Sons of Anarchy, S5 E5 – “Orca Shrugged”

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

Rating: ★★★★★

After two back-to-back heartbreaking emotional episodes, Sons of Anarchy switches gears to provide us a much needed change of pace while advancing several story lines.

Ever since his promotion to VP, Bobby has really stepped it up in supporting Jax and the Club.

Before we explore how Kurt Sutter keeps things dirty and fun, “Orca Shrugged” starts slowly with Jax (Charlie Hunnam) writing in his journal. These scenes with Hunnam tend to be my favorites as the emotion he injects in his voiceover shows us the softer side of his character. Considering the recent chain of events, it’s not surprising to learn Jax is struggling to avoid being consumed by hate. He’s also concerned about spinning his wheels as he fights for the survival of his club while trying to find a way out of the MC life: “When I look at my day, I realize that most of it was spent fixing up the damage from the day before. In that life, I have no future. All I have is distraction and remorse.” Sadly, he writes these bitter truths to his boys, but they also highlight what lies ahead in “Orca Shrugged.”

Jax tells the MC how he wants to proceed with business.

After Opie’s (Ryan Hurst) death, Jax wants to avoid being another pawn for the Romeos (Danny Trejo) and Popes (Harold Perrineau) of the world. That level of conviction makes him a realist but for others, it makes him a dangerous dreamer.  Regardless of how one may categorize him, Jax’s growing assertiveness is most evident in how he seeks to improve the club’s income sources.  His philosophy focuses on doing business with the right people, even if it means partnering with former nemesis Jacob Hale (Jeff Kober).  Jax encounters some resistance within SAMCRO but Bobby (Mark Boone Jr.), Chibs (Tommy Flanagan), and Tig (Kim Coates) back him up. Although they’re able to convince the former Nomads (now patched in to SAMCRO) to support a lower cash flow from less risky jobs, the home invasion “shit” doesn’t go away. Jax is about to learn a tough lesson: oversharing with his entire crew may come back to bite him.

Galen isn’t pleased with the leadership change in SAMCRO

With all the drama brewing, I’ve forgotten about the IRA/Galindo Cartel story arc, but its time has come. Surprisingly, and in spite of his health, Clay (Ron Perlman) plays alpha male expertly in order to sweeten up Galen (Timothy V. Murphy) to seal the deal Jax badly needs. He ditches his oxygen tank and uses his signature authoritative tone and demeanor as if he had orchestrated the switch of SAMCRO’s leadership. Galen isn’t happy about these changes, thus setting the stage for an “Irish discussion.” We finally learn the reason for the bad blood between Galen and Jax, and it annoys me. I find mixing violence with religion hypocritical, but to each his own, I guess. The fight between these two powerful men is quite entertaining as Galen is a good match for Jax; he looks surprisingly good without a shirt for a man his age. I love how Sons provides equal eye candy for both men and women.

Seeing Chucky (Michael Ornstein) draws a big smirk from me because I love his commitment to the MC even if it means posing as a war veteran pushing fudge. As soon as Allen Biacone (Brad Grunberg), the morbidly obese City Council member, mentions the word diabetes, it’s not hard to connect the dots: Charming Heights is going to become a dream come true for Hale!

Thus begins my favorite part of “Orca Shrugged.” When Chucky announces to the Sons, “We got something coming,” he isn’t kidding. Walton Goggins (The Shield) makes a bold debut with his portrayal of Venus Van Dam, a southern girl who happens to have the wrong tool down below but makes up for it by flaunting an impressive rack.

Pointing to Biacone, Venus asks, “What am I supposed to do with Shamu?” For those who don’t know, Shamu is Sea World’s most popular star: a gigantic orca whale. Encouraged by Jax, Venus goes for a whale ride while Tig develops a serious hard on, much to the dismay of his brothers. After all his character has gone through, it was fun to see Tig being his usual, perverted self. Do not miss Happy’s (David Labrava) hilarious reactions to Venus.

The over-the-top nature of this story line amused me immensely, and guest star Goggins is magnificent as a flirty dude trapped in a D-cup woman’s body. Note to Sutter: Please showcase in a WTF Sutter how in the world you managed to give Goggins such a natural and stunning pair of twins.

Speaking of “comical” (sarcasm noted), how about Gemma (Katey Sagal) having the nerve to confront Jax about telling Nero (Jimmy Smits) to dump her as part of the partnership agreement for Diosa Norte?

“You got no right to shit on that,” Gemma complains.

And this comes from the woman who has tried to control her son’s life, oh say, on a regular basis?  To be fair, I like how Gemma has the guts to confront Jax about his resentment concerning his father’s death, but Jax’s response proves to be more than she can handle. We all know Jax has a sensitive side, and he’ll do anything for those he loves. But Gemma has never been comfortable with that side of the Teller men. What I find interesting is the contrast between Gemma and Tara in their handling of their men. My guess is Gemma has been hardened by “the life” in such a way that despite her shrewd mind, she is unable to fully understand how the Teller men’s minds work, something that may one day cost her her relationship with Jax. Tara, on the other hand, understands what Jax needs. She’s stronger than Gemma in that it takes a lot to be the type of woman who lets things go and patiently waits for her man to return on his own terms.

Gemma humbly states to Tara after a rough day, “We all have a lot of healing to do.” I took that comment as Gemma’s way of indirectly apologizing to Tara but I remain skeptical about the sincerity of the comfort she offers her troubled daughter-in-law. Gemma’s attitude may be more about appeasing Jax and knowing she desperately needs someone in her corner. Regardless, I hope the two most important women in Jax’s life realize they have much more to gain by working together.

By the end of “Orca Shrugged,” an exhausted Jax comes home. Unlike his mother, Jax’s efforts to keep his hate under control allows him to secure a lease agreement on Castle Road from Hale. After inspecting the box he receives, Jax is able to close a loose end with Nero’s crew and a drained Jax closes his eyes. Sadly, his expression is filled with remorse over spending the day fixing the damages from days long ago. With two key deals finally sealed, Jax scores some key wins but unfortunately, he’ll soon have to face Sheriff Roosevelt’s (Rockmond Dunbar) wrath and Pope’s return.

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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Check out the video interviews from SOA S5 Red Carpet.