'Sons of Anarchy' recap: Who's your baby? [updated]

It will be hard to top the nefarious brew of "Sons of Anarchy," Season 2, with Gemma’s rape, SAMCRO’s porn biz, Charming’s potential neo-Nazi takeover and the kidnapping of Jax’s baby – plot lines that took so many characters’ skeletons out of the closet and rattled them around, pushing the M.C. to the brink. But the Season 3 opener keeps up the momentum.

Personally, I would’ve liked the show to open with Jax scoring H from the Mayans instead of slumping on the floor by Abel’s empty crib, because screaming at the end of a dock didn’t seem appropriate for a man whose baby had just been snatched by an IRA gun supplier. But that’s the mom in me. Ultimately, Sutter made the better call in having Jax act out as he did by the end of Episode 1: repeatedly bashing in the face of a guy who killed an innocent kid.

With its opener, "Sons" is as brutal and Tarantino-esque as ever, but it isn’t gratuitous. Its leather-clad toughs are just becoming more fully formed versions of themselves, especially the women. As much as "Sons" is Hamlet-esque in its theme of father-son relationships, it’s also about daughters.

We know Gemma’s MO: to be a fierce mother, which she continues to prove. I love the scene of her using a newspaper only to catch her nail trimmings, then reading it to find out about her dad's wife dying. Whether it’s hot-wiring a car or sassing back to Tig, Gemma seems different this season. She may be on the lam, but her mood is more playful. And so is her look. I’m relieved to see her shed the leather-and-lace Stevie Nicks thing and get more rocker. [Updated 9-8-10, 12:40 p.m.: A previous version of this post stated Gemma had read about Abel's kidnapping in the newspaper.]

I don’t yet know what to make of Gemma’s visit to her dad’s, but so far, Hal Holbrook’s performance as an elder with Alzheimer’s has been heartbreakingly wonderful.

So has Maggie Siff’s turn as Tara. Just as Season 2 allowed Katey Sagal to show her serious acting chops as Gemma, this season appears to be Siff’s turn to shine as the doctor/SAMCRO old lady hybrid who’s struggling to find her path.

Will Tara be suspended from the hospital? Will Gemma get busted? Where is Jax’s baby, anyway, and how will SAMCRO get its guns? Sutter tends to trade in secrets that are unexpectedly and dramatically revealed, letting his characters’ animal instincts come to the fore. More please.

-- Susan Carpenter

Photo credit: FX

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Comments

[Liza]

I'm pretty sure that Gemma found about her mother's (aka "Rose" ) death in the newspaper and when she said, "He needs me," she was referring to her father not Jax or Abel.

[Dawn]

Gemma didnt learn about Abel, she read that her mother had died, that is why she went to her dad. How about the irony that her father is was a preacher??? Jax questioning his ability to think things through and his vunerable side allows us a different insight into him. He is usually the one that pulls everyone out, but this time it was Clay who made him see the light and made sense of the situation for Jax. Also, this show is full of twists, turns and surprises. We need to wait to see if the child was actually killed. Its obvious he was hit, but if I have learned anything by season 3, its dont ever assume!

[lacey]

omg i think this is the BEST show ever made! it is my new addiction!

[JJ]

You can't hot wire newer cars today. They have a computer chip in the ignition.
Other than that it was good to see her stab they guy. Jax beating the guy at the end was cool too. Looks like he's getting arrested in the previews, but in real live the cops would have looked the other way since the guys crew possibly killed a cop. ( the incoming Sheriff).

Funny to see the blacks driving the Carl Malden Ford. At least it keeps the production cost down, instead of shooting up an Escalade.

Hopefully, the show doesn't become all about parenting. Look forward to next week.

[ALPHABAMBI]

What a stupid review above. In case you didn't notice, Susan, this show has jumped the shark. Let me explain: SAMCRO is a biker gang that engages in all kinds of criminal activity, so why should we root for them? Jax's lifestyle got his son kidnapped and in earlier episodes, the innocent wife of a member was murdered . Gemma was raped. The whole idea of a surgeon slumming with these moronic panheads is laughable. Tara became a surgeon and is jeopardizing her career to hang with men who never see a dentist? Uh..ya. Happens all the time. Just hang around UCLA Medical Center. And the driveby at the end of the season 3 premiere was, really, just perfect. Innocent boy shot, Chief of Police killed. But I'll keep watching until Perelman catches an AK slug in his left ear.

