Toddus, I think you're wrong. It didn't represent submersion into the outlaw life. It was a continuation of the same thing that lead her to lie to keep Chibbs in Charming. If you watch it, she doesn't get physically violent until the Admin calls Gemma a biker whore. She's standing up for family. Here's the point that I think you're missing. This isn't a show about outlaw bikers. It's a show about a family. We, the moral audience, are supposed to watch the show and think about all the immoral things that family does for each other, and then worry about how far we would go to protect our own family. Me, I'm a generally non-violent guy. But if someone called my mother or mother-in-law (assuming I actually cared about my mother-in-law) a whore the way that admin did, in the context that admin did, I would fucking choke a bitch too. I think a lot of people would. So my point is, that we aren't appalled at what Tara did doesn't really represent any failure of the writers', or any lack of moral fibre of the audience; it just represents and understanding of the nature of family -- if not empathetically, than at least sympathetically.
This goes back to what I said earlier in this thread. Give respect, get respect. Simple as that. Tara didn't act out violently until the admin bitch disrespected Gemma (the club, family), and she got what she deserved. That's how it happens in club life, disrespect is not tolerated and is dealt with swiftly and effectively.
Excellent point. Forgot to consider that Westin killed another Aryan working with two Mexicans at the drug house AND Darby working with Mexicans in an earlier episode. So I guess the real question is how does Zobelle and his daughter distance themselves from the 20-years-to-life amount of heroin he tipped to the cops?
Bullshit, when have you ever been in a workplace where such behaviour was met with a beating, gun pulled on you and threats of violence against your family? I have worked with plenty of people in white collar jobs who were similar to the Admin Director, but I have never seen someone react like Tara. Anyone who did would get arrested and end up a punchline on Leno. Don't blur that which your E-persona would love to do and that which would happen in reality. Your point is in terms of club life, the laws of normal society tends to dictate disrespect not warranting being beaten, having a gun pulled on you and your family threatened. This was my point, during this scene Tara left conventional society and entered a different world.
The trouble is, the show doesn't depict "normal society." It's a TV show. Charming is not a normal city. In the context of the show, everything Tara did makes sense, and the way that we felt about it makes sense too. Yes, in real life, specifically your experience, her actions would have ended much differently. However, how many times in your real life have you lived in a small town controlled by a biker gang with the police in their pockets, Aryans trying to set up shop, IRA guns being imported, car bombs going off, and ATF agents running around? You can't look at her actions in any context other than the show, it just doesn't make sense.
I have never been in a workplace with anyone remotely as close to malicious as that Admin was. Administrators that I have worked with have always been passive aggressive, diffusing confrontations instead of inciting them, and then doing the shitty things when the person isn't around. Absolutely true. But not my point at all. You claimed it was a watershed moment for Tara, a time when she really became part of the outlaw MC. I disagreed and claimed that it wasn't out of character for Tara -- she'd broken rules before for the family. She kept Kohl's murder a secret, and demolished the porn-star's car so it's not like she was innocent before this this point. I don't think -- and feel free to disagree -- that the altercation would've escalated the way it did if the Admin hadn't pushed her. Had she just ragged on her about the charting, let Tara respond, and then walked away, Tara wouldn't have gone after her. What got Tara's ire up was the barb about her family. I don't think it's unreasonable or unnatural for a person to get as angry as Tara did when someone talks that way about their family; that Tara had the means to actually be threatening -- a hand gun and the back-up of an outlaw MC -- is circumstantial. I think most people who have love in their heart for someone else would defend their family similarly, albeit within their own means, and I don't think it's immoral to do so despite it being illegal.
All of the above. 1) The scene fell apart a little for me when Tara pulled out the gun and spun the revolver's cylinder. Up until that point the reaction made sense. The Admin crossed the line, pushed Tara into a corner and Tara reacted. The gun was pulled after the beating was delivered. It would have been a better scene if Tara had been shocked by what she had done and quickly left the room with the Admin laying face down so she wouldn't see Tara's shock at her own behavior. 2) She's been too all over the place. Some weeks they portray her as a very strong female role. Some weeks they portray her as an emotional loose cannon. Some weeks shes a a weepy clingy mess. But unlike Gemma who had a traumatic event lead to her disarray Tara hasn't had one this season. I think her role has grown too large over the last 4-5 episodes too. There's no way she competes with Gemma for the matriarch role unless the club gets divided between Jax & Clay again. 3) In the context of the show I would say I do. I didn't cry out when the innocent Mexican lady packing up heroin got blasted. Nor did I feel bad when the bitchy Admin go what she deserved when Tara busted her in the face. I also never watched the Soprano's or The Wire and felt moral indignation at what was happening, after all it's just TV.
In the following episode Jax mentioned that Georgie and his crew went to Thailand (or something like that). Edit - which is to say, I'm not sure that we'll get any more resolution than that.
This is probably my major criticism of the show, it often tries to do too much. Sometimes story lines aren't resolved because before they can be another is started. Last weeks episode was probably a major example of this.
