‘Sons of Anarchy’ season 6, episode 2 review: Reeling from tragedy, or just reeling?

Last week’s “Sons of Anarchy” season 6 episode left a knot in our stomach, and for good reason. It touched on a subject in a school shooting that is terrible to imagine, let alone witness, albeit in a fictionalized form that was mostly shown off-screen.

But what was even more shocking in some ways than the shooting happening was the way in which the reaction was handled. It was almost as though there were two separate worlds here: The clubs and the police, and then everyone else. Lee Toric and company saw this as opportunity to turn the public further against SAMCRO; meanwhile, SAMCRO seemed much more concerned with making sure that their own guys were safe. The connection to the shooter was specifically through Nero’s #2 Arcadio, played by Dave Navarro, and it was a weapon brought in through the Irish Kings.

So to be left with a feeling of numbness is nothing new when it comes to “Sons of Anarchy” and tragedy. This is a show that likes to deal with sadness oftentimes through violence; the best analogy is a guy who loses a loved one, and then goes to work the next day to deal with it. Sooner or later, this person is going to stop internalizing everything and just explode. We want to reserve judgment until that moment comes, and if it never does, then we have to question whether or not Jax Teller is even human at all anymore. That is a scary thought, and potentially a bridge too far for the character.

We would be remiss to not mention that Navarro’s character is dead, so he is now free to continue rocking out / hosting his Spike TV show “Ink Master.”

The other highlight of this 90-minute spectacle to us was seeing the stunning plan put into effect here by Tara to divorce Jax, and also allow Wendy to be the one to eventually take care of the children. Who would have ever thought that this woman, once a terrible addict, would now be so capable? This is an ironic and interesting moment for sure, and we are intrigued to see what comes of it.

There are some elements of “Sons of Anarchy” that do at times confuse us, and confusion is the emotion that we feel after watching “One One Six.” Typically, you leave an episode of a show feeling some sort of closure, and we don’t here. Maybe it was meant to be that way; but given that this Shakespearean tragedy has many acts left, we are going to exercise patience before laying down a hammer in frustration.

If you want to read more “Sons of Anarchy” news, including a preview for next week’s installment, be sure to click here.

Photo: FX