[David Lopez]

It's a good insight on the season opener overall, and i thought it came off a little slow then picked up in a big way. But your in-acurate, Gemma still doesn't know about Abel missing(Jax's Kid). You see this at the end of the episode when they show whats happening this season. What you thought Gemma saw in the news paper was the obit of her mother thats why we saw her visit her father. But I still liked your insight.

[debbie]

Susan,
You mentioned you didn't yet know what made her go visit her dad, it wasn't news about Abel's kidnapping it was the death of her mother, Rose. That's what she read in the newspaper. If you remember in the scene where she arrives at her parents home and the caregiver answers the door, they have a brief conversation about whether her father knows about her mother passing. As of the ending of the show she still was unaware of Abel's kidnapping.

My husband and I are huge fans and never miss an episode. We are thrilled the 3rd season has begun.

[Chris]

Worst episode of SOA to date. The writing was horrible, and the acting fell right in place. The last 10 minutes of the show was the only part worth watching. My biggest tiff with the episode was the insane amount of commercials. Of the 1hr and 13 minute episode there were a solid 30+ minutes of commercial time. Not a great way to start season 3, I'm out!

[Leigh]

Didn't she read in the paper about her mom's death? Isn't that why she went to visit her dad? I could be wrong, but thats what I got out of it.

[Jennifer]

Gemma didn't read about Abel being kidnapped in the paper, she read about her mother passing away, and that's what made her go visit her father. They stated at the beginning of the show that they kept Abel's kidnapping out of the newspaper, and that Gemma didn't need to know. But good overview of the first episode :)

[Georgee]

This is ABSOLUTELY the best show on television in years. I watched at 1am last night and got up at 6:30 this morning and went directly to the Internet to check the buzz. It is full of suprises, the characters are complex but believable and the story lines never seem to slow down. I will miss the prospect and Hale but I am very anxious to see where they will take the law enforcement angle. It looks to me like this season is going to be well worth the wait

[karen]

I thought Gemma read something in the paper about her Father, not able Abel. I think that is why she went to see him.
I knew we were going to lose a character at the end of the show, but I thought it would be Chief Unser, not the Deputy.
That blew me away!

[Mike]

Gemma never found out about Abel. But great article.

[Anthony]

She didn't learn about Able, she learned that her Mother died. That's why she went to see her Dad.

[SAS]

Susan,

I was a little confused as to what Gema was reading in the paper. I too thought it was news about Abel, but earlier in the episode Clay indicated the news about Abel had not been in the media. I believe she was reading an obit about the death of Hal Holbrook's character's wife, Rose. If you recall, after reading what she was reading she made the comment (paraphrased): He's going to need me. The next scene, she's at her dad's house, and Gema and the caregiver are talking about Gema's dad not really knowing that his Rose is dead. I may be wrong but that's how I interpreted the whole newspaper thing.

[Mike]

Gemma never found out about Abel.

[Richard]

Gemma did not read about Abel in the paper (she still does not know about the kidnapping). She read her Mother's obituray in the paper, that's why she went to her father's.

[Jasen]

I thought the SoA Season 3 premier was great last night. Maybe not as in wild as the Season 2 opener, but I enjoyed the pace of the episode. I was anxiously waiting for the big, dramatic scene to come and have my jaw drop like it did when Gemma got rapped and about half way through I gave up. Not in a bad way I just told myself you can't always open a season with something like that or you will get to predictable. I watched the rest of the show relax and really enjoyed it. When Clay tells Jax he needs to make a decision, I thought perfect...there are so many lose ends to tie up this season and it looks like Jax decision might affect them all and I was happy expecting it to end...do the old "see what everyone is doing" for the last couple of seconds...have Jax going home with Tara...show Clay missing Gemma...but then out of no where there it is. The van pulls up and my jaw drops. Great way to start the season and can't wait for the next episode to air!

[Holly]

I'm pretty sure it wasn't Able's kidnapping she read about, it was her mothers passing. Which is why she went to her dad's. Her comment "He needs me" did not refer to Jax as assumed, but her father.

[Kris]

Gemma never read about Able in the paper.She read about the death of her Fathers wife. She still has no idea able is missing.