Sons of Anarchy – 2.4 – Eureka – review

It’s time to kick back and enjoy the open road, and why not have a drink of Jax’s pour of choice, Jake Daniels Whiskey.  SOA can’t get licensing from popular alcohol brands, but it can explore another seedy underbelly of the hillbilly life.  This episode takes on the important issue of bounty hunters, and the complications they pose for good ol’ boys living on the edge of the law.  This episode really spreads out, and the whole gang takes a road trip.  It’s nice, after a season filled with cramped dark sets, to see some biker montages on the highway, in the middle of the California sun.  The characters feel just a little bit more real, and maybe it’s because the light brings a good mood out of these actors.

Don’t make any mistake; there is still plenty of moral handwringing stemming from Gemma’s gang rape, which is the weakest plot thread so far.  Tara finally catches some flack from her bitchy administrator at the hospital for constantly bringing bikers into the ER.  Another first for this season is Jax actually hearing his baby boy cry, and, in a shocking turn of events, PICKS HIM UP AND COMFORTS HIM!  If half the cast was killed off this episode, it would have been just as shocking.  Tara was more than willing to do the grunt work, but Jax steps in, and doesn’t even blow a puff of smoke into the baby’s face!  Tara has become his ‘old lady,’ biker parlance which may be a term of endearment, derision, or both.  It’s nice to actually see Jax have some kind of consequence from bringing a child into the world.

The comedy to drama ratio is still weighing on the comedy side, with the Prospects discussion of a ‘nutical’ (prosthetic testical), and Tig’s bounty hunter capture for (innuendo) bestiality on an animal transport in Oregon.  Last season, it was hinted that Tig was also inclined to necrophilia, and his crazy sexual antics will be a source of a great many jokes in the future, mark my words.  The loose world of bounty hunting takes center stage, informative to felons to watch out for the secretary at the hospital, who will sell your info right out.  There is also a clear indication of an old-country IRA conflict with the token Irish member of SAMCRO.  The episode isn’t especially salty or original, but the fresh air and the open road make it strangely satisfying and cathartic.

It is clear, though, that Kurt Sutter is using his teleplay blueprint from The Shield (i.e., a horrible murder that the main players must keep secret, but which tears them apart).  Jax and Clay are increasingly heading towards a conflict, and Clay even threatens Jax’s life.  Bad idea, Clay.  Who knows what Jax is thinking behind those 80s sunglasses.  The white supremacists sit this episode out, and what a relief, they are turning out to be kind of bland.  Unleash Henry Rollins for a couple of episodes, stir some tangential shit up.  Surely the Niners and the Mayans can be pulled in for some wanton violence. 

The real star here is Opie, who is really hitting his stride as a character.  The tone is right, and the body language feels more coiled up danger than mopey single dad.  Opie looks and sounds volatile, and could really be saved up to wreck shops later on this season. 

At the end of the episode, Jax is standing at a hardcore biker party, drinking his Jake Daniels whiskey, watching bikes race by in both directions, and being reflective about his outlaw life.  It’s not exactly philosophical, but everything is evolving to higher level of episodic televised existence, where violent events shake up lives on a semi-annual cliffhanger basis.