The Liquid Courage Show

Show #13 - Wild Turkey Longbranch Bourbon Review & Sons of Anarchy - “The Revelator” (S1:E13)

• The Bourbon Bros. • Episode 13

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In show #13 of The Liquid Courage Show Podcast, Ken & Jon rip into some Wild Turkey Longbranch Bourbon before moving into their episode review of the Sons of Anarchy Season 1 Finale, “The Revelator" (S1:E13). 


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

Jon:

Welcome in We are the bourbon brothers and this is the liquid courage show we have a very special show for you tonight. But before we get into that, I want to welcome in my co host broadcasting deep below the frozen tundra at Heinz Field. Ken, how are you tonight?

Ken:

I'm doing exceptional. Thanks for asking.

Jon:

Fantastic. Now, Ken tonight's a landmark show for us. We've made it to the finale of season one. Ken. This is our first season finale.

Ken:

Wow. Yeah, that's that's incredible. One down six more to go in this series, right? It's a long road ahead of us.

Jon:

Yeah,

Ken:

Gee, there's what like 92? We're barely scratching the surface here, but...

Jon:

Yes. We will get to celebrate a few more season finales. That's for sure.

Ken:

Mmm-hmmm.

Jon:

Now, if you're new to the show, The format is simple. First, we're gonna kick things off with a taste in a discussion of a spirit. It'll usually be a bourbon. It's a bourbon tonight, and we will continue to enjoy said spirit throughout the remainder of the show. As for the remainder of the show, we will focus on a specific episode of a favorite television series, where we will start with the pilot and work our way through episode by episode to the series finale. Tonight we will be discussing Season 1, Episode 13 of Kurt Sutter's Sons of Anarchy, titled The Revelator. For those of you that are listening via our podcast, if you liked the show, please leave us a glowing review; give us those five stars, and then be sure to subscribe so you don't miss a single show. Also, if you prefer a visual medium, and you want to see what our ugly mugs look like, we also publish every show in three parts on YouTube....and we do 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@bourbonbros.tv. And as we always like to say, if your question doesn't suck, we may even feature it on a future show. And with that out of the way, Ken, what do we have to enjoy with the final episode of season one tonight?

Ken:

That's a great question, Jon. I think we agreed last week that we were going to crack open the Longbranch.

Jon:

Yes, out of Wild Turkey Distillery. The...

Ken:

That's right. That's right.

Jon:

Now... I tried to avoid including it but I just can't. I just can't do it. It just has to be done. All right. All right.

Ken:

All right. All right. I knew you're gonna go there. This is what... This is what we're gonna be drinking right here...

Jon:

Yes, and it looks like a freshie...

Ken:

It is. I have not had a chance to sample this myself yet. So, looking forward to it.

Jon:

ALright, so it's going to be the first time for me as well. While you work on getting that safety seal unlocked and the bottle uncorked. I'll just give a quick download on the key stats. So Wild Turkey Longbranch bourbon, it is classified as a straight bourbon. Depending on where you live, I paid I think about 40 bucks for it.

Ken:

About right.

Jon:

Obviously Wild Turkey Distillery. This is an ongoing release 86 proof so slightly lower than some of the the 90 to 93 proof bourbons we've been having. Aged for eight years. And Ken, I think you'll be a fan of the mashbill... 75% corn

Ken:

That's good.

Jon:

13% rye 12% malted barley.

Ken:

Okay. Yeah, that sounds sweet.

Jon:

So you've got a high corn. And I'll just while you get it poured, I'll give you the quick summary. This is directly from the website. "We are proud to introduce Wild Turkey Longbranch eight year old Kentucky straight bourbon made in small batches and refined with Texas mesquite and American oak charcoals. This unique process results in an extraordinarily balanced and smooth sipping whiskey with subtle hints of smoky sweetness."

Ken:

It's great marketing.

Jon:

Now, sipping whiskey, that's exactly what we'll be doing. Right? We drink it straight. Uh, and smoky sweetness and I would say from our prior reviews, we tend to gravitate and enjoy a little bit of that char and smoke but a little of that sweetness. So from a description standpoint, this sounds right up our alley.

Ken:

It does. It does.

Jon:

So should we raise it class and give it a try.

Ken:

Yeah, let's do it.

Jon:

All right. Cheers.

Ken:

Cheers. I definitely taste the... the oak. The char. Do you?

Jon:

Yeah, it's it's got a fairly heavy amount of smoke. But I will also say, and I imagine this is due to the slightly lower proof. You don't get that gasoline burn that you normally get with that very first sip.

Ken:

I was gonna say excuse I was gonna say, I don't feel the heat my chest. Yeah. Yeah,

Jon:

it's actually, you know, it's not as complex in terms of a flavor profile. It's, it's fairly simple and straightforward. But but there's good flavor, and it's quite smooth.

Ken:

Yeah. It's drinkable. It's very smooth.

Jon:

I could actually see this being a good. And again, I don't mean this in any way to be negative or, or a knock towards Wild Turkey. This is actually a compliment. I could see this being a great starter bourbon, for somebody that is wanting to start drinking or trying bourbon, you know... Sipping some bourbon straight. This would be a good one to start with.

Ken:

Because it's not it's not kicking you in the face. It's not gasoline, that it's smooth. Not quite as complex, as you mentioned. I can see that

Jon:

But it's, it's a whiskey, you know, it's a whiskey. It has all the flavors of a good bourbon. And there's a lot to enjoy from a flavor profile. But But yeah, it's not. It's not kicking you in the teeth. So this is a fairly new bourbon. But I'll give you just a little bit of history and fun facts. And since this comes out a Wild Turkey, I'll just share a little bit about Wild Turkey as well, because we've not done a whole lot from them. I think the only other Wild Turkey bourbon we've discussed up until this point is the Russell's Reserve - 10 year...

Ken:

Right.

Jon:

It also comes out of Wild Turkey.

Ken:

Yes. I recall that.

