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Sons of Anarchy

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"Smite" is the fifth episode of the second season of the FX original series Sons of Anarchy, and the series' eighteenth episode overall.

Synopsis[]

Charming and its small-town appeal become vulnerable to The League, which finds new ways to provoke SoA members. Tara's compassionate efforts to help a distraught Gemma don't go unpunished.

Plot[]

Gemma stops by Jax’s house and talks to Tara: she’s still sore from the attack. Tara says she’ll write a prescription. Jax enters from cleaning the garage; he asks if Tara threw out any of his boxes. Gemma knows he is looking for the box containing JT’s manuscript, but keeps mum; she says she tossed out a box full of “old T-shirts and some funky underwear.” Though mother and son can see the unspoken truth in each other’s eyes, they let the lie stand; Tara notices their odd exchange. At the T-M Garage a car pulls in with a flat tire and damaged rim; Opie recognizes the driver as Luann’s porn actress, Lyla. Opie says the repair will take a few hours; he arranges a ride for her and her son. The two single parents seem to share a connection; Opie notices empty coke vials on the floor of her car. At Impeccable Smokes, Jacob Hale Jr. talks to Zobelle. Jacob says he is looking for investors in a lucrative land deal he’s working on; Zobelle says the League might be interested if Jacob were “affiliated.” He gives Jacob a business card for their “membership coordinator.” Clay, Jax, and the others arrive at the cigar store. Clay enters alone; he says Impeccable Smokes will have to start paying SAMCRO protection money. He takes three boxes of cigars (gratis) and leaves. Weston enters, and tells Zobelle that Stockton “is a go”; Zobelle adds they need to “humble Mr. Morrow.” In Stockton State Prison, one-eyed SAMCRO brother Otto mops a floor; he is surrounded by three AB members. They attack; Otto defends himself but is outnumbered. The leader of the trio (an Aryan named Squirrel) stands over the restrained Son; he jams the splintered mop handle into Otto’s good eye. Otto screams in pain.

Zobelle and Weston visit Deputy Chief Hale in his office; Zobelle reiterates his desire to work with the lawman to bring down SAMCRO. Weston hands over a disc that shows SAMCRO blowing up Darby’s meth lab; Zobelle says it’s “a laundry list of potential convictions.” Hale isn’t interested in the ill-gotten evidence; Weston gives him a second CD, and encourages him to think about it. Gemma and Tara exit a Charming pharmacy. While getting in the car Gemma sees Polly Zobelle standing by her green minivan; she recognizes Polly and the van from the night of the rape. The two women lock eyes; Polly begins to run. Gemma chases as a confused Tara tries to keep up. Weston pulls up in his truck, and Polly jumps in; they speed away, leaving Gemma standing in the street, stunned. Tara catches up, and reaches out to Gemma from behind; Gemma reacts fearfully to the touch, and instinctively swings an elbow behind her, striking Tara in the nose. Blood everywhere, Gemma realizes her mistake; she apologizes profusely. In his office Hale looks at Weston’s second disc: it shows security video from outside the meth lab when Hale accepted the envelope (containing the gift certificate) from Darby; the footage looks enough like Hale is taking a bribe to cause him concern. Jax enters; he tells Hale about the attack on Otto. Jax confronts Hale about being in league with Zobelle; the Deputy denies the accusation. Hale looks at the first CD. It is more security footage from the meth lab; it clearly shows the unmasked Opie running out as the house explodes. Outside a Charming church, Zobelle speaks with three businessmen; Weston pulls up, and Polly greets her father. They tell Zobelle that everything is set and “the van is in place.”

At the chapel in St. Thomas, Gemma and Tara share a bonding moment; they might have more in common than either believed. Tara tells her about Kohn coming to her home. Gemma asks if he raped her, and Tara says she was able to fight him off. Gemma asks if Jax knew, and Tara said yes, that she had to tell someone. When Gemma asked what  Jax did once he found out, Tara lies and says, "Kohn was already gone before Jax could do anything. Gemma gives her a long look, but says nothing. Tara again suggests Gemma talk to someone about what happened to her. As usual she is unreceptive to the idea.

