Back to Juicey. He was at Clay’s looking for the documents and coming up empty-handed. That was tense, right? It’d be just like Juice to get caught at that moment. He found a gun that’s clearly special, and no, we’re not supposed to know what it is — yet. (I checked.) Hearing Clay come in, Juice pretended he was there to put away Clay’s dishes — which is actually believable. Clay asked him to sit. He said he doesn’t think he could’ve made it through the last month without him, that he reminds him of what being a brother really is. Clay said he’s made a lot of mistakes and done heinous s—. And now he’s at the point where’s he’s wondering if the s— he’s been chasing is what he even wants anymore. He said he’s exhausted and asked Juice to watch his back. Admit it: You felt slightly bad for Clay.
Gemma showed up then with groceries for Clay so he didn’t live on bourbon and Corn Flakes alone. Of course Juice helped bring in the bags. “You okay?” Clay asked Juice as he left. Then Clay hugged him. Ah. Juice can’t handle this pressure! It reminded me of that time when Gemma told Tara that Juice doesn’t get a lot of positive reinforcement after Tara said Juice had done a good job assisting her with a clubhouse surgery. With Juice gone, Clay came up behind Gemma and touched her shoulders. We all cringed, right? She turned around. He kissed her hand and said, “Thank you.” She looked appropriately scared with water collected under her eyes. He moved in to kiss her. “No… Not here,” she said. “Let’s go home.” (Emmy clip?)
Back at the prison, Tara had returned with the crucifix, which Gemma had retrieved from Luann’s belongings in storage. Otto asked Tara to put it around his neck for a few minutes, next to his heart (which meant under his shirt). Then he asked for a few moments alone, since he hadn’t prayed in a while. At this point, I still thought he was planning his suicide. But oh, was I wrong. He raised the bed and called for the nurse and orderly, claiming he was ready to go back to his cell. The orderly freed one of his hands, preparing to take him back to the guard. Tara came in and told them she wasn’t done. That’s when Otto made his move. He knocked out the orderly and then the nurse. Then he tore off the crucifix as he crouched over the nurse’s body. “Please. Don’t,” Tara begged. “Sons live. Redwood bleeds,” he said, then stabbed the nurse with the crucifix in the neck repeatedly. Blood splattered and gushed. Tara just kept screaming “Nooo!” until two guards finally came in and pulled Otto away. How’s she gonna explain how he got the crucifix, I wondered. It hadn’t yet hit me that Otto was trying to take Tara down.
As for Jax, he remained blissfully unaware for a bit. He had time to apply more pressure to Juice, who asked what happens to Clay when he finds the document(s). “The same thing that happens to you if you don’t find it,” Jax said. He also offered a bit of comic relief with Unser, whose response to Jax saying he’d expect some labor in exchange for the Airstream space was, ”I’ll work on my pole dancing.”
And cut to a woman trading her body. Gemma was back at her house with Clay, sitting on their bed. Clay admitted he was surprised he was there after all he’d done. The only good that came out of the chaos he created, he said, was that it showed him the only thing he cares about is her. He told her he didn’t want to be there unless it’s really what she wants — because he can’t handle losing her twice. I believed him, but it doesn’t mean I think she should take him back. But Gemma had to go through with the plan. She kissed him. That was a fairly brilliant way to make that happen — Clay was kind enough that it wasn’t totally repulsive; Gemma knew she was hurting him in the long run.
Over at Jax’s house, Eli was waiting outside to find out where Juice was. Eli told Jax not to compare their guilt. ”Hey brother, once you cross the line there is no comparing,” Jax said. “There’s just that side of the line.” Jax said he’d take care of Juice. Eli told Jax he knows Clay is behind his wife’s death and doesn’t want him delivered to him like Frankie was — dead. Jax said they have a common goal again, and he’s open to suggestions on how to handle Clay. Inside, Tara sat at the table smoking weed. She told Jax what Otto had done: He’d saved the club because they’ll have to throw out his testimony now that he’s killed a nurse, but he also needed to hurt Jax by hurting someone Jax loves. They’re gonna find out who Tara is, why she was there at the prison, and know Tara gave Otto that crucifix. He was framing her (and, presumably, speeding up his death sentence again).
Now back to those final lines.
Jax: Babe, I’m not gonna let that happen. Okay. We’re gonna get through this like we do everything else.
Tara: [She leans in.] That’s what scares me the most. [They kiss.]
Your turn. Where do we go from here?
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