After a volatile first half of “Sons of Anarchy’s” new sixth season, fans are struggling to comprehend the most recent episode.
“Sweet and Vaded” premiered last Tuesday, Oct. 22, and featured one of the most shocking actions yet seen in the show’s history.
With the return of fan favorite Bobby Elvis, the death of Lee Toric and the destruction of the Sons of Anarchy Clubhouse by the IRA, fans have been overwhelmed with content for the past several weeks.
With the arrival and patching in of new members to replace so many that have been lost in the past five seasons, followers of the show felt a small sense of hope.
Small hopes like this are famous for being tested by a slew of bad news that always seems to head right towards the “Reaper Crew.”
The death of the psychopathic and enraged former US Marshall, removed Lee Toric from the position of primary antagonist of the club this season.
The anger and violence now radiates from IRA shot-caller Galen who has reacted poorly to club president Jax Teller’s decision to pull “Samcro” out of the gun-running business.
With the bombing and destruction of the clubhouse, the Sons of Anarchy are now being forced to make a transition out of guns on the IRA’s terms.
With Jax’s incredible history of being able to cleverly outmatch his opponents, most viewers are uneasy with the thought of the club giving in to the demands of their enemies.
The main plot line of this most recent episode has been the struggles of Jax’s wife Tara Knowles to remove her children from the terror of the motorcycle club. Terrified of Jax’s psychotic and overemotional mother Gemma Teller, played brilliantly by the show’s creator, Kurt Sutter’s wife, Katey Segal, Tara has been set on fleeing the fictional Northern California town of Charming.
In this episode, after months of evading Gemma and keeping her plans from her, Tara purposely has it made known to her. Enraged, Gemma rushes to Tara’s office at St. Thomas Hospital and confronts her.
After locking the door, Tara does something that not one fan saw coming. With the intention of blaming it on Gemma, Tara throws herself belly first into the corner of her desk. Being several weeks pregnant with Jax’s third child, the outcome is devastating.
For the longest time, Dr. Tara Knowles has been an oasis of conditional innocence.
Having an honest profession and being a talented surgeon, she served to counter the violence and chaos of the club she has chosen to associate herself with.
Over a period of five seasons, Tara has been showing evidence of slowly descending into a darker side of herself.
This descent was slow and regulated by Tara, who is constantly trying to remind herself that the club is bad for her and her family.
However, this most recent act, with its tenacity and viciousness, can be seen as a twist in the paradigm of Tara’s character.
Altogether, last week’s episode of Sons of Anarchy was one of the most talked about in months.
Sparking a cascade of Internet feedback on Twitter and Facebook, fan’s reactions were split between the horror of Tara’s actions, and the joy that Gemma is, for now, removed from the situation.
