Sons of Anarchy, Season 6: Episode 11 – “Aon Rud Persanta”
Written by Chris Collins and Kurt Sutter
Directed by Peter Weller
Airs Tuesday nights at 10 on FX
Nero calls it the Godfather dilemma: the more you try to distance yourself, the closer you get sucked in. Tara is extremely familiar with this concept as well. And as we leave “Aon Rud Persanta,” she is the focus. Is the bullet that she pulls out of Bobby something that she plans to use against the club to gain that distance? If so, will it work or will she become more immersed in what the Sons are trying to do with Charming? With one full season left after these next and final two episodes of the year, we know that the club isn’t going to be brought down quite yet (unless Sutter wants the final season to take place in jail, which, you know…maybe? Because who knows about this show anymore?). What we do know is that something’s gotta give with the people who are trying to escape their situations. Nero’s attitude seems to be to go along with whatever Jax has planned hoping not to be caught in the crossfire. If Tara were smart, then she might take a cue from him.
One person who won’t be making it to the final season of Sons of Anarchy, though, is Clay Morrow. When all is said and done, “Aon Rud Persanta” and maybe even the whole of season six will be remembered for the death of Clay. Having not had my ear to the ground for whispers of big things to happen before this episode aired, the departure of Clay wound up being much more of a surprise than I would have imagined. It became clear at some point that Jax wasn’t going to let Galen get away after all the troubled he had caused the club, so when he goes down with a shot to the head, the familiar memories of seeing Pope bite the bullet bring that satisfaction of sharing with the Sons as they get some well-deserved revenge. But then the general ominous feelings enter the room, Clay and Jax exchange some words and we witness the beginning of the end for Clay, which involves a few meaningful glances, a kiss on Gemma’s cheek and the movement from surprise to acceptance in Ron Perlman’s eyes. Sure, like Tara says: Clay should have died a while ago. But I don’t know if Sons of Anarchy would have been the better for it. It’s not like his scenes in the prison this year were captivating – not by a long shot. It’s that Ron Perlman anchored an incredibly strong cast, and when you can stand out as an actor in the presence of all these other great actors, that’s a plus for the series and not negative space. Within the narrative, though, absolutely. Clay was a dead man walking for a couple years, so it is going to be interesting to finally see what this show looks like without him in it. In the meantime, hats off to Mr. Perlman for being a huge part of what made Sons of Anarchy great in its first couple of seasons.
Unless Tara’s plans to take down the club herself wind up be being more elaborate than can be handled in a couple episodes, that means much of the remaining conflict for this season will lie with Patterson, who has easily been one of the highlights of this year. Especially in the aftermath of a couple ridiculous, overdone antagonists, Patterson brings a strong presence of authority who actually feels like she could pose a threat to our anti-heroes. Few baddies make the transition between seasons in this series (here’s hoping we see Ethan Zoebelle again, though), so it’s not going to surprise me if Patterson ends up six feet under in a few weeks. That said, Sutter has built a compelling and commanding character out of her – one that another season’s worth of material could be written around. Sons will be taking next week off, so tune back in two weeks for the penultimate episode of this season.
– Sean Colletti