The Liquid Courage Show

Show #11 - Bernheim Original Kentucky Straight Wheat Whiskey Review & Sons of Anarchy - “Capybara” (S1:E11)

• The Bourbon Bros. • Episode 11

Share episode

In show #11 of The Liquid Courage Show Podcast, Ken is unable to locate a single bottle of Buffalo Trace Bourbon in the state of Pennsylvania, so they boys call an audible and review their first non-bourbon whiskey, Bernheim Original Kentucky Straight Wheat Whiskey. Join them for their review of this straight wheat whiskey from Heaven Hill Distillery before moving into their discussion of Sons of Anarchy, Season 1, Episode 11, “Capybara.”    


Email your questions to: ask@bourbonbros.tv
Links to Website, YouTube Show & Social: https://www.bourbonbros.tv/links

Want to stream episodes of the Sons of Anarchy?  All episodes are currently available on Hulu: https://bit.ly/HuluSOA

Intro Music: Free Music & Free Beer by Alex (c) copyright 2012 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license.

Ken:

I was reading that second one. I'm like there's my Wait a minute. There is no way cameras gunshot had any business being clicked the storyline of this up what did I miss? I didn't even go to the restroom during this.

Jon:

Welcome in We are the bourbon brothers. And this is the liquid courage. kit. It is officially winter it's cold outside, which for me means low 60s. I think it's a fair bit colder for you. But it's the perfect weather for a little whiskey and Sons of Anarchy. When you agree,

Ken:

I would definitely agree it is really bone chilling cold outside. So looking forward to this.

Jon:

As we head into the final episodes of season one things are heating up. Pun intended. And I'm excited to get into tonight's discussion. Of course, let me officially welcome in my co host broadcasting from the basement at Heinz Field. Ken, how are you doing tonight?

Ken:

I'm doing great. How about yourself? Yeah, it's pretty, pretty close to Huntsville, not quite as large. But uh, I'm here doing my thing.

Jon:

I figured if we say that enough, people will eventually start asking. Just can really broadcast from Heinz Field.

Ken:

Yeah. So I'm good with that.

Jon:

I think we just get that going.

Ken:

Yeah. Good plan.

Jon:

You're certainly there enough?

Ken:

Yeah. Yeah. Well, not not this year.

Jon:

Yeah. Not this year. True. And why? Because Tom Jones is playing what's new Pussycat, 21 times in a row

Ken:

everywhere, and the volume is dialed way up.

Jon:

Now I know every week I talk about how excited I am for the show. But tonight is especially exciting, because it is our first show where we will not be reviewing a bourbon.

Ken:

That's right.

Jon:

Now, for those of you the all four of you that may have watched last week's show, you might remember that at the end, we said we announced that we would be doing Buffalo Trace Kentucky straight bourbon tonight. And yet here I am saying we're not doing a bourbon. Now, we'll share in just a few minutes what we are drinking tonight. But a quick disclaimer. Apparently, the entire state of Pennsylvania is sold out of Buffalo Trace.

Ken:

Can't find it none to be had.

Jon:

And we we basically announced it in last week's show because we assumed Buffalo Trace would not be a hard thing to find. It's pretty widely available. We were wrong. So we have something else we're calling an audible. And again, if you if you have or went out and purchase Buffalo Trace and wanted to join us tonight, we apologize. Keep it on the shelf. We are going to do Buffalo Trace. It just won't be tonight. And who knows. Maybe we introduce you to something new that you can add into your collection. I think we got a good one for tonight.

Ken:

I'm looking forward to it. All right.

Jon:

So before we reveal it, let's do a little quick housekeeping. If you're new to the show, The format is simple. First, we kick things off with a tasting and discussion of a spirit. It's usually a bourbon but it's not tonight, and we will continue to enjoy that spirit throughout the remainder of the show. As for the remainder of the show, we're going to focus on a specific episode of a favorite television series, where we start with the pilot and we work our way through episode by episode to the series finale. Tonight, we're going to be discussing season one, Episode 11 of Kurt Sutter's Sons of Anarchy, and the episode is titled Canberra. For those of you that are listening via our podcast, if you like the show, please leave us a five star rating and a glowing review. And make sure you subscribe so you don't miss a single show. Also, if you do prefer a visual medium, and you're just curious to see what our ugly mugs look like, we also publish the show in three parts on YouTube. And we have faces for radio people. Let me tell you, also, we want to hear from you send us your praise your questions, your hate comms, let us know how we're doing what you like what you dislike, and what you'd like to see more of you can email your questions to us at ask at bourbon Bros. That's br Oh s.tv. And if your question doesn't suck, we might even answer it on a future show. fact we've got two questions we'll be answering tonight. And with that out of the way can I'm not going to ask yet what we're drinking instead I'm going to ask what is this box I've received? So you received the box. I received the box and I did receive strict instructions not to open the box right you'll notice the box is open. Okay? Because I didn't realize it was the box And I opened it. And then I went, wait a minute, I think this is the box. And so I've not actually looked at anything inside.

Ken:

Okay. Perfect. Well, it's all a mystery. Well, we did a holiday show. I don't know if anyone had the opportunity to see that. But it that time my holiday gifts not yet arrived, or it wasn't complete. So this is what that is.

Jon:

Ahh... This is the holiday gift.

Ken:

This is the holiday gift. Now is any good gift you would do. I was so infatuated with this gift that I decided to also partake of the same go.

Jon:

So purchase one for yourself. That's a sign of a really good gift it

Ken:

is so I have such box said box here. So I'm gonna let you go ahead and open this. Well, I did the same. Okay. All right.

Jon:

Is there any order to this? So I've got an envelope here.

Ken:

Okay, yeah, I don't think that's really important. Okay. I would just rip it in the box here. I'm gonna do the same.

