BWW Recap: Multiple Monsters Make Mayhem on SONS OF ANARCHY

When Mary Shelley penned the final words for "Frankenstein," I wonder if she gave any thought to the cultural significance it might have centuries later. Could she have ever fathomed a reality where her story would become part of the literary canon? Did she think that for years, students who had not actually read the book would incorrectly refer to the monster as Frankenstein? Could she have imagined that it would be used as the basis for a fictitious pornographic film?

Episode three opened on a lighthearted note. The SAMCRO boys had taken a break from running amok around Charming, to sit in on the filming of Red Woody's first porn film, "Skankenstein." From the bit we got to see, it seemed like a sci-fi, lesbian romp, and our favorite gang club members were having a wonderful time. However, the glee stopped there.

Via his Twitter, Kurt Sutter promised that someone we loved would die during this episode. I braced myself for the worst. I am absolutely obsessed with Juice (Theo Rossi) and his storyline. I assumed it was him and I wasn't ready.

I am telling you now: there will be blood and there will be SPOILERS. You have been warned. I'm talking to you, JazzyConner.

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Juice doesn't die; at least not in this episode. They dangled that "will they/won't they" moment for most of the episode. Honestly, it's what kept me hanging in there, because the rest of the time was filled with people I only vaguely recognized, consciously didn't care about, or flat out didn't know. So I suppose in the end, Sutter didn't lie. Someone somewhere probably cared about the death of one of the 150 (I'm exaggerating. Don't count) people who were killed this evening.

Jax (Charlie Hunnam) had meetings with everyone. August (Billy Brown) decided to call him out, but he did it in a way that was so suave, it was hard to be offended. He told Jax that their arrangement couldn't work if there wasn't honesty, and that he had to qualms with killing him if he had to. You have to give the man credit. You can't accuse him of not being forthcoming. Through August we see that you can be a killer without being a liar. Jax gave him pretty eyes and assured him that they were seeing eye to eye, but August is clearly not an idiot.

Jax met with various members of the One-Niners, made promises, and then literally shot some of them in the back. He went around town calling everyone "brother," but at this point it doesn't mean anything. There were hugs by day and bullets in the spinal column by night. The sense of family and honor that once seemed so important to Jax, embedded in the word "brother," are fading faster and faster as we countdown to the final episode.

Consulting Investigator Unser (Dayton Callie) met with new Sheriff Althea Jarry (Annabeth Gish) to tell her that he thought he was on the right track to solving Tara's murder. He spoke with much confidence about facts that we know to be lies. Poor guy; I think that beneath his meddlesome façade, he really does just want to do right by everyone.

Brooke (Hayley McFarland) is a minor character who has some back story that's tied to Jax and his family. She was introduced last season as a girl who was pissed at the MC for inadvertently being the cause of her mother's death. I'd forgotten she existed. She's sleeping with Rat (Niko Nicotera), because they're in love or something.

One of the girls from the brothel has a dad who's a jerk that judges what she does for a living, except when he needs some cash. The rule of Chekhov's gun, right? You can't bring up a selfish, opportunistic father figure without having him show up and do something terrible. He did, there was a bit of a skirmish, he called Gemma a "whore queen" and decked her. As a result, Nero (Jimmy Smits) pummeled him, and the cops were called in.

Unser set up a meeting between Juice and Chibs (Tommy Flannagan), and the latter was less than impressed. Juice told him that he wanted to earn his way back, because the club was his family and he didn't have anyone else. Chibs basically told him to blow the back of his head off. Juice got all Bambi eyes and I wept a little. I'm usually Team Chibs, but that was just a wee bit harsh. Just let Bambi come home! Before he left, Juice told Chibs that he loved him. Unser told Chibs that Juice was lost, and Chibs said he knew and that was why he needed to get out of dodge. So the suggestion of killing himself was a ruse, you see. Chibs was pushing him away to protect him. Team Chibs!

Nero was reminded that he was in deeper than he wanted to admit, and later assisted the Mayans in assassinating some of their rivals. He simultaneously seemed at ease and awkward holding the massive gun.

I think that despite SAMCRO's loyalty, they're getting a little worried about Jax's wacky new outlook on life. Bobby told him that they could "slow things down" whenever Jax was ready. The question is: will he ever be ready?

In this reality, who is Frankenstein? We can attach the title of "monster" to several of the characters, but our main concern is obviously Jax. But who birthed this conflicted creature? It would be easy to blame Gemma, but if you've watched from the beginning, there are many tipping points that could've pushed Jax to either side of the spectrum. Does anyone else miss Opie?

Let me know what you thought of the episode in the comments below.

Photo Credit: Michael Becker | FX

Note: this entry has been edited.

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