Season 7, Episode 1

Air date: Tuesday, September 9, 10pm ET/PT on FX

Rating: ★★★★★

“JT did the same thing, and those choices took away everything from my old man—his family and his patch. I’ve already lost the woman I love; I’m not going to lose my club.“ – Jax Teller

Following the violent sequence of events during Sons of Anarchy’s season six finale, “A Mother’s Work,” I wondered how emotionally charged the final season premiere would be. The last time we saw Jax (Charlie Hunnam), he was wailing after finding his beloved wife Tara (Maggie Siff) gruesomely murdered. Will Jax be able to keep his emotions in check or will his desire for revenge completely consume him, as well as the MC?

Without Tara (Maggie Siff), Jax (Hunnam) has lost most of his sense of humanity and moral compass

The episode starts nine days after Tara’s murder and two days after her funeral. SAMCRO is picking up the pieces after the tragedy but as soon as Jax settles back into his leadership role, the storylines take flight quickly. Series creator Kurt Sutter sets up the premiere with a loaded canvas, and as the action progresses, the lies soon grow bigger. Led by Jax, the MC is about to incite mayhem to levels we haven’t seen before. The prospect of this leaves me rubbing my hands together in anticipation of promising storylines for the final season.

In true Sons fashion, “Black Widower” starts with a level of violence that mirrors the mental state Jax Teller now finds himself in: a calculating, unforgiving, full-outlaw and chaos-inducing mindset. Without Tara, Jax has lost most of his sense of humanity and moral compass. It’s safe to say Jax is now at the most dangerous he’s ever been, his cool façade serving to hide the turmoil and rage that is consuming him deep within. The interesting thing about this is I found myself nearly hypnotized watching Jax, wondering what was going on in that mind of his, and what he could be plotting next. Hunnam’s performance is that riveting and he’s very effective in slowly revealing the mystery of what his character is plotting.

In contrast to Jax, Gemma (Katey Sagal) remains collected on the surface but the anxiety at carrying a horrible and destructive secret is slowly and steadily consuming her. It is a testament to Gemma’s character that she’s keeping it together and is doing everything she can to hold her family together, as well. However, with so many balls up in the air, it’s only a matter of time where she’ll be unable to cover all of her tracks.

Highly anticipating the first Church meeting, I expected it to be emotional. I was impressed to see this was the most loyal and competent table SAMCRO has commanded in a long while. Alliances are locked in (IRA, Grim Bastards, Cacuzza’s, Arian Brotherhood). Business is also in order with Teller-Morrow, Diosa and Red Woody Incorporated. Hearing Jax demand absolute loyalty should be taken as a sign of things to come, and of his vision for the future.

Being in love with Gemma while trying to do the right thing for those he loves, puts Nero (Smits) in a huge predicament.

What’s on my Radar

• Ghosts from the pasts aren’t going to go away (John Teller’s ghost included).
• Those keeping secrets will start to crack under pressure, and high on my list is Juice (Theo Rossi), who I fully anticipate will continue in a downward spiral. I doubt it he’ll ever make it to Idaho or Montana but I fully expect his naïve sense of loyalty to the club, combined with his weakness in coping with pressured situations, to do more harm than help those he cares about.
• I can’t wait to see the new Sheriff Althea Jarry (Annabeth Gish) in action! The peculiar manner in which Tyne Patterson (C.C.H. Pounder) boasts her credentials sparks my curiosity. I’m willing to bet hard cash there will be more to this Sheriff than meets the eye.
• Nero’s (Jimmy Smits) agenda and motivations. Being in love with Gemma while trying to do the right thing for those he loves, while playing nice with the Mayans and SAMCRO, puts him in a huge predicament. Given his agenda isn’t fully made clear, I see him more as a Trojan horse – I should also note I don’t think he’s the only one that fits that categorization this season.
• What has really transpired between Gemma and Unser (Dayton Callie) after Tara’s murder? I understand keeping this a mystery for story line development but with Patterson’s visit, I’d say the former Sheriff will face some challenging decisions soon as a consequence to his loyalty to Gemma.
• I’m delighted to find the personal agendas of nearly all the female characters remain the most obscure so far:
  • Patterson appears to be playing a patient chess game with SAMCRO and Jax. Will her moves pay off or will her words to Jax become prophetic?
  • Brooke (Hayley McFarland), the daughter of the homeless woman (Olivia Burnette) who died in the same accident as John Teller, is back and I can’t wait to see what Sutter has in store for her.
  • Wendy’s (Drea de Matteo) plans after ditching rehab and pulling a fast one on Gemma have yet to be revealed. The fact she leaves clues behind leading Unser to Juice makes me wonder how much of a scatterbrain Wendy is or if she is merely playing one?

The MC brotherhood remains loyal to Jax (Hunnam).

Favorite Moments

• Once Chibs (Tommy Flanagan) learns Jax is out of county jail, one has to love his approach to “speed up the process” in extracting key information – what a reminder of the exciting action scenes that were characteristic of the show during its first seasons.
• The guard in San Jose County Correctional Facility failing to notice the teeth on the table when he interrupts Jax’s conversation with Ron Tully (Marilyn Manson).
• Manson’s screen time might have been short but what a treat it is! He’s totally convincing as white supremacist Ron Tully. I fully expect his character to be calling on the Sons for a favor in the near future.
• Juice asking Gemma about her ability to hold a conversation with Jax about Tara. This was a moment that made me pause and fully concentrate in the scene because the explanation is truly a do-not-miss moment!

My main criticism of “Black Widower” has to be the characters’ inability to connect the dots regarding Tara’s murder, and to forcibly challenge the versions of the truth being circulated. Considering the world they live in, as well as the survival mode in which most of them find themselves in, you’d think they all would know better. Along with this, I’m not a huge fan of the technique of deliberately omitting parts of conversations with the purpose of throwing in twists later on. However, in this particular episode, this technique is structured better than what we saw in season six. Oh, and before I forget, huge thanks –not! –  Sutter for making us relive the Tara murder all over again!

As recently as Comic Con, Sutter revealed the show’s final season can be summarized as a love story but at this stage of the season, this notion seems eclipsed by revenge. Considering Jax chooses to avoid seeing his sons, it makes me wonder if the Jax that Tara once loved might have turned into the monster she feared he might become. Time will tell if Jax has completely lost himself in his quest of vengeance.

Tune in to Sons of Anarchy Tuesdays at 10pm ET/PT, only on FX.

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