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"Fa Guan" is the ninth episode of the second season of the FX original series Sons of Anarchy, and the series' twenty-second episode overall.
Synopsis[]
When SAMCRO's adult-film business becomes a hindrance to the club, Clay seizes the opportunity to revive the gun-running cartel. As Jax and Clay continue to clash over club activities, their relationship reaches a new level of antagonism.
Plot[]
In Stockton State Prison, Jax tells Otto about Luann’s murder; Otto wonders if Jax’s recent run-in with Georgie (the rival porn producer) may have caused his old lady’s death. Jax wonders the same thing silently. Clay, Bobby, and Opie meet with Henry Lin. Clay says the ATF is watching their supplier, so he can’t get any guns for Lin. Lin suggests a mutually beneficial arrangement. He says his Palestinian gun supplier has been detained by the INS; if SAMCRO can “compel” the judge to dismiss the case, his seller will open his gun pipeline to the Sons. Earnest Darby runs hookers out of a roadside motel; he sees police cars approaching, and drives off. The cops pull the girls (including Caracara porn star Ima) from the rooms. The combination of drugs and girls lead Unser and Hale to suspect this was Darby’s operation. Ima tells the cops she was set up; she wants to talk to her boss: Jax Teller.
At the SAMCRO clubhouse Clay tells Bobby that Ima got caught in a “low-rent hooker sting.” He says it’s more evidence that porn was a bad idea, and he wants the MC out of it. Bobby points out that the legitimate business is a much-needed money maker for the club; he also points out that it was “Jax’s deal,” and was approved by the others. Clay is resolute. He tells Bobby to shut it down; he’ll deal with “the little prince.” Tig and Op share the info they’ve gathered on the INS judge: he’s a widower with one son at Berkeley. Clay tells them to use the son’s safety as “emotional leverage” against the judge; he tells Tig to let Op take point, hoping it will “bring him closer.” At St. Thomas, Jax and Chibs talk about Otto; Chibs tells Jax that Luann’s death isn’t his fault. Jax says Georgie and his crew have fled to Thailand on a “buying trip.” Chibs says Fiona is in town; her presence means IRA boss Jimmy O’ is probably in town too. Jax tells Chibs that Cameron is selling the Irish guns to Zobelle, and the ATF is watching; Chibs thinks this news will not please Jimmy O’. His ex-boss will find some way to blame him for it. Tara enters. She tells Chibs about his insurance lapse, and how he will have to finish his recovery at a county hospital; he is terrified of being moved to where he will be unprotected. Jax meets with Unser. The Chief tells him about the hooker sting, and that two of his Caracara girls were picked up: Ima wants to talk to Jax. Unser finds Gemma praying in the hospital chapel; the two lifelong friends talk. He confesses that his wife left him three months ago, citing that his cancer treatments have turned him into “a prick.” Gemma asks if she can help; he asks her for a lift tomorrow morning to a revival meeting his support group has been attending.
At Caracara Studios, Opie and Lyla talk; she likes watching his kids, and says his house “feels like a home.” He kisses her on the forehead; she kisses him on the lips. At the Charming PD, Ima talks to Jax. She says a man called and offered her ten-thousand dollars for two days work helping Darby; on day one the cops showed up. Ima thinks Georgie must’ve tipped off the cops, but Jax says the timeline doesn’t fit. He leaves her in jail. Hale arrives at Impeccable Smokes; Zobelle and Weston are there. Hale tells Zobelle his “tip panned out”; Zobelle admits surprise that the Deputy acted upon it. Weston writes the addresses of Darby’s crank lab, as well as the location of another hotel being used as a brothel, on a piece of paper; Zobelle threatens to show the alleged bribe video to the City Council unless Hale “does his job.” Hale says the video proves nothing; Zobelle says it will raise enough eyebrows to forestall his ascension to Chief. Jax returns to T-M; Bobby tells him about Clay’s order to close Caracara. Jax confronts his stepfather. He thinks Clay is killing the porn operation out of spite; Clay says Jax’s “little romp as porn king” has cost the club too much already… including the death of a brother’s old lady. Jax seethes at the hypocrisy; others gather in the room. Incredulously, Jax asks if Clay is really going to “lay the guilt of a dead wife” on him; Clay asks if Jax remembers the promise he made (about killing him if he ever brought up Donna or “the incident” again). Jax pulls his 9mm, cocks it, and lays it on the table between him and Clay; the tension in the room is thick. Jax turns his back. Clay picks up the gun, but puts it back down. Jax holsters his gun: he’s won this round. He says Clay can’t take action on Caracara without a majority vote. Jax walks out.
Outside, Bobby checks in on Jax, who still feels responsible for Luann’s death. Bobby admits he was having sex with Luann. He also reassures Jax that Clay won’t get the majority vote needed to close Caracara: the guys love porn. Tig joins the conversation. He tells Jax that he’s worried about Opie taking the lead against the judge; he suggests Jax tag along just in case things get out of control. Jax asks Tig if he’s saying this because he’s worried about his “right hand seat”. Tig replies, “We both know why shit’s upside down.” Bobby appears to give this statement some thought. Bobby agrees Jax should tag along. Jax consents.
