‘Sons of Anarchy’ season 5, episode 11 review: Civil and inner warfare

It’s almost shameful in many ways that “Sons of Anarchy” season 5 appears to be nearing the end, especially since we just seem to now be getting to the part of the story that is especially juicy. There is a war brewing not just between several gangs, but within SAMCRO, and the final two episodes this year are going to be especially dicey as everyone is going to be forced into taking sides.

The biggest question mark here is surely between Jax and Clay. Who will side side with who among the members of SAMCRO? On one side of the coin, you have a man who has been around far longer, but also exhibited some insane behavior; however, Jax has been no slouch either when it comes to violence. The only shame here is that he still does not have the evidence that he needs in order to take Clay down, and it is pretty hard to tell at this point just where he is going to be able to get it.

To make matters even more interesting this week, Nero went to war against his old gang this week over what he thought was the kidnapping of Jax, and this may have been the night’s best moment in that it captured just who Jimmy Smits’ character truly is. This is a man who is fiercely loyal to the right people, but also capable of making the wrong decisions due to his own impatience. (After all, this crew had nothing to do with Jax.) We saw a much darker side to this character than we have ever seen before as literally unloaded on people he once referred to as friends, and it was awesome and frightening at the same time.

While these wars are all external, the other fascinating battle this week occurred within Tara’s own heart, as it is becoming clear now that she can return to her old life as a surgeon if she so chooses, but the question is whether or not Jax is going to be ready to have her in that situation again. As a matter of fact, the question that is forever on our tongue with this show is this: will Jax ever change, and get his family out of this violent environment? Even if he settles one score, another will appear, and it is this cycle of despair that Kurt Sutter likely relishes in this modern-day Shakespearean tragedy.

What did you think about this week’s episode?