Episode Review: Sons of Anarchy Season 4 Finale

To me season 4 was so much stronger than season 3 but I am one of those that has all three season on Blue Ray and watch them over to see what I missed but in Season 4 I always said from the beginning I thought Romeo was a Fed - not expecting he was CIA but I did think he was undercover. I felt that was the case when three of four people tried to get Tara in the van. The finale proved that to be true also. Hey guys you all knew there was going to be a season 5 so where did you think all the main characters was going? I think anyone knew from the beginning that Piney would evenutually die and it would be at the hands of Clay - no surprise there. Everyone knew that evenutaully Jax would find out about Clay. There is plenty left on the table for season 5 and so many twists. I was not disappointed. I agree there was no clifthanger but then again Kurt told you it would not be. It was not Stahl getting shot as in season 3 but hey there is so much to look forward to. Will Jax ever find out about Gemma's involvement in his fathers death? Will Juice come clean about what happened? Will the Irish get arrested? Will Opie come back to be by Jax side, Will Clay die? Will Gemma die? Will Tig continue to be by clays side or will Tig be the one to put the bullet in Clay's head. So much left to cover before the end of the show. If I remember reading Kurt had wrote this series based on 8 seasons so theres plenty of Mayhem left but look at what can of worms have been opened. Someone will have to pay for the death of Leroy's girlfriend. Leroy and her father will seek revenge. Potter will be back in the picture at some point. At some point someone else will go to jail. Bobby of course will get out eventually. Otto will meet his maker either by execution or by someone at the prision but not before he is told exactly what happened to Luanne. Anyway as I see it Kurt has opened enough can of worms in this season to last another three or four seasons. I am a fan so I will keep watching and will buy season 4 when it comes out. As the whole series four goes I give it 5 out of 5 starts.

Romeo turning..........wrong. He was the biggest player putting high cards on the redwood table. That just makes no sense seeing how the rest could have played out with him not knowing about the CIA and Jax does. Romeo would have guys in his bed with secrets watching him and he was mean enough to do whatever he wanted when he found out.................now not so much, just another DICK. Jax could use some Irish intuition.....kinda knowing somethings wrong instead of hastily showing for a meet of that calibur. Sutter builds a great house, has awesome insight and delivers some very thrilling acts. I hope season 5 is great because season 4 was until last night even though the end was choice, the foundation looks a little week going in.

Sigh. I'm with those who loved the first 2 seasons but have become disenchanted with the show. Throughout Season 3, I told myself that the egregious sentimentality and moral absolutism of the kidnapped-baby story line were anomalies, and I cheered the start of Season 4, which seemed to leave the psychic sledgehammers behind. Now, however, they're swinging wildly at almost every character. Once Jax's loyalties were split between a father who was a feckless idealist and a stepfather who was a ruthless pragmatist, an interesting conflict. Now, Daddy has become an MC martyr, Stepdaddy a reckless sociopath, and the only question for Jax is why the writers are still jerking him around as in the old, complicated days.

Wait, I hate Stepdaddy, right? I want to kill him for killing Daddy (and almost-killing Baby Mama). So why won't I let Best Buddy shoot him for killing Best Buddy's Daddy and Baby Mama? Why am I saving Stepdaddy by shooting Best Buddy? OMG, how can it be that I hear, DON'T MAKE ME KILL YOU! coming out of my mouth! How much of that cocaine we've been muling has gone gone up my nose?

Late-season plot contrivances have left me baffled and dismayed. So many high-powered criminals turn out to be protected assets that I can only conclude that law enforcement is after Satan and possibly one or two of his most diabolical lieutenants. Long-gone characters pop back up to drive rivals into frenzied self-abuse. Normally smart people who've always been skeptical of law enforcement suddenly become trusting babes. Everyone is suddenly ready to sell out the MC, a platitude about capital-F Family on their quivering, self-righteous lips. What happened?

And let me reserve a last HUH? for the cover version of THE HOUSE OF THE RISING SUN featured in the final montage of the final episode. Despite its coy references to Charming Town and its additional verses, the song just doesn't fit--doesn't explicate the action or complicate the tone or hint at additional layers of meaning. Yes, it's just another sledgehammer with its presumed sun/son pun. Moreover, it's not a worthy cover of that powerful song. SOA has introduced me to more bands and artists than any other show, but lately the ratio of vanity numbers to great songs has declined.

Enough complaining. I'll be back, of course, but I'll be hoping the show moves on to characters and situations still capable of subtlety.

It's clearly one of the best shows on TV, and though I still enjoyed the season finale, the plot contrivance revealed all-too-neatly in the first 10 minutes or so of the finale really did take some air out of the balloon in terms of the tension that had been building for so many episodes. The Irish, Galindo, Jackson/Tera leaving - it was all sewn up far too neatly through that plot development, which I suppose was teased just a bit by Romeo's "perfect knowledge" of the fact that the Bobby Elvis - Otto situation didn't jeopardize the big gun sale. I didn't need to see King Lear dead this season, necessarily, and it will very interesting to see how the MC operates under a new Pres & VP. I just agree with Mo Ryan that I hope the letters are dealt with and sewn up post haste so that they're not hanging over everyone's heads for another season or two.