WARNING: Spoilers Ahead!
Hell hath no fury like a Charming prince scorned.
On the latest episode of “Sons of Anarchy,” Jackson “Jax” Teller finally revealed exactly what he’s aiming for in his vendetta against the Lin Triad — the group he believes responsible for the death of his wife Tara, even though he’s dead wrong. In fact, it’s his mother, Gemma, that plunged a carving fork in the back of Tara’s head. But who needs the truth when there are rival gangsters to blame?
After executing Tara’s “murderer” to the tune of “Bohemian Rhapsody” last week, Jax’s vengeance quest got even bloodier and more complicated this week. Here’s what you need to know about the latest episode, “Toil and Till.”
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What’s the Plan of Action, Jackson?
If he didn’t make it clear by murdering a member of the Triad in the season premiere, Jax Teller blames the Lin Triad for Tara’s death. As such, he’s going to dedicate every resource at his disposal to making Henry Lin’s life a living hell.
Here’s Jax’s plan, as outlined to SOA Indian Hills leader Jury: Jax plans to weaken Lin’s organization, wait until he’s all out of allies, and then extend a helping hand. Once Jax has Lin’s total trust, he’ll reveal himself as Lin’s tormentor. Then, he’ll ask Lin to point to the one person he wants spared from Jax’s wrath. Jax will then kill that person, followed by everyone else Lin cares about.
“I’ll let him live in the agony of that for a little while,” Jax explains, “and then I’m going to end him, as slowly and painfully as possible.”
Jury is taken aback at that “level of payback,” to say the least. He adds that the last time he met with Jax, they were discussing Jax’s vision for how to move SAMCRO away from guns, mayhem and all of the other things “that were killing us.”
“I don’t have a vision anymore,” Jax reveals. “All I see is what’s right in front of me.”
Sounds like a great way to get yourself and everyone you love killed, Jax. His philosophy runs completely counter to what August Marks, the new “gun king,” tells him. In a nut shell, Marks tells Jax that patience is the greatest weapon in his arsenal, both in business and on the streets.
“If your emotions say ‘now,’ your head’s gotta say ‘later,’” he advises. “Clarity settles all scores — pays back all debts.”
Too bad Jax won’t listen. He wants — needs — his payback right here, right now.
Delivery Gone Wrong
As part of that payback policy, Jax leads the charge on yet another attack against the Lin Triad. They ambush and kill a whole bunch of Lin’s loyal allies, robbing them of their guns and a secret supply of heroin in the process.
Lin, needless to say, is not happy. In his eyes, the only people who knew about the buy outside of his circle of trust, was SAMCRO. For his part, Jax plays innocent. He tells Lin that he’ll find the men responsible. Lin gives him a deadline: Noon the next day.
“I want my guns, men, and heroin,” says Lin. “If that does not happen, the violence will leave Stockton’s borders. It’ll come to Charming. I’ll turn Mayberry into a god damn killing field.”
The Blame Game
With those words in mind, Jax goes ahead and “finds” the people who came after Lin. He pins the ambush on two of the hired guns who helped the Sons kill and steal from the Triad. Jax communicates to Lin where he can expect to find the killers and his missing goods.
There’s just one problem: Jury of the Indian Hills, who was apparently very close with one of the thugs, shows up at the murder scene after everyone’s left. He recognizes one of the murder weapons on the ground. Does he connect it to Jax?
The episode’s closing moments, cutting between an enraged Jury and a melancholy Jax, seem to indicate that bad blood is about to flow within the Sons themselves — assuming the Triad doesn’t show up to the murder scene and get to Jury first. In which case, that’s a whole other can of worms worth worrying about.
Wayne’s World of Hurt
Good news: Juice doesn’t kill Unser. He can’t pull the trigger. Instead, he allows Unser to walk free. Before leaving Wendy’s, Unser asks Juice if he needs any help getting out of Charming. That’s because Unser is one of few decent human beings in a show filled with rotten scoundrels.
More good news: Unser has a job! He decides to take Tyne Patterson up on her offer to become a consulting investigator for the Charming Police Department. Officer Althea Jarry, the woman replacing the late Eli Roosevelt, looks poised and ready for Charming’s unique set of challenges, but a little extra help from Unser can’t hurt.
Bad news: Unser tells Gemma that he knows about Juice. The more people who know about Juice, the worse it is for Gemma. And the worse it is for Gemma, the likelier she is to take drastic action against anyone who can bring her down. Even though Unser doesn’t seem to suspect Gemma and Juice’s roles in Tara and Roosevelt’s deaths, the very possibility is too dangerous to ignore.
Even worse news: Gemma finds out about Unser’s new job. She knows that Unser is working with Charming PD. She knows he’s investigating Tara’s death. And she knows that Unser is damn good at his job. How long until Gemma betrays and kills one of the only people in her life she can legitimately call a friend?
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Juice is in a Jam
Juice’s life isn’t much better than Wayne’s. With Unser on the case, Gemma pushes Juice out the door and tells him he needs to leave Charming. She gives him meager cash, keys and a map to her late father’s house, and tells him to hole up there for a while. It’s too dangerous in Charming. Juice needs to leave.
Sadly for Juice, he’s not that smart. As Unser says earlier in the episode, Juice is like a child. “Not too savvy.” So much so that Juice uses a burner, supplied by Gemma, to call Chibs. He doesn’t say anything when Chibs picks up, but could that lead Chibs back to Juice somehow?
Even worse, Juice decides to turn the car right around and head back to Wendy’s house. Last we see of him, Juice is sobbing inside Wendy’s dark apartment, his back to the door. He just can’t quit Charming. But if he doesn’t get his act together, Charming just might quit him.
What did you think of this week’s “Sons of Anarchy”?
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