QUOTE FROM TODDUS Bullshit, when have you ever been in a workplace where such behaviour was met with a beating, gun pulled on you and threats of violence against your family? I have worked with plenty of people in white collar jobs who were similar to the Admin Director, but I have never seen someone react like Tara. Anyone who did would get arrested and end up a punchline on Leno. Don't blur that which your E-persona would love to do and that which would happen in reality. QUOTE END FROM TODDUS This scene was a little tough to take as much as I enjoyed it. The show did a good job of making the Admin so annoying that you wanted her to get punched. To compare it to one of our job's is also a little unrealistic, I don't live in a small town where bikers own the local police department. While I agree with Toddus for the most part the only thing giving the scene a little saving grace is that the Admin knows the local police will not do anything to help her. ***sorry the quotes did not show up correctly****
All of the above. 1) The scene fell apart a little for me when Tara pulled out the gun and spun the revolver's cylinder. Up until that point the reaction made sense. The Admin crossed the line, pushed Tara into a corner and Tara reacted. The gun was pulled after the beating was delivered. It would have been a better scene if Tara had been shocked by what she had done and quickly left the room with the Admin laying face down so she wouldn't see Tara's shock at her own behavior. 2) She's been too all over the place. Some weeks they portray her as a very strong female role. Some weeks they portray her as an emotional loose cannon. Some weeks shes a a weepy clingy mess. But unlike Gemma who had a traumatic event lead to her disarray Tara hasn't had one this season. I think her role has grown too large over the last 4-5 episodes too. There's no way she competes with Gemma for the matriarch role unless the club gets divided between Jax & Clay again. 3) In the context of the show I would say I do. I didn't cry out when the innocent Mexican lady packing up heroin got blasted. Nor did I feel bad when the bitchy Admin go what she deserved when Tara busted her in the face. I also never watched the Soprano's or The Wire and felt moral indignation at what was happening, after all it's just TV. Another big problem is that they keep showing Jax nude from behind and not Tara.
Wow what a finale. Alright Agent Stahl, time to fucking die. Opie told you not to mess with the club, and here you go and get Abel kidnapped. O/U episodes next season till Jax finds out it was Stahl who set Gemma up...3? But seriously Gemma...Rule # fucking 1. When someone says "hey" and tosses you a weapon they just killed someone with. DON'T FUCKING CATCH IT! I don't know if Stahl actually sent the text to Cameron or not, but if she did, he isn't very smart. Your son sends you a text saying that he killed her, then she comes on the radio saying that Gemma shot his son and fled, and you believe her? Still, great fucking episode. Sucks half-sack died, but we knew someone was gonna die from the club, and them talking about how close he was to being patched over last week kinda seemed a little obvious it was gonna be him to me since they had never discussed it before. I actually felt bad for little Dukie in that scene in the tattoo parlor. Kudos to Sutter for being able to make me feel for a racist/rapist and his kid. I totally see Jax going off the deepend next season. No more "do things smart". Kill first ask questions later IMO.
What. The. Fuck. Good finale on the whole, but why the hell didn't they kill Zobelle? I understand the significance of Clay dropping everything, and him calling Abel his grandson, but fuck, it's not like it would have taken long to walk in, shoot him, and then ride away. Would have taken under 30 seconds. I guess Clay figured it was more important to do it right and talk some shit before executing him or something? Dumb. We all know Jax is gonna get Abel back, so that part isn't even really a big cliffhanger as far as I'm concerned. I guess I'm interested to see exactly how it plays out though. Stahl is gonna get dominated so hard. Sucks about Half-Sack, I was hoping for him to get patched in tonight. As soon as the Gemma thing happened, though, the entire room said "Guess Half-Sack's gonna get it this episode."
His family needed him. When your son needs you you drop everything and go. Not to mention how did they know it would take thirty seconds? They didn't know if Zobelle was armed, and I'm sure they expected him to try and escape. Zobelle was not going to sit and take it like Weston did he was going to do whatever it took to survive. I liked the episode but I'm a little bothered by the "cliffhanger" they left us with. I think I would have been happy with Zobelle being killed and maybe setting up Jimmy O as the next enemy the Son's have to deal with. I really want to see Stahl killed, enough of her already. I admit I didn't see half-sac's killing coming. I thought a patch in ceremony would be a cool episode to have. He was still alive when Chib found him, however it seems unlikely he's making it out of the house. That episode also had the record for most "man-hugs" with 14.
I think Stahl has one of the most interesting character progressions. She starts off aggressive and full of herself, and her hubris leads to Donna's death. You can tell this struck her deep, but she knows that she needs to keep a calm exterior because of her job. She does the same thing over again, and this time it leads to a baby being kidnapped. I think the actress does a superb job of walking the line between tough exterior and moments away from collapsing into a sobbing heap. There's like a sadness in her eyes, or something. Maybe I'm just projecting that. Regardless, I really enjoy her interaction with the club and hope Sutter doesn't snuff it out too early next season. What the fuck is Cameron going to do with the baby? Cross the Pacific and raise it as his own? I thought for sure he was going to toss Abel into the water and Jax was going to go through the same thing his father did. The amazing thing about this episode is the way it illustrated unintended consequences. Donna's death did the same, but this was way more intricate -- though still absolutely believable. If Gemma had just walked away, Abel would be fine. If Stahl had kept her cool after the vag-punch, Abel would be fine. If Chibs hadn't set the whole thing in motion, Abel would be fine. Another instance of people reaction leading to tragedy. Awesome.
I thought the ending was a bit more cliffhanger-ish than one would expect from this show, but overall I enjoyed how the storylines wrapped up in the end, particularly Deputy Chief Hale finally picking a side. But more than anything, I'm just happy they finally turned Lil' Beanie Head into a value added plot device instead of just a prop.
I love how the entire season was about two things: the rift in the club and what happened to Gemma. When she finally tells Clay and Jax, it begins the healing process for all involved, the club stops being reactive and gets proactive, and things are looking up. So who goes and ruins it all by trying to follow her "destiny" ? Gemma. Good stuff.