I’ve been avoiding writing this post because I don’t want to admit that the season is over and this is my last recap post for this year. But holy schmoly, what a great episode to end a phenomenal season!
Episode 2.13 “Na Trioblóidí”
Na Trioblóidí means “the Troubles” in Gaelic.
As SAMCRO attempts to rid Charming of Ethan Zobelle and The League permanently, familiar faces present new challenges.
“Adjust and adapt, just like we always do.” – Ethan Zobelle
Sons of Anarchy season finale: Na Trioblóidí
The good:
- the blatant foreshadowing of the rats feeding on the dead crow in the opening shot. Genius.
- Zobelle’s not only a scum bag, he’s an FBI rat. Did you love his MC motorcade as he’s released from jail?
- Unser feeding info to Weston and the motivation behind it. Conversely, Hale’s confession to Weston is equally as gratifying, even though he still tries to land on the right side of the law.
- the (literal) Mexican stand-off on Main St.
- Otto’s revenge
- The surprisingly sad send-off of AJ Weston.
- Warm fuzzies between Jax & Clay over the bloodshed
- The Bitch is Back: Agent Stahl unleashes a major shit storm. In her defense I’d shoot anyone who punched me in the ovaries, too.
- Even though Stahl is setting her up to take the fall, I like the interchange between her and Gemma
- the highway scene where they go after cowardly Zobelle
- RIP Half-Sack. (Saw that coming last week with all the talk of patching him in). Poor kid.
- “I need you.”
- Zobelle…got away? Inconceivable!
- Gemma’s on the lamb with Wayne Unser. Classic.
- Abel’s abduction.
The not-so good:
- After all the time that has gone by it seems weird that that Gemma would pick this moment to go after Polly. But I do love her gun-toting stance as she walks through the door, aims the gun and juts her hip out to one side. So badass.
- Tara’s paralyzed inaction when Cameron shows up at the house. WTF?? She’s not a damsel in distress (as was clearly defined last week). When Cameron stuck Sack with the knife, you’d think she would have done something to stop him (especially since the gun was not in his hand). You know if it was Gemma in that situation, Cameron would’ve been castrated before he even knew what hit him. And letting Cameron take Abel? Oh HELL NO!
Holy mother of all cliffhangers! I should have known better than to expect the season to be wrapped up in a neat little package, but a silly part of me wanted that gratifying television cliche to come to fruition. But this is Kurt Sutter’s show and he isn’t about to give us a neat and tidy season finale. In fact, it was pretty fricking messy all around.
I wanted the League folks to get what they deserved. Let’s face it, Weston: not a nice guy. Polly: not a nice girl. But the bathroom scene with Weston was ugly enough without the addition of his kid being present. Weston was a total shitbag, but a shitbag that, in his own twisted way, loved his brainwashed, anti-semetic kids. And as for Polly, I wasn’t sad to see her go, but I wish it wasn’t at Gemma’s expense. I know…it sets up a lot for season 3.
The final few minutes of the show takes us from long-festering, hell-bent revenge to a heart-crushing kidnapping. Normally, a kidnapping event is a fairly innocuous plot device done a million times over. But the fact that the abductee in this situation is a teacup human mere months old that is as helpless as helpless can get, is what makes it so much more impactful.
Seeing little Abel, legitimately crying as he’s placed on the boat by a vengeful stranger, got me where it counts. Tears! Tears in my eyes, people! This essentially thrusts SAMCRO head-long into a crisis they’re completely inadequate to deal with. Guns, drugs, porn…no problem. But this? No way.
At the end they totally have a what the fuck just happened to us? look on their faces. They look like they just got donkey-punched in the balls. Without Gemma there to help them cope and devise a plan, you gotta wonder what they’re going to do. And we have to wait a whole year to find out!
Ratings:
The finale was cable’s #1 program for the night, with 4.33 million total viewers and 2.99 million adults 18 to 49, according to Nielsen Media Research. The episode was the most-watched ever for “Sons,” surpassing its Season Two premiere, which drew 4.29 million total viewers.
The finale was also the top-rated show on television in the 10 p.m. time period among men 18 to 49, or 1.92 million, and men 18 to 34, or 1.09 million, beating all three broadcast networks.
FX, Fox 21 and 20th placed this ad in all the trades
And as everyone probably knows by now, the network has ordered 13 episodes for the show’s third season, which is scheduled to begin in September 2010 (yippee!!). Also Kurt Sutter reached a deal on a two-year extension to continue his services as showrunner/writer on the show. The cast of regulars are also set to return next season.
I could go on and on about this show but I’ll refrain. I would like to sincerely thank Kurt Sutter for writing a tremendous season and creating a show, about bikers no less, that makes me feel a little smarter while watching typically brain-numbing tv. It makes me want to crack open his skull and lick his brain. Which probably sounds icky, but the sentiment is sincere.
Instead, I’ll keep following him on Twitter until he gets bored with me and count down the days until September 2010.
Read my other episode reviews of season 2:
Episode 1: Albification
Episode 2: Small Tears
Episode 3: Fix
Episode 4: Eureka
Episode 5: Smite
Episode 6: Falx Cerebi
Episode 7: Gilead
Episode 8: Potlatch
Episode 9: Fa Guan
Episode 10: Balm
Episode 11: Service
Episode 12: The Culling