TV Review: Sons of Anarchy 5.10, "Crucifixed"

rating: 5

"Crucifixed" is a massive episode. It changes a number of power positions, increases the level of tension to impossible heights, and gives this season a clear sense of drive and purpose. Most importantly, it also calls attention to something Sons of Anarchy does better than virtually any other show currently on the air: layering. "Crucifixed" masterfully handles such an intricate web of complications and story threads, it's awe-inspiring. I can't even begin to image what the white boards must have looked like when the writing staff started hammering all of this out. There's a wealth of different elements to unpack here, and for the first time in awhile, everything holds equal weight. The sins of the past are returning with a vengeance, and "Crucifixed" kicks off with one pertaining to Juice. After committing a string of terrible acts that betrayed virtually every promise he made as a member of the MC, all for the sake of hiding his heritage, Juice's secrets are finally uncovered. Roosevelt cracked at the tail-end of last week's "Andare Pescare," and both Jax and Clay have pieced everything together as a result. Both use this as leverage. For Clay, it's an opportunity to deepen the already strong allegiance between them. For Jax, it's another path toward uncovering the physical evidence he needs in order to pin the home invasions on Clay. Naturally, this tears an already unstable Juice even further apart. Much like Gemma's current predicament, it's a lose-lose situation. He's already made unforgivable moves in order to retain his position within the MC. In "Crucifixed," Jax orders him to make yet another. The very idea is difficult for Juice to stomach. This leads us to the question that engulfs the entire episode. How far are you willing to go in order to obtain what you desire most? And when you finally obtain it, what happens if it wasn't what you truly wanted? A noticeably weary Clay breaks it down beautifully in a scene with Juice; "You get to this point in your life, and you start to wonder; are you chasing after s--- you don't even want anymore?" The exchange comes directly after Clay pieces together the details of the RICO case. He meets with the Cartel to further uncover the truth. After a bit of back and forth negotiation, the only option left on the table is to remove Jax from the equation. Clay initially refuses the offer, but leaves with the possibility still very much in play. He can have his club back, but he'll have to murder his own stepson to get it. It's yet another example of the increasingly difficult choices these individuals are being forced to make for the sake of obtaining what they believe they truly want. No one's really winning here, and the sense of exhaustion and defeat running throughout the episode is palpable. Which brings us to one of the most exhausted individuals of them all, Otto Delaney. After weeks of negotiation, Tara is finally able to convince Otto to drop his RICO testimony against the club. But it's not the resolution one would expect or hope for. Otto's loyalty to the Sons of Anarchy as an institution is unquestionable. But his loyalty to the individuals that make up the Redwood chapter is nonexistent. In a brilliantly written turn of events, Otto finds a way to simultaneously save the organization and cause irreversible damage to the Redwood Originals. He brutally murders a nurse with a crucifix that Tara provides him with, making her an accessory to his crime. Tara is going to lose everything: her career, her family, and her freedom. Like clockwork, SAMCRO claims another victim. And Jax's desire to save his club has cost him the love of his life. As these characters engage in increasingly dangerous and often unforgivable acts in order to catch that fleeting object of their desire - whether it's the salvation of an organization, the security of wealth, the comfort of belonging, a position of leadership, or familial acceptance - there comes a time where the cost of it all must be assessed. Right now, it's cost these individuals virtually everything. And the greatest tragedy of all isn't the intensity of the chase or the damage that it's caused, but the underlying possibility that all of it could ultimately be for nothing. After all, the knowledge of whether or not you truly wanted something only comes after you've already obtained it.