‘Sons of Anarchy’ season 6, episode 5 review: A shamrock pen and one big bang
After last week’s emotional stabbing on “Sons of Anarchy” that was “Wolfsangel” (which also happened to have a physical stabbing when it came to Otto), we really had no idea at all just how in the world this show could move forward from there. Would anyone else fall during “The Mad King”?
Throughout most of the hour, the major theme of the story was just seeing if there was a way for Jax and the MC to get themselves separated in some way from the Irish and the gun trade, knowing full-well just what sort of machinations the DA was working on to ensure that there was a fall guy put into place. At this point, they really don’t care who it is, or if someone in law enforcement (i.e. Eli) was going to get themselves killed in the process.
But this was not really an episode about a person being killed; instead, the story was more focused around watching the end of an institution: The end of the clubhouse. When we first saw the pen above and even wrote about it earlier this week, we mocked it as being something completely useless. Who knew that this little shamrock pen could be the source of such an enormous explosion? Seeing SAMCRO as we know it go up in flames was a dramatic end to a dramatic 90 minutes, and something that changes Jax Teller’s organization as we know it. There is nowhere to call home, for the weary to stay, or for secrets to be buried. They are all fully exposed, and the moral to this story is in some ways clear: There is no way to sever yourself from your past.
While there were other developments in this episode, whether it be more trouble for Nero courtesy of some evidence in his car or Tara and Wendy’s continued attempts to take Jax’s own children away from him, to us this all faded in comparison to the greatness of the closing minutes … for now. There will be a time to focus on this, and for us to go on and on about just how impressed we are at the complexity of it all.
But in the end, the clubhouse is gone. While it is easy to sit here and be cynical that everyone got out in time, or that the explosion really needed to be so dramatic, in the end it doesn’t matter. “The Mad King” did at times feel like its length, but it was another strong episode that changes the game for the show.
Oh, and this line broke our hearts as a discussion involving Gemma, after a particular revealing trip to prison.
“What can I make you, sweetheart?”
“Three hours younger.”
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Photo: Fox