‘Sons of Anarchy’ season 6, episode 7 review: Did Tara set Gemma up? Plus, the story of Venus

Somehow, “Sons of Anarchy” continues to surprise. We knew that the show was setting up something dramatic with what Tara has been up to as of late to get her boys out of Charming and away from Jax Teller, but who would have guessed that it would lead to something this elaborate?

While Gemma may be tough, Maggie Siff’s character proved in this episode that she really is the smartest person in the room. Using a blood bag and using Gemma’s own anger against her, she concocted a situation to ensure that Gemma knew that she wanted to get her kids away from anyone that she could have contact with, and then set her up to make it look like her “unborn child” was hurt in the process. This is still not a perfect plan when it comes to the way in which it was handled logistically, but at this point, Tara is a desperate woman, and she did what she felt like she had to do to ensure her family is safe. We can hardly blame her, given that she was backed into a corner.

As for the other major story of the week, it was mostly a reflective one on how Jax may have seen a part of himself in the way in which Venus Van Dam was being treated. There was a moment where she didn’t think that she could be a good parent because of her past mistakes, and these were questions that Jax has been probably asking himself. With this being said, this was probably the most extraneous story in weeks; we love Walton Goggins more than almost any TV actor on the planet, but this did not do much to extend along the story of SAMCRO, and the majority Tara’s plot would have happened without it. We do wonder if Venus’ happy trigger finger will come back to haunt someone later on.

Ultimately, the biggest news for MC this week is that they have a new clubhouse for the time being, and that they’ve finally promoted one of their own prospects.

What is important to take away from “Sweet and Vaded” ultimately is that Jax’s family will never be the same, and that he finally signed the papers. Maybe this was the real purpose of the Venus storyline, though it could have been slightly more clear. Now that this move has been made, Tara finally gets what she wants, but the emotional consequences could be pretty severe for Jax. We can’t sit here and say that this hour was necessarily as stellar as last week’s “Salvage,” but there is no denying the impact that some of these scenes will have on the show’s future. It’s almost funny now that after weeks of 90-minute episodes, getting one that was just under 75 somehow felt short. Grade: B+.

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Photo: FX