The third season of FX's gritty drama, "Sons of Anarchy," premiered last Tuesday, knee-deep in the aftermath of the previous season's finale.
A drama based loosely on Hamlet, "Sons" features father-son relationships as one of its central themes.
In the past, the show focused on hero Jackson "Jax" Teller (Charlie Hunnam) and his dead father, a founder of a motorcycle club called the Sons of Anarchy. This season, Jax is left reeling after an Irish gun-runner kidnaps his 8-month-old son, Abel.
The motorcycle gang operates in the fashion of a tribal hierarchy. The bearded, leather-clad men are not all rebels, and they show touching understanding and support for Jax's grief.
Part of the show's attraction is the portrayal of this exclusive and all-encompassing brotherhood. Much of the premiere follows the gang in pursuit of the kidnapper's trail.
The character-based drama's dark humor has in the past relieved the dire seriousness that could otherwise overwhelm the show. The premiere, though, largely lacked this comic relief.
With the heavy theme of a missing child weighing down the entire episode, the show runs the risk of losing the other dimensions and plotlines that won so many viewers during its first two seasons. With the looming plotline of an innocent baby's kidnapping, the rest of the show almost becomes inconsequential — and would be entirely muted if it weren't for solidly fascinating characters.
For a new viewer, the season premiere could be very difficult to follow plot-wise, and the characters may appear deceptively simple. As Katey Sagal proves, however, there is more to the characters than first meets the eye.
Sagal stars as Jax's mother, Gemma, a tough-as-nails female leader of the Sons of Anarchy. Last season ended with Gemma raped and framed for murder. Now on the run, she lives under the protection of some of the Sons. After stabbing a man in the groin, even she admits that she seems to be operating on partial sanity.
More facets of Gemma's character emerge when she reunites with her father (Hal Holbrook), who suffers from dementia. The drama becomes palpable when the indestructible biker babe cries and calls the white-haired man, "Daddy."
Though some aspects of the plot seem familiar or even clichéd, the characters' complexities and a sense of unwavering loyalty make the show's minor flaws tolerable. Evocative and dramatic relationships punctuate the episode, making it easy to keep watching, although the episode does drag at times.
The relationship between Jax and his girlfriend, Dr. Tara Knowles (Maggie Siff), strains dangerously under the pressure of Abel's kidnapping and Jax's debilitating guilt. Jax struggles to find his place in the world of the Sons, and similarly, Tara finds herself questioning her life at the hospital.
Jax's stepfather, Clay (Ron Perlman), also has an intriguing relationship with the main protagonist. Unexpectedly insightful, he calls Jax out on his feverish pursuit of Abel's kidnapper at one point in the episode, accusing Jax of looking to either kill his son's murderer for revenge Perlman's effortless tough-guy coolness provides excellent entertainment and is yet another facet that draws viewers deeper into the show.
"Sons" delivers all the violence one would expect from a show about a motorcycle club with an emblem that depicts a skeleton branded with an anarchy symbol and holding a bloody glaive. Yet the gore and brutality continually find their match in the emotionally rich relationships.
If the rest of the season follows the premiere's lead, viewers' patience with heavy pacing and mournful atmosphere will be rewarded by intriguing relations, morally ambiguous but likeable characters and all the gruesome intensity of an outlaw motorcycle club.
If you want drama, rock and roll, bikes and beatings, then tune in to FX on Tuesday at 10 p.m.