Jon:

So going all the way back to the beginning. Irish brothers, John and James Rippy founded the Old Hickory Distillery in 1891. After prohibition, the family rebuilt the distillery and this I found interesting, they began selling the bourbon to wholesalers, who would then bottle that under their own label.

Ken:

Really?

Jon:

So that was kind of like where Bullet Bourbon was having their bourbon made by Four Roses for a number of years. And then they would bottle it and sell it under their own brand. They were kind of doing the same thing. And so a wholesaler by the name of Austin Nichols is the one that actually started the Wild Turkey brand. And legend has it that the brand name Wild Turkey came from an executive at Austin Nichols, who would bring samples of bourbon to prospective customers. And he did so on a turkey hunt way back in 1940. And it was so popular among that group that they would call and say hey, can you get us some more of that wild turkey bourbon, referring to the the turkey hunt. And so that legend if you will lead to the branding Wild Turkey as a bourbon a couple years later, 1942 and then fast forward to 1971 and the wholesaler Austin Nichols that had been getting their bourbon from the old rippy family distillery, bought the distillery and renamed it Wild Turkey Distillery.

Ken:

Yeah. Makes perfect sense. Now when they were selling the bourbon to different wholesalers, were they selling? I wonder maybe you don't know the answer to this, but were they selling the same run and lots of like, the same bourbon...

Jon:

That's a great question.

Ken:

...under the So literally, I can imagine us sitting together and having different comparing them and we're actually drinking the same thing.

Jon:

Wouldn't that be funny?

Ken:

Yeah.

Jon:

Yeah, I don't know. That... That would be interesting and... and what it might be is, is you're buying barrels, and it obviously will vary from barrel to barrel. So that would be my guess is you've got Austin Nichols coming in and basically saying I want these barrels. So I would imagine there's gonna be some subtle changes from barrel to barrel. But yeah, great question. In terms of like the recipe, the process the aging, theoretically, that could have been the same for several brands.

Ken:

Right.

Jon:

Now once they bought the distillery in 1971, it went through several ownership changes, distillery changes. And then in 2011 Wild Turkey Distillery opened its doors on Wild TurkeyHill, which is where it resides today. The thing that I found interesting, I think we touched on this in the Russell's reserve review, but in 1954 right, before you and I were born, Jimmy Russell started his career with Wild Turkey and and basically has been there for... since. He's been there ever since 1954. His son now works there, and his son has been there for 36 years. Now, Ken, if we had been somewhere 36 years, we'd be thinking about retirement.

Ken:

Yeah.

Jon:

His dad still hasn't actually handed him over the keys! His dad's still there and showing up every day. So you've got Jimmy and Eddie with a combined total experience of over 100 years still at Wild Turkey. And they were involved directly with Matthew McConaughey in the creation of the Longbranch bourbon we're drinking tonight.

Ken:

Wow, that's a great story. Now this is this is a this is a place that we need to add to our our visit, you know, after the jukebox stops playing Tom Jones, we could maybe get out there and uh, you know?

Jon:

Yes, yes. And what I find interesting is there you know, there's a lot of a lot of people that are kind of in that. And again, I don't mean to offend anyone, but there are those bourbon snobs out there that think of Wild Turkey as being a little too commercialized, not necessarily making an excellent product. And then they look at a bourbon with Matthew McConaughey's name on it. And it just it screams sellout. Right? And as you and I sit here, and we enjoy a little bit of Longbranch, I have to say, it's better than I thought it was going to be. It's actually quite a nice sipping bourbon.

Ken:

Yeah, I'm enjoying myself.

Jon:

And this was released in 2018. It's the most recent addition, as far as I know, to the Wild Turkey lineup. And it took it was about a 24 month collaboration between Matthew McConaughey and Eddie Russell, when they, when they hired Matthew McConaughey, he basically came to them and said, Hey, I don't just want to be a glorified face to an ad campaign. Like let's do something, let's create a product. And he actually wanted to roll up his sleeves and get involved. And that's kind of the... What created or led to the creation of Longbranch, which I actually appreciate. It wasn't just a money grab, he actually wanted to get involved and do something beyond just lending his name to it.

Ken:

Yeah, that's, that's great. Good for him.

Jon:

So pretty cool. And I gotta say, I bet you, purists would think of this more highly if they didn't know, it came from Wild Turkey and they didn't know Matthew McConaughey had his name against it.

Ken:

Yeah, great question. I don't know the answer to that. But that could be.

Jon:

Because when you just take all of that out of the equation, and you just enjoy the bourbon. And again, I'm not saying that this is going to be the top five on my list. But if this was all that was available, I'm not sad or disappointed.

Ken:

Not at all. No, I...

Jon:

This is very drinkable.

Ken:

No, it is and you know, the presentation is great. I love, you know me and bottles. I love the bottle. Looks great. Now, I'm not... This is this is a win for me.

Jon:

So question. I know you tend to, you tend to be attracted to great bottle designs before you even necessarily know about the bourbon itself.

Ken:

Yeah.

Jon:

And sometimes that leads you to buying a phenomenal bourbon, you don't even realize it. And sometimes they're not all great. That's okay. That's part of the process. But I agree, like, I appreciate thought and care that goes into the design of the bottle. My question to you is, did you know when you bought it that Matthew McConaughey was involved?

Ken:

I had no idea. Until I did start doing some research after I was already an owner. I had no idea.

Jon:

So I actually appreciate that more. You didn't buy it because of Matthew McConaughey.

Ken:

No, I didn't. No I definitely didn't.

Jon:

So should we dip into the mailbag?

Ken:

Yeah, but before we do that, I have a couple questions because, because you mentioned when you were going over the flavor profile in the mashbill, you're you mentioned the This product was aged in Texas mesquite and American oak barrels or something to that effect. I thought to be a bourbon it had to be 100% oak barrels. Is it? Is this still a bourbon?

Jon:

Yes, it is.

Ken:

Okay. How it helped me understand a little bit better, because because I don't know that I necessarily want mesquite in my in my bourbon. In my barbecue I do, but I don't know about my bourbon.

