"Did you ever think he got it all wrong? That if JT stayed in Belfast with me we'd all be better off." - Maureen
This quote, more than almost anything else presented in "Caregiver", had me thinking about the goal of the Sons of Anarchy, both the show and the club. For much of the series run, the writers have focused on Jax's struggle to lead (or defect from) the club in a way that emulated his father's wishes for the gang. His father's ideals, in contrast to how Clay has run the club since the founder's death, have been the show's log line since its inception and we've always wondered what side Jax would end up on when push eventually came to shove.
We've conveniently avoided those questions because whenever the problem came to a head, other things like the Mayans, or Zobelle or a baby kidnapping have gotten in the way. But tonight's brief, and yet very telling revelation that John Teller spent a good deal of time in Ireland and that he left a woman there has us heading for unexplored ground in the SAMCRO world. Combine this with Jax having to explore the Emerald Isle to get his kid back (he has to right? How else is this kid issue getting resolved?) and we get all the hallmarks of returning to the real function of the Sons of Anarchy and how their founder saw the role of the club in the bigger picture. This has me excited, which is good because the rest of this episode was extremely weak.
The tidbit about Papa Teller was just a morsel, while much of tonight was another episode of tail chasing. With the gang both money-starved and informationless we got a group ready to head to Canada in search of the kid while making a quick stop off to run some porn stars through the Asian ringer for a much needed cash grab. And while this didn't really get them (or us) anywhere, it was at least a chance to see Opie continuing to come to grips with dating a pornstar. Yes, it wasn't a good idea to bring him along to the party, but we do get to see his struggle in dating the anti-Donna. Where his late wife wanted nothing to do with SAMCRO (to keep Opie out of jail if nothing else), his new old lady is willing to go the extra mile (literally) to help the club out. And poor Opie is caught in the middle wondering if he did right by Donna or if he's doing the right thing with his new girl.
Meanwhile we get Gemma and Tara conspiring on yet another crime, this time with the murder of an all-too conveniently unattached caretaker who found out a little too much about Gemma. That said, it is a nice excuse for Tara, again, to see Gemma as more than just an old lady or matriarch to the family. Gemma often acts under the auspices of motherly caretaker to the gang, which masks the fact that she's actually just as, if not more ruthless than anyone in the club. Having Tara see this firsthand, again, allows her to continue to make an informed (yet probably flawed) decision about getting tied up deeper with Jax. (And more on Stephen King in a bit).
For the most part, "Caregiver" followed the path of last week's "Oiled" with bits of intrigue surrounded by a bunch of noise. And while we get a sense of where the story is going in terms of an eventual IRA - SAMCRO showdown, we didn't get much closer to the prize. And similar to last week's ending, we see Jax realizing Cameron is in Ireland, which, well hell, we already knew that. So again the suspense is left on the relative doorstep while we wait for SAMCRO's knowledge on the mystery to catch up with our own. When that does, I have no doubt we're in for some fireworks, but until that time we'll keep waiting until Jax and company get the whole story (John Teller, Abel and all).
Other thoughts:
- This may be a huge leap, but is there any chance Maureen is Jax's real mother? I am hesitant to go too far with this theory, but the way she's attached to Abel, and her clouded past with John Teller just has me thinking. Just thinking.
- Always interesting to see how SAMCRO greets another club. Head man greets head man and everyone else gets in line.
- Hal Holbrook continued his tortured look at a man on the edge of dementia. From wanting to kill himself because he didn't remember what he had done to Tig or coming to the realization that he's forgetting more than he remembers, his story is tragic. He deserves a guest star nod in the next Emmy run.
- Would the folks in SAMCRO just not have thought to tell Cherry that Half-Sack was dead or are old girlfriends just easily forgettable?
- Stephen King. Wow. Just wow. What a cameo. Could they have possibly found a creepier guy to play The Wolf in this scenario? Not a chance. From his measuring the body, to cupping Amelia's dead breasts, to asking about the slop sink size, to wanting to work to 80's music, to taking tchotchkes in lieu of payment, his performance was other-worldly.
- Gemma's Blackberry is still ringing in her office? What is the battery life on that thing like?
- What would SAMCRO do if Juice wasn't in the club? Do you think anyone else in the club has an email address?
