Review:  Sons of Anarchy – Season 4, Episode 13, “To Be, Act 1”

Air date: Monday, November 30, 10pm ET/PT on FX

Rating: ★★★★★

John Teller’s (Victor Newmark) letters continue to wreak havoc on the SAMCRO family and unsuspecting victims alike.

“To Be, Act 1” picks up where a cruel fade to black took us to cliffhanger hell last week. Clay’s (Ron Perlman) survival triggers more questions. Is Clay going to be ‘goners’? If not, is Jax (Charlie Hunnam) the ‘one’ who’s supposed to finish the job Opie (Ryan Hurst) started?   How will SAMCRO deal with the shooting of their president?

Gemma’s (Katey Sagal) spidey-like senses alerts her something bad has happened and it’s impressive how quickly the Sons mobilize to cover up Clay’s shooting.  Wayne’s (Dayton Callie) ability to doctor crime scenes works like a well-oiled machine each time: everyone knows their roles and actions, including the victim.

Tig's (Kim Coates) decision to go to rogue in Oakland leads to a high speed chase.

Opie is slightly wounded by Jax but the emotional damage inflicted on him is worse. The ‘bromance’ between the two former best friends is fractured.  Jax proves he is SAMCRO leadership material by perpetuating lies about Clay’s shooting, ultimately rallying the club’s men together.  But Wayne and Jax make a gross miscalculation by casting suspicions on the Niners – people they know they shouldn’t mess with.  A guilt-ridden Tig (Kim Coates) runs with the information and goes rogue in Oakland. Considering that Tig’s record with hits isn’t a good one, his failed attempt to kill the Niners’ leader (Tony Kittles) will prove costly to the Sons beyond the obvious consequences.  However, his screw-up serves as the perfect excuse for an exciting action sequence.  As usual, Sutter and crew build the intensity of the scene slowly, allowing us to ignore the minor, but questionable, details. For instance, how quickly the Sons catch up to Tig and how the MC members implicated themselves by wearing their SAMCRO clothing.

While Clay fights for his life, a particularly cold Gemma doesn’t want to be briefed about his condition.  Can you say red flag?  When Gemma comes clean to Tara (Maggie Siff) and states her, and Jax’s, survival is dependent on turning over John’s letters to Clay, I know she’s lying to push her personal agenda.  Gemma isn’t one to ever admit she’s out of options and the scene is well executed by both Sagal and Knowles in building up the tension. Gemma is allowed to procure the letters and her visit to a storage facility turns into an unexpected trip down memory lane via photos. Do you notice Jax is blond when his parents have dark hair?  I digress.  Anyhow, pay close attention to these storage facility scenes. They’re not just filler and Gemma, as a character, certainly benefits from these moments of vulnerability.

Jax (Charlie Hunnam) finds out from Lenny Janowitz (Sonny Barger) that Otto (Kurt Sutter) has made a deal with the AUSA

While Gemma’s scheming, it breaks my heart to see Jax trying to keep their beloved club together. He’s so overwhelmed he doesn’t give his full attention to troublesome signs involving more than one rat; Bobby and Juice are MIA; Lenny ‘The Pimp’ Janowitz (Sonny Barger) enjoys new privileges thanks to a deal Otto (Kurt Sutter) negotiated with the AUSA Potter and doesn’t it seem strange how the well-connected Romeo (Danny Trejo) hasn’t heard anything about Otto’s deal?

“Why are you telling me this, mom? Why now?” Jax asks after his mother finally comes clean with the truckload of secrets she’s kept from him regarding the real circumstances surrounding the death of his father.

Gemma’s response is almost sincere: “Because I know how dangerous secrets can be and because it’s time we all knew the truth.” After sleeping with the enemy and watching his back for years, Gemma now has an issue with Clay being a thief, murderer and traitor? It’s too bad Jax isn’t the one asking these questions but he seems stuck between a state of paralysis and suspicion at the revelations. Using the truth to lie requires major skill and Sagal does a stellar job in giving depth and the appearance of sincerity to her words. Gemma’s legacy plea to Jax is her last ditch attempt to salvage the life she’s built for the last 20 years.

“Read them,” Gemma says, pushing Jax to succumb to the letters. “See them in your father’s own hand and then you kill him, Jax. You kill Clay before he’s on his feet and strikes first. And when it’s done, you take your place at the head of this table, where a Teller belongs, where you belong. “

When Gemma confides to Wayne later that “things are in motion,” it’s because she’s positive Jax won’t be able to fight off the poison she’s injected via the handpicked selection of Teller letters that are favorable to her and Wayne.

“We’re protected. Clay not so much,” Gemma says and it explains why she’s acted so cold towards him. She doesn’t have a use for Clay anymore and her plan has firmed up: she wants him dead as she sees Jax as the future of the club. Will Gemma get her way?

Speaking of injections, Tara has a surprise of her own:  she’s on board with killing Clay by making it look like an accident.  After this scene and with the solution she offers, it’s hard to question whether she’s isn’t destined to be with Jax. Gemma’s WTF face alone is priceless in this scene. But Mother Hen doesn’t like when others don’t follow her script.

Gemma: “What are you doing?”

Tara: “Everything you taught me. He’s mine.”

Little Tara has grown claws of her own!  But as much as she may think she’s outsmarted Gemma, it’s only a temporary situation until Gemma recovers from the blow.

Tara’s actions in this episode are both interesting and bold. Earlier, she shows she has doubts by asking Jax and Gemma  “do you love me?”. It’s not a needy question; it’s her way to ascertain where she fits in their MC world, but it’s also to gauge the intentions of the two adults closest to her.  Tara has made up her mind, but with one episode to go and with Sutter’s pattern of twisting the plot around, there could be external factors affecting her decision. And while we’re on the subject, Jax should stop writing checks he can’t cash.

John Teller was clearly a flawed man but he was visionary enough to know the testimony he left in his letters would haunt Gemma, Clay and Wayne for years to come. Will his real legacy be the creation of the MC club or will it be the destruction of those who intended to do him wrong?

“To Be, Act 1” demands absolute attention. Everything in it either has significance in “To Be, Act 2” airing next week or serves as a bridge to next season.

Tune in to Sons of Anarchy, Tuesdays at 10:00 PM E/P only on FX.

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Note: In case you missed it, YEC had the opportunity to talk exclusively with Bob Thiele Jr., Sons of Anarchy music supervisor and in the interview, he discusses the process of creating a unique sonic style for the show, the recently released soundtrack “Songs of Anarchy: Music from Sons of Anarchy Seasons 1-4” and the music in the upcoming finale.

Photos © 2011 FX Networks, LLC. All Rights Reserved

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