Jon:

All right. All right. Whoo. Oh, look at that. Look at that. If you can't tell that is our bourbon brothers logo etched in the glass. That is beautiful. You like we've got merge kin? Yes. And you know, I, I actually have been needing a new glass and I'll tell you why. Okay, I turned you on to the clear ice mold.

Ken:

Yes, you did.

Jon:

The clear ice wall. It's a beautiful thing. The whiskey glass that I have been using since we started this show is just small enough to where I can't fit my clear ice cube in the glass. So every time we do the show, I have to take a knife and shave down the corners to get it to fit in the glass. And I'm just looking at this. That is no longer going to be a problem, my friend.

Ken:

Excellent. I'm glad that problem was solved.

Jon:

This is beautiful. Thank you very much.

Ken:

Oh, you're welcome. I'm glad it finally arrived. And I happy to have this for my collection as well. So with that said, How about we we introduced the beverage that we selected for this week to replace what cannot be obtained to Pennsylvania? Currently.

Jon:

Yes. So what is the non bourbon we're drinking tonight Ken?

Ken:

Well, the non bourbon that we're going to be drinking is Bernheim original is a weighted whiskey.

Jon:

Bernheim original weeded whiskey. So do me a favor and put on a nice display of that bottle for all four of our fans that are watching. So off all four of our fans,

Ken:

this is what we will be partaking in. I've had this for a while I haven't opened it. I've been saving it. And we'll be opening tonight.

Jon:

For better or for worse can you're probably going to hate me for all of the bottles you're going to have to open for the sake of the show.

Ken:

Yeah, you know, it's hard for me to open up such a word of art like this. I mean, it's this is how it came, you know,

Jon:

I mean, yeah. And the the cap and the way that they cover the top of it. It's just, it's classy,

Ken:

like Yeah, it is. It's got a little tag on here. You can read about probably the the distillery and the drink. Now I'll leave that for a later time.

Jon:

Although technically not a bourbon, and we'll talk a little bit about why it is a whiskey. And I'm a I'm a big fan of this one. So I'm glad we're doing it. Why don't you start getting that open so we can get to drinking said whiskey and while you do I'll go through kind of the quick facts on this. So again, as you said it is the Bernheim original wheat whiskey. I believe the price points about 25 to 30 bucks sometimes you can get it on I think I found it on sale for about 22 bucks. Classification it is a wheat whiskey. This comes out of heaven Hill, which we feature some of their other bourbon so this is this is out of heaven Hill distillery release dates on going 90 proof whiskey. It's been aged seven years. It smells really good. And the mashbill on this is 51% wheat and then 49% of a proprietary mix of corn and malted barley, okay. And on the website, the way they explain this whiskey is Bernheim, original Kentucky straight wheat whiskey is the first truly new variety of American straight whiskey introduced since prohibition. Bernheim is also the first whiskey to use winter wheat as its primary grain, created a soft, sweet flavor and medium finish. Okay. So I think that's enough pomp and circumstance. Let's, let's raise a glass and give this a taste. All right,

Ken:

I am ready. All right.

Jon:

Cheers.

Ken:

Cheers. Definitely a smooth finish.

Jon:

That's really nice.

Ken:

That's full bodied all around. That's, that's really work of art. It.

Jon:

It, it's interesting, you definitely get a different flavor profile, then a lot of the Bourbons that we've been reviewed on the show, but in terms of finding something that won't break the bank, and it changes things up. It's an it's a, it's both very good. And it's an interesting and different flavor profile. But it's fantastic.

Ken:

Oh, it's great.

Jon:

And I know you tend to prefer Bourbons with a higher corn ratio in the mashbill. The wheat obviously also provides a bit of a sweeter profile, but that comes through on this you can def initely taste that sweetness,

Ken:

I noticed is still sweet. It's still very sweet. I was wondering where that was coming from. So...

Jon:

Yeah, that winter wheat that they use definitely brings that sweetness. It's not overly sweet. It doesn't have kind of that syrupy sweetness that you'll sometimes get with sweeter whiskies. Very nice. I also don't get that the heat.

Ken:

Right, I don't, not overly heated,

Jon:

You know, a lot of times, especially that initial sip, you know, we'll often kind of jokingly say, it burns clean. I really had no burn at all on this. Right. Very little. it yet. I still wouldn't say that it tasted weak or watered down. The flavor is there. It just, it's very smooth.

Ken:

This is really impressive. This is this is up there and one of my favorites.

Jon:

Yeah, I was actually at a whiskey bar in Chicago. And there was a bartender there great bartender. I was asking if they had some specific Bourbons. And I think through some of the questions I was asking about Bourbons that that they had there. I think his assumption was that I knew a little something about bourbon. And so he started pulling things out for me to try. And the Bernheim was one of the ones he pulled out. And up until that point I had never had it wasn't familiar with it. And keep in mind, I had been tasting a lot of a lot of Bourbons, a lot of different Bourbons, I had been tasted a lot of Bourbons that were far more expensive. And the moment I tasted the Bernheim, it was noticeably striking in how good it was. And he said, and yes, you can get it for 25 to 30 bucks. And that's what I immediately went and bought one. And that was what I immediately texted you with a photo and said, Go find this and buy it you won't be disappointed.

Ken:

Well, the flavor profile was incredible. I thank you for the recommendation. I'm going to enjoy this tonight.

