Sons of Anarchy (season 4)

The fourth season of the American television drama series Sons of Anarchy created by Kurt Sutter about the lives of a close-knit outlaw motorcycle club operating in Charming, a fictional town in California's Central Valley. The show centers on protagonist Jackson "Jax" Teller (Charlie Hunnam), the then–vice president of the club, who begins questioning the club and himself.

Season Four premiered on September 6, 2011, on cable network FX. The season premiere ("Out") by series executive producer and principal director Paris Barclay and written by series creator and executive producer Kurt Sutter was one of the highest-rated telecasts in FX's history.^[1]

Plot

The imprisoned SAMCRO members leave the penitentiary after their 14-month stay and are welcomed home by Lieutenant Eli Roosevelt of the San Joaquin Sheriffs' Department, the new law enforcement presence in Charming. He forbids any paroled members from wearing club kuttes in his jurisdiction, declaring the federal court considers them gang colors. To Clay's displeasure, the club learns that Jacob Hale has fostered the construction of a new suburban development, Charming Heights.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Lincoln Potter seeks Lieutenant Roosevelt's help to build a RICO case against SAMCRO. On the eve of Opie's wedding, Jax proposes to Tara, who accepts when Jax explains that he plans to leave the club. The Sons prepare to trade guns with the Russians, using the guise of Opie's wedding as a cover to avoid the law. In retaliation for an attack on Jax in prison, SAMCRO betrays the Russians and murders several of the group – including an undercover agent working with Potter.

After Gemma finds one of Maureen's notes in Abel's coloring book, she shares her concerns with Clay. She finds the notes locked in Tara's office and eventually asks Tara about the notes, but Tara denies knowledge of their existence.

Jax and Clay meet with Alvarez and Galindo Cartel member Romero "Romeo" Parada (Danny Trejo) to negotiate gun trafficking. To Jax's surprise, Clay has agreed to mule cocaine for the cartel in exchange for cash and protection from the Russians. Jax realizes that Clay is taking risks in order to stockpile money for when he leaves the club. Jax makes a private deal with Clay, wherein he agrees to the trafficking on the condition that when Clay leaves, he does also, and Opie becomes president. The rest of SAMCRO is split on the decision to mule cocaine. After much discussion, the vote passes 6–5, but causes a schism in the club.

As SAMCRO makes their first gun run for the cartel, Clay's arthritis worsens. Gemma warns Piney against digging up the past with Tara. Potter continues to stir up trouble with the club, informing Otto that Bobby was sleeping with Luanne prior to her death.

As the search for JT's letters continues, it is confirmed that Clay had Jax's father murdered to stop him from ending the gun running arrangement with the IRA. Unser and Gemma are also complicit in that they either knew and/or covered up the "accident".

Eventually, Juice's paranoia about the club's knowing his African-American origins grows to the point that he makes more contacts with Roosevelt, who makes it clear he needs a sample of the cocaine load if Juice wants protection. Juice successfully steals one brick, but he falls asleep before he can take a sample and return the brick, so he must hide it before being discovered. The club learns about the missing cocaine, which causes an internal conflict between SAMCRO and the Mayans, forcing both clubs to test their members to see if they are guilty of stealing the brick. Phil and Ratboy, two of SAMCRO's prospects, fall under suspicion and are subjected to Russian Roulette and other tests of their commitment to the club. Juice, feeling guilty that the prospects are suffering for his mistake, tries to retrieve the brick he stole, but Miles catches him. When Miles tries to take Juice back to the warehouse to reveal the theft, the two fight, and Juice shoots and kills Miles, framing him for the missing drugs.

Romeo arrives at the warehouse and verifies the successful delivery of the cocaine. Clay asks Romeo for help to kill Tara to keep his secret of John Teller's murder hidden. Clay tells Romeo only that Tara has information that could compromise their business.

As the club goes to one of Alvarez's drug laboratories to inspect the operation, they are ambushed and shot by a crew who kills several Mayans and wounds Alvarez. Jax gives chase and learns that the attackers were from the Lobos Sonora Cartel, rivals of the Galindo Cartel. The escalating violence gives SAMCRO members second thoughts, especially Bobby, who calls a vote for a new president and nominates himself. Clay angrily agrees. That night, Juice attempts suicide by hanging himself in a tree, but the branch breaks and he fails.

