This episode opens at Clay and Gemma’s. Clay opens up his home safe and takes out a few stacks of cash. When he closes the door Gemma hears it from the kitchen. They exchange some typical morning small talk, tells her he has some “Mexican shit” to take care of and he leaves with a backpack full of cash like it’s an every day occurrence. After he leaves, Gemma goes into the office and opens up the safe, dismayed when she realizes there’s a lot of cash missing.
Jax and Tara are doing the usual hustle and bustle people do when they’re going on a trip (except Jax makes sure he’s strapped before leaving the house). Tara excitedly talks about picnicking in the park on their road trip. There’s lots of smooching. Gemma shows up so that she can see the boys before they leave and learns that Jax will be going on the trip with them. She reminds him that he’s on parole and Oregon is out of state, but they tell her they’re staying in state and Tara will drive to the conference on her own. All covered. Tara hands Thomas over to Gemma for grandma snuggles.
Roosevelt finds out that Potter had Juice moved to a cell at some point in the evening. Juice is sitting in a cell watching tv to pass the time.
Unser is at the cabin with essentials covered up as he stages Piney’s death to look like the cartel did it. Gemma calls to say something is wrong and tells him about the cash that Clay pulled out of the safe and that he lied to her (how can she be surprised by this?). She wants him to stop what he’s doing and come help her.
Clay is at some undisclosed location. He hands over a piece of paper with Tara’s destination to a guy with dark hair and olive-y skin (this guys looks will be important later). Clay hands over the sack of cash. He says, “I want it clean, I want it painless. Don’t mess up her face.” She’s gotta look good in her casket after all.
Jax, Tara and the boys are rolling down the highway, happily singing “This Old Man” as a family.
Clay rolls into Teller Morrow and Gemma comes out to greet him. She asks how the “Mexican shit” went and he told her it’s not her concern. He asks where Jax is and she makes sure she speaks clearly when she says he went with Tara and the boys up to Oregon. He stops dead in his tracks and tries to play it off, but he realized that he has majorly F’d up. He tries to call off the hit but Romeo and Luis tell him it isn’t possible (even though they probably could). They are heartily enjoying watching Clay squirm. Instead, they will let the hitman know that Jax is with her and that he’s armed.
Clay orders Tig to track down Jax. No one has seen Juice in a while so they just assume Roosevelt has picked him up. Opie says he’ll look for Juice up at the cabin as well as check in with Piney. Clay jumps up and awkwardly tells Opie to stick around. Opie seems to get that something’s not quite right, whether he realizes it or not.
Jax is filling the mommyvan up with gas while Tara takes Abel on a bathroom break. A California Highway Patrolman (cue the CHiPS theme!) approaches Jax and asks him how he likes the minivan. Jax is initially surprised because apparently it’s a rare occurrence that he’s treated like a regular person. Jax asks how fast the cop’s BMW 1150 is. “Fast enough,” shrugs the patrolman. He asks, “You ride?” Jax simply answers, “Yeah.” It’s a small, simple conversation but for someone who is trying to escape the biker outlaw lifestyle and running with drug cartels, it’s like looking into another world.
Roosevelt pays Potter a visit wondering where Juice is. Potter says that he’s in good hands, but because he knows about RICO it’s best to keep Juice sequestered. While he’s there, Roosevelt decides to tell Potter how pissed he is at him. “You played me, worse than the outlaws. All that bullshit about my gang experience, and you just needed a local scapegoat. Let all that shit pile up at my door so you can keep your secret war room concealed. And I jumped in like a goddamn Boy Scout.” He declares that he’s done helping Potter, but Potter reminds him that in that stack of paperwork he signed way back at the beginning of the season basically makes Roosevelt his bitch. Awesome.
Jax in "Hands"
Jax is picnicking in the park with his family. The boys are (unrealistically) quiet and still while Tara and Jax lounge in the shade like days gone by. Tara’s talking about her opportunity at this new hospital and thinks she should take the job. Jax agrees with her. By the time she gives her notice at St. Thomas, all of his dealings should be done and he’ll be wiping his hands clean of SAMCRO. Little do they know, that very hit man that Clay hired is watching.
