Sons of Anarchy “Giving Back”
Original Air Date: Oct 1, 2008
Tom R - TwoCents Staff Writer
tom@thetwocents.com
The show continues to find its voice by setting most of the scenes outdoors. It makes for a nice contrast to the dark feel of the SAMCRO “board meetings”. This episode brings the danger of the gang to the forefront, and for the first time, there is no voiceover from Jax’s father.
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[photo: Ray Mickshaw / FX]
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Sons of Anarchy
ReplyDelete“Giving Back”
Original Air Date: Oct 1, 2008
Tom R - TwoCents Staff Writer
tom@thetwocents.com
The show continues to find its voice by setting most of the scenes outdoors. It makes for a nice contrast to the dark feel of the SAMCRO “board meetings”. This episode brings the danger of the gang to the forefront, and for the first time, there is no voiceover from Jax’s father.
A gang member named Otto is incarcerated and protecting another inmate named Chuck. Otto tells Clay that Chuck has skimmed over four hundred thousand dollars from Asian mobsters, and if SAMCRO can get him out of California after his release, he will split the money. They keep Chuck at the clubhouse, making plans for the pickup, but Chuck has a psychological condition where he can’t stop touching himself. After scaring away one of Clay’s customers, Clay decides to accelerate the timetable to get Chuck off his hands. They pick up the money at a Chinese restaurant (where the hostess refers to Chuck as “jerky-jerky man”), but they are attacked by Asian gangsters. Pinned down in the van, Clay goes through the money bag and finds plates for printing. Chuck was not skimming; the money is counterfeit. He gets a ceasefire and returns the money, selling the plate back to make up for his wasted time. He also hands over Chuck.
Agent Kohn briefly meets Jax as he sits reading to Abel. Kohn meets with Tara, who brings up the restraining order, Kohn tells her that it’s worthless. As a federal agent investigating SAMCRO, his jurisdiction takes precedence. Jax notices Kohn at the Taste, and Gemma tells him that he’s ATF.
We find out that Opey was arrested when his getaway driver, Kyle Hobart, bailed on him after a job went bad. Kyle was thrown out of SAMCRO. As Gemma sets up for a fundraiser called “A Taste of Charming”, she is approached by Kyle’s ex-wife, April. Kyle’s son has a band that is playing at the event, and April wants her to talk to Clay to allow Kyle to watch the show. Gemma pitches the idea to Clay. Surprisingly, when he brings it up at the meeting, Opey asks him to allow Kyle to come. With his support, the motion passes.
At the event (which features Bobby impersonating Elvis), Jax keeps Kyle away from Opey, who is distressed when he sees that Kyle is actually rebuilding his life. Kyle tells Jax about a possible score, but Jax won’t let him talk with Clay. When Kyle accidentally flashes his back, everyone notices that he still has his gang tattoo, which he was supposed to remove when he was thrown out. Opey corners him in a gym, and after the fight, the two start to bond, and Jax agrees to take Kyle to Clay with his lead. After the meeting, Bobby tells him about a rare Harley he picked up. He takes him to the garage to show him, but as they get there, Kyle is surrounded. They make him take off the shirt, revealing the tattoo, at which point Kyle confesses how much he misses the respect being a member of SAMCRO used to give him. Clay has only one question: “Fire or knife?” They give him a few more drinks and burn the tattoo off his back as Opey and his family set off the fireworks for the Taste finale, and Kyle misses his son’s gig after all.
Alone on a hillside overlooking the festivities, Jax picks up his dad’s manuscript. But for the first time, he can’t bring himself to read any of it. The moment of silence speaks volumes.
So there’s my two cents…What you think? Drop them in the comments or drop me a line at: tom@thetwocents.com.