaret needs to back off now because her interference could complicate things for Tara. Plus, I would hate to see a well-intended person like Margaret getting smacked with Tara’s multi-purpose cast. On the other hand, Tara is wise to play along with Margaret as she looks like a reliable go-to person in the event she ends up in a jam.

The Stressful Tara/Otto Meeting – Part 2

I’m not going to bother sugarcoating this: I was fairly stressed out with this scene as if it were a horror film.  To break it down properly, it starts out well enough by showing how Tara initially sets up Otto and how far she’s come. Her determination was irrefutable as she railroads Otto into an emotional pressure-cooker.

Tara hits it out of the ballpark when she tells Otto she was just trying to help her man, like Luanne (Dendrie Taylor) would have done for him. Not only are Tara’s words coated with the truth, but she hits the bulls-eye again with the aid of Luanne’s blue perfume (which, based on both Otto’s and Tara’s reactions, must be loaded with pheromones or something similar).

The most stressful part of this scenario reminds me of a scene from Season 3 where Tara screwed up and was tricked by Nathan Madock’s (Hal Holbrook) caretaker, Amelia Dominguez (Monique Gabriela Curnen), who was being held hostage by Gemma. At the time, Tara let Amelia’s hand free and that allowed the woman to get completely loose, knock Tara out, and put a knife on Gemma’s throat. Considering Otto’s history of violence, I feared the worst when he asks her to free his one hand! Luckily, both Tara and Otto engage in this weird dance of words and actions that involve masturbation, an emotional breakdown, and a dose of compassion.

Jax and Tara

These two have certainly endured a lot and at last, they share a passionate moment…well, sort of. The patience Tara shows after Jax tells her to “hold that thought” is unreal. Talk about cooling your jets!

Although they seem unified in their plans, they keep certain things from each other, and this is where the cracks in their relationship show. I’m dying to know how much Tara really knows about the Oregon job offer.

Jax’s Extremes

“Andare Pescare” allows us to see Jax’s caring side as a dad. Sutter knows what he’s doing when he butters up viewers with scenes like this one, but don’t let the cute and loving nature of the Abel storyline distract you from the effects of the on-going pressure on Jax. From the moment the scene started, I was put on alert as this type of sequence serves a very specific purpose on a show like Sons. It’s a wonderful window into the rarely seen intimate side of Jax. However, in the Sutter universe, this means we’re about to see Jax do something awful. I have a solid guess where this is going, and the main clues are related to what Jax cares about the most.

Clay’s Games

Clay knows he’s about to be exposed and the fine line he’s walking is masterfully showcased in two scenes:  when he plays up his arthritis in order to have free reign to pursue Diamonds, and his conversation with Bobby (Mark Boone Jr.) at Church.

Will Frankie Diamonds sell out Clay for orchestrating the Charming home invasions?

To cover his tracks, Clay ruthlessly goes after Diamonds as if he were still fighting in Vietnam and needed to raid a communist enclave. The conversation between Clay and Bobby showcases top-notch writing as it provides a deep contrast of how Clay is forced to interact differently with someone who is onto him (savvy observer Bobby), as opposed to when he’s dealing with the easily manipulated Juice (Theo Rossi). The scene also provides Boone the opportunity to continue showcasing his acting talents. He’s been shining brightly this season as Jax’s right hand man and second in command in the MC.

Jax’s Possible Ace?

While Jax has Gemma working on Clay, he has another possible ace to use as leverage, thanks to Clay. When Clay drags Juice to go after Diamonds, Diamonds confesses to Juice that Clay was the mastermind behind the nomad attacks. This is invaluable information for Jax as he now has evidence against Clay via a patched member. The problem is Jax has zeroed in on Juice as the rat and as he follows him, I can’t help but wonder how Shakespearian Sutter will go with this storyline.  Will Juice have the opportunity to save his neck by spilling what he knows about Clay, or will Jax lose his leverage by killing Juice without asking questions? It was extremely ironic to hear Jax state, “We always have choices to make,” as we’re about to see whether he will make the right one himself.

I really enjoyed the intensity of “Andare Pescare,” and with only a few episodes left in the season, it sure looks like things are about to get more dramatic on Sons of Anarchy.

Tune in to Sons of Anarchy Tuesdays at 10pm ET/PT, only on FX. For more on the show, visit http://www.fxnetworks.com/shows/originals/soa/.

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Photos © 2012 FX Networks, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

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