In Charming, Tig is frustrated that he can’t find Jax and Chibs is frustrated that he can’t find Juice. Gemma suggests that Juice is probably curled up in the arms of an old girlfriend. Bobby mentions that Precious is still friends with her so he says he’ll ask Precious to give Juice’s ex a ringy.
Gemma walks into church where Clay is and confronts him about the cash he took out of the safe. “What’d I tell you about digging into club business?” “It’s not club money!” Clay gets nasty, “That’s right. That’s my money. And as long as you got enough to take care of the house and amuse yourself, you don’t really need to worry about it.” She recoils like he just smacked her. “Did you really just say that to me?” Clay, who is clearly unraveling faster and faster, tells her “Maybe I should be saying shit like this to you more often, reminding you that you are not a member of this club, you’re an old lady. And don’t forget it!” So this is what Gemma gets for all of that devotion we saw in the previous episode. And don’t you worry, Clay. She won’t forget it.
At the park Tara’s putting Abel into his car seat. Jax walks across the park to the trash can. When he looks up, he sees the homeless woman he met in the cemetery (in season one) at Donna’s funeral. They recognize each other and we still wonder how she fits in. Is she a boon? A guardian angel? A harbinger of doom? Who knows if we’ll ever find out.
Next thing he knows a van with tinted windows screeches up next to Tara and a masked man grabs her, pulling her into the van. Her screaming snaps Jax’s attention. Tara is kicking and fighting to get away, the door to the van isn’t closed so it’s sort of gliding around as the van moves. Jax grabs his ankle piece and starts running, pops off a few shots at it. Tara, struggling to get free, grabs onto the door frame and as the van swerves the door slams her hand. The van then pulls over. The guys inside are yelling in Spanish, although not as if it’s their native language. Jax pulls Tara out, puts his body in front of hers when a gun is pointed at her and the van takes off, leaving Tara in hysterics holding her mangled hand.
Inside the van the wannabe kidnappers take off their masks and they are NOT Mexican to look at them and they appear to have an American accent (although I really couldn’t tell). So, who the hell are these guys?
Tara’s being put into the back of an ambulance, pleading that they take her to St. Thomas. They tell her that’s out of their jurisdiction and Jax tells them she’s a surgeon there. The CHiP Jax chatted with at the gas station comes over and tells the EMT to take her to St. Thomas and that they’ll clear it up later. Jax is humble and thanks him. The CHiP then quietly reminds Jax that he’s on federal release and inquires if he had anything to do with the gunshots in the park. Jax vehemently denies any participation. He must’ve ditched his ankle piece at some point, eh?
Tara is wheeled into the hospital, Jax assures her everything is ok and that she’s going right into X-ray. Gemma appears, she’s notably concerned. Jax tells her he has to talk to the cops. He whispers to Gemma that someone attacked Tara and tried to abduct her.
Tara in "Hands"
In a cell, Juice is still watching cartoons when Potter pays him a visit. He puts down a clipboard and says to Juice, “”My promise. When we take down the Irish at this meet, we’ll need to prosecute the club members present. But that’s where it stops. I will not use RICO to dismantle the Sons. It’s all there, just awaiting my signature.” Juice does bring up the point that he’s not privvy to any info about any meeting. Potter tells him to find out. He also tells him that they will give him a cell phone that will monitor him 24/7 and he has to check in every four hours. If Potter finds out he’s uttered a peep about the operation, they’ll come crashing in settling for the Mexicans and SAMCRO, all its charters will fall to RICO.
At the hospital, Clay and the boys show up. Gemma pointedly tells him, “Someone tried to take Tara. They hurt her real bad.” He’s a good actor, pretending to be outraged, but you can see that she knows he’s behind it. Jax mentions that the would-be kidnappers spoke Spanish and everyone naturally assumes it was Lobo retaliation. Jax wants to go visit Laroy, since he’s had the most contact with Lobo Sonora up until recently.
Tara’s looking at her hand. Her X-ray shows many bones in her hand are broken and she has nerve damage. Her doctor says they will operate right away and emphasizes that he’ll do everything he can. Tara drops her head to the pillow and her other maternal figure, Margaret, strokes her hair. It’s amazing to see how close these two have become.