Jon:

You know what, Ken? That's a fair point. It's a fair point. And when I first saw the ad campaign, I saw them reference mesquite, I was horrified that we were going to be drinking a mesquite flavored bourbon tonight, and I'm so glad that that's not the case. And and as we sit here to enjoy it, do you taste any mesquite?

Ken:

I mean, not in a normal sense of what I would compare it to like, as I mentioned grilling, I don't. I don't.

Jon:

Right. So they actually age the bourbon in new charred oak barrels. So it does meet the definition of a bourbon.

Ken:

Okay.

Jon:

The mesquite that they reference is mesquite charcoal that they use in the filtration process.

Ken:

Okay, it's later than it's not in the barrel so...

Jon:

That's right.

Ken:

It's just deceiving. All right.

Jon:

When they talk about charcoal filtration, most are using oak, right? Which would make sense, right? But Matthew McConaughey being from Texas, they're using some Texas mesquite charcoal. And honestly, I don't know the chemistry behind it. And I doubt the chemistry behind it is why they used it. Otherwise, people would be using mesquite charcoal long ago. I think this was more of a way to bring in Texas into the mix and still have it meet the definition of a bourbon. But the use of charcoal is not to add flavor. It's to enhance the flavor by filtering out the impurities that would otherwise hurt the flavor of the bourbon.

Ken:

Okay, so almost like a filtration mechanism.

Jon:

It is a filtration mechanism. So when you think of like charcoal filters and a Britta...

Ken:

Yeah

Jon:

...to purify water, they're basically doing the exact same thing. So they're pulling out a lot of those impurities so that you have essentially a better bourbon left behind. And so they're using a combination of both oak and mesquite charcoal, I believe they're using both in that filtration process. And and I don't know if there's any difference between the two, but I would love to understand the chemistry around oak, charcoal filtration versus mesquite harcoal filtration. But som people have said that the mes uite charcoal adds an add tional nuance to that fil ration process that you wou d not get solely from oak.

Ken:

Very interesting. That's something to learn more about.

Jon:

Yes. So it's interesting, you get into bourbon, and you start realizing I should have paid more attention in chemistry class. I thought I'd never use it. And here we are talking about chemistry.

Ken:

Wow.

Jon:

Mom and Dad were right. I should have paid more attention.

Ken:

Pay more attention.

Jon:

All right, let's hit the mailbag before we wrap up our bourbon conversation and move on to the episode. We had a really interesting kind of back and forth on Twitter last week. And and so this is not necessarily a direct question, but more of a response to a question. I had posted on social media a question of what should we review next? Right? And wanting to make sure that we were getting kind of audience participation on what we were selecting to review and Layden R. responded to that question on Twitter and said "All the Michter's whiskeys." Now Ken?

Ken:

Great pick. Great pick.

Jon:

Great pick. You and I are both big fans of the television show Billions.

Ken:

Yes, we are.

Jon:

And you see Michter's prominently displayed.

Ken:

Product placement. Well done product placement.

Jon:

Well done product placement. But here's the thing. Michter's whiskey chimed in and got involved in the conversation. And, and, and, and not surprising. They were onboard with Layden's suggestion of us reviewing all the Michter's whiskies so I have let Michter's know that you have only been able to find one of their whiskies in the state of PA. And so I said they may need to help us in procuring some of the other bottles.

Ken:

Right. Because I think the rye is readily available. But as you can see on the shelf behind me, I have been successful. But I had to get very creative. And I'll leave it at that, getting it and getting it into Heinz Field. So

Jon:

let's just say you had to travel outside the state of Pennsylvania.

Ken:

Yeah. I did. We'll just leave it at that.

Jon:

So that all said, we are going to now do a review of Michter's because you now have a bottle and I have a bottle. We'll talk more about that at the end of the show. But I want to thank Layden for the suggestion. And hopefully, if we can grow from what would you say we're up to now? 11 fans?

Ken:

I think 12

Jon:

Oh, were up to 12 fans?

Ken:

Last I looked, yeah.

Jon:

So, you know, assuming we can, you know, 100 X that perhaps Michter's will bless us with a few bottles of bourbon and ease our... Both our search... Because again, Ken you're already having to travel outside a PA?

Ken:

Yeah.

Jon:

And again, they could ease our wallet. And that would be very appreciative.

Ken:

Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. That would be that'd be great. Yeah, the search the search here in PA, let's just say PA is very restrictive at what they will allow it to be sold here. Because of course, they have to take a cut of everything. And so they regulate, let's just say that.

Jon:

Well, I think the bigger challenge we had anticipated is we knew that doing the show would be expensive, because we had to buy not only a bottle of bourbon every week, but but because Tom Jones is playing"What's New Pussycat," 24 times in a row everywhere. We now have to go out and buy two bottles because you're across the country.

Ken:

Yeah.

Jon:

And then we hadn't really factored in that with 92 episodes. Could you find 92 different bourbons in the state of PA and as it sits today, it's looking like the answer is "no."

Ken:

Yeah, that'd be a struggle, at least here.

Jon:

So that brings us to the second question in our mailbag tonight. Jared A asks, actually says: "Thanks for the bourbon reviews. I recently picked up a bottle 1792 an eagle rare because of your reviews." That's Awesome!

Ken:

Great. selection. Great selection.

Jon:

And yes, those are two great ones to pick up. He goes on to say, "I've also been exploring and trying scotch, any chance you're going to do some scotch whisky reviews?"

Ken:

That's a... That's a great question. That's actually a great idea, Jon. I mean, I I believe, as you mentioned, it's going to be very difficult to keep the pace. At least living here, of... it really limits the scope of what we can what we can review. So I'm all for it.

Jon:

Yeah. You know what Jared is? You know what Jared is? He's a problem solver. That's what he is.

Ken:

Yeah. That's great. Thank you, Jared. Yeah, let's let's add that to, let's start looking at any suggestions from those listening, please, we'll wait a little bit here. But I think we absolutely have to add that.

