Hello again folks. Week 4 of season 5 of Sons of Anarchy. When we left off, Gemma had beat the hell out of one of the entertainers at Nero’s place when she found her after the fact with Clay, the man she says she no longer cares about. Could have fooled me but what do I know? Shortly after that, the place was raided and everybody, including Gemma, was cuffed and stuffed. We think it was the prostitute, Emma Jean, that tipped the police to the place.

This week, we open as Jax, Chibs, Tig, and for some reason Bobby, are riding back from the jail. I guess their motorcycles were teleported there somehow, I don’t know how they got them. As they are riding back, there are two young boys on bicycles near the road on a path, and Jax takes note of what he is seeing. The boys look back at them with some awe on their faces, thinking this scene is really cool I would imagine. We’ll get back to the significance of this later.

Cut to the the jail cell where Gemma and the women of the brothel are stored and somehow Gemma doesn’t know what happened. Nero’s girl Friday fills her in and says it was either Emma Jean or Clay who called the police. Gemma says that Clay wouldn’t use the police to settle a score, Friday (someone help me with her real name) says he doesn’t need to, he has you (to Gemma). At this point, Gemma gets bailed out. Friday says ‘oh yeah that’s right you know all the right people’ to which Gemma replies ‘well maybe they just realized I wasn’t a whore’… that’s debatable and unlikely the case. Turns out, she called Wendy, Able’s mother, to bail her out. She must really be running out of friends if that’s her emergency contact number. It’s the least she could do with the help Gemma provided with Tara and look how well listening to Gemma turned out (I’m still kind of hating this character). When asked why Wendy helped, ‘Putting a coin in the karma bank’. Wendy offers her a ride home but at the same time, Nero has also made bail. Isn’t that special. Wendy says she’ll handle things with Tara but Gemma reminds her it’s Jax she needs to deal with. To him, that is still the woman who tried to kill his first born son.
Over at the garage, Jax, Tig, and Chibs arrive, along with the prospects. Waiting there is Tara with the kids before she takes them to day care at the hospital. Jax asks Tara to look in on Lila, Opie’s ex wife (?). Inside, at the meeting table, they say a few words about Opie not being right since his first wife, Donna, was killed. Jax lets them know about the $50k ransom Pope is holding over them and there is some grumbling about it, and Opie. Tig steps right up and lets them know that Jax did everything he could. The hard asses want revenge and the smart ones know that right now, Pope holds all the cards. As they put it, OGs sitting with judges, senators, and CEOs. Bobby notes that with one phone call they could all be dead. They are just ‘white smoke’ to this guy.Clay has concerns that Black (the 1 niners) are behind the breakins. When in fact, the ones who are, are sitting right there at the table. A vote is taken on paying the money, it passes, meeting adjourned. Outside, they meet up with Unser and he tells them that Gemma got popped last night and was bailed out this morning. Unser of course doesn’t know what a Nero is nor did he know about Opie. He does now. The wake will be that evening.

Over at Nero’s place, it’s a mess as he, Gemma, and Friday arrive. There is an eviction notice on the desk waiting for Nero. Yet another enterprise Gemma has helped to screw up. He has one week to clear out. Jax and Chibs walk in the door and Gemma tells him what has happened (she still doesn’t know about Opie) and I can see by the look on his face, that he agrees with my way of thinking. He tells her to go home. About then, two of Nero’s old crew walk in because one of their own took a bullet during the raid and they want blood from Emma Jean. Previously, Jax offered to help if he could. Nero says he doesn’t know where she is but to let him handle it because he doesn’t want anyone knowing his business. After they leave, Nero begins ‘thinking out loud hoping someone is listening’, meaning Jax. What he is thinking out loud about is where Emma Jean likely is, doing private business. He tells them to look for a hart hanging from the door. How romantic, Chibs says… Nero wants to get Emma Jean out of town. As soon as Jax and Chibs leave, Friday disappears into the hallway with her phone. Gee, I wonder who she’s calling. Jax and Chibs get to the hotel and find EJ’s room, while she’s working. They excuse her customer and let her know what’s going on, she says she didn’t call the police. They let her know that they are there to get her out of town. As they are getting ready to leave, Nero’s crew shows up. Remember that phone call? Oh yes she did. Gemma II that woman is. A chase ensues ending with Jax laying down his bike on someone’s yard after EJ burns her leg on the exhaust. A short Mexican standoff with all 4 of these characters pointing their guns at one another with the entire neighborhood looking on. Jax and Chibs convince the bangers that EJ is their problem to deal with, to tell their crew that they hired the bikers to do the ‘bitch’ work. The bangers want proof of her death to show the others what happens. The Proof, ‘A Thumb, and a Tit’ and they weren’t joking. After one of them slaps EJ to the ground, big man that he is. They decide to take her back to the clubhouse and summon Nero and his ‘bottom bitch’ there as well.

Back at the clubhouse, Gemma is storming through like she still owns the place to talk to Clay. She finds Clay and a few of the others in the gym and she orders the others out. They comply. She demands of Clay what was he thinking going there. He says he just wanted to know that she’s fine. Clay tells her she can do as she pleases, he’s done with her and she should get ready for Op’s thing. She doesn’t know yet because Jax hasn’t told her so Clay tells her, that Opie is dead. After she hugs Clay in grief I imagine, she runs to the bathroom for a good sob.

