The show starts off playing catch up on the happenings of the previous season. Jax has decided to hand over the IRA gun-trade to August Marks, Damon Pope’s right-hand man. All the other gangs are upset at Jax handing over the business to August, and not thinking of them first. Tara agrees to flip on the club in order to get out of jail, as well as get in Witness Protection so she can save her children. Juice ends up confessing about smothering the woman in the cabin to Gemma’s boyfriend, which results in Jax finding out and telling Juice he’s a turncoat. We then see the big happening, in which Gemma kills Tara because she thinks she flipped on Jax & the club, which is then followed by Juice killing the Sheriff in order to keep Gemma safe, as well as ditching evidence.
Now let’s get down to the business of getting down.
Jax is in jail, and in order to take a meeting with the head of the Aryan Nation to clear things up and form an alliance of sorts, he does some hefty business on an AN snitch, which includes beating his face, carving a Swastika into his side, and ripping out two teeth. He’s let out due to there being no evidence to tie him to the death of the Sheriff & Tara. Once out he talks with everyone from his mother, to Wendy, and tells the club that he’s lost his wife, he isn’t losing his club too. He eventually arranges a social get together with the Mayans, Mongrels, and Chinese gang, as a way to calm the waters. However, at the party, we find out Gemma has pinned the murder of Tara on a member of the Chinese gang. Later, Jax tortures the man to death, without even giving him a chance to speak for himself.
Wendy left rehab after 9 days, and found Juice living in her place. He’s using the place as a hide out, as he feels the ordeal with telling Nero about the death is the final straw and that Jax is going to have him killed. Only Gemma & Wendy know about his location, until Uncer comes to pick up Wendy one day, and feels there may be a person hiding out there. As he comes back to inspect later, Juice pulls a gun on him and ties him up.
The Sons are rolling with the Mongrels, whose gang suffered an attack when a blue Impala ran a few guys off the road, causing death & damage. They head to a house where a leader of the gang suspected in the hit & run lives, and attempt to get some information out of him. He doesn’t bend to the Sons & Mongrels charms, and refuses to give them what they want. So, in a fair bit of Good Cop, Bad Cop, they tie a chain to the wheel chair he’s in, and have Bobby drag him down the street. When they do find the location of the blue Impala, they bust into the apartment looking for the drivers. However, when they enter the back room, they find one man with a video camera, one guy doing things of a sexual nature to a woman, and then that guy having things done to him of a sexual nature by another guy. The woman, seeing the Sons, opens fire. In return, everyone in the room is killed. We then find out they are not part of any gang, and instead are Reverends and Asst Reverends in a local church.
Gemma & Nero are now back together, with Gemma showing to hardly be affected by what went down only a week or so prior. Between that, and setting up an innocent man to be not only killed, but killed brutally, she’s turned into another Clay, proving once again just how perfect they were for one another.
A pretty good opener, showcasing just how bloody we’re going to get with this final season. It also displayed what this entire season is going to be about; revenge. Jax has always wanted to be more like Opie, but as time passes, and bodies pile up, he appears to be turning into a sociopath who wants a pound of flesh for every indiscretion done to him. What’ll happen to him once he finds out Gemma is behind Tara’s death will probably end up being one of the series highlights, but will also probably be the last piece of truth that Jax Teller can handle learning.