The following day, the vote for the new president begins with Clay and Tig voting against Bobby, but the vote is interrupted by an attack by the Lobos Sonora on the garage and clubhouse. The Sons manage to catch one of the attackers who, under questioning with truth serum, reveals a possible traitor in the Mayan ranks. The club plans to use the traitor to send false information to the Lobos Sonora, luring them into an ambush. When the plan fails, SAMCRO finds a truck with the beheaded bodies of Mayans and the SAMTAZ President, Armando, further raising tensions over the drug muling.

Jax confronts Piney about his relationship with Clay, confirming once more that he will not follow in his father's footsteps. Feeling cornered by Piney's threat to show the letters to the club, Clay visits Piney at the cabin and demands the letters. When Piney refuses, Clay appears to leave, only to burst back through the door and shoot Piney with his own shotgun, killing him. In an attempt to implicate the Lobos Sonora for the killing, Clay paints in Piney's blood the initials LS on a photo of the First 9.

The club receives information from the Galindo Cartel that suggests the One-Niners are working with the Lobos Sonora, while Clay sets a meeting between the Irish Kings and Galindo for new, high-powered weaponry. The club decides to arrange a meeting with Laroy of the One-Niners, at which the Galindo Cartel appears and a brief fight ensues, but they instead use Laroy as a way to drag the Lobos Sonora's men into a trap. This fails, however, as the Lobos Sonora Cartel members are equipped with destructive explosive weaponry, which they use to escape. When Galindo Cartel member Luis wants to kill the Niners, Jax manages to save them by having the Niners side with Galindo Cartel. At the same time, Luis gives Clay a cellphone for his contact to kill Tara, but Gemma convinces Clay otherwise, and Unser plans to use the blame Clay put on the Lobos Sonora for a new plan. Gemma talks with Tara, who tells Gemma that the letters would put Jax deeper into the club out of guilt, so she won't show them to him. Juice is cornered by Lincoln Potter, who seemingly persuades Otto after knowing that Georgie had an alibi and that Bobby lied to him, letting him know that they have more than enough proof to potentially arrest every charter of the club, but he wants the RIRA.

Jax confronts Clay about letting Bobby know he wants to quit the club and for promising the presidency to Bobby rather than Opie, as was agreed. Clay blames Jax's changes on Tara, and Jax warns him to never insult Tara again. This leads to a talk with Gemma, who assures Clay that Tara won't let Jax read the letters and makes him promise not to hurt Tara. However, Clay later uses the cellphone Luis gave him to contract the hit on Tara. The next morning, Clay takes $25,000 of personal savings to pay the contract to kill Tara, unaware that Jax is going to escort Tara, Abel, and Thomas as she drives to Oregon for a medical conference. When Clay learns this, he desperately tries to call off the hit, but is unsuccessful; Tara is nearly abducted and receives a severe injury to her right hand, which Tara believes is permanent. Clay meets Romeo and tries to end the hit, but Romeo is convinced that Tara is better off dead, and Clay reluctantly agrees.

The club and the Mayans go meet Laroy to contact the Lobos Sonora; however, due to the murders of three One-Niners, Laroy's men gun down a Mayan for being Mexican. This sparks a brief but intense fight that is stopped by Laroy, who demands both clubs leave. Jax tells Opie that he wants to quit the club, which shocks him. Opie tries to convince Jax to stay, but Jax tells Opie to fix his life with Lyla and talk to Piney. Juice is further cornered by Lincoln Potter into informing him of the meeting or risk the RICO act, leaving Roosevelt disgusted with Lincoln.

Gemma is horrified by what Clay has done and confronts him, further angering Clay, who demands she stop. However, Gemma threatens to tell the truth and aims a gun at Clay, which ends in a fight in which Clay is injured and Gemma's face is severely beaten, prompting Clay to sleep at the clubhouse that night. Gemma calls Unser who, given what Clay has done, wants to report him to the authorities, but Gemma tells Unser that Clay is beyond salvation and as such "he will die by the hands of a Son".

The following morning, the club meets with the Galindo Cartel to prepare the weapons for the battle against the Lobos Sonoras' settlement in California. The club and the Galindo Cartel are able to ambush three Sonoras members, who reveal the main camp's location; however, they are faced with landmines, and a shootout ensues, with Kozik getting blown up when he steps on a mine. The club kills most of the remaining Sonoras using RPGs.

