This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Ohio U chapter.
Poenitentia, a Latin term that means penance, was an episode that finally brought back the action and intensity that many of us fans have felt deprived of in the first two episodes of the season.
This episode starts in a familiar way with Jax writing in his journal. This time the voice we hear is not his however; instead it is the voice of the DA coming from her press conference being aired on TV. She is clearly working her case with this speech. It seems to me that she doesn’t actually care about finding who is responsible but rather finding the best person to deem responsible and use the case to elevate her platform.
She is understandably not pleased when she learns Darvany and Arcadio are still missing. The officer tells her that they questioned the Byz-Lats that were there but couldn’t get anything out of them and let them go. Apparently letting them go is actually handing them over to Toric so he can brutally try to make them talk. I do think the sick humor that Toric exuded in this scene was inexplicably refreshing for the show and completely on spot with his crooked cop character
“And wouldn’t you know, it turns out to be a twist off!” – Toric
We then flash to Nero who heads to church to confess his sins. This asserts my belief that he is one of the most humane members of the crew. It shows he does actually care enough about the people’s lives he effects. I don’t really think repenting is going to do him any good though. It doesn’t undo what is done. I wonder how much he lets out during his time with the priest. Hopefully its not enough to reveal information that could come back to hurt him and the club.
The scene then switches to Toric in his hotel room. I was taken by surprise when he shot the hooker! He acts like he is shocked and didn’t mean to do it but you can’t help but wonder if this was his plan all along. Hire one of Nero’s girls for the night and then kill her to set him up. Later in the episode we flash to Toric planting hair samples in Nero’s truck while him and Gemma are inside the house. How in the world did Nero and Gemma not see Toric pull up right after him!? They are veteran gang members; they would obviously notice that, especially with all the heat surrounding them recently!
I was surprised Jax went to meet with Clay, but then his real motives for being there surfaced. It was so intense how Jax walked up to the glass and directly addressed Toric. From a production standpoint it was creatively presented. Yes Jax is clearly talking to Toric but the audience occasionally views their face off from an angle that shows Jax’s reflection in the glass. Knowing how creative Kurt Sutter is, there is no way this was an accident or coincidence. It almost draws and interesting parallel between Jax and Toric and for a period of time it is like Jax is talking to himself and telling himself that there will be trouble if he doesn’t stop estranging Tara. Perhaps he should realize the true irony of his threat to Toric.
“I’m sorry about your sister. I can feel how personal this is for you, but SAMCRO didn’t kill her. Otto acted alone, he’s not a member anymore. He’s just a broken guy, more than a few blocks from sane. I don’t give a shit what you do to him, but if you try to come after my wife, try to tie her to this murder, you’re gonna feel how personal this is for me.” – Jax
I never believed Clay would be able to give up the club he put so much into for so long. How is Toric going to get passed this one considering he already forged Clay’s signature on one of the papers he gave to the DA?
“You’ve got who knows how many kills in the past thirty years and the one that gets you the death sentence is the one you didn’t do.” – Toric
Side note: How legit would it be if the Irish guys sprung Clay if he ended up having to be transferred?
Clay is handling the game of prison quite well. I thought he was toast as soon as the guys walked into the room. It was like a flashback to Opie’s death.
The crew wouldn’t let Clay take the easy way out and made him fight for his life in a different sort of way, like a game of chess. Clay’s move was so unexpected but adequately and appropriately daring. He tricked the skinhead into thinking he wanted to get in with their crew and then during the fight with the black gang he viciously juts the knife repeatedly into the skinhead’s neck! He earned is life, at least for the time being.
Meanwhile in Stockton, Jax and Nero meet up with Collette and Barosky. While they are about to discuss their business venture, a car drives by and opens up on the coffee shop. They ran the plate number and it matched up to Amir Ghanezi, one of the ‘Persians’ from the torture porn squad and the brother of the guy Tig was supposed to release but instead murdered and dumped into the bay.
When they find Amir at the port he is fuming and forces them to toss their guns. Jax is being way to arrogant and looks over at Barosky challenges his power and taunts him, asking “ What to risky?” Once on the boat, Amir blames them for his brother’s death because they found his sweatshirt floating in the bay and haven’t seen him since the mix up at the porn warehouse.
Jax denies the accusation and Amir, having no way to prove anything, says they are even for now. This is when Barosky puts an end to Jax’s arrogance and shows him that he is in charge.
“I didn’t say we were even,” Barosky says right before he slices the throat of one of Amir’s men. “Now that feels like even!”
Barosky not only showed Jax who is in charge in Stockton, but he also revealed his loyalty and put his neck on the line by saying he was at the warehouse when Tig let the brother go, when obviously he wasn’t. Would Jax do this for him? My assumption is no considering Barosky doesn’t even know about the present heat associated with SAMCRO guns. And the school shooting.
After dealing with the ‘Persian,’ Jax heads to Collette’s where he finds her screwing Barosky. He is obviously jealous and I can’t help but feel he deserves that singe of discomfort and realization that he is nothing special to her. Does Collette screw everyone she does business with? Maybe it is part of the contract. The pro-Tara side of me wishes she got shot during the drive-by.
They finally show a meeting at the table during this episode, during which the club briefly discusses Bobby. It is clear he is looking for another crew or working on forming his own. This could prove to be a great move for Bobby as the club appears to be barreling towards its ultimate demise with Jax paving the way. Anyone see a spinoff coming?
Later, Wendy pulls up to Teller Morrow and asks Gemma if Jax is around. When she finds out he isn’t she tells Gemma that she has been attacked by a guys she knows from NA. I find it interesting how understanding Gemma is towards her considering they were never really close. I think it could have to do with the fact that she said she wants nothing to do with her kids. It is so obvious that this isn’t true though by how she longingly stares at them while they play on the swing set.
Later in the episode Wendy stops by Gemma’s place and Gemma gives her a gun to protect herself with. When back at her place, Wendy washes the makeup off her neck and exposes the fact that she was lying about being assaulted. It is clear to me that her motive for lying to Gemma is directly associated with Tara and her custody of her kids.
While there wasn’t any action packed intensity the rest of the show had, a lot progressed with Tara during this episode. She revealed to Gemma that she was eight weeks pregnant before she had even told Jax. The old Tara would have no desire to tell Gemma first. It is clear that she is trying to come off as if everything is fine with her. At one point in the episode she explains to Unser that she has no choice but to get through her troubles and that it isn’t about her anymore.
I think she realizes that she will ultimately wind up in prison and is doing everything she can to make sure her kids get away from the club. When Jax finds out about her being pregnant, she leans into him and he looks her in the eyes and says, “I love you.” Once again she says nothing back but puts on a front to seem pleased with him. When they are hugging however, her facial expression immediately changes and you can once again grasp the discontent she feels.
As usual, I am left with questions to be answered in the next episodes. Would being pregnant get Tara protection in prison? Then will Wendy take her kids? Are Pope’s men going to kill Tig? What is the other piece of business between Pope’s guy and Jax? How are the Wendy and Tara situations going to coincide? When will the club find out about Bobby and his new crew? What does all this mean for the future of SAMCRO?