'Sons of Anarchy' season 6 premiere review: Appallingly violent
"Sons of Anarchy" is a drama full of adrenaline with darkly comedic undertones that explores a notorious outlaw motorcycle club's desire to protect its livelihood while ensuring that their simple, sheltered town of Charming, Calif., remains exactly that, charming. Credit: Fox / FX Entertainment TV
With the first anniversary of the Newtown shootings three months away, the horror of that day remains fresh, but until tonight, TV has mostly pretended nothing ever happened. The on-screen mayhem continues. So, why of all shows, is "SOA" the one to break the embargo? I'd like to think it's to confront that monkey on its back. "SOA," typically among TV's bloodiest hours, has long been implicated in America's culture of violence -- that images, as well as actions, may have real-world consequences. Asked about the opening episode at the recent press tour, creator Kurt Sutter said, "There is a lot of blood and guts in my show, [but] nothing is done gratuitously." In this instance, it eventually becomes clear the kid got the gun from SAMCRO, which speaks to the larger paradox that Jax has long puzzled over: Can he be a good father to his kids yet also a murdering thug? (Amazing that we know the answer, but he doesn't.)
How to gauge "SOA" this or any season is tough. The acting is first-rate, and so is the writing, but the violence is appalling, and not just appalling, but creatively appalling. Tuesday night's hour is pretty much what you'd expect, but I'd also like to think that this genuinely smart show, which wraps next season, is offering a larger moral: That no one and nothing exist in a vacuum. Not even TV shows.