Wendy has returned from drug rehab and proclaims to both Tara and Gemma that even though she gave up custody, she wants to get closer to Abel. Wendy wants to get to know Abel and for him to know the truth about her. Tara disagrees saying that she is his mother and has been his mother since Wendy left for rehab. Wendy leaves flowers and her number, telling Tara to tell Jax that she will be in touch. After she leaves Tara loses it and swipes her arm cast to break the vase and continues to scream and smash her injured hand against the table. This causes more injury to her hand and she has to go back into surgery. Otto strikes a deal with Lincoln Potter for information; among the benefits, Original Nine Lenny the Pimp is allowed visitations in exchange for criminal information. The club learns from Oswald that the Katsuki Family, Georgie's Asian investors, had met with Jacob Hale beforehand and are willing to invest in Charming Heights. Bobby, Opie, and Tig confront Georgie about this and, under threat, he confesses that he sent men to attack Luann, but her death was unexpected. The Sons then kill Georgie.

Seeing Gemma's beaten face, Tig shows his disgust towards Clay and gives Clay his "Sergeant-at-Arms" patch, resigning his position. With Unser following, Opie goes to visit Piney, only to find his father dead. Opie confronts Unser, who tells Opie the truth about Clay, further shocking Opie and driving him over the edge.

The Sons meet with the Irish kings. The IRA expresses their discomfort with Jax's decision to use RPGs to rescue Clay during the fight with the Lobos Sonora. They eventually agree to consider the continual sale of heavy weapons, provided the club does them a local service. Meanwhile, Romeo and Clay meet to address the concerns of the Irish regarding their liability should the heavy weapons be used north of the border. Jax, Clay, and Bobby discuss Jax's future with the club, agreeing that Bobby should be named President, Chibs Vice President, and Happy Sergeant-at-Arms. Bobby heads out to inform Otto that Georgie has been finally killed, and he is escorted to an empty receiving room to wait for Otto.

Jax leaves to check in on Tara, only to discover that Wendy has returned to see Abel, and Gemma is trying handle it behind Jax's back. Unser has the local mortician from season one remove Piney's body and bring it to the mortuary for an "after-hours" cremation. Juice is again picked up by law enforcement, this time by the ATF. Jax, Chibs, Tig, and Happy agree to escort one of the Irish Kings to sort out an issue at another one of their American businesses. While there, Jax discovers it is another Irish "baby-factory" similar to the one that Abel was almost adopted from in Northern Ireland, in season three. Jax starts a small riot at the adoption house, leading the Irish King Leland to question his decision making process with Clay.

Jax confronts Wendy, who is still intent on seeing Abel and threatens to see a judge if Jax refuses. When Wendy ends her argument with, "I'm not going anywhere", Jax responds, "I am". Clay proceeds to visit Tara alone in the hospital, where he reveals to Tara that he knows about the letters. He offers a trade, which would allow her, her family, and Jax leave Charming, but threatens her if she doesn't relinquish the letters. On his way out, Clay bumps into Gemma, who alerts him that Opie knows about his father's murder and will soon be coming after Clay. She ends their encounter with a kiss on the cheek, suggesting that she is saying "goodbye" to Clay. Jax then arrives to sort things out between Tara and Gemma, letting Gemma know his plans for leaving. Jax leaves after receiving a mysterious phone call, which we learn summons him to meet Opie at the mortuary.

Otto has finally worked out all of the arrangements in his deal to turn state's evidence and signs the deal. He then sits down with Bobby and reveals his betrayal, as law enforcement leads Bobby out in handcuffs. Bobby is taken to a cell, and we see that Juice is being held in an adjoining cell, biding his time until the RICO sting goes down. Bobby does not notice Juice. Upon arriving at the mortuary, Jax sees Opie, Unser, and a coffin in the crematorium. Unser's intention is to talk to Opie, as requested by Gemma, and tell him there was a mistake and it was not Clay who killed his father. However, Unser does not get the opportunity to talk to Opie and leaves Jax and Opie together in the crematorium. Jax attempts to console an unresponsive Opie, who is holding his father's kutte, which he eventually throws into the flames to burn with his father's remains. After the cremation, Jax walks outside to find out how Piney died, only to have Opie pull a gun on him and divulge that Clay was responsible. Jax suggests this is an issue for the club to decide, and Opie responds by shooting the tire on Jax's bike. Opie then takes off to confront Clay, with Jax trying to catch up. At the clubhouse, a fearful Clay lies in wait. Opie jumps Clay and confronts him with his father's death, forcing him to sit at the head of the table, stating he'll "die at the gavel". Jax rushes in with his gun pointed at Opie, threatening to kill Opie if he doesn't lower his gun. However, Opie opens fire anyway and hits Clay twice in the chest.

