This has been a brutally graphic season of Sons of Anarchy. It began with Gemma’s ordeal in the first episode and continued tonight in the opening sequence. While Clay tries to shake down Ethan Zobelle, and Gemma feigns ignorance about the whereabouts of the Papa Teller’s teachings, Otto, a SAMCRO member, is attacked in jail by a group of neo-Nazis. He puts up a fight, but they overcome him and eventually take out his eye with a wooden stake (leaving him permanently blind).
The aptly titled, “Smite,” is all about revenge. Clay wants to deal with the Aryans quickly and violently. Jax, on the other hand, sees the move against Otto for what it is: a ploy by the Aryans to draw SAMCRO out and make them do something stupid. Clay and Jax both go about rallying support on the leadership panel for their own agendas.
Meanwhile the Aryans have an agenda of their own. They present Deputy Hale with some footage implying Hale is in bed with drug dealers. They want to remind the good Deputy about where his allegiance should fall in this gang war. The Aryans need Hale to promote their anti-SAMCRO (and everything but white) credo and aren’t above blackmail to do it.
While out with Tara, Gemma sees the girl who helped abduct her in episode one. The girl is standing next to the actual van used in the abduction. Gemma chases her, but the girl is picked up by AJ Weston. We find out that this girl is actually Zobelle’s daughter. Nice family.
The violence spills out into the streets of Charming when the Aryan muscle and SAMCRO come face to face. It is obvious Weston and his skinhead thugs are provoking the Sons in every possible way. Weston isn’t even above a little “I knocked your bike over now let’s fight” middle school taunting. Fisticuffs are thrown landing members of both gangs in jail.
This arrest leads to a conversation between Sheriff Unser and Hale. Unser, who has always been in bed with SAMCRO, pleads with Hale to not do likewise with the Aryans. The good sheriff lets on why he chose Hale as the replacement stating, “You’re the good guy, the clean one. I need you to stay that way.” I love Unser’s character this season. He is a dying man seeming to want to go out with some dignity. He relays to Hale the story behind Gemma’s rape in order to illustrate Zobelle’s inherent evil. He swears Hale to secrecy. This powwow was a telling scene in that it basically assures us Hale won’t be aiding and abetting White Hate.
SAMCRO holds their vote on how to deal with Zobelle. Is it Clay? Go at them hard with violence. Or Jax? Wait, gather information and form a rational plan. Bobby swings the vote in Jax’s favor. Clay sees his power in the club slowly waning and confronts Gemma with his concern about Jax. He compares Jax to Jax’s father. This is troubling considering the implication that Clay is the one who actually killed John Teller.
“Smite” ends with the Aryan’s van being towed into the garage. While Chibs goes to start the van he realizes something is wrong. He runs for it as the van explodes, gravely injuring himself in the process. The Aryans just don’t let up.
A couple of things stood out to me in this episode. There were many references to John Teller’s bible, of sorts, that Jax has been reading. The bomb at the end will definitely call into question many of the things Jax (and his late father) wanted for the club. How he reacts to this move by the Aryans could be a turning point for both Jax and the show in general.
I am also troubled by the secrecy aspect of Gemma’s rape. I can’t help but feel everyone who kept the secret from Jax and Clay (Unser, Hale, Tara) will be dealt with harshly. The rape has been a part of every episode and will eventually come to the forefront forcing the characters to all question their allegiances and motives.
