Yesterday, Kurt Sutter tweeted: “hal holbrook will break your heart tonight. don’t miss “home”. one of my favorite eps of the season.”
He wasn’t wrong, but I will add that Katey Sagal was also heart-breaking to watch.
What’s up with Jax’ tennis shoes?
Before I get into the nitty-gritty of this episode, I have an answer to one of the more burning questions that lots of fans have about Sons of Anarchy: why does Jax wear white sneakers? In a video interview with the head of the wardrobe department, Kelli Jones, the official SAMCRO blogger sheds some light in her latest post.
Kelli first explains Jax’s style, “…he’s just how those guys are, the younger guys. Like, carpenter pants, really hip-hop, really urban and not like the typical guys who wear wife-beaters all the time…you know, it’s like a gang and that’s his staple. He wears the hoodies, everything’s over-sized.”
Gemma & Jax
And the tennis shoes?
“Charlie went and hung out with one of the outlaw motorcycle clubs for weeks…he did a bunch of research…he looked at how they acted, how they spoke, what they dressed like and a lot of those guys wear tennis shoes.” She says she was told that a lot of those guys barely wear boots anymore. She has some other choice words for her critics, but she swears up and down that those guys in MCs are wearing tennis shoes, white or black, while they ride their Harleys. So, there’s your answer everyone.
OK, on to the episode. Stop reading here if you haven’t seen the show yet.
Sons of Anarchy, season 3 "Home"
There’s a lot of stuff happening in tonight’s episode.
Getting old sucks: Clay’s arthritic hands are causing a lot of problems at a time that’s none too convenient. He hides it well, but his “son” knows better. The aging king has to keep it together for his crumbling empire at any cost.
Anyone whose family has been touched by Alzheimer’s or has had to put a loved one into a nursing home can feel the pain that Gemma goes through this episode. Family means everything to her and in one episode she’s had to endure major family loss with her father and finally learning that Abel is gone, not to mention the face-slapping reality that all those around her that she loved and trusted, lied to her so egregiously along the way. It was all too much to bear, causing her collapse.
Of course, they all lied to her out of the goodness of their hearts. Gemma already has a lot on her plate to deal with, on the run from the FBI for murder, dead mom, senile dad and another unfortunate murder. But to hear about her beloved baby grandson’s abduction from Maureen Ashby, a distant (and probably much disliked, given the hints we got of her past with John Teller) stranger got poor Gemma in her large, but damaged heart.
But then, Jax is dealing with his own shit, too. Charlie Hunnam really seems to be relishing in these dark days of Jax. I said it before, but he plays despondent and angry really well. His son is gone, his mom is wanted for murder, he’s facing the possibility of more jail time (and an even bigger pile of legal trouble as he plans on fleeing the country to go find Abel), his woman is teetering on throwing her life away for a club that would easily chew her up and spit her out. Oh, and she just dumped the fact that she’s an accomplice to murder and disposing of a body on him. (And once again, Tig is much-need, fantastic comic relief!)
He’s trying to do all he can to push her away. Her life was progressing nicely before she got back together with him. He thinks that being completely honest about all the f’d up things he does for the club will make her realize that he’s no good for her, but she doesn’t care. She loves him and will do anything for him. With Gemma as her mentor, family is important to her and she wants that family, as is evident when she proclaims that Abel is “ours”. The club is now her family whether he likes it or not. I cringed a little when he told her that if she wants to be an old lady, she should act like one. But just as Jax is redefining his role in the club, Tara is redefining the role of an “old lady.”
And then there’s the club. He tries to deal with the daily struggle of the club, his father’s legacy, that has strayed so far from his father’s original intentions. The club is the only family he knows and has. They would do anything for him, as is evident by Opie selling his panhead to get some loose and fast cash for Jax. For him, it’s always a constant struggle. Does he just embrace the life carved out for him? Or does he go against the grain and try to change it, change his future?
Some light is shed on the struggle between Jimmy O and Father Ashby. Turns out that Jimmy is trying to cut the ties that the True IRA has with the MC. Father Ashby tells Maureen that Jimmy wants to build his own army, comprised of sweet and tender (young) hooligans. And that just doesn’t sit right with the good priest. But he is a priest and can’t engage in battle with the Irish gangster, so he’s using Abel as a ploy to get SAMCRO to take Jimmy out for him. It’s a fairly diabolical plan.
That’s why Jimmy is spinning such a large web of lies to Jax and Clay. He knows he’s in a deep, deep ocean of shit if he doesn’t get the kid back to them, unharmed, A.S.A.F.P. Misdirecting them to Canada buys him the time necessary to track down the baby and reinforce the pecking order back in Belfast. But the priest has a card up his sleeve that he puts into play after Jimmy threatens his sister. He has Maureen call Gemma to tell her that Abel is somewhere in Belfast. One SAMCRO shitstorm: order up!
I kind of wish the Irish storyline was a bit more clear from the beginning. I feel like it’s more confusing than it needs to be.
The meth-heads storming the go-to drug supplier may have seemed a bit out of place given all that was going on. But I think it was there specifically for Piney to declare “we’re the good guys.”
Other thoughts
- loved the onscreen Deadwood reunion of Paula Malcolmson and Titus Welliver (Maureen and Jimmy)
- Tig’s suggestion of Gemma going redhead was a clear nod to Peg Bundy
- I really enjoyed Katey Sagal’s singing of “Bird on a Wire“
- seeing Abel in the room full of babies for sale bummed me out. I was also afraid for all those little crawlers tumbling right out of their bassinets!
- I’m wondering how the drugs that Honey gave the guys will play into the future
- seeing a Nate settle himself into the loveless nursing home was painful and another reason that getting old sucks.
- Are Clays riding days numbered?
fun stuff
Charlie Hunnam’s fine physique graces the cover of the November issue of Men’s Fitness.
Charlie Hunnam on November 2010 cover of Men's Fitness
Full season 3 episode list
Episode 1: SO
Episode 2: Oiled
Episode 3: Caregiver
Episode 4: Home
Episode 5: Turning and Turning
Episode 6: The Push
Episode 7: Widening Gyre
Episode 8: Lochan Mor
Episode 9: Turas
Episode 10: Fininne
Episode 11: Mirage
Episode 12: June Wedding
Episode 13: NS
Next week’s episode: Turning and Turning
To help his mom, club, and son, Jax conspires with an unlikely source, while the MC puts Chucky undercover.
I have a feeling next week is a huge turning point in the direction this season is going. What do you think?