After losing his wife, Opie seemed to be in a decent mood. He was quite subdued, but that’s fairly normal for this character. He doesn’t usually speak up unless he is challenged by someone in the charter. The kids were sad, although Opie’s son didn’t seem to quite grasp the death of his mother. He may be too young to understand all of that.

Opie’s father, on the other hand was a man on a mission. Piney didn’t mince any words and took action. He rode to Oakland to take care of business with the Niners. Half-Sack rode along with him, trying to tail him, but his stealthy approach was laughable. Piney pulled a gun on some of the Niners and Jax had to come and get Piney and Half-Sack out of there because there was no way they were going to make it out of there alive.

The discussion between Jax and Leroy (Niners leader) was fairly brief and to the point aside from a little back and forth regarding Piney’s racist language. Leroy denied having anything to do with Donna’s death. Leroy’s an interesting character. He’s very laid back and sometimes just doesn’t seem to give a damn. This makes him a tough guy to read. Strangely enough, Jax and Piney both believed Leroy and Samcro headed back to Charming.

Ron Perlman as Clay Morrow

Elsewhere, Samcro stepped up the hunt for the federal witness. They had to do some arm twisting along the way, but they got the safe house address. They took out the police (without killing them, thankfully) and were all shocked to find that the witness was a teenage girl. Jax arrived just in the nick of time to stop the execution.

I was very excited about a possible Jax-Tig fight and I have to say that I was pleased by the setup to the fight but was disappointed with the actual fight. It was far too short with mostly pushing, shoving and wrestling. And then there was the horrendous camera work. Damn, those shaky closeups just plain sucked.

The episode’s conclusion wasn’t quite the bang I had expected. Jax slept in the cemetery and awoke in time to join the funeral for Donna. Tara gave Jax his cut and they shared a kiss, much to the chagrin of Wendy. He put a flower on Donna’s coffin and headed over to his father’s grave. I was a little surprised that Piney had a copy of John Teller’s book and then handed it to Jax, telling him it’s time for change. I couldn’t agree more. I thought this scene above all others was handled the best this week. It was emotional and you just know that next season’s going to be great.

One of the things that I am hoping for is a flashback episode next season. I want to know more about what really happened with John Teller. With this group, it’s hard to know where the truth really is. I’d like to see a flashback episode containing the details of John Teller and Piney’s forming of Samcro, John Teller’s death, and how Clay came to be the group’s President. I’m not usually a huge fan of flashback episodes, but I think one would be quite beneficial to this series.

Rating: 8.6

Last week’s episode showed that it was decided that Opie was going to be killed by Tig, Samcro’s Sergeant at Arms. I didn’t agree with the decision for obvious reasons but felt that Tig should have reneged on the agreement after what Opie did at that warehouse. Opie saved Tig’s life with his heroics while Tig cowered like a baby when he was surrounded by the dolls.

Charlie Hunnam as Jax, holding Abel

I couldn’t help but laugh about some of the remarks from Clay about how the blacks were going to be blamed for everything. I knew there was something funny with the arrangement. The leader of the Niners didn’t look like he was in complete agreement with Clay and judging by the way things went in the warehouse, Samcro has more enemies than it has guns. Now the Niners and Mayans are after them.

The love triangle with Jax-Tara-Wendy escalated a bit this week. They all talked about what was going on, but I still don’t have much in the way of feelings about these three. I just don’t really care about who Jax ends up with at this point. There’s way too much manipulation going on for my taste.

When it was revealed that Donna was the one who was going to be killed, I got sick to my stomach. Yes, this was a huge twist, but I hope that something good comes from it. I don’t want this to be a plot twist solely for having a plot twist. The writers should have something good planned because I’m not that pleased by the killing of Donna.

Judging by some of the things Opie and Jax talked about before they went to Oakland to make the deal with the Mayans, I would hope that Jax and Opie would leave Samcro and make their own biker gang. It is pretty clear that this group can’t last much longer with all the trouble at its feet. They’re out of money and guns, they still have ATF not so far away, Bobby’s still locked up, and there’s no way Samcro goes legit. Jax and Opie should plan for the future and get out.

Rating: 8.1

That was pretty much what this entire episode was about. There weren’t many subplots in “Capybara.” We did get to meet Opie’s mother, Mary, however. She made it pretty clear to Donna that if she doesn’t leave, her kids are going to be in the same line of work Opie and his father are. Mary was a good one-episode character. She was used very effectively, I thought.

Kim Coates as Tig

The little fling between Agent Stahl and Deputy Chief Hale seems to be over now. I can’t believe Hale bought Stahl’s little act when he yelled at her about the way she was handling the case. She got the last laugh, banning him from the federal building. Very nicely done. As much as I don’t care for Hale, I really dislike Stahl, although she’s a great character to have on Sons of Anarchy.

I didn’t expect Gemma to support the idea of Jax reuniting with Wendy. That really came to a surprise to me. Gemma would rather have Jax get back with Wendy than see Jax stay with Tara.

