Sons of Anarchy: Season 5, Episode 1 “Sovereign” (B+)
Intense is definitely the right word to describe this show and its latest premiere, which, as tends to be the case with this show, starts off the season strongly with a formidable new villain and more than a few deeply unsettling problems with which the gang will have to contend. The Niners’ ambush and torching of the truck was actually the least of their worries, and they’ve made an unfortunate enemy in Pope, played by Harold Perrineau of “Lost,” who doesn’t tend to play such fierce and evil characters. Forcing Tig to watch his daughter be burned to death as payback for his own daughter’s death was awful, and it’s only going to make things worse since Tig is going to swear vengeance against him. Hopefully Romeo can help smooth things over, but having arrest warrants out for Tig, Chibs, and Jax is going to make that extremely difficult. This is all Clay’s fault, and while watching him slink around slowly with his head held low evokes some sympathy, his continued manipulation of those around him negates it. Confessing to Piney’s murder in front of the club was far from noble, especially since he framed it as if it was self-defense and turned all the blame on Opie for shooting him. When Jax determines he can finally kill Clay, it’s going to be one ferocious execution. It’s good that Gemma has finally left Clay, but she’s extremely out of control, earning the contempt of Tara and making a dangerous but intriguing new friend in Jimmy Smits’ Nero, who should make a fascinating addition to the cast. Tara defiantly putting her kids in day care and smoking with her cast on her arm suggests that she’s come a long way from happiness, and isn’t prepared to let anything ruin that for her. Things don’t look good for Unser either, and I suspect that the body count is just going to get higher each week. Here we go again with what’s sure to be another superb season of this dark, violent show.
