Sons of Anarchy "What a Piece of Work Is Man" Review: No Son Is Safe

Orjuever 5:14 AM No comments

Sons of Anarchy S07E09: "What a Piece of Work Is Man"


Did anything big happen in this week's episode of Sons of Anarchy? I dunno, let's listen in on Odie and Melany as they have a conversation about of "What a Piece of Work Is Man"!

M : Prior to the beginning of the season, Kurt Sutter said two of SAMCRO's own would die before Sons of Anarchy was over. West was killed by Lin fairly early on, and in this week's "What a Piece of Work Is Man," Bobby—a.k.a. the most decent and level-headed member of the club—was murdered in front of Jax when Marks pulled the trigger in retaliation for the club trying to pin Tara's murder on the Chinese. Now, "decent" is a relative term here, because when you belong to an organization that kills people on the regular, it's pretty hard to measure decency against normal standards. But Bobby was, by Sons of Anarchy standards, a decent man. He was rational, he was well-respected, and it makes perfect sense that Sutter would see fit to kill him off, because out of all of the Sons, Bobby probably deserved it the least. After the deaths of Piney in Season 4, Opie in Season 5, and Tara in Season 6, I suppose I shouldn't be too surprised that Bobby met his end in Season 7. His passing carries on the great Sons of Anarchy tradition of employing an emotionally heavy catalyst to push Jax to see the error of his ways.
Bobby's death wasn't shocking, really—not when you consider that he'd already lost an eye and fingers at the hands of Marks' men—but it was unfortunate and sad. And now Gemma's carrying not one dead body on her shoulders, but two, as Bobby's demise is ultimately the result of her decision to kill Tara.

O : I'm thinking Sutter's preseason estimate of two fallen Sons is a bit conservative. A lot has happened to Sutter since he said that; he's felt the weight of the final season, he's lost an appendix, and he's probably thought to himself, "You know what? More people should die because I like to torture my fans and why should George R.R. Martin have all the fun?" I will be SHOCKED if the club doesn't lose any more guys before Sons rides off to that TV series graveyard in the sky. I'll also admit that my sinister lust for blood and sadness has me hoping that more men will fall, because as I've pointed out many times before, this is the final season and major characters should definitely die on a show that's as violent and brutal as this one. This is Sons of Anarchy, not The Feelgood Happy Hour! C'mon, Sutter, don't let me down!
We'll get to hood-of-the-car sex in a bit; as for Bobby's death, OOF it's tough to take. However, in the annals of Sons of Anarchy most tragic life-endings, it actually ranks pretty low. In recalling the deaths you mentioned, here's how I have 'em ranked based on how powerful and shocking they were:

1.Opie. Nothing will ever top Opie. Ever.
2.Tara. Shocking not just because it happened but because of how it happened.
3.Piney. He died right in the middle of Clay's evil run, and it was a biggie. Also, anytime a guy with an oxygen tank dies, it's extra sad.
4.Bobby. I don't want to dilute the power of Bobby's death, but it just didn't have the shock value of the others. And because it came at the hands of a villain, it's more of a traditional death. There was nothing secret behind it.
5.Clay. I'm still a little annoyed about how and when he died in accordance with the story.

What I will add, though, is that Bobby is my second favorite character from that list, behind Opie, so I don't want to undersell his loss. Those rankings are based purely on shock value and the bucket of emotions that poured out of my eyes after each death. Dear readers, let's hear your own rankings in the comments!

