(Note to self for future reference: DO NOT, under any circumstances watch Glee before writing a recap ever again. It makes you too fucking happy to snark).
Previously on As the Harley Rumbles , our favorite residents of Charming were laying down their burdens—whether it was a gang rape, an ongoing MC power struggle, or remorse/guilt over the death of an old lady. With those burdens set aside, Balm begins a healing for SAMCRO: for Gemma, for Clay and Jax, for Opie, for Half-Sack, and perhaps for Tig. Chibs—not so much. And can I just say, how much I love Sons of Anarchy? Every episode is fantastic because none of them fell like a throwaway. Unlike another show I fangirl watch on HBO where there seem to be one or two throwaways per season. Anyways….
So we open with Jax deciding to go nomad and telling no one aside from the members of the MC. I suspect he knows it is a bad idea and is keen on how Tara and Queen Gertrude/Lady Macbeth Gemma will react to the news. As Piney so aptly puts it, this decision is all about Jax reacting to the situation, not solving the problem of SAMCRO. I think the Prince of Charming realizes it as the episode goes on but is either too proud or too conflicted to share his misgivings with anyone. Everyone except for Clay gives him the opportunity to get out of the decision: Piney, Opie, Bobby Elvis, and Juice (Juice nearly broke my heart with that family and hometown take a back row speech. Even though he still had blood in his stool. Uh, TMI dude.) Hell, even Dead Daddy Teller’s Book of Biker Wisdom gives him an out when the disembodied ghost/voice said:
I found myself lost in my own club. I trusted few. Feared most. Nomad offered escape and exile. I didn’t know if leaving would cure or kill this thing we created. I didn’t know if it was an act of strength or cowardice. I didn’t know so I stayed. I stayed because in the end because the only way I could hold this up was to suffer under the weight of it.
While Jax is dealing the crazy ATF Bitch at his house who, mark my words will find Kohn’s body eventually, getting Piney into the shower, and getting Chibs out of the hospital, Clay is securing a pipeline for unmarked bullets from his new pal Ferdinand on the reservation. Clay says "Oh, and BTW, Half-Sack eat this shroom and trip your ball and neuticle off in the Healing Mud Bath in fact maybe a good massage will make the bozack swelling go down some while Opie and I get confused about who Jax’s father is." I’m no fan of Clay but I’ll give him this: if SAMCRO is going to stay in the gun trade, this bullet and shroom deal was a savvy business decision, much like the deal he struck with Oswald. And, OMG Clay isn’t wearing his sunglasses in this episode, or at least not as much as he usually does. This has to be significant in some way. I’m just not sure which way.
So meanwhile, meanwhile, meanwhile, Chibs gets out of the hospital whereupon learning that Caracara has been torched and Jax is going Nomad, he pays a visit to our IRA pals and with guns drawn we finally meet Jimmy O. (Incredibly well played by Titus Welliver. And he does a good accent too, although too much Dublin and too little Belfast, but that is being nitpicky.) Jimmy O’Fallon fits in so well with the rest of the Sons of Anarchy villains—Principal Zobelle, ATF Bitch, and Agent Kohn—that it is no surprise that he creeps the fuck out of me. He excommunicated Chibs from the IRA, took his wife and daughter and only left him with those nasty Joker scars in return. Not to mention that he is threatening to have sex with Chibs’ daughter if he doesn’t cooperate in setting up a meeting with Clay. No wonder Chibs is seething with anger and frustration. Unfortunately that leads him to sell out the IRA to ATF Bitch. This is not going to end well.
Oh hey before I forget! Opie gets laid! You know, on the floor because his marriage bed is problematic. And… um….when did Opie get hot? Oh right, it was the moment he took of that fucking hat. Every time I see that hat I think it must smell. Like sweat and funk and dirty hair. And now that you’ve read this, you’ll think the same thing too. You can thank me later—it’s a gift that keeps on giving.
I’d be remiss if I left out Tig and his own form of psychotropic healing out on the reservation. Oh, dearest Tig. You are tripping balls and saying Mass over the Native American handicrafts, replete with that lip lick/purse that is so fucking creepy/hilarious but is the same thing I do when I have my Dunkin Donuts coffee in the mornings. And then… did Tig anthropomorphize a doll… thinking it was Donna or maybe Opie… and then apologize to it?
Now, on to Gemma. I’m not the first to say it but I’m happy to add my voice to the chorus. If Katey Sagal doesn’t get an Emmy, there will be blood. Just. An. Amazing. Performance. The look on her face when she sees Clay tell Jax that he wants him to go Nomad was amazing. I didn’t know you could convey fear, overwhelming sadness, loss, and frustration in one facial expression but darlin’ she did it. Gemma tells Clay and Jax about the gang rape with Tara’s support, leaving out no detail. In this moment we see the family come together—the only thing that Gemma believes in come together for her in the end. I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again. Gemma is the glue, it isn’t the MC. (And, I swear, hand to God, that I was crying both times I watched this. Maybe I’m a sucker or maybe I just primed the pump by watching soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan be reunited with their dogs.) And we close with Jax taking his patches back. THANK GOD. THAT NOMAD SHIT WAS A BAD IDEA. BTW, WHEN CAN WE SEE YOUR FINE ASS AGAIN? Gemma healed Clay and Jax for now. Let’s see how long it lasts.
Remainders
- Tara is suspended from the hospital thanks to Hospital Admin Bitchface.
- Nooooooooooo, Piney! Nooooooooo! Don’t do it!
- Sing along if you know the words: ATF Bitch tells the weasel/smarmy IRA guy that she’ll spread a rumor that he is a rat and see how it plays out. Paging Opie….
- I'm not believing Gemma's claim that John Teller offed himself.
- ETA: @Twisted_Shadow reminded me about Chucky the masturbator. My theory: he pulled Darby out of the fire and they are hiding out.
Let’s roll out this time on the song at the end of the episode: Mary by Patty Griffin. It is lovely. My favorite lyric: "You’re covered in treetops; You’re covered in birds, Who can sing a million songs, without any words." There are a few versions out there on the interwebs and I’m partial to the version with Emmylou Harris and Shawn Colvin singing back up but this version has better sound quality doesn’t make me nauseated.
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