3. No More Deus ex Machina
Seriously, is there a show that relies more heavily on this plot device than
Sons of Anarchy? The reason that season four was so good was that SAMCRO and its members were constantly in peril. There was an uneasy tension for the viewer that hadnt been experienced since the first season, and made the show one of the most intense hours on television. How was Juice going to keep from getting made by the club? Would he even be able to keep his situation with the cops and feds secret? How was Jax going to be able to balance his promises to Tara and his loyalties to the club? Most importantly, just how in the hell were the club going to get out of that federal bust that they were walking into near the end of the season? Simple everything always works out for the boys in black and blue. Yes, members have been killed. Yes, there have been tremendous setbacks and obstacles, but in the grand scheme of things SAMCRO usually comes out pretty damn well. This is what absolutely killed all of the momentum that season four had built up the Mexican cartel? Oh, theyre federal informants so Lincoln Porters entire case that he had built up over the season was suddenly nullified within a couple of minutes. It really felt like a cheap parlor trick where all of the anxieties and tensions that had been established suddenly just didnt matter. It isnt just limited to season four, it happened most recently in season five, and happened in season three (both of which I consider to the weakest of the series). Most recently with the way Jax was able to pull a fast one on Damon Pope to ensure a nice profit for himself, Tigs survival, and a convenient framing of Clay for the murder to send Popes security detail after the wrong man. In season three, suddenly Abel would be returned to Jax when Father Ashby makes a deal in exchange for his own life. After five seasons it has made it a little difficult to care about challenges that made face the club, because theyve always found a way to get out of it within one episode.