Jon:

And here's what I would say to all of the bourbon companies out there. If you would like to NOT see us pivot to more scotch... We could continue to do reviews of bourbon, you just need to start sending us bottles.

Ken:

That's fine. I'll be willing to do that. So if if bourbon shows up, that's what we're drinking.

Jon:

Otherwise, if we have to go out and we can't find bourbon, we're going to start buying scotch.

Ken:

if we have to do it. Yeah. I mean, we have to.

Jon:

I like it. Thank you, Jared.

Ken:

Yeah, there's a lot of options out there.

Jon:

Alright, so we'll look into some scotch options as we continue to scour the state of PA for bourbon. Thankfully, I have a little bit of a better situation here in California. So I've not reached the end of the supply yet. But hey, if things keep burning the way they have been in California, I may find myself in the same situation. So in the meantime, thank you, Jared for the suggestion. We'll definitely explore some scotch. And since we're now agreeing to do some scotch, if you have some suggestions on scotch that you think we should review, follow up and let us know what those are. We'll be happy to give you our our impressions. All right, Ken, let's get into tonight's discussion of Sons of Anarchy. season one episode 13 titled, The Revelator.

Ken:

Wow! We're finally here. It's a great it's a great episode. I enjoyed it.

Jon:

Yeah. Original air date November 19, 2008. We're still in 2008, Ken.

Ken:

Okay man. We're we're still in 2008. It was a busy year for season one.

Jon:

Yes, and Again like the last episode, this one was written by Kurt Sutter. I read through the synopsis of the episode and way too much details I've pared it down. I don't want to give away the whole show, but I've got a very kind of abbreviated synopsis that I'll share with you. Okay, and I want to get your your thoughts on the episode. So in terms of synopsis, again, if somebody has been living under a rock, they've not actually watched the episode, we'll frame it for you... Jack's consoles Opie, who blames his decision to return to SAMCRO as the reason for Donna's death. The guilt of cones murder triggers Tara's instinct to run, which then prompts Jax to finally tell Tara how he really feels. Piney wants revenge for Donna's death and decides to take matters into his own hands. Laroy makes a pretty compelling argument that the Niners had nothing to do with Donna's death. Hale reaches out to Jax and tells him that he suspects that Clay is guilty of ordering Opie's murder. Clay convinces Oswald to provide him intel on the location of the witness that will testify against Bobby and Opie. Jax confronts clay about Donna's murder. Jax attempts to stop the murder of the witness, and then things escalate between Jax and Tig. Which we know... That's been brewing for a while.

Ken:

Yeah, it sure has.

Jon:

And then SAMCRO attends Donna's funeral service, and Jax arrives late. Yeah. And we'll, we'll get into that. But we'll leave it there for now. So Ken, I remember last week after we wrapped up Episode 12. I'd asked you if you'd watch the finale yet. And you had not. And I had. You obviously have now. What were your impressions of the finale?

Ken:

Yeah, I mean, I thought it was a great, great ending to the season. I can't at this point after watching the this again. I mean, I've seen it years ago. But I can't wait to get on to what's next. Because I can't recall how the next season starts off. So but I was I thought there was a lot that happened in this episode. With Jax and the way he feels, what he's felt and what he's been dealing with the entire series so far. That kind of comes to a head and we'll get into that, but I enjoyed it. I think from from my perspective, I thought that the last episode was a little bit more intense. But I think they did a better job wrapping up all the elements of what we've seen so far. That fair?

Jon:

Yeah. I think from an intensity and edge of your seat perspective, you're right. What I liked about this episode, and yes, there's an aspect of we've already seen all seven seasons before. And so you already know, everything that happens on the show. And yes, there are some episodes that we've not gotten to yet. That will put this to shame. Right? So I want to be really clear about that. But in terms of the season finale, no, it was not necessarily an edge of your seat. But it's wrapping everything up that has been building through the season. It's teeing up that season two. And I think what struck me the most about this episode is, you know, we're 13 shows into a new series. Everyone's kind of settled into their character. And we're now coming to the kind of crescendo of season one. The acting in this episode is off the charts.

Ken:

Yeah, I did notice that there were a few key moments. So I'm sure we'll get into them. But where I was kind of, you know how to catch my breath. I'm like, wow, that was really well, well communicated.

Jon:

Yes. And a lot of the things that have kind of been brewing over several episodes. It comes to a head in this episode so there's not that there's any major "oh my gosh" moments, but there's some real satisfaction about things finally coming to a head that had been brewing in the background. And that's kind of how I left it is. I felt really satisfied with the finale and I was very eager to get to Season 2 Episode 1.

Ken:

Agreed. Agreed.

Jon:

Now, did we have any new characters introduced in this episode?

Ken:

I don't think so. I mean, Opie's mother was there but she's been any other ones, right?

Jon:

Yep. Yeah, I don't think we did either.

Ken:

Yeah, no, I don't. I don't think so.

Jon:

Alright, so let's quickly kind of tee up the major storylines. And then let's dig into our kind of top moment. So we have the club wanting retaliation for Donna's murder. We have Piney who is not waiting around and wants to take matters into his own hands. Right? We have SAMCRO, who is eager to find the witness that will testify and put to put Bobby and Opie away. We've got Jax who's trying to get to the truth behind Donna's murder. We have the funeral, right? Donna services. And then we also have Gemma who has discovered the journal and is starting to figure out what's happening with Jax.

Ken:

Yeah, that's a good summary. That's I can't think of anything you missed out on.

Jon:

So let's go right into our top moments. I'll let you kick things off. Give me your first moment of the episode that really stood out to you.

Ken:

I think the opening there's there's a few things going on here. Jax is visiting Opie, right at the beginning, which was chilling to me. That was chilling. I mean, he shows up to kind of show his support, and the kids are in the backyard. They're on the swing set. Opie's obviously distraught. You know?

Jon:

And... And real quick, Ken...? I want to let you finish that thought, but I want to take it back up a notch. Because you said something that I agree with. And before we get into the details, we've talked a lot about the "cold opens," and they've been great! This is a different kind of cold open, like Kurt Sutter brought it down a notch.