Clay, Tig, and Opie arrive at the Oswald Stable; Clay talks to Elliot Oswald. Oswald says he got a letter from the county zoning commission saying they’re filing for eminent domain, and intend on building a highway through his timber land. He’s planning on selling his land to Jacob Hale Jr., before the state takes it and he gets next-to-nothing. He says Jacob is putting together investors to build residential housing on the land which would prevent the highway from being built. Clay tells Oswald not to sign anything until he’s had a chance to look into it; Oswald gives Clay the letter. Tig ends a call; the Sergeant-at-Arms says the meeting has been set to discuss retaliation for Otto. Clay wants to move against Zobelle immediately, but worries about Jax trying to sway the vote. He tells Tig to make sure the as-yet-unallied Juice votes with him. Meanwhile, Jax makes his case to the other brothers: he says acting rashly may yield short-term results, but they need to think long-term. Piney tells Jax about Tara’s run in with Gemma’s elbow. Jax arrives at the hospital; Tara assures him the injury was accidental. Tara’s supervisor (Margaret Murphy) notices her injury; seeing Jax in his SOA cut, she assumes Tara is the victim of domestic abuse. Margaret warns Tara about allowing her personal life to interfere with her professional one. Gemma and Jax run into each other at the hospital; she asks for a ride home. Inside Floyd’s Barbershop, Chief Unser reads Oswald’s letter; he says he’ll see what he can learn. Clay restates his suspicions about Hale’s relationship with Zobelle. Opie sees Weston and two other Aryans crossing the street and walking towards the barbershop; Clay, Tig, and Op exit Floyd’s and approach. From the end of the street, Jax sees the trouble brewing; he tells Gemma to get off the bike, and races to diffuse the looming street brawl. He skids to a stop between the Aryans and SAMCRO, and he dismounts. Weston pushes Jax’s motorcycle over; Jax snaps. He attacks Weston; Tig and Opie take on the other two as Clay watches the melee with glee. Unser calls for police backup. Gemma watches from a distance; numb to the violence. In her bedroom, Gemma retrieves Jax’s partially burned copy of JT’s manuscript; she reads a passage in which her late husband advocates forgiveness over revenge.

In the police station Unser questions his Deputy about being in league with Zobelle; the hypocrisy of the subject strikes a nerve with Hale. Unser doesn’t deny his own past misdeeds, but says Hale needs to live up to a higher standard. He tells Hale about Gemma’s rape, and how Zobelle was involved. He points out that while they don’t have any tangible proof on which to base an arrest, he wanted Hale to know the truth about Zobelle and the League. As Unser is about to leave, he shows Hale Oswald’s letter, and pointing out that Hale’s brother Jacob is involved, asks if the Deputy knows anything about it. Hale looks at the letter; he recognizes a name. Hale releases Weston and his guys with a warning to stay out of trouble; he then releases the Sons, and asks to speak with Clay and Jax privately. He tells them about the surveillance footage of Opie torching the meth lab; he says he’s not on Zobelle’s (or anyone’s) payroll. He also tells them that a few years ago a developer buddy of Jacob’s ran a scam which involved paying a dirty zoning official to use the threat of eminent domain to force land owners to sell their property on the cheap. He says Jacob’s friend now sits on the San Joaquin zoning commission; the highway project is more than likely a fraud. Jax and Clay thank Hale. Clay and Elliot Oswald interrupt a meeting between Jacob and two of the men who were speaking earlier with Zobelle. They confront Jacob with what his younger brother told them; the meeting abruptly ends as Jacob storms out. Jax returns home, and finds Tara sitting in Abel’s bedroom. She tells him she feels overwhelmed, and wonders where she fits in Jax’s dangerous world. He shows her the copy of his father’s manuscript that Piney gave him. He wants to fix SAMCRO, and get the MC away from all the things she’s scared of. She begins to read.

