Sons Of Anarchy Review: “Smoke ‘Em If You Got ‘Em” (Season 7, Episode 6)

Kurt Sutter answered the burning question of whether or not Gemma (Katey Sagal) made it through her “misunderstanding” with Juice (Theo Rossi) very early on in the episode, which allowed the storyline to move right along. Although it must have come as a bit of a disappointment for the legions of Gemma-haters out there that Juice didn’t just put her out of her misery, the writers look to be stretching this secret out all the way to the end.

Obviously, it’ll be much more dramatic if Jax gets the opportunity to confront Gemma face-to-face instead of hearing it later on from someone who he considers to be a traitor (since Juice is the only one besides Gemma that knows who really killed Tara), and never really knowing if it was the truth anyway. Yet, I’m going to admit that nothing about the idea of Gemma meeting any form of Mr. Mayhem, or a similarly tragic end, appeals to me.

Without a doubt Gemma has made some piss poor decisions over the years, but love her or hate her, she hasn’t done anything all that original. Meaning, that if her crime is punishable by death (worse case scenario) or banishment (best case scenario), than she should be in good company. There’s not a single character on SOA that hasn’t done something regrettable over the last six and a half seasons. If anything, maybe Jax should look in the mirror. The apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree when it comes to acting on instinct and letting rage fuel his decisions. Seriously, did he even consider that Gemma was lying about seeing the two Asians leaving his house the night of the murder? No. He went full-speed ahead with his plan to destroy everyone in his way.

Sons of Anarchy has had a few big names fill minor roles this season, adding a little something extra to the already highly anticipated last ride for SAMCRO. Tonight viewers were introduced to Lea Michele’s (Glee) character, Gertie. She plays a waitress who is lucky enough to have Gemma stumble into her section of a middle-of-nowhere diner on her trek back to civilization. It doesn’t appear to be more than a one-night gig for Gertie, since being overly friendly doesn’t seem to gain enough traction to require a repeat performance, but maybe Gemma will stop by for a pep talk in a future episode. She doesn’t seem too particular about who she converses with these days, unless they wear a badge.

Season seven has almost reached its halfway point, and it’s probably a safe bet to predict the death of either Juice or Gemma (or both) before it’s over – depending on where your allegiances lie. Other than theories, Sutter is keeping the hints to a minimum and nothing in this episode was particularly helpful in swaying us either way with so many variables still on the table. Sons of Anarchy continues to make add fuel to the fire, and I can’t wait to see what happens next.