Recap: “Fa Guan”

Sons of Anarchy
Season 2, Episode 209
Recap: “Fa Guan”

After a devastating family dinner emotions are running high.  Jax pays Big Otto a visit to give his condolences for Luann. It’s clear Jax feels some responsibility for possibly inciting her tragic death by roughing up Georgie Caruso.

Meanwhile Clay and the guys meet with Henry Lin. They unfortunately cannot fill his gun order; ATF has eyes on their supplier.   However they agree to help Lin ‘free-up’ his supplier from his immigration troubles in exchange for access to the Hamas pipeline.  Lin gives SOA the information on the INS judge trying the case. The plan is simple - they will go in and persuade him to drop the charges.

Hale gets a hot tip about Darby dealing drugs and prostitution at a local motel in Charming.  Two of the girls he busts are from Caracara. They call Jax for help.  Clay gets wind that girls from Caracara are hooking and gives Bobby the order to shut Caracara down.  They have a new gun pipeline and don’t need porn.  Bobby tries to persuade Clay to keep it up and running, it’s a moneymaker. Clay doesn’t care - shut it down.  We find out the tip came from Zobelle, this is Hale’s last chance to get on board and be the town hero.

Unser checks in with Gemma to make sure she’s doing okay dealing with Luann’s murder.  Gemma tells him that she doesn’t think that it was Zobelle.  Unser agrees and asks her to take him to one of his church meetings in the morning.  Realizing that Unser is going all alone, she is happy to help her friend.

Bobby lets Jax know Clay’s intentions to shut Caracara down.  Jax confronts Clay – he can’t shut down club action without a majority vote. Jax takes the challenge one step further when Clay reminds him of the promise he made (204) by laying his gun on the table, giving Clay an open target to shoot him.  Jax leaves stating “we will” vote on Caracara tomorrow at chapel.

Outside Tig approaches Jax – they need to talk.  Jax tells him to speak; he has nothing to hide from Bobby. Tig informs Jax that Clay has Opie taking the lead on pressing the judge.  If things go bad there is no coming back from this for Opie. Tig will come to do the dirty work. Jax just needs to come along and keep Opie light. Jax doesn’t think that Opie will listen to him.  Regardless Bobby agrees and tells Jax he should come along.

Gemma stops in the hospital to apologize to Tara for butting into her business.  Tara tells her that Chibs flipped out when she told him that he is going to be transferred to another hospital because of his lapsed insurance.  Gemma tells her not to worry, they will find a way to protect him.  Tara just wants to know when this is all going to stop.  Gemma reassures her they have just hit a rough patch and things will settle down soon enough.  Later Tara rushes in to Chibs’ room; he is now experiencing very serious pain and needs to be put back on to the critical list, keeping him at St. Thomas.  He gives Tara a quick thank you for the help. The doc puts the club first.

In an intense scene at the judge’s house, SOA runs into a realization that the seeming easily to crack judge, won’t crack. Not even the threat of killing his son can make him cooperate. Opie, filled with rage and fear, at the point of no return, can’t pull the trigger and kill the judge’s son.  Tig steps up to fulfill his duty, but can’t.  Jax goes to Opie and tasks Bobby to find something to use.  Jax exits the house to find Opie on the porch. A silent understanding of what just happened between the two old friends.  Bobby finds love letters from the judge’s late wife, just the leverage that they need to persuade the judge.  The judge throws the case out and Lin’s gun connect is free to go.

Meanwhile Zobelle and Weston make their next assault against the Sons and burn down Caracara.  The next morning SOA gets word of the fire.  There is nothing left of the porn studio. Jax, convinced Clay was behind the fire, has had enough and declares – “I’m going Nomad.”

Recap: “Potlatch”

Sons of Anarchy
Season 2, Episode 208
Recap: “Potlatch”

SOA may be home from jail in one piece, but they are far from healed. Tara and Gemma check in with their men separately: Tara questions Jax’s want for change while Gemma plans a family dinner to refocus the club and bring them back together.  Bobby takes it upon himself to gather the club and figure out how to mend the rift between Jax and Clay.  Opie will talk to Jax and Tig to Clay; they need to get to the bottom of this before it destroys the club.

Jax walks in as Bobby and the rest of the guys are wrapping up their talk.  He needs them to find Clay; the Chinese want a sit down. Jax heads off to Caracara to deal with a distraught Luann, the studio was broken into, equipment was stolen, and a disturbing message “Dead Bitch” was scrawled across Lyla’s door. Jax realizes that there’s only one person who could have been responsible – Georgie Caruso.