Jon:

And if if any of our four fans that might be watching. If you're not familiar with this, definitely look for it pick it up. We'd love to have you leave your thoughts in the comments, but I don't think you'll be disappointed. A little bit of background and history as we you know to use as an excuse to sit here and enjoy a little bit more Bernheimer. The name Bernheim comes from the Bernheim Bernheim distillery in Louisville, Kentucky. Wheat whiskey was actually the original whiskey of the United States. There were hundreds of distilleries in New York State, long before kind of the Whiskey Rebellion. And bourbon, fad kind of took over. The use of corn and the advent of bourbon was something that happened long after the wheat and rye whiskey had taken root in American culture. So it's actually older than bourbon. And unlike rye whiskey, wheat, whiskey did seem to die out as a category until recently and it's kind of been seeing a resurgence. So the rise whiskies have kind of had that stain power and have always been around but the wheat whiskies kind of kind of what kind of went away, and recently have come back. And you'll, as we're sitting here tasting and I'll give you a description, and I'm interested to get your take, I find this to be very true. It says that we gives the whiskey a softer taste than bourbon. And the wheat whiskey has sweet aromas of vanilla and honey, along with some flavors of toffee, berries and spice with a little bit of fresh mint is kind of how they describe the flavor profile. I don't know if I necessarily get all of that, but I will say it definitely has a softer taste than bourbon.

Ken:

I will say it's softer. I taste the vanilla, the coffee. I don't I don't pick up the berries. Not Not even a mint so much. But yeah, I'll trust them on that.

Jon:

Yeah, I don't think my palate is quite sophisticated enough to pick that up either. This is now a seven year old whiskey. And they only started releasing the seven year Bernheim a few years ago back in 2014. So when heaven Hill first started getting back into we did whiskey and they launched the Bernheim. It was not a seven year old but they've now had had enough age to where they could go into a seven year. And I believe that that's what they're offering now. And although it's made with wheat, corn and malted barley, right all grain it is gluten free.

Ken:

Is it?

Jon:

...which I found interesting.

Ken:

Well, this is great. My mother in law might like that, because she's all about gluten free. So...

Jon:

Well. There you go.

Ken:

So let me ask the question, what what makes this particular Bernheim? We did whiskey different than other whiskies and Bourbons.

Jon:

Okay, so yes, I don't know that we've actually featured one on a show yet, but we there we've obviously seen and I've run across we did Bourbons. Actually, we did larceny.

Ken:

That's right,

Jon:

that's right bourbon. And we reviewed that on the show. Show number six as a matter of fact. So the difference between a weeded bourbon like a larceny and now that we're saying that I do get a little there is some some familiarity between Bernheim and larceny...

Ken:

Yeah, some similarities there. Now that you mentioned it.

Jon:

But larceny even though it is a weeded bourbon, it still meets all the requirements to be a straight bourbon whiskey meaning 51% corn. That's right. Even though it is considered a weighted bourbon, it is still using 51% corn, and then they substitute, obviously a smaller amount of wheat and place of rye. Whereas a weighted whiskey like the Bernheim that we're drinking tonight is 51%. Wheat. They've actually so the so instead of the main ingredient being corn, this is actually the main ingredient is wheat, which is why it does not classify as a bourbon. Okay, gotcha. Instead of wheat whiskey.

Ken:

Okay. There you have it.

Jon:

So before we kind of move into our discussion of Sons of Anarchy, should we hit the old mailbag with a couple of questions that didn't suck?

Ken:

Yeah, let's do it as long as they don't suck. Alright,

Jon:

so the first one is actually a great question. And it is a question that has prompted a change in how we publish the show. So Matt w asks, I've been watching every show on YouTube. Thank you, Matt. That's obviously one of the coveted for. So I've been watching every show on YouTube, but the explanations at the beginning of every show is getting a bit repetitive. Are these still necessary? Now? That's an excellent question. Great question. And I'm gonna be honest, Matt. It's getting a little repetitive doing the explanations at the beginning of every show, but we never know when fan number five may discover us and we don't know what show it'll be. And we do think our format is is unorthodox enough to require a little bit of context. So we do think having that explanation for somebody that is new to the show is helpful, but we get it. If this is the 11th liquid courage show that you're watching, I get you don't want to have to go through that again, you already know the drill. So what we've done is added to every video, including the ones that we've already published, we've made this retroactive where you can skip the opening, which is the splash screen of the bourbon brothers and the liquid courage show with the music. You can skip that and get right to us talking. And you can skip our introduction and explanation and jump right to our discussion. So if you're already familiar with the show, and you want to skip all of that, you now have the ability to do so. You'll see that in the timeline of the video. And if you go into the detailed description of the video, you'll see links to skip those sections. And again, apologies to those of you that are listening to the audio version of the podcast. I don't have a way to do that with the podcast version of the show yet. And if I figure out a way to do so I will let you know. But for those watching the show on YouTube, you can now skip those introductions and explanations. Great answer. So thank you, Matt, for for not only the question, but bringing it to our attention so that we could actually address it and make it a little easier for you to watch the show. Right. And then Randy t asks, I recently discovered your show, and I'm loving it. Thank you, Randy, we appreciate that. Do you guys review any other series? And where do I find them? So...

Ken:

Great question.

Jon:

Yeah, it I immediately notice Ken's reaction when I read that question, because Ken has been saying for a while now that we should do number one more than just one show. And I think your your primary argument has been a newer show that one that aired 12 years ago.

Ken:

Yeah, that's correct. I mean, it's quite enjoyable. I still love it. But this is not a new show. So having one that's more current, there might be some some additional followers that we could maybe hit home with that would appreciate that. I don't know what if anyone has any suggestions, please feel free to send those. Send them on over to ask it Urban bros.tv VRS. And we'll add that for consideration.

Jon:

Yeah, I mean, the the idea to do this show came from you know, this is what Ken and I do, and we get together. And I love talking about great shows. And so look, Ken and I have talked about this at length, there are far far more good shows that we could we could do this for then we have time. Oh, yeah. So there are lots of great shows out there. Some have already been done by others. There are other review podcasts out there for some shows. But I get it when you're a fan. You want to be able to dig in and break down a show and get other people's opinions and understand things that maybe you missed or didn't understand. We love that too. So as Ken said, if you have a show you love and you've not been able to find other people out there doing something like what we're doing and you think that that we should cover it, let us know. We're absolutely open to those suggestions and and we'd love to take on another show that we know there's demand for green. All right, let's get into tonight's discussion of Sons of Anarchy, Season 1, Episode 11, titled Capybara. Interesting title, Ken.