Clay is still alive and makes a gasping sound. Opie raises his gun to shoot him again, but Jax shoots Opie in the wrist. Unser and one of the prospects hear the gunshots and come running. They move Clay outside and call the police. Jax tells Opie to go hide out in the cabin until Jax sorts things out. They leave Unser to tell the police and the rest of the gang that Clay was shot by two black men driving a SUV. Clay is taken to the hospital, where he goes into surgery. Jax drives out to Stockton, where he meets with Lenny "The Pimp", who's heard Otto has made a deal with law enforcement. Meanwhile, Tig blames himself for not being there when Clay was shot, and he goes after the Niners for revenge. He tries to run over Laroy but kills the girl who is with Laroy. The Niners chase Tig until Jax and SAMCRO come to save him.

Afterward, Jax meets with the Galindo cartel and tells them about Otto. Romero checks with his people and tells Jax if Otto was snitching, he would have found out, so the meeting with the Irish is still on.

Gemma goes to Tara and tells her the truth about Clay. She convinces Tara to give her the letters so Gemma can give them to Clay in exchange for Tara's safety. Gemma gets the letters and removes those that implicate her and Unser in the death of John Teller. She takes the remaining letters to Jax and urges him to kill Clay and take his rightful place as head of the club. While Jax reads the letters, Gemma waits outside the clubhouse with Unser and tells him what she did, while Tara drives up and asks to speak with Gemma alone. Tara asks Gemma if she gave the letters to Clay, and Gemma stays quiet. Tara reveals she knows about Gemma's plan claiming, "I'm smarter than you and I know Jax better." At this point Jax comes over and tells Tara he is going to kill Clay. Tara says she knows, pulls a needle with blood thinner out of her bag, and tells Jax to inject Clay with it and pull out his chest tube, so it will look like an accident. She tells him to get out of Charming after killing Clay, which he agrees with. Jax leaves, and Gemma asks Tara what she thinks she is doing. Tara replies, "What you taught me. He Jax's mine." Gemma is visibly angered.

As Lincoln Potter is ready to move on his RICO operation, he's called off by Romero Parada and Luis Torres, who are revealed to be CIA agents, whom the government allows to run their cartel so long as they bring others down for political reasons. During the meeting, the Irish King Galaan makes it clear he does not trust Jax and will only deal with Clay. Romero and Luis talk with Jax, reveal their secret of being CIA agents, and instruct him not to reveal it to anybody; they advise they need SAMCRO to run the drugs and weapon supply, otherwise they will allow the RICO operation and crush SAMCRO. Jax visits Clay at the hospital, finally making clear that he read the letters. He does not kill Clay, as Clay's needed alive to deal with Galaan, but Jax does, however, strip him of his position of President and orders him to stay away from Tara and Gemma. Demoted to the status of an unseated member, Clay agrees, knowing that Jax will not listen to his explanation.

Following the halt on the RICO operation, Lincoln Potter gives Roosevelt Juice's cleaned record, seemingly parting ways. Potter bursts into the meeting for Charming Heights and reveals the true colors of Jacob Hale's investors, whom Hale masked as "the Tokyo Fund" but are actually the Natsuki Family, who are heavily involved in sex deals, including pedophilia. This puts a recess on the vote.

Deputy Chief Cane reveals that Laroy's girlfriend, whom Tig killed, is the daughter of Damon Pope, the most powerful gangster in Oakland (hinting at possible retaliation). Jax meets with Opie and confirms his suspicions, but warns Opie they need Clay alive (not revealing all details of the CIA's threat), and asks him to be his Vice President. Opie, still distrustful, does not give a clear answer. Jax returns home to Tara and tells her the truth about the CIA-backed cartel dealings and that he must remain as club president while she leaves with the boys. Jax appears at chapel and announces himself as President. His first act is to name Chibs as his new Sergeant-at-Arms, which Chibs gladly accepts. This happens after Happy, Tig, and Juice enter the chapel and Jax subsequently snubs Tig when he tries to sit at Jax's right. Juice is finally free of his African-American record. When the meeting starts at 8:03 pm, Opie has not shown. Tara enters the chapel, claiming to Jax that she will also remain in Charming, just as Gemma enters. Tara stands behind Jax in his President seat, mirroring a photo of Gemma and John Teller in the same positions.