Gemma goes to check on Chibs only to find Fiona Larkin, Chibs’ estranged wife, watching over him.  Gemma introduces Tara and then fills her in.  Tara gives Gemma the good news; Chibs is off the critical list and should be able to go home after a week or so in recovery at a neighboring hospital. Gemma flips. He can’t be unprotected. Tara explains that with his lapsed insurance there is nothing she can do.

Meanwhile, Clay and the rest of the guys meet with Henry Lin.  He is experiencing a hold up with his gun connection and needs guns from SOA.  Clay tells him they will think about it.  As a gesture of good faith, Lin offers Chuck, eight fingers missing, but alive and well.  Tig says they’ll take him; he can take over the books at Caracara.  Opie gets a call from Jax telling him about Lyla. He takes Chuck and heads to Caracara.  Clay and the others head to the Irish safe house to see about the guns.  At the safe house it becomes apparent that the Irish are in fact selling guns to Zobelle; Stahl was right.  Clay leaves, tasking Half-Sack to follow the guns.

At Caracara, Opie takes a moment to comfort Lyla then regroups with Jax and Bobby. Chuck informs Jax that Lin has been crazy, the Mayan’s are pushing them out and they are losing ground daily. Jax finds this news very interesting and wants to check in with Laroy, but first they’ll deal with Georgie. Using Chuck to lure Georgie’s muscle away they burst into his office and take back what’s theirs.  In the process, they take a moment to further illustrate their point and drown Georgie’s Laptop in his fish tank.

Jax, Opie, Bobby and Chuck stop by the Niner’s bar on their way back to Charming only to find it is under new ownership – Mayan.  Alverez informs them that this is Mayan territory now and the truce with the Sons is over. Alverez demands their cuts before they leave. Jax refuses. Alverez pulls his gun and threatens Jax.  Cool and confident, Jax tells him it’s the only way he’s getting his cut. Bobby steps in to diffuse the situation reminding Alverez what the repercussions of killing the VP of the mother charter would be.   Alverez lets them go with the threat that next time SOA comes into Mayan territory they don’t come out.

Meanwhile, Clay, Tig, Happy and Half-Sack follow Weston and the Irish guns to a drop.  Unable to get a hold of Jax, Bobby, and Opie they make a move on their own.  It’s bad timing as Ule arrives and a gunfight ensues.  Clay, Tig, Happy and Half-Sack barely escape with their lives, but no guns.

Gemma puts the final touches on family diner as Jax, Bobby and Opie arrive.  They gather around the table. Clay, Tig, and Half-Sack enter, pissed. “Where were you?” the tension is high, SOA at each others’ throats as Hale enters the house. He delivers the news that Luann has been killed. She was found beaten to death. Hale leaves and Clay turns on Jax blaming him for her death.  Jax hits back with “I’m not the one going around killing women.” Gemma’s had enough and shatters the serving tray on the table stopping everyone cold.

Recap: #207 “Gilead”

Locked up, unprotected, and with the AB gunning for them, the Sons know that the prison yard will prove to be a very dangerous place. Clay and Jax try to put their anger aside momentarily to strike a deal with Laroy’s cousin Russell Divine, leader of the Black Guerilla Family, for protection while they are locked up.  Russell agrees to protect them as long as the Sons can do something for the Family – first, a snitch in protective custody, Dion, needs to be taken out and second a Tranny, Vincent, on the outside needs to be set up and brought to jail so they can deal with her. Clay puts Opie, the only one who didn’t get locked up, on Vincent while Jax uses Juice as bate and arranges a ‘date’ for him and Dion.

Meanwhile Tara and Gemma meet with Rosen to figure out how to get the guys out. Rosen tells them that bail is set at $3 million.  Gemma knows there is only one person in Charming who can help.  She goes to Oswald, but he tells her that he can’t help, not this time.

Stahl and ATF are back in Charming. Hale gives her a chilly welcome. She informs him that she has no intention of causing any more damage in his town. She is there to go after the IRA and she plans on using the fact that the SOA is in jail as leverage.

Juice meets with Dion. The plan works and the Family rushes in before Juice is put into a compromising position.   As Juice approaches Clay and company with the good news he’s attacked and stabbed twice in the back.  Jax rushes to his aid and the guards get him to safety.  Clay gets word that Juice is going to be alright, it’s up to Opie now to make sure the Tranny (Vincent) set-up goes right to get SOA protection.