Ken:

Yeah, is it? Is it Capybara or Capybara? Or how do we know for sure?

Jon:

I don't. I think it is capybara. If I'm not mistaken. I think I did go and listen to the pronunciation. I was not familiar with the capybara.

Ken:

I was not either, but it's a perfect name for this episode.

Jon:

Educate us Ken. What is a capybara?

Ken:

I believe it's the world's largest rodent. And it's based out of South America somewhere, right?

Jon:

That is correct. That is correct

Ken:

So a big big rat, right?

Jon:

Big rat? Yes. So what could that mean? In this episode can

Ken:

Well i think what could it I think you're about to find out. I don't want to spoil it so early.

Jon:

Alright, so fair enough. The original Airdate on this episode was November 12 2008. Ken, with this close to reaching 2009 Yeah,

Ken:

it's in striking distance.

Jon:

This episode was written by Kurt Sutter and Dave Erickson. And should I go ahead and give a quick synopsis? Yeah,

Ken:

let's do that.

Jon:

All right. And again, I always feel much like trailers. I feel like oftentimes you watch the trailer and it feels like you've seen the entire movie. That's how I feel. Sometimes when I read some of the the publisher synopsis, they just give so much details. I've pulled a lot of that back, because that's obviously why we're here. We're going to talk about the episode so we're gonna tease it a little bit. So the synopsis is the modified synopsis. Although luann has been released from ATF custody, the ATF does raid the samcro clubhouse, and they arrest Bobby for murder. We'll get into that. Opie, meanwhile, is nowhere to be found. Though. Our good friend juice brings some evidence to clay and TIG that Opie may have turned state's evidence. Hmm. Jax, who is skeptical of the evidence believes agent stall is to blame. Deputy Chief Hale takes issue with stall as well. Install shows Hale how much she cares for him. stall then tries to scare Donna into turning state's evidence. And after Opie is released from Cassidy, he returns to the club to set the record straight. While TIG goes out in the parking lot to play exterminator. Well, chicken clay decide they want to take their turn in the star chamber. For anyone that might have familiarity with the 80s movie titled The star chamber, you'll get that obscure reference. And if you don't Google it, Jackson's ex wife Wendy returns to charming and Gemma decides it's time to cozy up with Wendy. So, again, I don't want to get into all the details because we got all of that coming. But But Ken, what were your overall impressions of this episode?

Ken:

Yeah, I mean, those that's was good teasers of what we're about to get into. I mean, he didn't dive too deep into all the points there. But I enjoyed this episode. I don't think it's the best one I've seen so far. But it I think it sets us up for what's about to come.

Jon:

Yes. And again, we're only a few episodes left from season one finale. And you can definitely feel that things are coming to a climax. Yeah, we're turning that corner. And, and this particular episode is heavy on the drama. But there's a lot of kind of dramatic edge of your seat. What's going to happen moments in this episode,

Ken:

right? What What would you say? your likes and dislikes are about the episode.

Jon:

I like it for that reason. There's there's not a lot of fluff in this episode. And sometimes those those episodes that have a little fluff and are a little bit more fun and kind of that story of the week are great. And it's just a fun ride. And then you have episodes like this where there's there's a lot of gravity to the episode. And and you know that there's more to come and it starts to really test friendships and alliances and things are getting shooken up quite a bit here. Yeah. Did we have any new characters introduced in this episode?

Ken:

I believe there was one. I think this is the first time that we had been introduced Opie's mother, Mary Winston right, Mary Mary was her name.

Jon:

Yes, yes. Thank you. You're right, that this is the first time we meet Opie's mother. And yes, it is Mary Winston. So, yes, she I don't know if she's in many more episodes. So I don't know if she'll be a recurring character, but obviously a prominent character and worth noting. Alright, so with the synopsis out of the way, let's just quickly kind of go through the main storylines and I always like to try to break it out between kind of what would be episodic versus ongoing and there's a little bit here that are kind of tie ins to ongoing storylines, but are really specific to this episode, so the lines get a little blurred, but Bobby gets arrested for the murder of the port Commissioner. Again, that's from a prior episode, but Bobby getting arrested is really kind of this episode. Opie and his family are Mia. No one can find them. And then Wendy, who is is an ongoing character, specifically her returning to charming from rehab is is kind of key to this this episode, although I think this is going to turn into a longer term storyline.

Ken:

Yeah, it feels like it.

Jon:

As far as ongoing storylines. We still have Gemma and Tara right Gemma just does not want Tara in Jackson's life. And now with Abel about to come home and Jackson Tara are obviously now in a relationship. Gemma is concerned about you know, what does this all mean and and what's going to happen and wants to kind of No terrorism tensions stall who's been going after Sam crow now really is going after Sam crow after her running with auto. Yeah. You've got Gemma, who because of her dislike and distrust for Tara is kind of now buddying up with Wendy, as you know, who she sees as a better alternative, and then although it really is about this episode, it is something that that is going to be something that will move beyond this episode. And that is the title of this episode. capybara is Opie is suspected of being a rat, right. Right front and center for this story for this episode. But it doesn't all get wrapped up tonight.

Ken:

Yeah. This that's a good summary. That's a good summary of the storylines. I can't think of anything additional that was going on that we need to cover.

Jon:

All right, so then let's just jump right into some of our favorite moments of the episode. Okay. I normally let you kick it off. But I'm so excited to jump into this. I'm just gonna hog the mic and keep going here. I want to start things off with a cold open. Okay. This has been an ongoing theme with the show and that is you know, Kurt Sutter is a show runner does such a brilliant job of creating an opening, that you get so much of what's happening across different aspects. That just sucks you in. You now want to know what's going to happen in the rest of the episode. And this one's no different. Right, we've got it starts off at the clubhouse. Clay finds out that luann has been released, finds out that auto basically smashed installs face. They're not big fans of stall. So this is met with with a lot of cheer from the club. Then you've got the cops busting in Bobby gets arrested. Gemma mouths off to stall, in turn, gives her a pretty nice kick in the gut. Mm hmm. And that leads into church. Right. Right. So we'll get into church in a minute but like I love the the opening where it starts with this feeling that like the ATF issues they've been having or behind them. luann has been released like everybody's good. And then on a dime, it changes.

