TV Review: Sons of Anarchy, Season 7 Episode 2 – “Toil and Till”

Last week’s premiere of Sons of Anarchy, “Black Widower,” was the most watched program in the history of FX with 9.25 million total viewers, and it ranked as cable’s number 2 scripted series of 2014, just below The Walking Dead (and ahead of Game of Thrones!). Those are some great numbers for the show!

Tonight’s episode, “Toil and Till,” continued with the dark tone that was set last week. Jax is beginning to reveal how he plans on dealing with the story that Gemma has fabricated to explain Tara’s death (and take the blame away from herself). After brutally killing the poor innocent guy from Lin Triad last week, Jax continues with his plan for revenge.

This week we get a better look at what this plan entails. Jax plans to completely unravel Lin. For now he is making sure that no one knows the part that SAMCRO is playing in Lin’s downfall because many fear that a street war will erupt. For now, it looks like that is where things are headed. When questioned about what happened to his vision for the club that consisted of pulling away from this kind of killing, Jax replies, “I don’t have a vision anymore.” It seems that violence has become Jax’s new vision for the club.

The part of the plan that we saw play out this week included Jax seeking out help from another SAMCRO charter, Indian Hills, to exact revenge on the Triad. They worked together to ambush one of Lin’s deals, killing both members and important customers of the Triad and taking all of the cash and product.

Unser began the episode bound and gagged by Juice in the bathtub at Wendy’s apartment. Thankfully, Juice let him go, but first he told Unser that he was hiding from Jax and the rest of the club. Unser’s next stop was his old stomping grounds. The new sheriff in town was introduced as Unser paid her a visit to accept a position as a consultant. He asked for the file on Tara’s murder and this, I suspect, will be important later in the season. I can’t help but wonder if he will end up another of Gemma’s victims if he learns too much.

As for Juice, Gemma gave him a way to escape this episode but, for some reason, he was unable to leave. He is racked by turmoil over the thought of leaving, even though it is the best way for him to save himself.

By far the best parts of this episode were a couple of brief, quiet scenes, where Jax lay alone in bed at his home and when he finally goes to see his children. We get a chance to see a more internal look at Jax’s pain over Tara’s absence in his life. These were some of the most hard-hitting scenes, and it is easier to see that Jax is swimming in grief in these moments, rather than when he is ruthlessly killing.

We were also given a better look at some of Gemma’s grief and guilt over what she did. The ramifications of Tara’s death on Gemma’s family are finally hitting her, and although there is nothing that can be done to undo what she did, it’s nice to see that she’s feeling pain after all of the pain that she has caused.

So far, with just these first two episodes, I’ve found myself nervous for where the season seems to be headed. Jax’s fury is misplaced and it has already brought more death and suffering to people who do not deserve it. Not only is Jax killing those who he feels are responsible for his pain, but he’s also killing anyone else he needs to in order to get his revenge. It doesn’t seem to matter whether they’re involved or not. I can only hope that by the time he realizes he has been misled by Gemma, that too much damage will not have already been done. It seems inevitable, though, that both Jax and his club will be irrevocably changed by their actions this season.

Tune in to FX Tuesdays at 10/9c for the final season of Sons of Anarchy.

All photos used credit to FX Network.