For fun and edification, let’s start the recap with the definition of smite which means to “to strike heavily or strongly with the hand or an implement held in the hand.” There is a lot of smiting going on in this episode but in a nutshell: Gemma smites Tara, with much hilarity; in a massive, gratifying two-for Unser smites Hale and Boy Scout Hale in turn smites the enemies of Charming. Jax smites Clay at the vote; and Principal Zobelle smites SAMCRO.
After an awkward, passive aggressive, knowing exchange between Jax and Gemma about the whereabouts of a box that contained funky underwear and Dead Daddy John Teller’s Burnt Book of Biker Wisdom about the vision for outlaw motorcycle clubs, the ladies are off to town to get Gemma some hormones to fix her Mojave problem. Gemma does the girlrun in FMBs to chase after the pert blonde that kidnapped her. When she loses the girl to Henry Rollins, she accidentally clocks Tara in the nose. Breaking it. I don’t know if I have a sick sense of humor or if this was just unintentionally funny but I laughed. Hard. Back to the show: Tara blackmails Gemma to see a shrink (which she bails on, of course) and the they are warm and fuzzy about as much as these two bitches can possibly get. Oh, and I totally want Gemma’s sunglasses.
Boy Scout Deputy Chief Hale is left between a rock and hard place after Principal Zobelle visits him with footage of Opie torching Darby’s meth lab and Hale taking a bribe of a $150 gift certificate for cigars. Jax, followed by Unser are hot on their heels. The scene between Unser and Hale is probably one of the best of the season so far. Unser tells Hale that he picked him because he knew Hale would do the right thing for Charming. And, before Hale can get too comfortable with Principal Zobelle, Unser lets him on the big bad gang rape secret so Hale can come to his own conclusions. So, the way I see it, Unser smote Hale with information. How so unlike on of the major themes of Hamlet, which is sooo not about information, knowledge, and truth. This whole exchange made me believe in the spoiler that the someone that we know and love would die in this season would be Unser. But alas, it won’t be him.
In turn, Hale lets the Jets and the Sharks go with a warning. Your smite two-for comes when he stops Clay and Jax, telling them about Zobell’s surveillance, evidence of Opie torching the meth lab, and, most interestingly Hale sells out his brother’s eminent domain land scam. I would argue that all of these, at least in Hale’s mind represent threats to Charming. It isn’t that Hale likes SAMCRO, it’s that he perceives a group that gang rapes women and cooks meth for short-term gain or another group seeks to sell off portions of land to greedy developers for a quick buck as enemies of his town. Good on Hale. All of this makes him an incredibly interesting character because it is hard to reconcile the fact that he overlooked Darby’s meth lab with his new-found moral code. I suspect it will be resolved in the long run and I’m interested to see where Hale goes.
So our predictable major smiting comes from Jax at Church. There are undercurrents of politicking and allegiances being set throughout the episode. Both Jax and Clay consider Juice to be the swing vote. Boy, were they wrong. Basically, it breaks down as you would expect – Clay wants revenge NOW MOTHEFUCKER and Jax wants revenge that isn’t “half blind” by gathering more intel. Bobby Elvis turns out to be the deciding vote because he had some convenient off screen time with Piney who told him about how he gave John Teller’s Big Book of Biker Wisdom to Jax. Tig, Opie/Bitchface, Juice, and Clay all vote for revenge now motherfuckers. Chibs, Piney, Bobby Elivs, and Jax all want to be “smart” about it. Bobby Elvis later tells Clay that if he wants blind action, he should go to Tig but if he wants the truth, Clay should come to him. INSERT OBVIOUS TRUTHY HAMLET REFERNCE HERE .
I love Bobby Elvis but he is now at the top of my list of characters that won’t make it to see season 3. He is hiding Luanne’s skim operation, he dares to subvert what Clay considers the best interest of the MC, and he is truly a likeable character. Shall I go on?
The obvious and less than subtle smite award goes to Principal Zobelle (who apparently is Per Blonde's father) and his team of gang raping white separatists who take out Otto’s eye and leave a car bomb at Teller Morrow (Noooooooooo not Chibs! I love him! Damn you cliffhanger!) so that all of SAMCRO can feel his wrath.
Action Moment: There were a few contenders for this during Smite. The Charming Rumble on Main Street, replete with Jax doing a 180 switch from, hey street fights aren’t the answer to this to a HOSHIT YOU DIDN’T JUST DO THAT TO MY BIKE HENRY ROLLINS beat down was good but problematic for two reasons: (1) it was just a little too Sharks v Jets for my taste and (2) does anyone actually believe that Jax Teller could take Henry Rollins’ character? No? I didn’t think so either.
The explosion of the Aryan Aerostar of Death at Teller-Morrow was good, but a little expected. That’s why this week’s best action moment was when Otto got jumped in prison. Otto nobly fought back but to no avail since it was a 3 on 1 fight. And the squirm-inducing broom handle to the eye was an uncomfortably brutal yet perfect set up for the rest of the episode. Kurt Sutter, you are one sick puppy and I love you for it because you make brilliant television shows.
Get Over Yourself Moment: This week we have Tara to blame thank for the GOY scene in Smite. Tara worries that something bad is going to happen to Able AKA The Kid, to her, and to Jax who is still pretty but needs to shave that beard before he starts looking even more like Jesus, the martyr for everyone’s sins. Oh Tara, you are an incredible buzzkill with your concerns about normality and Shakespearean tragedy foreshadowing. Jax breaks out Dead Daddy’s Book of Biker Wisdom and all is totes okay.
WTF Moment: Um, Opie and the crack-smoking-porn-queen-that-drives-a-Prius. Hey, it might be a bit early but that bike restoration project might not keep him warm enough at night. If it helps him get is balls back, I’m all for it.
Character I don’t know whether I should pay attention to: Bitchface hospital administrator with the glasses who thinks that Jax is beating Tara. Either she is going to go away or Tara is going into private practice. I'm just sayin'
No comments:
Post a Comment