Sons of Anarchy - S6E6 - Salvage
Previously, on Sons of Anarchy: “The Mad King”
Your intrepid re-capper Teri was having a battle of wills with her satellite reception, so this week you are stuck with me. Now on with the show.
Jax and the Crew visit the blackened remains of the Club. The only recognizable symbol of a bygone era is the charred boardroom table. A pensive Jax takes full blame for the explosion. Chibs reassures our club President by handing him the fully intact gavel.
Officer Roosevelt visits the club; he knows the IRA is responsible for the bombing. He reminds Jax of all of the destruction left in the wake of SAMCRO’s decisions. Jax just wants more time to get things sorted.
Gemma is wilding out at the police station as she demands to see Nero, basically having an old lady temper tantrum. “I wanna see my Latin lover and you can’t stop me! WAH!” She shoves one of the officers, they cuff and place her in the holding cell with Nero. She wants to have her cake and eat it too; can she keep Nero and the Club? We will see, right now it is not looking too promising.
SAMCRO gathers at Gemma’s house for a flip phone teleconference with the IRA. Jax wants out of the gun business. IRA agrees as long as they facilitate the movement of those guns to another club. This must be handled by Clay or they are going to start blowing up MCs across California. They agree, but they have to convince Clay and the rest of the Sons. Gemma gets a police escort back home after this morning’s incident. Jax tells her the deal and he needs another message passed on to Clay. She looks pale, considering what happened during her last visit, it is completely understandable. No conjugal required this time, just a message.
Roosevelt talks to Patterson, he thinks Padilla was set up for Shannon’s murder. She doesn’t care. She wants proof and a villain.
Tara reveals her plans to Uncer: divorce Jax and assign full custody to Wendy. Wendy looking geeked and nervous as always appears, Tara instructs her to console Gemma, and bond with the boys while they are in Day Care.
SAMCRO is headed to the Sons all-hands meeting to discuss the terms presented by the IRA. They get waylaid by some crooked cops who want to steal their bikes and sell them for parts. The officers cuff Juice to a bike and shoot out his tires. Juice is not having any bit of that, a head butt, thrown elbows and a scuffle later. The Sons are blazing a trail up the canyon and Juice makes his getaway on a police motorcycle. Bobby is also at the cabin with his nomad crew. He and Jax exchange pleasantries. The Sons gather round the table and Jax gives a rousing “Rah-Rah” speech about being on the straight and narrow. Well as straight as the MC can get: brothels and adult films. “SAMCRO is in the business of pussy not bullets.” He gets a round of applause and support from the other club presidents.
He and Bobby commiserate after the meeting. He was not out to start his own club he was recruiting replacements for fallen SAMCRO members. They hug or high five or knife fight and all is right with the world. Because the boys can’t let well enough alone. SAMCRO visit the junk yard where Juice’s bike was taken after this morning’s run-in with the po-po. They find it has been stripped but they also find a cache of stolen cars and motorcycles. Juice picks the Liberace bike. Jax makes the police officers apologize to the Sons, individually. You boys are so clever.
After meeting with Clay, Gemma barges into the Police station AGAIN. D.A. Patterson is there and Gemma lays out all the info she wants to reveal about Toric, Nero, the murder of Shannon and any other tomfoolery that took place while former US Marshall Toric was on the payroll. Patterson is kinda fucked. She asks Gemma about the guns. She storms out. Roosevelt smirks and encourages Patterson to get ahead of this thing, because they way it looks, SHE is at absolutely fault for all of Toric’s behavior.
Back at the Cat House Gemma meets an old friend of Nero’s. Venus Van Dam (Walter Goggins) A trans woman, with a black-eye. She was a ward of Nero’s after her prostitute mother got sent up the river. Gemma offers the woman her bosom for comfort, in an awkward nurturing moment.
Roosevelt and his randomly sexy partner visit Toric’s motel room. He paid a month in advance. In cash. The room is loaded with firearms, drugs and smells like bleach: the murderer’s signature scent. Roosevelt finds the gun that killed Shannon and bullet holes in the floor. Patterson and her bad wig show up, flustered and looking for anything that will exonerate Toric. Unless she tampers with the evidence(possible) that is not happening. She hops back in her black government issued SUV. Tara is called into a boardroom at the hospital. She meets with Patterson and her attorney. Patterson’s deal: give up the guns and all charges are dropped. Tara says no. Because Tara is stupid, but whatever. Patterson storms off and goes to the bathroom to regroup. She hits the hood switch. Snatches off her wig and confronts Tara in the hallway: Tell your attorney the trial is being moved up three weeks and I am going to be the prosecuting attorney. Patterson wants to keep her job. Tara is shitting bricks.
This episode is the lightest of the season. No one was raped, dismembered, set ablaze, shot, stabbed, force-fed drugs, or murdered. How did I get so lucky? For some fans I’m sure they think this is wimpy or whatever the kids say these days. No, the episode was necessary. Subtle changes that set the stage for the final two, yes, two episodes of the season. Tara and Nero have to decide whether to give up the club. Tara was a physician with a promising career. Nero had gone straight with his legit business dealings. Now their lives have turned to shit. Juice is unraveling and the only one who really knows that is Chibs. Bobby is back, and he brought some friends, is this enough to save SAMCRO? Kurt Sutter has gone balls to the walls this season with his creepy and unnerving levels of violent behavior. I know he has more in store. This season feels a lot like the final season of a show, I know there is a season 7 on the horizon, but I’m not convinced. What say you: Should Tara give up the club? Should Nero? Can someone give Juice a steak and a BJ?
