Make an Argument
Lingering questions about the new season of Sons of Anarchy
By Eric Hughes
September 2, 2010
BoxOfficeProphets.com
The drama, the second FX series I’ve paid attention to after Damages, is worthy of your time, and I wanted to use Make an Argument this week as a space to tell you why.
More specifically, the show’s second season finale – like most every season finale – ended on an inconclusive note, with several questions hanging in the balance. None of ‘em will be fully resolved in the third season premiere, set to air six days from now. Yet they linger, and I wanted to analyze a few of ‘em here.
Like in previous editions of Make an Argument, you’d be silly to expect to read through my text without coming across a few spoilers. Proceed with caution.
Will Clay and Jax’s friendship be rekindled?
You didn’t have to pay too close attention to the second season to realize that Jax and his stepfather, Clay, had some, shall we say, personal issues.
It all started when Jax learned that SAMCRO (Sons Of Anarchy Motorcycle Club, Redwood Original), acting on Clay’s orders, played a major role (or I guess the only role) in the accidental drive-by death of Opie’s wife, Donna. Through a series of miscommunications, Tig, thinking the driver of the car to actually be her husband, Opie, shot and killed her.
Anyway, a supposed lack of oversight fueled an unquenchable anger within Jax, who throughout season two was a total dick to his stepfather. Even worse, Clay then accused Jax of murdering porno kingpin Luann Delaney (not true). And Jax, acting on assumptions, believed Clay was behind the burning of Luann’s porn studio (also not true).
The moral of the story here may be that communication is key. But maybe that’s just me.
What you also must know is that Sons of Anarchy is very much a Shakespearian drama. Actually, it’s loosely based on Hamlet, with Clay standing in for Claudius, Jax as Hamlet and Gemma as the family matriarch, Gertrude.
So, for a rift to form between Clay and Jax seems about right. I mean, if the show is to play out Hamlet in full, it’s all eventually going to end in a giant bloodbath anyway. Tensions between members of the family will need to be there.
But, what was interesting about the final handful of episodes in the season is that they seemed to suggest that Clay and Jax might have managed to put their differences aside.
First, Gemma gave the big reveal on being raped by members of the League Of American Nationalists. Then, Cameron, of the True IRA, kidnapped Jax’s newborn in retaliation for the accidental death of his son, Edmond.
SAMCRO seeks revenge when necessary. The raping and kidnapping of immediate family? Yeah. That’ll be enough to set the two men, and probably the whole chapter, in a frenzy.
Clay and Jax, of course, seemed to be pretty gung ho about repairing their broken family. In the finale’s closing minute, Clay embraced Jax as they watched Cameron speed off on a boat with Abel.
Yet I wouldn’t expect the boys to be buddy buddy for too much longer. The show needs to stick to the Hamlet script – however loosely the writers want to do it – and tension between the two most powerful men in the room is essential in making that morbid ending believable.
Beyond that, though, we know and don’t know that Clay played some role in the decades old death of Jax’s father, John. It’s never been explained in full, nor has much anything related to SAMCRO’s history.
What’s exciting about the third season is that showrunner Kurt Sutter promises to dig into the roots of the organization, and I think that can really only mean that Jax learns the truth about his father’s demise. When it’s revealed that Clay, I don’t know, killed John in cold blood, tensions will escalate again.
When will Gemma return to the family? And how will she react to her grandson being kidnapped?
In the season two finale, Gemma avenged her rape by shooting and killing Polly and then fleeing town with Charming’s chief of police, Unser, in tow. She has no knowledge of Abel’s kidnapping, and like a sane grandmother, will not take the news well.
What I can’t figure out just yet is when Gemma will return to the family and, I guess, Charming.
She’s tough as nails and I think one of the strongest (emotionally speaking) characters on television. It really isn’t in her nature to flee any scene – let alone a town. Yet when you shoot and kill someone and get framed for the murder of another individual, fleeing the scene is really all you can do.
She has a cell phone, so it won’t be too long before she checks in with Clay and Jax. I imagine with Abel kidnapped, though, they’ll want her back as soon as possible so that she can get caught up with the predicament and what the club plans to do to retaliate.
The other thing I’d like to know is how she’ll react to the kidnapping. Yes, she’ll be upset. But what I mean by this is what she’ll actually do with the news. Now that she apparently kills people, will she try taking down Cameron with SAMCRO? Will she do it alone? Or, will she do nothing at all?
I’d be elated if she joined the cause. The club is exclusively for men, yet Gemma is family and has always been on the outskirts of the organization anyway. For her to avenge her grandson’s kidnapping – and believe me, she’ll get what she wants, no matter what she chooses to do – would make for some intriguing television.
How heavily will the Irish play into the third season? And what about those guest stars?
Showrunner Sutter has said that he wants to “take [the Sons] into a world that is outside their own, where they don't have control, where they are subject to other people’s laws and beliefs and parameters, Where they aren't quite the big fish in the small pond.”
This all but means we’ll be leaving Charming for most or all of season three and heading into Ireland, wherever True IRA headquarters may be. SAMCRO’s got a baby to rescue, as well as a need to repair a broken relationship with their illegal weapons supplier.
I think, then, that the Irish will play their biggest role yet in Sons of Anarchy. During the two years that the show has been on air, their screen time has noticeably increased. This is especially true of the final batch of episodes that lead out the second season, and of course the finale.
I’ve included a discussion about the guest stars in the Irish section because a few times this year, Kurt Sutter tweeted an open invite to Conan O’Brien about joining Sons of Anarchy as a major character within the True IRA fold. How exciting would that have been?
Of the people who will actually appear in season three, we’ve got the fantastic (and award-winning) Hal Holbrook and… Stephen King.
King is obvious stunt casting. Not sure what he’ll do, or how much screen time he’ll actually get.
As for Holbrook, he’ll be brought in for a multi-episode arc as Gemma’s father. Knowing Gemma’s on the run from authorities, I think she may seek asylum at his abode for a couple episodes, or maybe he’ll reason with her to join SAMCRO in taking down Cameron and the True IRA.
Either way, it’s Hal frickin’ Holbrook. And for that reason alone, I’m stoked.
The third season premieres on FX on Tuesday, September 7th at 10 p.m. (eastern).