Paul Risker reviews the first episode of Sons of Anarchy season five…
“Something happens at around 92mph. Thunder headers drown out all sound. Engine vibration travels at a heart’s rate. Field of vision funnels into the immediate, and suddenly you’re not on the road, you are in it, a part of it. Traffic, scenery, cops; just cardboard cut-outs blown over as you pass.” So began ‘Sovereign’, signalling the return of Sons of Anarchy for its fifth season on 5USA, rolling onto our screens with words of poetic motion.
Thus far, seasons 1 to 4 have been a model of consistency, the show anchored by character and plot, as well as any number of fine performances. Past successes aside, all eyes look to see if creator Kurt Sutter can keep up this hallmark of consistency that as defined the show. So with ‘Sovereign’ having now aired for the UK audience, what did the inaugural episode of season five have in store for us?
‘Sovereign’ introduces us to two new characters who will figure prominently across the thirteen episode season. Continuing from where season four left off, Harold Perrineau’s Pope, whose daughter was murdered in Tig’s failed hit on Niner’s head honcho Leroy, assumes the role as the season’s main antagonist. Meanwhile, Jimmy Smits’ Nero Padilla is introduced as Gemma’s new love interest, expanding to SAMCRO’s latest friend and ally by the episodes conclusion, when he provides Jax and Chibs safe harbour.
Between them, Pope and Nero exhibit what could be seen as Sutter’s inexhaustible capacity for writing great dialogue, as well as his uncanny ability to cast actors seemingly born to play these characters which he incorporates into each new season. It as served to provide the show with a breath of fresh air from season to season, giving us no less than three memorable characters in season four, two of who feature in ‘Sovereign’: Danny Trejo’s Romeo and Benito Martinez’s Luis Torres. Moving forward, it will be interesting to see where Pope ranks amongst the show’s memorable string of antagonists, described by Jax as the man who decides who lives and who dies. What may make him one of the most intriguing of antagonists is the way he has the capability of polarising our sympathies. Whilst loyal to SAMCRO, it is clear we are meant to both understand and sympathise with the motivations for his vendetta against his daughter’s killers. As much as Jax is trapped in that world, the opening of season five positions us in a particularly uncomfortable position, trapped by our loyalty, entrenched with our brothers SAMCRO.
The standout moment came close to the end as the episode built to a shocking crescendo, with Pope taking his initial act of vengeance, robbing Tig not of his life but of his daughter. One father you might say returns the favour to another. It is a moment captured through polarised performances, from Coates’ angry and emotional angst versus Perrineau’s silent emotional grief.
Sutter hits a powerful nerve, the thematic device of the sins of the father, or the sins of the parents revisited on their children, their choices not only responsible for their own fate, but the fate of their offspring. The tragedy of Tig’s daughter’s death from a certain perspective mirrors J.T’s inability to secure a better future for Jax, now forced to survive in the violent world of SAMCRO, more entrenched than ever as President of the charter.
Jax reassures his mother that Clay’s time’s a comin’, affirming that at its heart Sons of Anarchy is Sutter’s Shakespearean drama, the murder of the SAMCRO king at the hands of his wife and best friend, to the attempted murder of the daughter-in-law. Now Jax and Gemma’s plan to dispense family justice on the deposed traitor king reminds us of this narrative focus, a tumultuous and tragic family drama from which all other plots spiral.
The character of particular interest in ‘Sovereign’ is Tara (Maggie Siff), notably the continued physical wear and tear, her harder and less angelic look. She is more world-weary, provoked by her and Jax’s symbiotic journey to escape the life neither desire.
Tara standing behind Jax in the closing shot of season four, the image of Gemma and J.T superimposed was Sutter’s Godfather moment. The opening episode of season four sees the idealistic couple forced to confront the harsh reality of being at the head of the table, the responsibility of intertwined fates in their hands; the compromise of their individual needs versus the needs of the many. Bringing events full circle, now Jax must confront the challenge his father faced, to save the club, but unlike his father he intends not to save it from its sins, but to rather to cleanse himself of his sins and break free once his own and the club’s safety are guaranteed.
For fans of Sons of Anarchy, a show featuring fine performances, anchored by character and plot with a thematic heart, ‘Sovereign’, Nero and Pope are three good omens as we move forward.
Paul Risker is co-editor in chief of Wages of Film, freelance writer and contributor to Flickering Myth and Scream The Horror Magazine.
Originally published February 7, 2013. Updated April 11, 2018.