Ken:

It's a slower roll, isn't it?

Jon:

Yes! Exactly. Well put. It's a slower roll. It's more dramatic. But yet it's still gripping in its own way.

Ken:

It is.

Jon:

And there's basically three major things happening in the cold open, and we'll cover each one but but continue with Jax visiting Opie.

Ken:

Yeah, I mean to me, before we get into the other two components or the two, the two other discussions that are going on in that opening. I just thought and I just felt I felt from the last episode, going into this episode, just knowing that the loss and the impact on the children and seeing them on the swing set and an Opie explaining to Jax what has happened, you know, overnight, that, that his son doesn't really get it yet. Just it's just you feel the loss you feel for those children. And that comes comes up later again, as well. But the other thing that's happening is, um, at Clay and Gemma's house.

Jon:

Right.

Ken:

There's their discussion there. And then there's also Unser having a discussion with Hale, or the other way around, like Hale is really leading the discussion with, with Unser in my opinion.

Jon:

Yeah, so let's talk about those. And you've already kind of touched on Jax visiting Opie. I just want to add one thing, and then we can kind of move to Clay and Gemma, one of the things I loved and these are subtle things, but you can tell when Jax walks into the backyard, right? He's been very respectful towards Mary. And it's very easy for Opie's mom to blame Jax, and the Sons of Anarchy as being the cause of this, right? And you see that almost apprehension from Jax not knowing what he's gonna get. I love that. But when you see Jax walk into the backyard, you can tell like, Opie is ignoring the world. But at the moment that he sees Jax, it's both a friend, and it's VP. And he gets his ass out of the chair. He shows respect, and he gives his friend a hug. Right? And, and what I saw there was both the kind of unwritten protocol of Jax being VP, and it's also the fact that you see your friend there, and it breaks you out of that trance, and you're happy to have him there. And just it's such a subtle aspect in that scene, but the fact that Opie doesn't stay sitting really resonated with me.

Ken:

That he got up, you feel that that added both?

Jon:

Yes.

Ken:

The friendship because I felt that bond and that friendship and these guys are tight, and they go back a long way and I see the support that that Jax is trying to give him. But you also saw the element of, Hey, this is the VP and I gotta respect that.

Jon:

Yeah, and I and I don't know if that was a decision by Ryan to like get up or whether that was a note given to him, but I just liked what it represented of in a brief moment, you put your own feelings aside, and you get your ass out of the chair. And you show respect. And you're also glad to see your friend. But it would have been very easy for him just to stay sitting. So I just I found the choice, both interesting and really compelling. And again, I I tend to really appreciate those little moments. He could have stayed seated and it would have still been a great scene.

Ken:

Yeah. You wouldn't have blamed him at all.

Jon:

Yeah, but I really liked that he got up and gave Jax a hug.

Ken:

Good catch. I didn't really catch you know, read that. But that's a good read.

Jon:

So move us to Clay and Gemma, because this is a great scene as well.

Ken:

Yeah, so they're at the table to house and Clays obviously broken up and Gemma sits down and and she asks him

(Show Clip):

[Show Clip]

Ken:

In my my opinion, confirmed it without actually confirming it.

Jon:

Which again, I love again, I don't know if this was Ron Perlman or a note. But that that uneasy shift in the chair without saying anything and that tells Gemma, everything she needs to know.

Ken:

Yeah, maybe it was a post it note somewhere hanging on the set. But he did a great job. It was perfect. He, he was like, Yeah, she said, What is? She said, "what does Jax know?" And he said "Jax knows what everyone else knows - this is Niner retaliation."

Jon:

Yep.

Ken:

And so he breaks apart. She's she kind of flips on him and says, you know, do you know this mean or something, something to that effect. And he broke down and said, "Do you think I wanted this?" And she really quickly I liked the way that she kind of came back by his side because he was breaking down and she kind of regrouped him and showed her support and said, Hey...

Jon:

The puppet master.

Ken:

The puppet master this she is because she's feeling like he's falling apart and losing control. And that we'll get to more. We'll see more of that later. But yes, yeah, that happens. That's what she kind of feels initially. At the same time she she regroups him. tells him "Hey, you need to be strong. Get up. Be there for the club."

Jon:

Yeah, I found so many little moments in that scene because up until Gemma asks him, he's he's carrying this burden that no one else knows about, except he and Tig. And he can't break down in front of Tig. Right. So he's just got all this bottled up.

Ken:

Yeah.

Jon:

And so when Gemma acknowledges that she really understands and realizes that he was part of it, it gives him license to finally break down and reveal how he's feeling. And then as quickly as that starts, Gemma basically tells him...

(Show Clip):

[Show Clip]

Ken:

I took from that to that. These are now the three people that know about what really happened. So it was just just Clay and Tig. Now she's in on it. She's Yeah, no, she's in the know, and nobody else is.

Jon:

But my interpretation of the way that Ron Perlman chose to play that, again, I don't know if this was him or notes he received but Clay as a character. He's wanting to be vulnerable and break down. And Gemma is basically saying, you can do that, but get your shit together, because you're president of this club. And that wasn't the tough talk he wanted or needed in that moment. And so he gets up and leaves.

Ken:

Yeah.

Jon:

And I, I, again, I love those subtleties in that moment where he's wanting to be consoled. Gemma doesn't really give him that. And so he just gets up and walks away.

Ken:

Another great catch.

Jon:

It is a really, really great scene. Because you know, it's tearing him apart.

Ken:

Yeah, it is. It definitely is. He and he doesn't he doesn't want he didn't want that to happen. But yeah, it happened. And the other the other point in the opening that they pan to was was Unser and Hale's discussion back at the...

Jon:

Yeah, and Hale is just incensed.

Ken:

He is. Whal...walk us through that one because he he's walking. He's this straight on. straight and narrow, he wants to do the right thing. He kind of realized he realizes that Unser is kind of not really as straight as you know, you want to be right. And they differ there.

