Sons of Anarchy: Tig and the Fire

If you read my last blog previewing the premiere of Season 5 of Sons of Anarchy, then you know I had a bunch of questions about where the story might go in the next few months. Some of those were answered pretty quickly, and I’ll get to most of them, but we have to start with Tig.

I asked in my last blog, “How loyal IS Tig to Clay?” That answer seemed fuzzy enough after Clay’s “admission” to killing Piney. (What a rat, right? Turning it around and making it Piney’s fault, saying he was acting in self-defense when he blew a hole in Piney’s chest?) Tig really had a problem with that whole thing—not only the fact that Clay killed one of the First 9, but also that Clay’s lie about it being a Niner who shot him is what sent Tig off the deep end and put him behind the wheel of the death of Damon Pope’s daughter. I was relieved that Tiggy (as Gemma so endearingly calls him) didn’t give Clay a pass on the whole thing as Clay so obviously thought he would.

But Tig was in a whole other place by the end of the episode, wasn’t he? We’ve seen some pretty bloody, violent, graphic deaths on SOA. Sutter’s got a knack for making me wince. But when Tig saw his daughter Dawn in that pit, the sound in his voice as he begged her to wake up pushed me to the edge of my seat—literally. And then, when Pope’s guys dumped in the gasoline and Pope flicked his cigar into the pit (proving he is as horrible as we were warned), Tig’s howling grief sent me back into the cushions. I thought Clay’s beating Gemma was the most brutal act I’d ever seen on TV. I think this topped it.

So what happens now? Tig’s daughter was burned alive because Clay lied. Clay has betrayed Tig in almost every way possible. How will Tig respond? I do think he’ll get his revenge against Damon Pope, but it’ll take a while. I just don’t know what he’ll do or say to Clay, but I do know, it ain’t gonna be pretty.

Moving away from Tig, I want to talk about Gemma for a bit. Or should we call her Rose? Nah, she admitted pretty quickly to Nero that wasn’t her real name. That opening scene had me laughing out loud—the morning-after conversation between Gemma and Nero was priceless. What I find interesting is that she gave him her number. Did that make you go, “Hmmmm…”? And then, how interesting too that she called him up for a favor when her prince and his court needed a hiding place. Nero’s all smiles and good will now, but don’t you have the feeling that’s not gonna last? He’s gotta be connected somewhere to something or someone that’s gonna come back and bite Gemma and the Sons in the ass. (Yeah, I know, it kinda looks like he’s already bitten Gemma on the ass…and she seemed to like it.)

My last ramblings are reserved for Tara. I think part of my problem with her is that she won’t fully commit to either side. She dresses like Gemma. She talks like Gemma. She smokes weed like Gemma (although I’d go out on a limb and say Gemma wouldn’t have turned off the baby monitor so that she could smoke her weed in peace and quiet). She condones murder—or at least looks the other way when Jax says, “It had to be done.” And yet, she’s all high and mighty with Gemma. She’s all about, “We’re getting out of this. For our boys. We’re leaving this all behind. We’re better than this.” Blah. Blah. Blah. Everybody else in the family pretty much owns up to who they are and what they’re lives are like except for the Good Doctor. Pick a side Tara—I’m weary of your wavering and your hypocrisy.

There are few other tidbits of interest: Clay looks a whole lot like Piney now, doesn’t he? (Thanks, husband, for pointing this out to me. You’re good at catching that stuff!) Bobby’s out of jail, but we don’t know if Jax has told him EVERYTHING yet. Opie’s mopey, but you can’t blame him. I don’t blame him for not wanting to sit at the table with Clay, but I wish he’d come back. I wish Jax would just tell him the truth too.

Clay said he’s “all outta play” and he looks it, doesn’t he? He walks all stooped over. His clothes hang on him (another good catch, husband). He can’t hold up his bike. Gemma knocked him to the ground. And because Ron Perlman is so good at what he does, Clay LOOKS beaten. But I just don’t think he is. Do you?

See ya next week for further ramblings on the next episode of Sons of Anarchy. And if you’re so inclined, tell me who your favorite character is and why. You tell me yours, I’ll tell you mine.