If Clay survives, and improbably remains in power, I will continue to worry about Opie, because we're now past the point where these two can co-exist around that table. But if Opie's on the way out, Sutter is giving him an incredibly memorable, howling final lap. And if he actually did get to be the one to put Clay down, then I can think of no character on the show more deserving of the job.
And Sutter himself continues to do great work as Otto. He's only acted on screen in this role and as
Margos (a largely silent role) on "The Shield," but we're now at the point where I'd be curious to see him try to act as a hired gun, the way John Cassavetes would do the occasional mainstream movie like "The Fury" to help pay for his independent films. Sutter doesn't need the money to subsidize "Sons," which is FX's flagship show, but what he's showed in terms of screen presence makes me curious to see if it can translate when it's not a role on a show where he's either in charge or a prominent producer.
Like Hurst, he's not in much of the episode - really just the sarcastic, weary scene with Potter and then his meeting with Bobby - but he also makes every moment count. Otto is, like Opie, a victim of Clay's management style. He's suffered terribly for his loyalty to the club - so much that he's trying to move his execution date up, rather than live an extra day as a nearly-blind, isolated, miserable, betrayed widower - and even as he confronted Bobby, it wasn't with a tone of smug satisfaction, but regretful commiseration. He's punishing Bobby for the betrayal with Luann, but he can also empathize with what Bobby's about to go through as the club's new man inside.
And speaking of which, the apocalyptic tone of this season continues with those final scenes. Bobby is now tied to a bunch of crimes courtesy of Otto. Juice is in the next cell, having given up the location and time of the meeting between the cartel and the Irish Kings and not in any kind of position to stop it (or even ensure that close friends like Jax and Chibs stay away from it). And where the club could hustle Stahl because she was acting largely alone, Potter is working in concert with lots and lots of people on the local and federal level. Clay's murder of Piney is out in the open, and either he's dead or the club is going to have a messy dispute to figure out. And Jax is planning to leave town forever the day after tomorrow.
If this were the final season, this would feel about right. But it's not. We know Jax isn't going to Oregon, that the club's not going to disband, and that there will need to be enough bodies to sit around that table come the start of season 5.
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Originally Posted by jerseydevil
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