"It's going to get a lot worse before it gets better." - Jax
For much of its brilliant run, show creator Kurt Sutter and company have adeptly worked the Sons of Anarchy through spiraling problems, unforeseen attacks and no-win situations . The season three premiere was a stark reminder of this notion when it ended with Chief Police Hale run down in the middle of the street after a violent drive-by shooting and Jax beating the hell out of one of the shooters right in front of the whole police force. And though much of "Oiled" was a more comedic turn for the show, it was a bit mired in a few heavy, and somewhat precarious plot arcs that leave me wondering just how exactly it all gets better.
And those arcs, especially the kidnapping of Abel, have put the Sons of Anarchy (both the show and the club) on a very slippery slope. As long as the writers play the "Abel is safe, just don't tell Jax," game with the viewers we're left watching the club spin its wheels looking in all the wrong directions for the kid. While we can almost certainly guarantee Abel won't fall victim to anything (if he hasn't already, he most assuredly won't now), it is a little herky-jerky having Jax devastated over, what we know, is an eventually resolvable problem.
I have supreme faith Sutter and company have a solution to the issue, one that probably takes SAMCRO strictly out of its comfort zone, but while Jax continues the search (and while we know he's running in all the wrong directions) the plot slows down just a tad leaving the group to do things like assist a bounty hunter and play chicken with the head of a rival gang.
And even in the end, when Jax gets a little clarity on Abel's whereabouts, the whole scene was kind of lost in the noise. It would be one thing if we had no knowledge at all of the kid's whereabouts and saw that picture with Jax at the same helpless level. But it mitigates some of Jax's relief because, well, we already knew Abel was okay.
In a similarly depressing arc, we continue to see Gemma struggle with returning home to a dementia-laden father who barely remembers her, and a dead mother who doesn't seem to have been the quite the bitch Gemma intimated. This is decidedly new territory for the tough matriarch of SAMCRO as she's powerless to help her father while having to hear about all the good her mother did before her death. Katey Sagal handles the confusion and helplessness masterfully, but Gemma's story is riddled with questions. What will happen to her father and can Gemma walk out of his life again? How will she react to Abel's kidnapping? And how the hell does she get out of taking the live-in nurse hostage?
So like Jax said, things are probably going to get worse before they get better and I can't help but think "Oiled" is one of those episodes that sets us up for something we can't see coming. Because while the stories within Sons of Anarchy are gaining focus this season no one seems to be headed in the right direction.
A few other thoughts
- In all this, there were a few perfect moments of levity. And while these moments were all laced with fair amount of morbidity, they did a nice job of lightening up the episode until we remember just what we're laughing at. Things like Tig dressed in a bathrobe on his way to diddle the nurse (which only got him shot). Chucky running through the ICU screaming about his thumbs (that he had cut off as punishment). Bobby getting beat up by his wife (because he's a deadbeat ex-husband and father). These were all nice reminders that the writers like having fun, but aren't forgetting just who they're writing about.
- Quick little John Teller mention within the IRA faithful. I only hope this leads to more answers about the enigmatic father of the club.
- How weird of a guy is Tig? Why would the little figurines freak him out so much?
- Hal Holbrook is absolutely incredible in the role of Gemma's father. You could tell me he actually had Alzheimer's and I'd probably believe you.
- With every episode it becomes more and more unbelievable that Tara was ever a doctor on the show. I think this is purposeful in some ways as it shows her evolving/ devolving into a full blown old lady. It also might illustrate how she's not really comfortable in either role. But at the same time Maggie Siff has been awkward in this show from the beginning.
- Just how deep does the IRA story go? What we're seeing is a group at distinct odds with each other and whose association with the Sons seems to run very deep.
- Is "Oiled" only a reference to Tig's humane lubrication or is there something I'm missing?