M : You're right, I never once believed Sutter when he said two club members would die. And if we're counting bodies, Jury's death has to be included because he was a club member, and Sutter wasn't specific about club charters in his preseason comments. So I won't be at all surprised if we see more dead bodies before this is over (please not Chibs, please not Chibs, please not Chibs). You're also right that nothing can or ever will top losing Opie. His death shattered Jax's world, the viewers' world, and Ryan Hurst's world (remember that video of him cutting his beard after the fact? That was the most emotional and cathartic beard cutting I've ever seen). 
Opie's death was shocking, it was brutal, and it was tragic. But Opie willingly walked into that room to sacrifice himself for Jax and the club because he felt he'd had nothing left to live for. Bobby, on the other hand, was a soldier. He still had fight in him, he still had guts. And that I think is what makes losing him so hard, both for Jax and for me. Bobby was never the loudest or weirdest member of SAMCRO; Tig and Happy have their odd quirks (Tig: "You know why I like teaming up with you Happy? Because when we do I'm the normal one."); Juice has his demons, Chibs has his sex with lady cops on police cars in front of club members, and Bobby was just... Bobby, a loyal brother who deserved more than to be Marks' warning sign. His death, though, seems to finally have Jax admitting he's made mistakes and he's not a good man. He's come to this realization before, of course, but he still hasn't changed. Will the fact Bobby was killed in front of him make the difference? His death was a direct result of Jax's rash decision making early in the season, so will THIS death be what finally forces him to change? Will it be the push that Gemma needs to come clean? Or is the show really putting Abel in the position to be the one to spill the beans to Jax about how everything that's happened is Gemma's fault?
O : I think the fact that this was a death that happened with only four episodes left is more likely to be the reason that Jax changes, because we've been on this merry go-round before where Jax gets all sad over a death he was partly responsible for. As for Abel, that kid just knows when to pick his spots, doesn't he? It helps that his grandma is obsessed with openly confessing her sins to inanimate objects, too. And I loved the way the obstacles to Abel catching Gemma crying over Bobby's corpse was opened up by all the guys tracking mud into the house so they had to leave to go outside. That seemed so un-gangster like. Like those guys don't spread filth everywhere they go. When's the last time any of those dudes washed their hair? And Abel is definitely being set up to say something to Jax, isn't he? "Grandma said she killed Mommy" could end up being the forever quote from Sons of Anarchy by the time the series is over. Juice, the other person who knows Gemma killed Tara, certainly isn't going to say anything, he's too busy putting stuff up his butt.
M : And poor guy, too. He put that up his butt and then didn't even get the chance to use it on Lin since he was put in solitary after Unser and Jarry discovered that Gemma's fall guy was in a drunk tank in another state at the time she was plunging a BBQ fork into Tara's grey matter. There's no way Gemma could have known about her scapegoat's plans that evening, but at the same time, it's like, do a little research, woman. If you're going to frame someone for the murder of your daughter-in-law, maybe don't just pick the first Chinese guy you see. That's racist. And incredibly sloppy.
Unser knows now that Gemma and Juice both lied, which to me would indicate that one or both of them are guilty in the deaths of Tara and Sheriff Roosevelt. But is Unser blinded by his long-time feelings for Gemma? Even if I didn't have the image of Gemma murdering Tara scarred into my brain, it feels so obvious at this point. Two bodies, two people ID'ing the same guy who couldn't have possibly done it? If Unser doesn't figure this mystery out soon, I'm going to have to question where he went to police school.
O : He and Jarry are putting their heads together, which leads me to believe that they'll crack the case soon. And I'll give Unser a little credit: Gemma has to be one of the last people he'd expect to murder Tara, because it's f***ing ridiculous that Gemma murdered Tara and she let this whole thing escalate into a gang war which got Bobby killed. And a couple things on Jarry while we're here. Don't you find it funny that she's trusting him on the case of a murdered SAMCRO wife when he lives in a trailer in the parking lot of the Teller-Morror mechanic shop? And don't you think it's funny that she asked Chibs to bang her right there in the parking structure on the hood of her car if he really had feeling for her? What the heck is wrong with her? Jarry is a damn psychopath. Are we supposed to believe in this relationship, or is Chibs just taking one for the team? This was one of the most ludicrous scenes Sons of Anarchy has ever pulled off, so of course I cackled with glee while Chibs railed right there on top of the black and white and Rane watched with the best "eh, just another day in the life of a biker outlaw" expression on his face.
He was so nonplussed about Chibs boning the lady sheriff in public, it makes me wonder what this man has seen in his life. I loved everything about this even though it was totally nutso. But as for the other romance between Rat and Brook, I don't get it. That doesn't need to be part of the show. No one cares. I didn't even know who Brook was before this season. It's fluff like this that makes these episodes over an hourlong without commercials.