Jon:

Yes. And I think for Hale, up until this point, he doesn't like it. But he's been accepting the way things are, right? Which is basically, his hands are tied. But now, Donna has died. And Opie lost his wife and the kids have lost their mother. And he's seen it. He knows. And he so badly wants Hale to take action like like this. If nothing else, this should prompt you to take action. And yet you understand it from an outsider's perspective. The man's dying from cancer. He's just trying to survive.

Ken:

You I think he says he wants to leave something for his wife and kids.

Jon:

Yeah.

Ken:

And he's... he's...

Jon:

You can't blame him?

Ken:

No, he's struggling. He's struggling with that trying to explain it. So you see also the Hale kind of understands that?

Jon:

Yes.

Ken:

But still knows it isn't right.

Jon:

That's right. Yeah, and it really sets up the entire episode. Right? Yeah, this whole episode is really about Donna's death. And the witness that is going to testify against Bobby and Opie. That's really the crux of this episode.

Ken:

Yeah. Mm-hmm.

Jon:

All right. So move us on to the next point. Because we're, we're already running over in terms of pacing. So move us on to point three, Ken.

Ken:

Yeah, I mean, it's not a major point. But it's something I think the foundation needs to be laid for what happens later in the episode, but I forget the name of the officer and who he is affiliated with...

Jon:

Oh, that's the attorney.

Ken:

That's right. That's right. Because he he at the end of it he asked him if he can his have his office call...

Jon:

Right.

Ken:

...and it make payment for that. So you're right. It's his attorney. But he shows up in in and tells the club that there's there's an eyewitness is is going to be identified at the end of the day,

(Show Clip):

[Show Clip]

Jon:

Which could potentially mean that Opie could be arrested before he even gets to attend his wife's funeral.

Ken:

Yeah, what a mess that would have been. Yeah. Well, you made it would it be for the kids? Right, and everyone else involved?

Jon:

And you just know from Agent Stahl like she'd potentially show up at the funeral?

Ken:

And oh, yeah, she'll, Yeah, totally. She would be to be up for that. So after that news, breaks loose that Clay and the club realize that they have to, at all costs, find this witness and get rid of this witness. And that's kind of the premise for the rest of the episode.

Jon:

Yes. And they first meet with Trammell, right? And try to pump him for the information.

Ken:

They do.

Jon:

And Trammell basically discloses there's no way in hell.

Ken:

Yeah.

Jon:

...and they need to go higher up the food chain.

Ken:

Yeah. And it wouldn't be able to get a name anyway, they need to get a case number because it wouldn't be any information they might have by name, they have to find the case number before they can get any more information.

Jon:

That's right. And Clay immediately knows who to go to.

Ken:

He knows it. He's already got the leverage there.

Jon:

Yes, he does.

Ken:

So...

Jon:

The package, Ken. The package comes back into play.

Ken:

It does. And so you've seen them fast forward to showing up at Oswald, the real estate developer of the town, right?

Jon:

Going back to "Fun Town."

Ken:

yes, going back to Fun Town. So they saved all the information and all their their fingerprinted knives, and you know, where the where the bodies buried and everything. And so they approach Oswald and clay that just lays it all out. Like this is what we have. And, you know, what are you gonna do about it? Like, this is what you're going to do.

Jon:

You can either help us, or we can introduce you to Joe, Joe...

(Show Clip):

[Show Clip]

Ken:

Joe Joe correct. So Oswald has to make some calls to his contacts to be able to get the case number for them to take it forward. But they show up there and I don't know if you recall this, but that Tig's character. I mean, you know the last episode he was definitely afraid of dolls, right? Yes, in this episode. He's very fond of horses.

(Show Clip):

[Show Clip]

Jon:

And, and Clay like cuts him off. Like he does not want to hear the warped side of Tig.

Ken:

Yeah, if it involves horses even horses I don't want to know about it. Yeah but anyway to just to pull this this thought in in where this is going is that they leave with the information they need they're now able to get the information and provide it to who goes? Chib and Happy...

Jon:

Chibs and Tig.

Ken:

...and Tig to go to go now off the witness so that they can they can get the case dropped effectively against against Bobby, I will say that they left with their information but they didn't they didn't hand over the knife or any any of that...

Jon:

Oh, no!

Ken:

...to Oswald, so I have a feeling that's gonna come back at a later and later episode.

Jon:

For as savvy as Oswald is and as successful as he's been, very poor negotiator. Mm hmm. Cuz clay basically says...

(Show Clip):

[Show Clip]

Ken:

[laughter] We'll take care of it.

Jon:

And you can see the look on Oswald's face that he screwed up in a big way. Because they didn't negotiate that upfront.

Ken:

Right.

Jon:

So all of that started at church, where they, you know, they talked about the fact that the attorney shared with them, that they have this witness, they're gonna charge Opie, it may even be before the funeral. Right? So in church, they're discussing what they're going to do. And as part of that, they're also discussing Donna's death, and what they're going to do about that. And so the topic that I want to discuss is Piney is ready for retribution.

Ken:

He's more than ready.

Jon:

I love everything about this where they're wondering how Opie... Like they're concerned about Opie and they're asking how he's doing.

(Show Clip):

[Show Clip]

Jon:

Right? And then when he challenges Clay, and Clay looks at Jax, who's vice president? Piney's like, "What are you looking at him for? I'm the one talking to you."

Ken:

Yep. Yep.

Jon:

Like, protocol be damned. We're gonna deal with this, and we're gonna deal with it now.

Ken:

Right. He, he says, Hey, you know, if this happened to your family, then you would have you'd have like half of all the other charters here hunting down this person...

Jon:

And he's right.

Ken:

He's right. He's absolutely right. And... but Clay says this didn't happen to my family. Well, kind of, but they're not legally not taking this seriously that Piney feels that should be taken.

Jon:

And so Piney ultimately decides if I can't rely on you. I'll just go do it myself.

Ken:

He's going rogue.

Jon:

And Jax has the wherewithal to send Half Sack although I don't know that Half Sack was the best person to send. But he does send Half Sack to keep an eye on him. I love the little momentary comedic relief where Piney says...

