Sons of Anarchy is a hard show to grade. If you've reached season 5, you know what the show is about and have accepted its faults (it has plenty of them). Basically, if you've reached this far, you are at the point to where if you find it enjoyable, it's a good show. And that's where I'm at.
If I tried to critique and analyze this show (which I will anyway), the show falls apart. If you expect these characters to do logical things, the show falls apart. (That's not entirely fair. Certain characters do logical things; others do thing based on the needs of the plot). It reminds me of the latter seasons of Dexter except it it is far more interesting, better-acted, and less reliant on its star. By that I mean that most of the plots spring up by some illogical character action, plot hole, or nonsensical shit. But it's usually less obvious than Dexter about it so you can really ignore it if you want to.
You cannot take this show too seriously. I didn't count, but nearly every episode had a car chase and a gunfight (where like one person gets shot in close range). It's that kind of show. Sometimes it manages to be deeply affecting, shocking, or sad. It usually depends on how much you care about the character (or how well-written the character is in the case of Clay Morrow).
Sons of Anarchy is a somewhat infuriating show though because it sometimes seems capable of so much more. Season 5 is the best season since the second season and it still doesn't really come close. But it's still damn entertaining. And I have to admit that if each season leads up to a season finale as satisfying as this one was, well I will keep enjoying this show.
The really confusing part of this season was the fact that it felt like a lot of the early episodes were filler. That's confusing because Sutter went overboard on the last four episodes making them 60 minutes! Seriously, I loved the final four episodes, but I see no reason why they couldn't have replaced some of the crap in the early parts of the season. Shedding about 72 minutes off the show would have helped it, not hurt it.
It's much better to ignore a character then give them a shitty story. That's basically what they did for Gemma and Tara in the first eight or so episodes. They were a drag on this season with just about the same exact storyline they've been repeating for the previous four seasons. And then they finally gave both characters meaningful things to do, which of course Katey Segal and Maggie Siff nail. The beginning of their stories in this season prevents me from unequivocally loving this season. Like I said, they could have easily avoided this by shedding some time. Sons is a show that I think would benefit from a tight schedule
Alright this is where spoilers in this review will come so if you haven't seen season five, and honestly why are you reading this at all if you haven't, stop reading now. Ok with that necessary warning out of the way, I'll continue the rest of the review.
While I may complain about its faults, there are things I loved about this season. I loved Jackson Teller's transformation into being a despicable, terrible person. While Jax will not exactly be compared to Walter White or Tony Soprano as an anti-hero, he's still a pretty interesting and well-written character. I have bought his gradual decline as a human being. The actions around him that have pushed him to this point seem like good reasons why his character (as in qualities of an individual) would deteriorate.
A season after being a caricature of a human being, I loved Clay Morrow's return as a fully formed character who the audience sympathizes with. I'm not sure his plans to destroy the club really make sense, but Ron Pearlman sells it. Gemma and Juice's betrayal of Clay made his cop-out non-death last season worth it. I had to remind myself that Clay deserved every bit of this when he's arrested, because it's almost impossible not to feel terrible for the guy in that scene.
The two big guest stars, story-wise, were both amazing characters and featured great acting. Harold Perrineau, as Damon Pope, is magnetic and cool. I never would have imagined him playing a believable crime lord after Lost. But he pulls it off and is actually the best part of some of the episodes. Another great guest star is Jimmy Smits as Nero Padilla. His integration into the club was messy in my opinion, but they took the character in a place I didn't expect. I'm looking forward to seeing him in the new season.
Theo Rossi as Juice is a damn good actor. I can't honestly say he's well-written as a character and yet I didn't want him to die at all and a lot of tension happened for my fear of his death. Kim Coates as Tig stands out for two scenes. The scene where his daughter is burned alive was played strangely. I don't mean that in a good way either. The other scene was when Jax betrayed Tig at the end. He played that perfectly. That's what makes the other scene strange, because I know Coates is a good actor. The last actor I'll specifically mention as standing out is Tommy Flanagan as Chibs even though you can't really understand him. (I guess I should mention Dayton Callie as Unser who's always great)
Overall, I thought the first eight or so episodes veered wildly between great and annoying. Then it's like a light switch clicked and the show became a different show. It became what the potential for this show is. This could have been a season-long thing honestly if they just cut down on the minutes. The show is unnecessarily lengthy when there were scenes that should have been cut and stories that should have been dropped. (Ex: Though it finally led somewhere in the finale, Wendy Teller wanting custody of her kids just failed entirely as a compelling story. I could not give a fuck less about her or Abel honestly)
But hey, Sons is about extremes. You rarely feel indifference about this show. You either love it or you hate it. And I'm pretty sure that's what Kurt Sutter is going for. Obviously he wants you to love it, but he probably would rather you feel emotion at all than nothing. And he succeeds on that point.
Overall, Season 5 does what Sons of Anarchy does best more often than it does what Sons of Anarchy does worst. Then there's that kickass finale, which nearly redeems the horrible storylines and just elevates the entire season on its own. I'm knocking this down for the first eight episodes though. I'm listing my grades for each season including a revised one for Season 3 which was too generous.
Season 1 - A-
Season 2 - A
Season 3 - B-
Season 4- B
Season 5 - B+
Hopefully, Season 6 continues the upward trend?
Playlist (Rap-less for first time)
1. "Self Esteem" - Offspring
2. "Lit Up" - The National
3. "Young Blood" - The Naked and the Famous
4. "Unforgettable" - Nat King Cole ft. Natalie Cole
5. "Secrets" - One Republic
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