“Capybara” was horrendously predictable. Yes, it had a few surprises in there, but the main plot for this week’s episode was easily telegraphable. It was clear that the club was going to go after Opie; they just needed enough circumstantial evidence. It was a disappointing episode.

Rating: 7.4

Cherry didn’t last very long. With the women being targeted, she found herself in jail, ready to be moved for arson and grand theft due to an incident with her husband some time ago. Yeah, it seems Cherry whose real name is Rita, is married and ran off with the car and dog after setting the condo ablaze.

While the ATF was using RICO on the Sons of Anarchy, Samcro was plotting on moving the Irishman before the ATF got a little too close. They managed to get the Irishman and Cherry out of town before things went to hell in a hand basket.

Charlie Hunnam as Jax

Tara and Jax still don’t know what to do about their relationship. Neither of them seem to have a handle on it, making for a rather boring story.

I’m still feeling sorry for Donna and Opie. Opie’s not got his head in the game while he’s with Samcro and Donna wants him out. She’s ready to take the kids. She’s understandably more interested in a stable relationship and marriage. Opie’s stay with Samcro isn’t looking good. The ATF already has he and Bobby in their sights for the murder of the dirty port authority agent.

The big moment came towards the end. Luanne did a good thing by getting the news to Otto. It came in just the nick of time and Otto had to go back on his word to Agent Stahl. I always suspected she was having sex with Deputy Chief Hale, but I didn’t expect them to show her moaning in the station like that while he was performing a particular act on her.

Anyway, Otto ended up giving Agent Stahl a smashing headache. Damn, she got a serious beatdown in this episode, easily making this scene the highlight for the evening. Her attitude certainly changed as did her tone of voice. She was a very different woman after this.

Rating: 8.3

A lot of this first season has showed the struggle Jax has had. He’s really not into all of the violence that the club has been involved with. This week, Jax had to deal with the fact that he killed the ATF agent. It wasn’t made any easier when he stayed with Tara and didn’t go to the club when he learned of the attempted hit on Clay. It was very balsy (crazy) for Tig to put his foot and then his hand on Jax’s bike. It was very disrespectful.

Ron Pearlman and Charlie Hunnam

Jax’s commitment to the club has come into question from a few people, as has Opie’s. He and Donna aren’t doing very well because Opie’s about to lose his job and they still have money problems. Opie may love being in the club, but he’s killing his family by not committing to his job. I feel sorry for Donna in all of this. Opie doesn’t seem like the killer type and when it came down to it, he proved he couldn’t get it done when he choked on the hit. He’s not cut out for this work anymore.

There were a few surprising moments in “Hell Forward,” but none better than the Mayans giving up one of their own in exchange for peace. It’s hard to imagine a father sacrificing his son like that. Wow.

Rating: 8.3

They had to hit up the porn queen for $55,000 but she was all business-like and wanted 5% interest in return. Although Gemma was pissed about it, she didn’t have much of a choice and accepted the terms. I can’t believe she wanted 20% at first. Yikes! The rest of the money came thanks to a stolen diesel truck which Jax sold to Uncer for his trucking business.

After the Nords got some intel on Samcro, the Mayans received an interesting offer. If they knock off Clay, Ernie of the Nords will give the Mayans some intel on Samcro’s dealings with the IRA. In a surprising twist, the Mayans tried to take out both Clay and Ernie. Ernie got a little greedy, it seems.

Charlie Hunnam as Jax

The only good thing that happened in this episode was the improving health of Jax’s son. He’s been allowed out of the “toaster”. Clay’s prediction of this being the only good thing that would happen in the week proved accurate.

I didn’t see Jax and Tara getting together so soon, but the writers threw changed things up when they brought back that damn ATF agent. I can’t believe he returned. I was certain he was gone for good.

It seemed like Tara manipulated Jax just a bit by telling Jax that she didn’t want to go through his harassment anymore. Jax was right about the guy getting out of jail. He would be right back on her trail sooner or later.

I was really surprised when the two of them ended up in bed like that. How creepy is that – getting it on with a fresh dead body three feet away from the bed. There’s no way I’d be hopping into the sack with a girl after shooting someone like that!

Rating: 8.1

How much truth Clay and company reveal at any one particular time is never entirely clear. Truth and lies are always a big part of this show. Samcro needs to keep its secrets, but some of them were unburied when an excavation crew came upon three bodies along a highway. Clay’s initial story was that they were three Mayans that were killed during the wars of 1993. The story changed once Jax learned that one of the bodies was that of a member of Samcro.

Lowell’s old man, it seems, was a low-down dirty junkie and rat and had to be dealt with. Jax didn’t know all of this, of course. Clay only told Lowell about this. I was very happy that Clay didn’t kill Lowell this week. Clay promised Lowell’s father that he would look out for his boy and here we see Clay about to do the same with Lowell, over a decade later. It’s good that Clay decided to stop this trend. I hope Lowell is ready to get his act clean.