Hale arrives to talk to Clay. He says Zobelle is bankrolling Darby’s operations, and then turning around and tipping off the PD. Zobelle is trying to prove that the town doesn’t need the Sons. Hale believes the League is the greater evil. He gives Clay the paper with the addresses, and tells him the MC has until the end of the day “to be heroes.” Hale reassures Clay that he still intends to bring SAMCRO down, but promises to do it “the right way.” Jax, Opie, and Bobby leave for the judge’s home. Clay and the others commence their attack on Darby’s hooker motel. At St. Thomas, Gemma apologizes to Tara for causing problems for her. They discuss Chibs; Tara wishes she could help, but Gemma says the club will figure out how to “keep him safe.” Tara wonders if things will ever settle down. Clay and the guys arrive at Darby’s crank lab; Darby is there. Clay says Zobelle sold him out; he warns the Nord leader to keep his illegal dealings out of Charming… or else. They torch the mobile home that serves as the drug lab. Parked on a suburban side street, the guys watch as Judge Franklin returns home; wearing ski masks they converge as the judge exits his car. He is quickly subdued, and taken into the house. Inside, the judge is tied to a chair in the kitchen; Opie says they’re not there to rob him… they need a favor. The conversation is interrupted by the arrival of Alex Franklin: the judge’s college-aged son. The judge assumes the masked men are drug dealers to whom his “low-life junkie” son owes money; clearly there is bad blood between the two Franklins. Jax realizes they’ve lost their “emotional leverage.”
Opie tells the hardliner judge they want him to throw out the deportation case for Lin's gun supplier; he refuses. Op threatens to torture and then kill his son but the judge still appears unmoved to cooperate. Alex pleads with his father to no avail. Opie is stunned and infuriated by the father’s apparent lack of affection for his only son, but he is determined to get what they came for. He escalates the threat but the judge stands firm. Finally, after an emotional outburst, Opie relents; he can’t bring himself to kill the boy. Jax takes control of the situation; he tells Bobby to search the house for something they can use. Outside on the porch Jax finds Op. Opie says he’s fine; Jax says he knows. They smoke together in silence; perhaps this is the first step to mending their friendship. In his room at St. Thomas, Chibs writhes in pain, claiming symptoms that have put him back on the critical list; he cannot be moved to Stockton Memorial. Tara enters to check the patient; he stops moaning long enough to quietly thank her. Darby storms into Impeccable Smokes, and accuses Zobelle of selling him out; Zobelle is surprised to learn it was SAMCRO (not Hale) that shut him down. Zobelle asks if Darby wants “recompense” against SAMCRO; he then explains what “recompense” means. Darby says he does. Darby, Weston, Ule, and other AB break into Caracara carrying cans of gasoline; they begin to douse the studio. As they are trashing the place, the noise wakes Chucky. He peeks out the window of his office/bedroom, and watches helplessly. Two of the AB grab Darby; he struggles to no avail. Weston knocks out the Nord leader. Outside the judge’s house, Bobby tells Jax he found something. Inside, Tig holds a bundle of old letters over an open flame. Bobby tells Jax they are old love letters; there is a shrine to the man’s dead wife up in his bedroom. The judge is beside himself; Jax convinces him to cooperate.
Early morning at the SAMCRO compound... Bobby and Tig report their success to Clay: the case has been dismissed; Jax and Op leave for their homes. Gemma drops Unser at his revival meeting, but makes excuses not to come in with him. About to pull away, Gemma spots a homeless woman she thinks she recognizes; she watches the woman enter the church. Gemma follows; she enters the chapel, where a gospel choir leads a rousing congregation in singing “…glory hallelujah…all my sickness will be over when I lay my burden down…” Gemma seems transfixed; she walks down the aisle, and stops next to where Unser is sitting. He takes her hand; she sits next to him. Jax gets home, and joins Tara in the shower. Opie finds Lyla and both their kids having breakfast at a restaurant; he takes her face in his hands, and kisses her deeply. The kids stare. Gemma looks across the church aisle at the homeless woman, who stares back, smiling. Gemma stands with the others; engulfed in the spirituality, she cannot help but join in song. She begins to cry. Jax gets a call from Hale; he arrives at Caracara, where firemen finish putting out the massive warehouse blaze; everything looks to be destroyed by the fire. The look on Jax’s face says it all: Clay did this. Bobby, Half Sack, and Happy show up; Jax points the blame at his stepfather. No one can deny it. Enough is enough; Jax wants a transfer to another charter, he says he’s “going Nomad."