(Show Clip):

[Show Clip]

Jon:

[laughter] It was really good. Um, but then they walk into a bar that is run by the One Niners

Ken:

mm hmm

Jon:

And things take a turn in a hurry.

Ken:

They do you can feel the tension you can feel the you're not one of us why you guys hear everyone in the in the bar is a different ethnicity than they are.

Jon:

Yes and I love when the guy walks up to piny piny is not threatening right like he just he's an old man like to these kids.

Ken:

He's got his oxygen wire on like..

Jon:

Right!

Ken:

His tubes there...

Jon:

And the kid goes...

(Show Clip):

[Show Clip]

Jon:

So good like just perfect for that situation. And you got poor Half Sack who's stuck in the middle. And this is one of my favorite parts of the episode which is when Jax arrives and sees Piney holding this member of the One Niners at gunpoint, Half Sack kind of, I don't know what to do. I've done I've done what I can. And you've got Jax, who's going in and trying to figure out how to navigate all of this.

Ken:

Mm hmm.

Jon:

And there's so much that happens in a short amount of time.

Ken:

Right at first, I remember Jax... Laroy shows up because they wanted to get Laroy there. That's what Piney wanted. And Jax works out with Laroy. Hey, if I if I'm able to disarm Piney, we'll get out of here with our lives, right promised me that. And that's a deal that that's a deal that's effectively made.

Jon:

And the actor that plays Laroy Wayne. His name is Tory Kittles. Phenomenal performance here.

Ken:

Yeah.

Jon:

Fantastic. Everything from the laugh of almost almost this appreciation that Jax is showing respect enough to question whether he's going to get out of there alive. And you see that that? That Laroy realizes he has all the power and almost laughs to himself and then tells Jax, yes.

Ken:

Right.

Jon:

..and then Piney does everything he can to jeopardize that.

Ken:

Everything.

Jon:

He uses language that just should not be used.

Ken:

Agreed. Agreed.

Jon:

And again, you have Laroy who basically says to Jax, that happens one more time. This deal this arrangement we have is off the table. It was really perfect. And then Piney still keeps going. And then you get what I call the moment in the scene.

(Show Clip):

[Show Clip]

Jon:

We're at Episode 13. The actors have found their character. And that's why I said the acting is so strong. Charlie Hunnam, as Jax in this episode is so good.

Ken:

He is. And if you compare that to seas... You know, the first episode of the season where he's, you can definitely see the difference in how he's...

Jon:

Absolutely. And the way he says it. He's so desperate to find out what actually happened. And he's so frustrated with Piney jeopardizing that and interrupting. You see all of that, in his response, you see the anger that Jax has. And then it cuts to Chibs and Half Sack. And you see the looks on their faces that basically says we've never seen Jack's this upset and say something like that to an elder.

Ken:

Was this before? I can't? I can't recall the chronology. But was this after Jax had the discussion with Hale?

Jon:

I think it was before.

Ken:

Okay.

Jon:

I think we get this, which is basically you have Laroy going, What the hell are they talking about?

Ken:

We didn't we didn't do this.

Jon:

Right. And then at the end, you go Do you really think that if we roll into Charming and kill this white woman, we'd all be sitting around talking about it right now? Like we'd let you in here? And you see Jax and Piney look at one another. And it's that realization of Well if it's not them and it's pretty clear it's not, then who?

Ken:

Yeah, maybe something else is going on? Maybe something else is going on here.

Jon:

Yes. All right. Let's finish up the first half of the episode. Take us through point number five.

Ken:

Right. Yeah. Well, I mean, it wasn't a major point. But it's something that that jumps back to the the episode that I'm sorry, the scene at Oswalds where Tig is having a discussion

Jon:

Are you talking about where Tig confesses to Clay? with Clay.

Ken:

Yeah. Yeah.

Jon:

Oh,

Ken:

It was very I mean, it was very powerful, very well acted by Tig. The most serious I've ever seen him. It was chilling to me. I felt it but he he comes clean to Clay and tells him Hey, Opie basically saved my life.

(Show Clip):

[Show Clip]

Ken:

And you think he'd want to keep that a secret but he didn't. He poured it out.

Jon:

Damn you! You're right. The last scene. With Jax, and Piney, and Laroy, it's not my favorite. This is my favorite!

Ken:

This has got to be it. This has got to be it.

Jon:

Oh, Kim Coates.

Ken:

Incredible.

Jon:

His performance is amazing here.

Ken:

Yeah, just just his eyes just just everything was just really well done. And then he then he actually adds to that and says that's the reason why I shot through the back window in the truck because......I was I didn't want to look in his eyes.

Jon:

Yes! Yes!

Ken:

So that's why he didn't know it was Donna there. So that was all intentional because of what happened like he didn't really didn't want to kill him. That's right.

Jon:

And that's why I love this episode so much is you're right. It's not any kind of major edge of your seat. cliffhanger.

Ken:

No heart pumping...

Jon:

It's just so strong. It's everything coming together. Every... All the actors have found their character. It's just a fantastic episode. Even if it's a couple of beats below. What would be this action packed edge of your seat episode? It just there's so much gravity to it.

Ken:

Definitely, definitely.

Jon:

Alright, Ken, let's get into the back half of the episode. I want to kick things off with something that you mentioned earlier, which is a conversation between Hale and Jax.

Ken:

Okay.

Jon:

This all stems from the early on conversation between Hale and Unser. And and Unser basically says...

(Show Clip):

[Show Clip]

Jon:

And so when Jax comes to the police station, asking Unser where are we at in Donna's murder. Unser basically blows him off, "we got nothing." And Hale comes in and says, "follow me." Right? Like wink wink and takes him back into the holding area, Right ? The cells. ..and pulls Jax aside and basically confides in Jax what Hale believes has happened.

(Show Clip):

[Show Clip]

Jon:

And he's referring to basically two young children who are left without a mother.

Ken:

Yeah, and that's what it's about. That's a story here. Do you remember the expression or what the physical display that Jax made?