In the SAMCRO chapel Clay, Jax, and the others discuss retribution against Zobelle and the League. Clay advocates “harsh and immediate” retaliation: it’s their way. Jax counters that while “retaliation is undisputable,” they can’t go in half blind; that’s what Zobelle wants them to do. He cautions that if they attack now, they will be playing into Zobelle’s hands; they need be smart, and wait until the time is right. Clay calls a vote. Clay, Tig, Opie, and Juice vote “Yea” while Jax, Chibs, Piney and (surprisingly) Bobby vote “Nay.” With no clear majority, they will wait to take action. Clay is clearly disappointed but abides by the vote.

Lyla returns for her car; she gives Opie her phone number, and asks him to call her. Tara and Gemma arrive; Jax tells his mother about her husband’s defeat. She goes inside to see her man. A T-M tow truck delivers (Polly’s) green minivan. In the chapel, Gemma consoles Clay. He tells her Jax is becoming more and more like his father; it’s disconcerting. In the SAMCRO back lot Chibs prepares to move the minivan; he tries to start the engine, but hears the telltale whir of a weak battery and the clicking of a bad starter. He realizes what’s happening, and leaps from the minivan; it explodes. Chibs gets thrown by the blast, and lands hard; his head slams against the pavement. The others rush to their fallen brother as blood begins to pool beneath his head.

Credits[]

Main Cast[]

Supporting cast[]

Special guest star

Guest stars

Co-stars

Uncredited

Notable Quotes[]

John Teller: I realized that in my downward spiral of hopelessness I was actually falling into a huge hole created by my absence of basic human graces. The most obvious was forgiveness. If I was wronged by anyone, in or out of the club, I had to be compensated by money or blood. There was no turning the other cheek. When relationships become a ledger of profit and loss, you have no friends, no loved ones, just pluses and minuses. You are absolutely alone.

Church Meetings[]

Clay: It's been a shit year. I know we were laying low trying to shake off this ATF stink. And I would never put a member of this club at risk. But, we underestimated Zobelle, the League's reach. Now, he hurts a brother. If we don't act now, it's gonna be a sign of weakness. They do it again, and we've got an obligation to this club, to this town, to crush this threat. Retaliation must be harsh, and immediate. That's what we do. It's what we've always done.
Jax: I agree with everything you're saying. We underestimated Zobelle. Gotta protect the club, our town. Retaliation is undisputable. But if we do it now, we're doing it half-blind. These guys aren't gangsters, they're moneyed, smart and connected. Both sides of the law. They wanted us to blow up Darby's meth lab. (pulls out surveillance footage) That's us doing it caught on security cameras, Ope's face plain as day. Otto getting jumped was bait Zobelle knew we'd take. But out here, he's not using the muscle. He's using the law. He expects us to retaliate. He wants it, and he's ready for it. I love Otto. I want to give him his eye, but not at the expense of my club. We gotta wait. Due diligence. Learn.
Clay: Let's vote it. Immediate retaliation. Yea.
Tig: Absolutely, yea.
Chibs: Don't feel right. So no.
Opie: Yea.
Piney: Nay.
Juice: Yea.
Clay: (to Bobby) 4-2. Where you at, brother?
Bobby: Smart vote. Nay.
Jax: Nay. 4-4. No majority. We wait on retaliation.
(Clay bangs gavel)
(everyone leaves, Bobby and Clay stay behind)
Bobby: When you want blind action, you go to Tig. When you want the truth, you come to me. I don't know what's going on with you and the boy. But somebody has to start making decisions to protect the club. That's what I did.


Gallery[]

Featured Music[]

  • Pearlene - "Two Crescents"
  • Blackstrap - "The Open Road"
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