M : There's nothing about Jarry that would lead me to believe she cares about where Unser's drinking his booze and laying his head. She's not exactly following the rules here, and hopping on Chibs' kickstand in the middle of a parking garage is certainly putting her in dangerous territory. What did it prove? She's completely compromised at this point and I worry this will blowback on the Sons in some way, because Lord knows nothing ever works in their favor. But if nothing comes of Chibs' relationship, these brief interludes mean almost nothing. If Sutter intends for anyone to escape this mess unscathed and live on after what will surely be a chaotic and bloody finale, I understand theoretically why he's writing these scenes, but do we honestly care whether or not these characters have feelings for one another? I'd rather the time be spent on Nero or Wendy, characters we're already invested in. There are still so many storylines to wrap up (like, who really told the Chinese about the guns in the warehouse?) that we can't be wasting time on seemingly irrelevant feelings.
O : Ha, but Sons of Anarchy is all about irrelevant things! Remember Lea Michele? WTF was she around for? As for the rat, I'm still on board with Barosky being the culprit, and as soon as SAMCRO figures that out, they'll kill him very quickly. In the meantime, they have to continue with their story about Jury being the rat to keep Indian Hills from a full-on revolt (which they're super close to, and who can blame them?). It's interesting that this season our "heroes" are the lying bastards and are spending so much of their resources and time covering up their own lies instead of solving mysteries, building up their power with new criminal enterprises, or focusing on somewhat legit ventures like porn and whoring, as they've done the previous six seasons. Jax killed Jury because he killed his son, but they're saying Jury was the rat and hoping that explains everything. SAMCRO killed the pastor in the most random encounter ever, but they're pinning it on Marks and dragging a mother and son into their mess. Add to that the fact that Jax's rage-fest against Lin was all built on Gemma's lie, and nothing in this season is real. Sorry for the random thought, but while I dig the action and the finality of this season, what am I supposed to be invested in plot-wise other than who lives or who dies? Everything is a pile of horseshit this season. I don't understand how someone writes a final season of a show and bases it all on misunderstandings and lies instead of things like motivation and power. 
M : To be fair, hasn't Sons of Anarchy ALWAYS been based on lies? Brothers lying to brothers and mothers lying to sons has been the show's driving force since Jax Teller and the Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club rode onto our TV screens in 2008. The difference is that the show used to be about other things, too. Jax's world used to be bigger, there used to be a love story, and there used to be threats from outside forces like Agent Stahl, the Irish, and Henry Rollins. The bottom line is that there used to be other obstacles, but the only thing standing in Jax's way now is Jax. The final season isn't about power because Jax has power—he's mad with it—so the show has to find other ways to drive up the drama. The fact that this all boils down to Gemma is frustrating, but it also fits perfectly within the context of the show. Gemma's always been too involved in Jax's life, has always wanted to control and manipulate him, and she's always been the poison in his life. It's just time to cut that cancer out. And every week that goes by it gets more and more ridiculous to think Jax still doesn't know the truth or recognize what's staring him in the face.
O : Let's hope he's wearing those cool/nerdy biker goggle-glasses when it does stare him in the face. I know I had some questions about "What a Piece of Work is Man," in particular, did Yoda write the title? (JK it was Shakespeare from Hamlet, which is what SOA is but with slightly more leather and just barely less Skankenstein.) But I actually really enjoyed the episode and though it was one of the best of the season. It had cut-up corpses, some sex on a cop car, and a huge death. Bobby's death is hopefully a driving force that puts the final season into high gear, because Sutter always uses big deaths to propel things forward even if they're ridiculous. What was your final verdict on the episode?

M : Leaving my issues with the superfluous moments that padded the episode aside, I think it accomplished what it set out to do, which was push Jax into the show's final act. Bobby's death is probably the most upsetting after Opie's tragic end, and even though I saw it coming a mile away, it still tugged on my heart strings and made me curse Sutter's name for the millionth time, because despite how horrible all of these guys are, I've come to love them and root for them to succeed. It's completely ridiculous to think they'll all make it out alive, but I'll probably never stop hoping. With only four episodes left, my only question coming out of "What a Piece of Work Is Man" is this: Why didn't Bobby get a funeral montage? Is that next week? Because I'm going to need some closure and it better be in the form of some Elvis.

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