Johnny Lewis as Half Sack

Half-Sack put on quite a show for the club this week. Never would I have expected him to be a brawler. He looks like more of a scrapper, barely able to take care of himself, but the writers seem to have given him a new image, even if it’s for one episode. I found the incident in the ring rather funny. Clay’s timing his approval of Cherry’s stay came at a rather bad time.

Agent Cole kept going overboard this week. His urinating in the baby’s room was beyond anything anything I expected he would do. I never thought he’d go that low. By the end of the episode, he was being squeezed out of town by just about everyone.

I liked the brief scene between Jax and Tara towards the end. Between the feds and his mother, the actions and intentions of Jax and Tara are being questioned, so it only seemed natural for Jax to ask Tara about what her intentions are. Still, I don’t see the two of them getting together again anytime soon. There may still be something there, but there’s not much of a spark there anymore.

“Old Bones” was a very good episode. There may not have been quite as many funny moments as I would like to see, but the constant action kept things moving at a steady pace. Also, trying to determine who’s being truthful and how truthful is something that’s always keeping my mind working as the show goes forward.

Rating: 8.6

I felt sorry for Half-Sack when Gemma cornered him in the garage. He’s no match for her. It didn’t take long for Gemma to get pissed at Clay for sleeping with that girl in Nevada. I was wondering if this plot would even continue past what took place in “Patch Over.” I’m glad it did continue, as it showed Gemma break down for the first time. She was obviously very hurt by what Clay did, but the girl’s coming to Charming didn’t help any.

Katey Sagal as Gemma

ATF Kohn had some of his mystery revealed this week when we learn that his supervisor knows nothing about his visit to Charming. He was under the impression Kohn was on vacation. This was rather surprising, as was his tirade, tearing apart that bedroom with a baseball bat. Kohn’s starting to worry me, especially by the fact that he’s keeping such a close eye on both Jax and Tara.

I can’t believe Half-Sack gave in to Cherry’s advances. They clearly had something in the works back in Nevada, but Clay put an end to that. There’s no way I’d want to be around with her after what happened.

I was very surprised to see Sheriff Vic Trammel return. He hasn’t been in very much of this season for someone who’s on the take with Samcro. I expected him to appear about as often as Chief Wayne Uncer, but that’s not the case.

One couldn’t help but feel sorry for Piney after this episode. His old war buddy, Nate, got the club in a load of trouble with his little stunt and put Piney and Jax in a bad position, forcing them to take out Nate and his group of survivalists. They got what they had coming. Jax did a good job taking care of business. Also, it looks like Jax’s talk with Donna paid off. Opie’s at the club more and his explosives experience came in handy when taking care of the survivalists.

Rating: 7.2

Chucky’s little quirk was that he’s a chronic masturbator. Since he couldn’t get the proper medication in the prison, it’s out of control. That was rather disturbing to watch, but I laughed out loud a few times at the reactions of some of the bikers as they weren’t aware of the guy’s problem.

Tara’s old ex, the ATF agent, talked to her at the hospital this week, but I was impressed by how calm he was. He didn’t scare her or anything. He may turn out to be a respectable guy, but I’m doubting that considering the fact that Tara had to put a RO on him in the first place.

Kim Coates as Tig

The reason for Opie’s incarceration was allowed to come to the annual town benefit. Gemma organizes it each year as a way to benefit specific groups in the town, with most of the money usually going to the schools. Still sporting the SoA tat, Kyle was in poor shape after the Sons of Anarchy were forced to burn the guy’s skin. The pain was obviously so intense that it knocked him out.

The action in this episode wasn’t all that impressive. There were just short bursts of it. The tat burning was hard to watch. With so many external characters being shown, there wasn’t a whole lot of club business being taken care of. Juice and company didn’t get featured as prominently as they have been in the past. I’m still interested in what the ATF is going to come up with on SoA. The agent has been everywhere, so he knows how to tail them without getting noticed all the time.

Rating: 6.5

The writers haven’t gotten too much into Jax’s father’s writing in the last episode or two. But “Patch Over” features the writing quite a bit and the opening flashback hinted strongly that the episode would bring up the fact that Jax doesn’t agree with all of Clay’s decisions and that there may be a rift at some point.

To protect Sons of Anarchy and the Tribe, Clay and SoA ride down to Nevada for a patch over. Though some in the Tribe didn’t want to join Sons of Anarchy, the majority were cool with it. They need the protection if they are to survive the Mayans.

I was a little surprised that Jax went ahead and started a little fight with the Mayans. The instigation resulted in a big, exciting gunfight right in front of the ATF agent. Speaking of him, he seems to have made his presence in Charming known to Tara. I don’t know a whole lot about Tara, but I’m really not liking her old ex. It was rather cold of him to drop off that photo of Jax having sex in Nevada.

I don’t think Jax and Tara will have much of a future if that ATF agent or Gemma are going to have a voice in the matter. Gemma let her opinion be known… as if she’s ever quiet about her feelings about Jax and Tara.

Rating: 7.4