‘Sons of Anarchy’ season 7, episode 11 review: The truth hurts for Jax; Gemma, Juice, plot ahead

Tonight on “Sons of Anarchy,” we had some further reminders that most of these people are terrible. Really, really terrible. There was of course death, betrayal, police chases, and for Gemma, a realization that she ultimately has to get away.

Within the span of the first hour of the episode, Jax followed a trail that led him to Juice eventually confessing to everything, from his role in the cover-up to Gemma ultimately being the guilty party. This at first felt like a moment of his giving himself completely over to Charlie Hunnam’s character, but then, he gave her full warning. This allowed Gemma the opportunity that she needed to start to plot her escape, and it was quite a plot, indeed.

First of all, how heartbreaking was that conversation with Abel? This was her starting to say goodbye to this world. Not long after this conversation, Jax told the rest of the club the truth about what happened.

Meanwhile, Juice completed his mission to kill Lin behind bars, and we ultimately learned that Barosky was the rat that had been speculated to previously be Jury. In this meeting, Jax said that he could come clean to the other charters about killing Jury, and accept whatever consequences that were coming his way. Poetically, this was almost his recognition that the end could be near for himself, but he wants to clean up as much of the mess as he can first.

As we got near the end of this episode (which felt like a marathon of emotion), Nero made a suggestion to Jax that is something that really should be considered: Could it be time to honor what Tara actually wanted in the first place? We feel like Jax could finally want this, but at the same time not know how to get out. Jimmy Smits killed it in this episode all night long, as Nero was hurting nearly as much as Jax was as a result of all this.

“Suits of Woe” was one of the show’s longest episodes, and there were times in the early going to wanted it to speed up a little. It was emotionally-draining, difficult, but at the same time brilliant. The complex emotions are what make it, and the series as a whole, so grand. Grade: A.

What did you think about this episode of “Sons of Anarchy”? Let us know your thoughts and quick reactions to this episode with a comment.