At the Niners bar the bass is thumpin’ and the bartender’s boobs are huge. SAMCRO strolls on it but when the Mayans walk in behind them all shit breaks loose, someone starts shooting, and Alavarez’s guy (who helped guard the Coke barn a few episodes back) now has an unwanted hole in his head. When things calm down Laroy explains that Lobo Sonora killing three of his guys that morning. But that doesn’t placate Alvarez’s loss of one of his best dudes, so he caps #4 right then. So no Lobo info for Jax. This trip turned out fatally futile.
Jax then wants to go with Clay to talk at Romeo, but Clay nips that straight away. The last thing he wants is Jax anywhere near Romeo. Lucky for Clay, Opie and Chibs tell him it’s for his own good to stick around and stay with Tara.
Gemma is sitting in the hospital chapel and Margaret comes in, sitting behind her. “It’s awful. This attack on Tara.” I half expected Gemma to turn around and say “No shit” but she only says “Yeah, I know.” No one knows better than she does, since her husband, the one she would move Heaven and Earth for, is responsible. Margaret then sort of unleashes on Gemma, saying she’s been trying to get Tara out of Charming for a year, that Tara is tied to Jax by an adolescent bond, that Gemma manipulates her through the boys. Gemma warns her to watch what she says, but Margaret is not backing down. “You’re an awful woman, and all this suffering landing on Tara–it’s because of you.” The look on Gemma’s face shows that she may actually agree.
Apparently Juice made the deal with Potter since he has shown up at Teller-Morrow. He tells Chibs and Opie that he went to Yosemite to clear his head. Opie tells him, “Probably should have stayed in Yosemite. Shit’s hit the fan, brother. Lobos tried to take Tara this morning.”
Clay meets with Romeo and asks what the hell happened. “Your VP happened.” Romeo answers. Clay fills him in on the fallout, that her hand was crushed and that Jax is rampaging to retaliate against Lobo Sonora. Romeo is pleased at that part. Romeo could have very easily called off the hit against Tara, but it teaches Clay a very valuable lesson about a cartel to do his dirty work. And because it was botched, it gets the club focused on going after Lobo, making them a useful asset for him. Clay whines that he paid $25k for a clean hit, so Romeo hands him back the cash and says they’ll take care of it personally. Clay tries to backpedal for his life, wants to call it off, but Romeo insists since he outed her as a threat, she has to go.
In the hospital Jax is stroking Tara’s cheek. She wakes up when her doctor comes in to give her a progress report. Her bones were set easily, but there’s severe nerve damage. Jax doesn’t know what that means, but I do. Tara tells him that means she won’t be able to use her hand. Bye bye surgery career. When the doctor leaves, she breaks down.
Showdown at Casa Teller: Gemma has arrived home and beelines it into the office where Clay is busy putting his cash back in the safe. She spits, “What’s the matter? Change your mind? Get a refund because they didn’t kill her?” Clay pretends he doesn’t know what she’s talking about, but she’s thrown off her gloves. “You promised me. You looked me in the eye and you promised me you wouldn’t hurt Tara!” Clay plays dumb so Gemma reminds him of that morning. “Jesus Christ, those babies could have been hurt!” she screams. Clay kicks a chair across the room, he’s had enough. Gemma threatens to tell Jax. Clay turns to head toward her and she pulls her gun out of her bag. “You stay away from me, you son of a bitch. You stay away from my family.” Clay stops in his tracks. “You gonna kill me, Gemma? Like you did your first husband?” Gemma says that he killed John and Clay disagrees. “Nah. Baby, you killed him. You played me for a chump, and I was. I was no match for that tight pussy and broken, angry heart. Yeah. Maybe Jax needs to read some of that truth.” Gemma shoots, but it goes goes wide past Clay’s shoulder. She looks panicked, he looks shocked. He snaps out of it and SNAPS, going after her. Gemma connects a good punch first, but Clay socks her one and sends her across the room and the dining room table. We can correctly assume that his is not the first time these guys have fought, but I can guarantee they’ve never fought like this. Gemma scrambles away from him, gets up heading for the door, but it’s locked. Clay picks her up and throws her to the floor, backhanding her repeatedly. Then we get Gemma’s POV of his fist coming down. That’s gonna leave a mark. And Clay’s arthritis didn’t seem to hinder that…
Tara is staring off like a zombie in her hospital bed. Jax asks her if she wants to say goodnight to Abel and she declines. We can pretty much figure out what’s going on it her head. Jax is feeling helpless and guilty. He wants her to project all of the bad things on to him. She plainly says that all this had to happen because they are destined to be together and he can’t leave. He tries to argue that they’ll leave together. “No. The club won’t let you. Gemma won’t let you. Charming won’t let you…The only way I can be with you is if I lose my way out. I lost that today, baby. I have a dead hand. No one will want me now. No one… I’ll never save another life again, never fix a tiny heart. It’s okay. We can now be together — you, me, Gemma. Here in beautiful Charming. A happy family. Maybe I should smash my other hand. That way I can just stay home, be a mom, raise your babies…” Yup, that’s pretty much what I thought she was thinking. Then she wigs out him and screams for him to go, Go, GOOoooo!!!