Unknown:

(Show Clip) It all goes to hell in a handbasket. Real quick, real very quickly. I actually had to go back and watch it twice, because there's just so much happening so quickly in that opening. I wanted to make sure I caught it all. Is it take it is really he's very excited about what what auto did right to stall?

Jon:

Oh, yeah. Yes.

(Show Clip):

(Show Clip)

Jon:

Very happy with that news. So I just love the way that whole opening just pulls you in and kind of tees up the entire episode. And I'm gonna let you kind of take us into the next point. But I'll just quickly mention that the other thing that kind of comes up in all of this is as the club is trying to figure out what to do with everything that's happened. No one knows where he is.

Ken:

Right? He's missing.

Unknown:

That's right. And obviously that's going to be a key theme through this episode. So so that was me. That was mine. I wanted to kick things off with the cold open. I'll now hand the baton over to you. Take us into moment number two.

Ken:

Well, I think it's just the big thing that jumps out to me is Opie the the copy bearer, as we've called it, the rat, the club discovers that that ob and his family were picked up by the ATF, but not in handcuffs in the middle of the night. For you know, black SUV showed up and took his whole family. They were not just him, the whole family's whole family. They also discover that his debts were paid off,

(Show Clip):

(Show Clip)

Unknown:

so that doesn't look good. Looks good.

Jon:

No.

Ken:

Um... Tig is fired up. Like he immediately starts putting things together and feels that it'll be as rapid.

(Show Clip):

(Show Clip)

Unknown:

Now he's missing now Bobby's been arrested and and Jax stands up for opie like he knows that he just keeps saying it, you know, Opie would never rat, he would never rat,

(Show Clip):

(Show Clip)

Unknown:

But clay brought up the possibility for you remember, kind of preparing Jack's Hey, you need to prepare yourself for the fact that this if this if he really did. And do you remember what Jax said was referring to?

Jon:

Yes. And so just real quickly, let's just back up a little bit because because it kind of you have church, right? where everyone's sitting around the table, and everybody's wondering where Opie is, then it's TIG clay and Jax, just the three of them. And that's where TIG insinuates that this doesn't look good. And it implies a piece of rap, which Jax takes offense to. Right? And then TIG leaves. And it's it's just the two of them.

Ken:

It's just clay. And that is when they have their discussion. Yeah, in play, you know, tries to level set with with jack saying, Hey, I you know, I hear you, but you need to prepare yourself for the fact that if this is real, and jack says,

(Show Clip):

(Show Clip)

Ken:

That's bold. Because they're tight. He knows he that's how confident he is. That shows the strength of the relationship.

Jon:

Yes, and at the same time. If if it turns out that Opie is a rat, you can't go back on that now. Like it's a stake in the ground. Yeah. So, I mean, he's pushing all of his chips in on the fact that Opie would not rat, right. And the the, again, I know we say this every week. But the way that scene was set up shot and the acting delivered between Ron Perlman and Charlie honeymoon, that set in that scene, you felt everything that Jax was going through, and the gravity of those words, and, you know, if Opie has made a deal, he's dead man walking.

Ken:

Right. Right. And also, again, that tension between Jackson tick in this moment is pretty remarkable to the the acting there. It's, you can see that things upset. So moving on. Let's let's see your next point. What do you think? Well,

Jon:

I think Wendy returning to charming after rehab, you know, particularly with the way that the relationship with Jackson Wendy has continued to evolve. This is obviously upsetting the applecart so to speak.

Ken:

Yeah, it has it has some complexity on one hand. I I don't know about you, but but I noticed a much different Wendy. Right? She She obviously Hi. Yeah, not being totally Yeah, overdosing. She's she cleaned up quite a bit looked a lot different. Just the way she spoke, she was more level headed. Kind of a different spin on the character.

Jon:

Yeah. What's interesting is we don't necessarily know the backstory, but obviously, there was a time when Wendy was sober, that Jax fell in love with her. They were together, right. So it begs the question of does a clean and sober Wendy strike that chord with Jax? Yeah. And obviously, I think Tara is asking that question as well.

Ken:

Yeah, you can see that. Yes, it actually comes back. I think recall her saying that she'd been sober for 63 days. And rehab.

Jon:

Good attention to detail. Yeah, I remembered that right.

Ken:

Wow, that's you know, since that's probably including our time in the hospital, but then off to rehab as well. So,

Jon:

yeah, and she's not totally out like, she was going to some sort of a home, true for recovering addict. So she's still working the program and actively trying to stay clean. Right? Yeah, it's gonna be interesting to see where this goes. Right. And obviously that's the key right is, is they're, they're adding another layer of complexity and tension between this relationship that Tara and Jax are starting to develop. Okay, and you see it come out. In all of the key players, right, Tara's concerned what this means for them. Wendy's concerned about what this means for them. Jax doesn't really know what this means. And Gemma sees an opportunity. We'll talk about that a little bit, right? It, everything starts to it. It's like dumping out the Legos all over the floor. And you got to start over.

Ken:

Right. She She comments that how much she misses jacks. She goes to the hospital. She's seen it early on at the hospital, wanting to hold a table and see her son, respectful of the fact that, you know, she hasn't been around and everything that's occurred. Tara lets her see her child. Yeah. So it's it's just You're right. She's coming back into the picture. And she's, there's complexities for me. That's what

Jon:

And Gemma is quick to get involved. I saw.

Ken:

Oh, yeah. She's, she sees it. So...