Cast and characters

Sons of Anarchy is the story of the Teller-Morrow family of Charming, California, as well as the other members of Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club, Redwood Original (SAMCRO), their families, various Charming townspeople, allied and rival gangs, associates, and law agencies that undermine or support SAMCRO's legal and illegal enterprises.

Main cast

• Charlie Hunnam as Jackson "Jax" Teller (14 episodes)
• Katey Sagal as Gemma Teller Morrow (14 episodes)
• Mark Boone Junior as Robert "Bobby Elvis" Munson (13 episodes)
• Dayton Callie as Wayne Unser (12 episodes)
• Kim Coates as Alex "Tig" Trager (14 episodes)
• Tommy Flanagan as Filip "Chibs" Telford (14 episodes)
• Ryan Hurst as Harry "Opie" Winston (13 episodes)
• William Lucking as Piermont "Piney" Winston (9 episodes)
• Theo Rossi as Juan-Carlos "Juice" Ortiz (13 episodes)
• Maggie Siff as Tara Knowles-Teller (14 episodes)
• Ron Perlman as Clarence "Clay" Morrow (14 episodes)

Special guest cast

• Rockmond Dunbar as Lieutenant Eli Roosevelt (12 episodes)
• Ray McKinnon as Assistant U.S. Attorney Lincoln Potter (12 episodes)
• Danny Trejo as Romero "Romeo" Parada (8 episodes)
• Kenny Johnson as Herman Kozik (3 episodes)
• Drea de Matteo as Wendy Case (2 episodes)
• Marianne Jean-Baptiste as Vivica ("Dorylous")
• David Hasselhoff as Dondo ("Brick")
• Sonny Barger as Lenny "The Pimp" Janowitz ("To Be, Act 1")

Recurring cast

Guest stars

• Tom Arnold as Georgie Caruso (2 episodes)
• Randolph Mantooth as Charlie Horse (2 episodes)
• Keith Szarabajka as Victor Putlova ("Out")
• Rachel Miner as Dawn Trager ("With An X")
• Olivia Burnette as Homeless Woman ("Hands")
• Brian Goodman as Huff (Vice President of SAMTAZ) ("Una Venta")

Production

Although Sons of Anarchy is set in Northern California's Central Valley, it is filmed primarily at Occidental Studios Stage 5A in North Hollywood. Main sets located there include the clubhouse, St. Thomas Hospital and Jax's house. The production rooms at the studio used by the writing staff also double as the Charming police station. External scenes are often filmed nearby in Sun Valley and Tujunga.^[2]

Episodes

Reception

Alan Sepinwall stated that the fourth season risked predictability by returning to a successful formula of storytelling, but he nonetheless preferred those episodes to those of season three.^[17] Maureen Ryan reviewed the fourth season positively. She praised the addition of Lincoln Potter (played by Ray McKinnon), comparing the character's quality to that of Breaking Bad's antagonist, Gustavo Fring.^[18] The AV Club called the fourth season more "focused" and "operatic". AV Club reviewer Zack Handlen was fond of the season but felt disappointed with the finale, saying it featured a "lousy case of dictated convenience, of an arbitrary and unbelievable reveal used to shift characters around to where the writers want them to be for next season, as opposed to where they might land organically." However, the review did praise Charlie Hunnam's performance in the finale.^[19][20] TIME said the fourth season was the strongest since season two, but the show needed to end sooner rather than later. TIME also agreed that the finale's contrivances were sometimes too visible, stating "it’s the principle: you can only turn up alive at your own funeral so many times before it starts to lose its impact."^[21]

Home media release

The fourth season was released on DVD and Blu-ray in region 1 on August 28, 2012.^[22]

References

External links

• Sons of Anarchy at FXNetworks.com
• Sons of Anarchy at the Internet Movie Database
• Sons of Anarchy at TV.com