Credits[]
Main Cast[]
- Charlie Hunnam as Jackson 'Jax' Teller
- Katey Sagal as Gemma Teller Morrow
- Mark Boone Junior as Bobby 'Elvis' Munson
- Kim Coates as Alex 'Tig' Trager
- Tommy Flanagan as Filip 'Chibs' Telford
- Ryan Hurst as Harry 'Opie' Winston
- Johnny Lewis as Kip 'Half-Sack' Epps
- William Lucking as Piermont 'Piney' Winston (credit only)
- Theo Rossi as Juan Carlos 'Juice' Ortiz (credit only)
- Maggie Siff as Tara Knowles
- Ron Perlman as Clarence 'Clay' Morrow
Supporting Cast[]
Special guest star
Guest stars
- Tayler Sheridan as Deputy Chief David Hale
- Dayton Callie as Chief Wayne Unser
- Mitch Pileggi as Ernest Darby
- Henry Rollins as AJ Weston
- Michael Marisi Ornstein as Chuck Marstein
- Michael O'Neill as Judge Anthony Franklin
- Winter Ave Zoli as Lyla
- Kenneth Choi as Henry Lin
- Jason Matthew Smith as Ule
- Olivia Burnette as Homeless Woman
- Kristen Renton as Ima
- Chris Coy as Alex Franklin
Co-stars
- David Labrava as Happy
- Lela Cortines as Ellie Winston
- John Abendroth as Kenny Winston
- Marya Delver as Officer Candy Eglee
- Dennis Keiffer as Izzy
- Sheila Shaw as Nurse
Uncredited
Notable Quotes[]
Clay: Sam Crow deals guns. You had your little romp as porn king. You tied us to prostitution. You got one of our member's old lady killed.
Jax: You are really gonna stand there and lay the guilt of a dead wife on me?
Hale: I know the greater devil when I see it. Zobelle is flooding this town with Darby's crank and pussy. And he wants me to shut it down to prove to Charming they don't need the Sons.
Church Meetings[]
(Not technically a Church meeting)
Clay: (to Bobby) Get in here.
Bobby: I made banana bread. You want a piece? Still warm.
Clay: Shut the door.
(Bobby shuts the door)
Clay: Unser picked up two of your cum divas in a low-rent hooker sting.
Bobby: Shit.
Clay: I knew getting into porn was a bad call. I want us out.
Bobby: Losing Luann was awful, but we have other directors, and Caracara is in full swing. It's a solid money-maker.
Clay: It's dirty, and I'm done with it. Liquidate. You sell off whatever you can.
Bobby: Porn is Jax's deal. We all voted yes.
Clay: Close it down! I'll handle the little prince.
(Opie and Tig enter)
Clay: What do we got?
Tig: The INS judge is small time, man. Close to retirement. He lives alone, cushy little suburb just outside of Oakland.
Opie: Widower, one kid. Son at Berkeley.
Clay: That's our emotional leverage. The kid. He's local, he's exposed. We threaten that. I told Lin we were gonna have to see the guns we're risking our ass for, so I arranged to have a little hardware test. (to Tig) That's you.
Tig: What? Who's gonna press the judge?
Clay: Bobby and Ope. (to Bobby) And you take Happy with you. He'll know how to persuade.
Tig: (Slams table) This is bullshit!
Clay: (Looks at everyone else) Give us a minute.
(Everyone leaves)
Tig: What the hell is this? Testing hardware? What am I, a goddamn prospect?!
Clay: This ain't about you. It's about Ope. It's important we bring him closer. The deeper in he gets, the more we're protected.
Tig: Yeah, and the more you'll hurt Jax.
Clay: I don't give a shit about Jax. (leaves room)
(Not technically a Church meeting)
Jax: (to Clay) We need Caracara. It's our only club income.
Clay: Gun biz is back online. New 20, new source. We're done with pussy.
Jax: Just for a minute, try to think past this bullshit between you and me. Porn is a legitimate business, Clay.
Clay: So's auto repair. And that don't make my skin crawl.
Jax: Look at your run with guns over the last few years. We've lost more than we've earned; money and blood.
Clay: Well that's gonna change.
Jax: With the Chinese? We don't even know if this pipeline is real, or where the guns are coming from!
Bobby: Hamas.
Jax: Jesus Christ! That's where you're putting the future of our club?
Clay: SAMCRO deals guns. You had your little romp as porn king. You tied us to prostitution. You got one of our member's old lady killed.
Jax: You are really gonna stand there, and lay the guilt of a dead wife on me?
Clay: You remember that promise I made?
Jax: (Pulls out his pistol, racks a round into the chamber and puts it onto the table)
Tig: Hey, hey, hey.
Jax: Let me make it easy for you. (holds his arms out and turns around)
Clay: (Picks up the pistol, un-cocks it and places it back on the table)
Jax: You need a majority vote to shut down Caracara. (puts pistol back into vest) We put it out at Church tomorrow night. (leaves)
Notes[]
- Fa Guan is a Mandarin Chinese word for "the judge".
- At one point Clay Morrow calls Jax Teller 'the prince'. This show is based on the story in Hamlet, with Jax in the Prince of Denmark role.
Gallery[]
Featured Music[]
- Austin Hanks - "Rip It Up"
- Tarbox Ramblers - "No Harm Blues"
- Darker My Love - "Two Ways Out"
- Glasspack - "Lot Lizard"