Episode 2.10 “Balm”
An extra-long episode billed as a 90 minute show is really about 54 minutes of content. If you don’t like extra commercial breaks then you might want to consider watching the next 90 minute episode (season finale) from your TiVo or DVR.
Agent Stahl takes notice at the handsome profits SAMCRO is reaping from the repo business. Meanwhile, the Jax-Clay standoff forces Gemma to make a difficult decision.
“This is just a detour on a very long road.” -Jax
Opie in episode 2.10 "Balm"
The good:
- Piney makes a poignant return
- Chibs giving the ATF a heart-attack when he confronts Edmund about the guns and HELLO TITUS, I mean, Jimmy O!
- I am liking Agent Stahl this season for her cheeky yet no bullshit approach
- learning the amount of damage that Jimmy O has caused in Chibs’ life (not to mention how diabolical he truly is when talking about Chibs’ daughter. Ewww.) “We both know he’s the devil.”
- the scene where Jax & Gemma discuss him going Nomad is so amazing. As my Twitter friend, @robdale tweeted to me: “one of the most subtle SOA scenes is when Gemma asks Jax if he was going to tell her about going Nomad. She tells him to sit down. He goes into her office and sits down and removes his hat. Suddenly, he is just a boy talking to his mom.”
- brass and fungi
- Chibs’ limits pushed beyond his control
- when Jax apologizes to Clay for assuming he was responsible for the fire at Caracara, Clay is less than responsive. It’s a juxtaposition of the prior scene with Gemma: she’s Jax’s loving mother who will do what it takes to keep him around. Clay is the evil step-dad that wants to remove a giant obstacle, which at this point is Jax.
- “It’s cowarm!“
- the minute Gemma says to Unser “you need to protect the club” we know exactly what she plans to do. And it made me squirm in my seat.
- Opie’s coming out of the death spiral he was in, even if it’s a result of getting involved with a coke-head porn star. Think it’ll last?
- Tig & Halfsack’s very different experiences on the “serious fungi”
- I have no words that could do justice to the final scene of Gemma’s confession to Jax & Clay. The acting is so unbelievable in the most subtle way possible: through their eyes. Tara’s silent encouragement. Clay’s realization of the suffering his wife has been going through. Jax’s hurt and anger that someone could defile his mother so completely.
The stillness of the scene is what makes it so powerful. You can feel the tension in the room and the stunned silence of everyone when Gemma drops this bomb on them. That they didn’t react in what could have been formulaic television drama makes it so much more powerful (sure Jax has that one outburst slamming his hand on the table, but let’s cut him some slack. He’s had an incredibly shitty day that just got an assload worse).
I guarantee there wasn’t a dry eye in anyone’s house after Jax gets up and takes his mother’s hands in his own.
And the irony is that this one act that Zoebelle thought would tear SAMCRO apart will actually have the opposite effect. If Gemma had told them straight out right after it happened, the outcome might have been what Zobelle was counting on. We’ll never know. She kept it secret for so long to maintain the club’s stability. By picking the moment before it almost fell apart irrevocably would hopefully bring Jax & Clay back together. It was a big gamble on her part and when Jax grabs his patches on his way out of the door, it looks like it’s going to pay off.
The not-so good:
- We still don’t know whether Chucky or Darby died in the fire at Caracara. I’m assuming this info will be revealed in the near future.
- Poor Tara, despite doing right by her man and the club, she still gets cornholed at the hospital by being put on suspension
- Abel. It’s a nitpicky thing but we all know that kids take up a lot more time than this kid does. He must sleep a lot. And spend a lot of time with the nanny.
- Only 3 episodes left of the season!
The interesting:
- For a second time, Jax is referred to as the “Prince”-this time by Agent Stahl.
- Does Gemma really think that John Teller committed suicide or does she know that he was murdered by Clay?
- Opie twice makes reference to Clay as Jax’s “father”. At first I thought that he was so wrapped up in his own familiar turmoil that he was trying to imprint it on everyone else, but in watching it again it occurred to me that he’s trying to use the father/son bond (as loose as it is) to remind Clay & Jax of the basic nature of their relationship. This reminder, on top of the anvil that Gemma dropped on them at the end of the episode, helps build the bridge that closes the rift between them.
- Good GOD if Katey Sagal doesn’t get some sort of Emmy nod it will be a crime! The show itself has already been overlooked for a People’s Choice Award…
- I think Charlie Hunnam needs a nod for his performance as well. Katey Sagal is so good as Gemma that she can overshadow others easily. In “Balm” Charlie has takes Jax and boils him down to what he really is: a scared kid. He looks to his elders for advice all episode long. He finds some solid advice from Gemma and Bobby. But twice he’d gone to the only father figure he has looking for acceptance, and twice he was shot down. Clearly the decision to go Nomad was not something he truly wanted to do, evident by the dejected look on Jax’s face after the vote is unanimous for him to go. He had hoped that the club would fight for him to stay. And then of course there’s that final scene…whew! Nice job.
Sons of anarchy news
I’m keeping the news aspect light this week since my observations of the episode were so lengthy.
Ratings
TV by the Numbers reports that the 90 minute episode averaged 3.38 million viewers, making it basic cable’s most watched show in primetime with adults 18-49. Compared to its season one average, Sons has shown an increase of 64% in total viewers.
Follow SutterInk on Twitter
If you’re on Twitter, are a fan of the show and not following Kurt Sutter, then you’re doing yourself a disservice. He’s not only a direct line to the show itself, but he’s also candid, frank, brutally honest and still somewhat approachable (if you’re respectful and not a babbling idiot). He’s looking to build his Twitter followers, since there’s no official Twitter account for SoA.
There’s even some incentive: “loving the power of twitter. no SOA twitter account, so help me grow Sutterink. want 5213 followers by the finale. signed scripts for number(s) 3666, 4069, 5213.“
He’s roughly got 3600 followers at the moment, so start following @sutterink and you could win a signed script!
What he has to say about “Balm“:
“Glad people dug balm. Knew I wanted to play out that reveal and have gemma use it to help heal. So proud o my cast and my beautiful wife.”
“To all you fucking whining about the commercials last night-90 minute ep is a seven act structure. More act breaks, more ads. It ain’t hbo.“
See? Brutally honest and frank.
Next week:
Episode 2.11 “Service”
Chibs makes a secret deal with Agent Stahl in order to protect his wife and daughter. Opie learns the true circumstances that led to Donna’s death and seeks both revenge and reconciliation.
Whoa!