Opie enlists Trammel to help with the set up.  He plants drugs in Vincent’s car then Trammel pulls Vincent over. Vincent shoots Trammel and takes off.  Opie rushes to his aid.  SOA gets word about Trammel and they are on their own in jail.  Jax is livid.  Clay gets called away by one of the Guards and Bobby tells Jax he has to be the one to forgive and forget with Clay for the sake of the club.

Clay meets with Stahl.  She tries to get Clay to give up the Irish, but he shuts her down.
He returns to his cell where Jax approaches him ready to make amends. Clay responds to the gesture with a punch in the face.  Jax and Clay get into a brutal, no holds barred fight. The guards rush in and break up the fight. They bring Jax into the interrogation room to meet with Stahl.  She plays the same angle as she did with Clay, but this time Jax calls her bluff.  He knows she has nothing. A little impressed by the heir apparent, Stahl lets Jax know that their bail was made and they are free to go.  Jax leaves her with a bone chilling reminder that Kohn (Jay Karnes) was a Fed too and nobody’s heard from him.

Gemma and Tara anxiously wait for their men to return home. When SOA returns to the clubhouse it is apparent that the club has been divided. A clear line has been drawn with Jax on one side and Clay on the other.

Next On: #207 “Gilead”

Locked up in county, the club is faced with finding protection in a volatile environment before something bad happens. Meanwhile, Gemma appeals to the only person who has the ability to help save the crew.

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Recap: #206 Falx Cerebri

Sons of Anarchy
Season 2, Episode 206
Recap: “Falx Cerebri”

The episode begins in the aftermath of the explosion.  As the ambulance pulls away, the worry, stress, and want for revenge can be seen on all of the Sons’ faces. There is no stopping the retaliation on Zobelle, not now.  Jax, still worried they’re walking into a trap, partners up with Hale in hopes to protect his brothers.  Hale’s on board, under one condition, Jax will deliver Zobelle alive for questioning.

The explosion brings the Irish around, now questioning what this will do to their gun running arrangement.  Clay assures him that everything is under control and they will be able to make their deliveries as scheduled.  To make sure of this, Clay tasks Unser to busy his unis so Juice can have a chance to clean up the crime scene before CSU arrives. An ill-fated plan to pour Unser’s ‘radioactive’ urine on the crime scene backfires, leaving Unser and Juice defeated.

Jax and Hale get a hold of Weston’s address and head over there.  Meanwhile Clay and the others mount up and head to Weston’s as well. Jax manages to get to Weston first, but only finds his gun-wielding, itchy trigger-fingered son Cliffy there.  Cliffy fires on Jax, igniting a barrage of bullets from the rest of the Sons who have arrived outside.  Jax dives on top of Cliffy, protecting him from the gunfire.  SOA stops firing when they realize it is a kid inside, all they get from the house is Weston’s password-coded laptop.

At a loss, Hale confronts Gemma, tells her he knows about the attack.  Gemma, reeling from Unser’s betrayal, calms herself and gives Hale as much information as she can – the only one she saw was Polly.  Hale vows to keep her secret, then takes the new information and moves on it.  Hale finds out that Polly is Zobelle’s daughter and confronts her at her father’s cigar shop.  Under the threat of jail, she tells Hale her father is speaking at a big rally happening that night with plenty of jailhouse Aryans.

Hale relays the information to Jax, but not before Clay and the other SOA member have already figured it out.  Clay and company gun-up and head for the rally to kill Zoebelle.  Jax gives chase and when he meets up with them he tries to stop them from going in.  Jax tells them that Hale is sending the cops as they speak and if they go in they’ll all go to jail.  Clay doesn’t care and they move on the Church.  SOA busts in guns blazing, only to find a church family dinner happening: another set-up.  SOA tries to escape, but are all confronted by the police and arrested.

A look behind the scenes: If you build it…

We have many talented people working on the show – my hat goes off to them and their creativity and ingenuity for doing what they do on a daily basis. It may all start with the writers, but the crew brings it to life.

One of the men behind the curtain is our Production Designer, Anthony Medina.  He along with his exceptionally talented team in the Art Department and Set Decoration take the words off the page and create the world of SAMCRO.

In this weeks episode they got to build AND destroy one of the many sets you see in the show. It is oddly satisfying – so I’m told - to build something only to crash a flatbed truck right into it.

Take a look at the before pictures and a little video of the crash.

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