Nero and whatzername (Gemma II) arrive about the same time as Jax and Chibs. Gemma wants to know what EJ is doing there, again, as if she is still queen bee, Jax tells her to cool it. He wants to know how Nero’s crew found out where they would be. Of course, only one other person knew, Gemma II. She says she was protecting him, trying to save this thing that ‘We’ve’ built. Nero lets her know in no uncertain terms, there is no We. Gemma begins to run her mouth and Jax lets her know that with burying his best friend and everything else on his plate, her need to be adored and worshiped isn’t even on his radar. I think Jax is completely disgusted with his mother. Jax and the others walk away, Chibs reassures her that Jax still loves his mother. This little meeting ends with Jax telling Chibs to get in touch with Skeeter, the crematorium  guy to get the needed body parts for proof of EJ’s death. He also has a couple of his guys to put GemmaII on ice in the garage, Away from any phones. Nero leaves to get EJ out of dodge. By the way, during her exit, Emma Jean tells Gemma that Clay never even took his pants off. All she did is rub his shoulders. So if that’s true, once again, Gemma caused trouble for everyone over nothing.

In the mix of all this, Wendy shows up at the hospital as Tara arrives with the boys. Wendy is coming out of the chapel as they are walking by. Wendy claims that she didn’t know the boys were in daycare at the hospital. As Tara takes them away, Able looks back at Wendy. Cut to Tara’s office, Wendy apologizes for the intrusion and her conduct last time. Tara says say what you have to say and get out, go ahead with a custody fight, and informs Wendy that it was Her actions that are the reason she’s not Able’s mother. Wendy plants a seed that one day, Able will want to know who his real mom is. Umm, unless somebody tells him something, no he won’t. Also at some point, Wendy came to the garage to get the money back that she used to pay Gemma’s bail. Remember that Gemma’s only reason for contacting Wendy is to put a thorn in Tara’s side over how she’s raising the boys. Gawd, I hate that woman.

Jax is in the apartment looking at old photos when Tara arrives. She sees a couple photos of Jax and Wendy from back in the day and Jax says he’s going to get rid of them. She suggests he doesn’t because Able may someday want to know. Jax says No, he can never know because of all he’s already been through. No telling how screwed up the kid already may be because of everything he’s been through. Tara, finds Gemma and physically confronts her for getting her husband (Jax) in the spot he’s in, again. Gemma points to Gemma II in the garage and says that’s the one who setup Jax. A fight ensues where Gemma II is on top of Gemma choking her to death. Tara grabs a tire iron and hits Gemma II in the back of the thigh and the two of them go at it. Ending with Tara on top of her beating the hell out of her. I love a good fake cat fight but sometimes this show just seems a little too real to me. I don’t like seeing people beaten like that. I take no pleasure in watching it usually, regardless of the circumstance (though sometimes I do believe it’s deserved IRL).

(I’m a little out of sequence here, forgive me but it did all happen on the show)

Opie’s body arrives in the hearse and the guys line up to carry him in to the clubhouse church and place him on the table. Lila is also brought to the clubhouse as others start filing in for the wake (Wendy was earlier told by Gemma not to come). Jax takes Lila into the church (the meeting room) where she is given some time alone. She confides in Jax that she doesn’t know what she’s going to do with 3 kids when she can barely handle things with one. Were she and Opie still married? I know before he went to jail, he asked her to look after them and gave her $20k to cover expenses until he got back. Anyway, Jax tells her to do what all single moms do. Rely on family for help. She says she has none. He opens the blind looking out into the clubhouse and points out the people filing in, and tells her THAT is her family. She’ll never be alone. If she needs anything just call. If only that were true. I don’t know how Donna managed when Opie was in prison before Season one, maybe she didn’t want their help. They were sure in a world of financial hurt after Opie got out and was trying to go legit (Remember he took a job to do a hit and was spotted. He was trying to earn some money to dig himself out of the hole he was in. ATF got hold of him and set him up to look like a rat. That eventually got Donna killed and Opie wasn’t the same ever since).

Jax is back in the apartment again and Nero arrives back from taking Emma Jean someplace safe. He and Jax begin to talk and Jax offers him a deal. After asking Nero what he makes with the business, Jax offers up his porn stars and a place to run the business in return for a 50 50 share of the money. They both have ‘end games’. Nero wants to buy his uncle’s ranch so he can take his son there. Nero says he doesn’t want any of SAMCRO’s business touching him, he’s not into that sort of stuff, too violent. Jax’s end game or price, if you will, is Nero has to give up his mother, Gemma. He tells Nero that if it continues, the Gemma/Tara feud will bleed all over him. They agree with a handshake, and Nero leaves with his Girl Friday (Gemma II). Somehow I don’t think we’ve seen the last of her. Gemma and Tara gave her a pretty good beating (and I would still like to know her name).

It’s time for the Wake. Jax is up on the roof looking at a photo. This photo is the exact same scene as the one we witnessed at the beginning of the episode except it is he and Opie on their bicycles. The members file through with their final goodbyes and offerings for the afterlife. They then close the casket carry it out and load it into the hearse. I’ve seen biker funeral processions and they really are quite the spectacle. I imagine we’ll see the actual funeral next week or at least, I hope so.

In the preview of next week, we see that Jax informs the club that they are now in the companionship business.

Til then, Peace.