Jax runs out of the room and right into the sheriff, who tries to offer some sympathy but Jax is in no mood for it. Roosevelt sees the rest of SAMCRO down the hall, including Juice. There’s an exchange of words between him and Chibs and Tig when he asks to chat with Juice. They go off to be private and Roosevelt apologizes to Juice. “I want to apologize. I’m getting tossed around by this DA just as much as you are. The way I’ve conducted myself … I’m sorry.” Juice tells him it’s a little late but Roosevelt a good guy. “That doesn’t mean I can’t man up and tell you I was wrong.”
Jax sits in the waiting room surrounded with support from the guys. They all get up to go, but Jax asks Opie to stay. “I’ve been lying to you, Ope. That deal I made with Clay about the cartel, it was to get me out too,” Jax starts. He might as well have kicked Opie in the nuts. “I’m leaving SAMCRO, Ope. I was going to jump when Clay retired, but now… I’m out when we get done with this deal with the Irish.” Poor Opie. He reminds Jax, “After my five-year stretch, I wanted out too. You talked me into staying.” Prick. He should have added “prick” at the end. Jax agrees that he did do that and Opie, heart-breakingly, tells him that he needs him in the club. But Jax says his family needs him more. “You were right, man. I should have let you get out. Donna would probably still be alive. I’m so sorry, bro.” Opie is utterly speechless. Jax urges him to make things right with Lyla and his dad and then leaves him sitting there alone.
At the clubhouse, Juice is walking out to the parking lot. He sees Clay arrive and silently skulk into the the building. He pulls out his cell phone and makes a call. “Checking in.” Chibs and Bobby are lounging with some clubhouse croweaters at the bar. Tig yells out, “Yo, what happened to you?” to Clay who doesn’t answer. He carries his overnight bag back into the apartment.
Unser shows up at Gemma and Clay’s house. The lights are off and it’s dark. Plus the place is tossed. Gemma tells him to sit down and he is shocked when he sees her busted up face. He wants to take her to the hospital but she tells him nothing is broken and to sit. “What do you need, sweetheart? Just tell me what I can do.” he softly tells her. I really love how they call each other sweetheart. There is something so endearing about it. She says there’s nothing left to be done and she utters the same words he has said to her. “Clay can’t be saved.” Unser suggests they re-stage Piney’s crime scene to point toward Clay, but she has something more serious in mind. “He’s not going down by law. He’s going to die by the hand of a Son.”
*A Son. Which means it could be someone other than Jax. So who’s on the short list to do the deed? Jax, obviously, so long as he finds out all of the stuff that people have been keeping from him. Opie: Clay killed his wife and now his father. That totally makes sense. Tig: because Clay’s been shutting him out and he won’t be happy when he sees what happened to Gemma. Bobby: eh, I’m not sold on him doing the deed but would he do it to save the club?
next weeks episode: Call of Duty
A 90-minute episode! SAMCRO is at risk of being pushed out of their own business when a powerful adversary arrives and poses a threat to their business relations with the Cartel.
Be sure to read all my extensive Sons of Anarchy coverage here.
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Sons of Anarchy: episode 4.01 “Out”
Sons of Anarchy: episode 4.02 “Booster”
Sons of Anarchy: episode 4.03 “Dorylus”
Sons of Anarchy: episode 4.04 “Una Venta”
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Sons of Anarchy: episode 4.06 “With an X”
Sons of Anarchy: episode 4.07 “Fruit for the Crows”
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Sons of Anarchy: episode 4.09 “Kiss”