Jon:

yes. So we'll talk a little bit more about that. But yeah, I think Wendy returning to charming is an interesting dynamic and it will be interesting to see how it plays out. What you've got for your next top moment.

Ken:

Well, I think something that jumps out at me is is the plan that the plan that agent stall has we'll call it agent stalls bold plan. Her plan is to kind of create this illusion. We'll call it that Opie ratted because they have some tangible evidence, if you recall from the witness at the murder scene. Mm hmm. She devises this plan to try and make it look like Opie is riding so the money transfers going into his account. Okay, yep, the just sheet attains unser because he tells the club

Jon:

Yeah, right like the club what she's doing so what does she do?

Ken:

She throws them behind bar she takes them out of the way

(Show Clip):

(Show Clip)

Ken:

To the Club. The optics are bad.

Jon:

Oh, very bad.

Ken:

Very bad.

Jon:

Very very, very bad. It I would not want to be in Opie's shoes.

Ken:

Right. It appears very real. I liked agent stalls delivery. When she was informing open op what she had done to him. Just that dialogue back and forth with classic stall.

(Show Clip):

(Show Clip)

Ken:

It's it's well played by her.

Unknown:

Yeah, it's like she's basically using him as bait. She is. She knows exactly what the club's gonna think she's hanging out to dry. And her like basically what she's done is she says I've basically set it up to where the club thinks you're a rat it will kill you. So you might as well go ahead and rat...

Ken:

Right

Jon:

...and then we'll protect you. It's low, Ken.

Ken:

It is low. and and just what we'll talk about later, but Stahl's pitch to Donna is making that look good, You know?

Unknown:

Yeah, she's always going after the women that she feels will will not want to go to jail and will be easier to convince.

Ken:

Right.

Jon:

And she takes a swing at Donna as well.

(Show Clip):

(Show Clip)

Unknown:

I really enjoyed that that dialogue there.

Jon:

And... Even Hale who just despises Sons of Anarchy, right wants to take them down in the worst way. Even he sees this as below board.

Ken:

You've gone too far

(Show Clip):

(Show Clip)

Ken:

He was concerned with the approach.

Jon:

Yes. Which is actually the next moment I was going to bring up so we'll just we'll just slide right into it, which is I refer to it as stall shows Hale how much she cares. right because Halo basically pulls her aside and tells her This is not cool what you're doing. And after he makes his argument, what you see from stall is this realization of what she's done. She agrees with hail. gives him a kiss. Thanks him. Right, and, and hail is it leaves that scene, feeling like he's made a difference and she's gonna make things right. That's not what happens, Ken?

Ken:

No, she was just placating him.

Jon:

In a short while later, you see hail. And one of the other ATF agents walks up to hail. And, and what does he tell hell?

Ken:

Basically, she's throwing you out of here.

(Show Clip):

(Show Clip)

Jon:

That's just cold, Ken.

Ken:

She's cold

Jon:

...and she does it through another agent. Like she won't even just have the conversation face to face. She basically tells him what he wants to hear. And then because he's not on board, has someone else escort him out of the building?

Ken:

Just throws him out of the building. Yeah,

Jon:

Not cool.

Ken:

Nope. Her tactics are cold, but well played. I see what she's doing.

Jon:

Yeah. And, and we're still scratching the surface.

Ken:

Right.

Jon:

All right, Ken. Let's get into the back half of this episode. I'm going to let you kick things off since I hogged the mic. When we initially started and took point one from you. kick us off on the back half.

Ken:

Sure. Yeah. And if you don't mind, I'm going to grab a little bit of a refresh. Here on the Burnham original. I think what jumps out to me is is Gemma and her her interaction with with Wendy. And her observation, she's always observing interactions between when it involves Jax. She's always trying to pull the strings behind his engagements with any of the women in his life. But she finally figures out a way to get rid of Tara or maybe not so much get rid of Tara but get the focus off Tara right.

(Show Clip):

(Show Clip)

Jon:

Yeah, she wants to basically use Wendy to drive a wedge...

Ken:

Between...

Jon:

Between Jax and Tara.

Ken:

Correct. Now Abel is coming home from the hospital. She ends up having Jackson's house repainted to the tune of $2,300 I don't know if you caught that. That reference by C lay

(Show Clip):

(Show Clip)

Jon:

Yes, I should have included that as part of the cold open. But yes, thank you for bringing it back up.

Ken:

Yeah, he he's like, why'd you spend $2,300 I could have just had Half-Sack do that... The prospect would have saved us some money. But uh, she she kind of puts things together. She means Gemma that, you know, maybe let's try and help Wendy out when he needs place to stay. She's already told Jax that she's staying at the Ramada until she can find some permanent housing. So she sees this as an opportunity to kind of bring Wendy into the fold and to have her kind of cause confusion in the relationship between Tara and Jax. have anything to add there?

Jon:

Yeah, just you're, you're right, like Gemma is always scheming. Right and always trying to manipulate and pull strings to to get what she wants or to create the situation that she wants. We know that she's not a fan of Tara and thinks that Tara being and Jackson's life is not a good thing. And So when Wendy shows up, she sees Wendy is nothing more than a tool for her to come between to use her to come between Jackson Wendy and you see it clearly she tries to manipulate Wendy she tries to manipulate Jax and she tries to manipulate Tara

Ken:

Yeah, all of them and I don't see. I mean, out of the two of them, I really don't see because she's not going to be happy with either one of them. She knows that she knows who Wendy is. She knows who Tara is. I mean, I don't know if it was me picking I would probably lean towards... towards...

Jon:

The one that's not a heroin addict?

Ken:

Perhaps perhaps there's a start

Jon:

The one that actually has a degree on the wall and yeah, good paying job.

Ken:

Some commitment to something. So I don't know this is just just an angle. I think just to control angle that's what I got out of it.

Jon:

Yeah, I think I think Gemma sees number one. Tara as somebody that is, is educated. She's a strong woman. She's not intimidated by Gemma.

