Sons of Anarchy: Taking Stock of Loose Ends

Sons of Anarchy returns tonight. Wahoo! The post-prison dynamics within the club and within Charming are going to be the focus of Season 4. In advance of the premiere, I've taken stock of some of the loose ends remaining at the end of Season 3. They are in no particular order:

• How will the information contained in John Teller's letters play out? What's in those letters beyond JT's accusation that Gemma and Clay were his would be murderers? Moreover, how important will those letters be? It may turn out that they're old news to everyone but Tara. 
• What will become of Fiona and Kerrianne now that Jimmy O is dead? A big move to live with Chibs in Charming?
• Will Opie find out about Sarah Palin's Lyla's abortion? If so, how will he react? In the Season 3 finale, that man looked like he had a serious case of baby fever.
• SAMCRO pulled a fast one on Putlova's horrible Russian accent. How will that get resolved? More blood? Perhaps with some treasure? 
• Are we done with the Irish? Or does the gun deal between SAMCRO and the IRA stand?
• Who are the people with money behind Jacob Hale that were buying up storefronts on Main Street in Charming?
• Oswald has been very loyal ot SAMCRO. How long can that last? 
• Is Tig's mistrust of Koz deeper than a betrayal over a German Shepherd? 
• How is Clay's arthritis these days?
• Agent Kohn still hasn't turned up. Yet. 
• Opie's resolution to stay in SAMCRO after he learned that Clay and Tig killed Donna.  He stayed in with a desire to change the things along with Jax.  Did killing Stalh satisfy Opie's need for revenge? Or will he have have remaining trust issues with Tig and Clay?
• Luanne's murder.  Who was responsible?  My money's on Georgie Caruso but I'm open to suggestions.     

With all of this in mind, SOA Season 4 sounds like it is full of promise. There are a few early reviews worth reading, including those by Alan Sepinwall, Maureen Ryan, James Poniewozik. 

Happing viewing!

Sons of Anarchy Season 3 DVDs

In a hail of bullets, here's what I learned, remembered, appreciated and realized after going through a marathon re-watch of the third season of Sons of Anarchy on DVD along with most of the bonus material:

• I was skeptical but SOA Season 3 does work better when viewed as a marathon. However, prolonged viewing reveals how thin the plot gets in the middle of the season.  So there's that.
• I fell asleep during an episode and a half (Look, I'm sleep-deprived and that shit got boring) of the Belfast part of the season. I missed  McGee's entire character arc and the Jax/Trinity incest bit.  The result of missing all that? Nothing. Neither of those threads contributed to the overall narrative of the season.  
• As much as I bitched and moaned about how it felt like the double cross was a cheap trick, I will admit that on my second viewing there were signals that Jax and SAMCRO were scheming together against Stahl. Most obviously when they were getting money from Stahl to pay Putlova in exchange for Jimmy O. But most of the hints and signals were so subtle that you'd only pick up on them if you knew something was afoot.
• I forgot how much Gemma, Clay, and Jax implied that John Teller was a rat.
• The dialogue between Jax and Clay about the 50 cuts looking at how Jax will react and having to decide whether Abel is alive or dead is aaahhmmmaaazing. Perfect writing, perfect acting. 
• Piney keeps cyanide capsules in his pocket just in case and Opie references the pills as his father's "end game." That is something to file away for future reference. 
• Gemma's time with her dad felt like the writers deciding that she needed something interesting to do.
• I cared much, much, much less about the plot twists with all of the Irish characters except for Fiona and Maureen.
• I still can't figure out what Tara's motivation is and I think that's a good thing. 
• The deleted scene where Jax tells Opie that he's full of hate and anger and is unable to feel the love he has for his son should have stayed in. It would have explained a lot of my frustration with Jax throughout the season. Or maybe it's just me. 
• I still like Lyla. 
• I want Gemma and Unser to have their own spinoff (a 30 minute sitcom, naturally) where they fight injustice on the mean streets of Charming. 
• Margaret, the once heavy metal groupie and now hospital administrator, made some eerie comments about Tara as an uncertain mother-to-be in an unstable environment. It makes me wonder if that's what we'll see in the upcoming season. 
• I want Calamity Jane's sexy lawyer/punk rock pumps. 

Onward and upward to Season 4!