TV Review: Sons of Anarchy 5.6, "Small World"
rating: 4.5
When youre dealing with a show about anti-heroes, its easy for a writing staff to fall into the trap of backing down from the undeniable moral decay theyve previously established within their primary characters to, in a sense, de-intensify their villainy. Its the easy way out, and a show always suffers from it. After all, a story that revolves around characters that are all morally ambiguous will always breed drama of a higher complexity than a story with a clear-cut depiction of good and evil, and, as a consequence of that complexity, is a whole lot harder to successfully pull off. Sons of Anarchy will occasionally sideline the fact that its protagonists are horrible people, but as episodes like Small World show us, it never forgets. The centerpiece of this episode also gives it its title, and with good reason, as its one of the most intense and downright horrifying moments the show has given us in quite some time. Jax is led to the home of the prison guard that was partially responsible for Opies death, and as promised, Jax has his revenge. But this isnt just plain old murder. Its a brutal, extended act of violence, preceded by the cold, almost clinical killing of an innocent. Its tragic, grotesque, and, most importantly, cyclical. These characters have been dealing with loss followed by revenge throughout the entirety of the series unable to see that the cycle always repeats itself, and the hole grows deeper with each new cycle. As much as Jax wants to turn his club around, end the violence, and escape the wealth of destruction his organization has caused, hes too ingrained in the ways of old to ever truly do so. What has truly changed in his time as club president? If anything, things for the club are more dire than theyve ever been before. And as much as these characters believe they fight on the good side, they are just as responsible for the tragedy that has plagued their lives as the perpetrators are. As Chief Roosevelt tells Jax in a later scene, you reap what you sow. While were on the subject of consequences, the other major plot piece in this episode revolves around the unveiling of Clays involvement with the home invasions. And while its no surprise the man is far from being as powerless as hes let on throughout the season, the extent to which hes actively sabotaging Jaxs reign still comes as a bit of a shock. While I hated the shows creative decision to let Clay live at the end of last season, the suggestion here that his survival will cause SAMCRO to once again collapse from the inside is promising enough to give the writers some credit for their choice. As Ive said countless times before, Sons of Anarchy is at its best when the walls are closing in from all sides, and the fact that Jaxs decision to let Clay live may result in the downfall of the entire organization is a thrilling prospect, to say the least. Death and consequence are everywhere in this episode. Chief Roosevelts wife dies as a result of the home invasion. Neros business partner, Carla, commits suicide. Tara is given an option to save the club, but at the expense of her fidelity to Jax. These individuals, particularly Jax, are trying to end the violence and destruction theyve caused, but the very nature of the path theyve chosen in life guarantees its impossibility. The pain, the death, the tragedy none of it will ever end, it will only worsen. It is, after all, cyclical.