Ken:

Maybe more threatening.

Jon:

Yeah, and I think Gemma doesn't like that. She She likes things that she can control. And she's see she sees Wendy as being somebody that is weak. Somebody that can be manipulated. And and so Gemma feels a stronger sense of control. And she knows that Wendy needs her needs. Jax needs the club where Tara does it. Right. So that gives Gemma more power. Okay, that's my take. So yeah, I think she sees Wendy is the lesser of two evils.

Ken:

Right. So more to come on that later.

Jon:

Yeah. So let's take things back to our good friend, Agent June stall. You brought this up earlier? Let's dig into it a little bit. She goes after Donna.

Ken:

Yeah. She does.

Jon:

And when I say she goes after Donna, what I mean by that is she's she's trying to leverage Donna's fears and use those fears to compel Donna to wrap.

Ken:

Well, she started this in the last episode, where she visited Donna and Yep, it jacked it up. It didn't get anywhere. It didn't get anywhere. So this is the next evolution of that attempt.

Jon:

Yes. And she's basically trying to tell Donna that if you don't turn state's evidence, and if you don't go into with sec, then the club will likely kill Opie.

Ken:

Yeah, there's only two options, he's gonna go to jail, or he's gonna wind up dead. Those are two options was channeling.

Jon:

Yeah. Which, again, put yourself in Donna's shoes. This is exactly what Donna has been trying to push and impart to Opie as to why she doesn't want him involved in the club. This is all of her worst fears coming to fruition

Ken:

it is and the way she handled it was not what you would expect.

(Show Clip):

(Show Clip)

Ken:

To me, the support that Donna showed ob was really strong.

Jon:

And almost out of character.

Ken:

Yeah, it almost was. You can see how much that she loves ob.

Jon:

Yes. And, and it's funny, like we go back to giving back right, the episode giving back where jack sits down and has that conversation with Donna. And we talked about how we thought like that was a turning point where Donna finally saw it from a different perspective. And then an episode two later, she's giving up the ultimatum. And you realize that she hadn't turned the corner. And like To me, this should be another reason that Donna would dig her heels in and push even harder for Opie to not be in this involved in this club. And yet, this is where it seems like she turns the quarter of all places. All right. But yeah, at the same time, like you love OPI so much. You're so happy that she's supportive, and not adding to the instant stress that Opie is going through and I don't necessarily know all the backstory that led to this being the outcome. I just know that I liked this outcome better than what I thought we would be seeing. Right.

Ken:

So with that. The next point that I wanted to bring up talk about is when Opie finally is released and is able to go back to the club To the lions den to tell his side of the story.

Jon:

Yeah, this this is basically where this is where the arc of the story kind of heads to the climax, right? Like the this is where it all comes.

Ken:

Right? Yeah, you know, LPs there, he's at the table church and he's telling the club what happened and most everyone seems to be believing what he says.

Jon:

But you also see this arm's length reservation and and a lot of club members are kinda, hey, glad you're back like it's a little bit of they don't know. Right? And you can feel that tension. Okay.

Ken:

He explains everything and he lays it out there. I recall piny saying, Hey, I'm proud of you. You know, there's there's a lot of everyone's to me seem to be on board. little hesitation at first, after hearing his story. It seemed like almost everyone was on board with it. And to celebrate, they went out to celebrate.

Jon:

That's right. They went out to celebrate and and Opie asked Clay point blank, are we good?

(Show Clip):

(Show Clip)

Jon:

What was interesting about that scene is you obviously know that, that there's in the back of their minds, there are people that are questioning what, what, what went down, but when Opie explains it, it's all very explainable. Yeah. And, and they know enough about stall to know, this is not beneath stall to do this. But if you don't mind, we'll just roll right into the next one. Now, go ahead. Which is TIG is not in church during all of this, because he's gone out in the parking lot to play exterminator

Ken:

Define what that means, because I'm laughing because I get it.

Jon:

So he went out looking for bugs. And we're not talking about insects, we're talking about the listening device. Right? So clay and TIG who, despite what clay said, are absolutely not convinced that Opie hasn't ratted are, are going with the approach of trust, but verify. We're gonna trust what he says. But we're gonna verify. And so the first thing they want to do is go and see whether or not there are any bugs in Opie's vehicle cell phone, that would be used to try for Opie to try to obtain evidence that can be used against the club.

Ken:

See, I was a little distracted when I saw that first. And so when I saw taig, in the truck, he's pulling down, he sees the he's got his little meter, and he's looking for the bug. He finds it, he pulls it out. And then he sees the phone, that it's been bugged. I thought it That was a good thing. Like I thought, oh, take is found that op spend bug. I mean, surely, surely hope he doesn't, you know, they don't believe that, that I'll be knows about these bugs. So I thought take us found that op spent about this is great. That's not how it went down.

Jon:

No, and if you if you think back to other movies or television shows where they have someone that actually does turn state's evidence, it is not uncommon where they will want to try to have that individual wear a wire and engage in a conversation where they will get the criminal party to admit to a crime. Okay, and they use that as if you can get them to do it to admit it. If you're willing to wear a wire you can get them to do it. Then we will give you witness protection.

Ken:

Okay. So I wasn't in the know

Jon:

Right or it will give you immunity if you do this. So if Opie had ratted and now he's back at the clubhouse right and pretending like nothing has happened. If he had ratted it, the only reason he is there

Ken:

is to record a liar to get the evidence to write Yeah.

Jon:

All right. So it's again stall. brilliantly although very, very Could have unethically setting Opie up because all of this is done without Opie's knowledge.

Ken:

Yeah, no, I didn't catch that if I have to go back and watch that scene, but what comes next? That's pretty, pretty powerful. What the what the plan? Ultimately could have ended up being.

Jon:

Yeah. So take us home, take us home, Ken and go into the plan.

Ken:

I think this is the discussion after they're celebrating, I would say celebrating. But after the church meeting where everyone ends up believing ob they're out enjoying a few drinks, taken play or not, they're having a discussion.

Jon:

Right. ...and Tig has updated Clay on what he found.

Ken:

Right, and this is where I'll say Clay and Tig go "Full Star Chamber." I'll let you explain what that means. But I think Tig and Clay come to an agreement, Tig tells Clay Hey, I found surveillance I found bugs.

(Show Clip):

(Show Clip)

Ken:

..and they reach an agreement that they have to do something with Opie.

Jon:

Yeah. And this is so hard because on the one hand, you look at the information they have. And you can understand how they come to that conclusion. And you can't blame them.

Ken:

No, but it's quick to judge as quick to interpret that data that they got.

Unknown:

Yes. And and as a fan. You love Opie so much. And you know, he's innocent. And so it's heartbreaking. To know that the decision has been made. This is playing into two stalls hand. This is what she ultimately wants to happen.

Jon:

She's trying to tear the club apart. From inside. Yeah. So yeah, they get together and decide between the two of them without a discussion without a vote. That op has to die.

Ken:

And they will handle it. Take us like I can help. We can handle it. We can do it.

(Show Clip):

(Show Clip)

Jon:

Yes. And it's gonna stay between Clay and Tig.

Ken:

Because clay doesn't want it to fall at the foot of the club. He seen it rip charters apart.

(Show Clip):

(Show Clip)

Ken:

Yeah, he. You feel it? You feel what's? what's common?

Jon:

Yes

Ken:

It rolls to credits. That's where it ends. But something is coming in the next episode. I can feel it.

Jon:

Yes. And we've obviously seen the series, we know what happens. A lot of people that love this show. They know what happens. But it's still and again, I've said it before, it's been a long time. Since I've gone back to the beginning. And watch Season One, it is going to be I can't I shouldn't say fun. But it's going to be interesting to come back and relive this. Because I remember what it was like when I first discovered the show and watched it for the first time. And now we get to go back and not only watch it but talk about it here on this show. And it this is going to be a full speed ahead locomotive taking us into season two. Yeah. I mean, we don't have to wait for several months. for season two, the start. We get to roll right into it the following week.

Ken:

Roll right into it. Yeah. It's been quite some time since I've seen this episode. It's entitled the sleep of babies.

Jon:

Yes.

Ken:

And uh, it's a tough one.

Jon:

Yeah. Umm

Ken:

Powerful.

Jon:

They decided not to bring the funny in this one.

Ken:

There's no funny. None.

Unknown:

So we'll get into the sleep of babies next week. And again, that's going to be Episode 12. And then I believe the season finale is the following week with Episode 30. I think you're right. So we're the final two. So knowing that this is going to be a tough one, Ken, it really does bring our second most important question of the night to be a very important one, which is what are we going to drink next week for the sleep of babies? Well,

Ken:

I think we needed to find a bourbon that closely aligned with the power of the sleep of babies. Okay, so as Follow on to 1792 I thought we would kick it up a notch perhaps, and go with their 1792 Foolproof bourbon.

Jon:

Oh,

Ken:

Foolproof. How do you feel about that?

Jon:

Alright, so I like where you're going in terms of I think we need a foolproof bourbon for The Sleep of Babies. It's the right episode to bring out a foolproof bourbon, BUT! Ken...

Ken:

Yeah?

Jon:

Way back in show number four.

Ken:

Wow, wow, way back.

Unknown:

You had a, shall we say unique first encounter with 1792. And that was the small batch at a measly 93.7 proof. When you say you're going to kick things up a notch? You're not kidding. This, this is 125 proof. Prepare yourself, my friend.

Ken:

Well, all I can say is I think part of my issue was was quantity versus quality. So I think I'll have to contain myself next week. But I think it's the right selection. But I will, I will come hydrated. I'll pace myself. And I think we can really focus on the topics and I'll be in good shape.

Jon:

All right. Well, it will be a great conversation, and it will be a conversation that demands our attention. So I think the full proof is a good choice. I thinking back I had never had the 1792 before. I'd kind of always just skipped over it. There's nothing really kind of striking to me about the bottle that spoke to me. And then you bought it so I bought it and we reviewed it on the show. And Wow. What a great bourbon.

Ken:

I agree. It's right up there. To me with some of our favorites in Woodford I like this one. It's different. I enjoyed tonight, tonight's beverage. Um, but yeah, let's see what the full proof brings us. I think this episode calls for this.

Jon:

Yeah, so if you've not tried for any of our for listeners, if you've not tried the 1792 yet, definitely add that to your list. It does not disappoint. I tend to like foolproof Bourbons because I like my bourbon on ice. And so you can get a little bit of ice melt. It doesn't taste watered down. But I'm very curious to see how the 1792 foolproof tastes.

Ken:

Yeah, me too.

Unknown:

All right, good choice, Ken. And that is gonna do it for tonight show. We We hope you enjoyed the show tonight, we know that we had a great time with it. And do remember to like and subscribe. If you're watching on YouTube, do check out our channel for more shows. And if you're listening to the podcast, once again, five star ratings, glowing reviews, or just skip it all together. We want to stack the deck in our favor. And whether you're watching on YouTube or a podcast, we're gonna go with the old pyramid scheme. If you can tell five people and they can tell five people soon, we'll have more than four fans. And so that's our request. If you're enjoying the show, please share and spread the word. help us grow the audience. And maybe if we can grow this fan base a little bit, we'll be able to get someone to give us a free bottle of bourbon because frankly, this is getting expensive. Right. Let's let's get to seven. Let's get to seven instead of four. We'll set a goal so we're gonna grow it from four to seven. We' e not gonna double it. We'r just gonna go to seven. All ri ht, I like it. So thank y u for joining us for tonight's show. And please do come back an join us here each and every w ek on the liquid courage show Good night, eve