Jon:

Yeah, cuz he's already met with Laroy. Who has basically told him it wasn't us. Which left Jax suspecting it might be Clay now you got Hale basically saying it's Clay. And Jax doesn't want that to be the truth.

Ken:

But he starts to see that that hey, that could be reality.

Jon:

And he is not happy.

Ken:

He's not and and when he slams the door with that jail cell the door and kicks it. To me from that point for the rest of the episode was just Jax in an absolute tailspin. This is the pivotal point to me right here. The end of the episode.

Jon:

Yeah, and what you see is obviously he cares deeply about Opie, right? It's probably his best friend. And what, although he doesn't have absolute proof, everything is pointing to Clay. And you think about the fact that Clay is his father-in-law. He's married to his mom, as much as they disagree. And as much as everything is pointing towards Clay, he doesn't want that to be the truth because he knows what that's going to mean. And so when Hale says that, yes. It upsets him. Greatly. I could understand it.

Ken:

Yeah.

Jon:

And it was very well acted.

Ken:

Yeah, definitely. Another another scene that I thought was well acted again. I just I just thought this was a very well acted

Jon:

Across the board

Ken:

Across the board, everybody. I mean, the next point I want to go into is where Agent Stahl visits Bobby.

Jon:

Mmm. Yeah, great one.

Ken:

Bobby acted very well. Um. She was chilling in a devious way as always.

Jon:

Yes.

Ken:

But, but she kind of shows up and it's almost like hey, Bobby's gonna be an ear for me to, to talk to and tell him you know what I've done or my, my my feelings so to speak. So that's what I got out of it. But she tells him everything has gone down...

(Show Clip):

[Show Clip]

Ken:

He was shaken. Like, why would anyone want to kill Donna? He doesn't have all the facts. He's trying to put it together. You're right. It's not competing with them.

Jon:

But in this never really gets answered in this episode. But what you end up with is a situation where the episode is essentially ending with Clay, Gemma and Tig knowing the truth.

Ken:

Yeah.

Jon:

Jax is starting to figure it out but doesn't have proof.

Ken:

Mm hmm.

Jon:

And now, Bobby has information that no one else knows about. And that has not come to light yet.

Ken:

Where are you going with that?

Jon:

So if you think about Clay specifically, he has no idea Agent Stahl has shared this with Bobby.

Ken:

Nope.

Jon:

So Clay is thinking that what has actually happened is confined to Gemma and Tig, who he trusts.

Ken:

Oh, yeah, now it's out in the open because she's told him.

Jon:

I have to imagine something is going to happen. Obviously inSeason 2, where Bobby comes to Clay.

Ken:

Yeah.

Jon:

...with this information.

Ken:

We'll have to watch for that. So yeah, now there's now there's a fourth and someone else in the middle.

Jon:

And then you've got Jax who between what played out with the One Niners and what he's heard from Hale. He's He's demonstrated throughout Season 1. He's very bright. He's very good at seeing the chessboard. He doesn't have proof but he pretty much has figured out what happened. And so he comes back to the clubhouse has a conversation with Gemma...

(Show Clip):

[Show Clip]

Jon:

I contend This is where the relationship between Jackson clay is changed forever.

Ken:

Right here at this point

Jon:

Because jack says... basically... Just tell me the truth. I'll except whatever the truth is, just be honest with me. Right? ...and asked Clay point blank, "Did you attempt to kill Opie and kill Donna by mistake?" And Clay looks Jax in the eye and lies to him and Jax Knows it.

Ken:

Yeah, you can you can feel that he knows it.

Jon:

And that's where everything changes. He now knows that Jax that that Clay, Jax now knows that Clay is lying. Looking him in the eye and lying to his face.

Ken:

Right.

Jon:

And therefore Jax knows I can never trust Clay again.

Ken:

Powerful isn't it?

Jon:

It is. It is.

Ken:

Yeah, just chillin. Just... I think you're right. That's where things change.

Jon:

So what do you got next?

Ken:

Um, what do I have next? I would say that "Crossing the Line," I'll call it. Where, where get that that Jax and Tig are working through their anger and guilt... That's what he said. So when the information is learned

Jon:

That's exactly what Tig said to Jax. about the case numbers are able to Trammel is able to find out where where they're staying and so off they go. What was it H ppy, Tig... And Chibs. And Chibs, and ultimately Jax shows up but they show up and they're going to kill.

Ken:

They're going to kill the witness but then they don't know it but Juice knew it but they don't they don't know until they get there that this is a 17 year old girl. And they break they break in they they get rid of the person that's watching them and take her away. They discover it is a 17 year old girl and Jax I mean not Jax but Tig is willing to do it, right? Happy says "I can do this, no big deal." Tig is like, "nope. This is on me." And he he's ready just about ready to killer. Y

Jon:

eah, and I Iove... I love... Again, it's subtle. and I keep saying this. But Tig doesn't want to kill this poor 17 year old girl.

Ken:

No but because of everything else has gone down recently, this is his moment, right? He has to prove that he can still do it.

Jon:

That's right and so you see him covering her face. Basically saying, I'm sorry, but I'm still gonna do this. I don't like it, but I'm still gonna do this. And then Jax walks in...

Ken:

And Jax walks in...

(Show Clip):

[Show Clip]

Ken:

And he stops that from occurring. He takes it he takes over and he comes up with another plan. And he he takes the blindfold off from her takes what over her face? What is over her face off off of her and he says...

(Show Clip):

[Show Clip]

Jon:

And the look on Tig's face was perfect. It was like, "What are you doing?"

Ken:

Why are you showing?

Jon:

Like, now she can identify us?

Ken:

Yeah, uh huh.

Jon:

And he doesn't know where Jax is going with this.

Ken:

Right. And he puts the fear of God in herin her and says,"Look, he wants to kill you. He will find you. It's obvious we can get through that we got through here. We're at this point this, you will die if you testify." And she promises not to she's scared out of her mind says she won't. And they let her go.

Jon:

Yeah, and I don't know the actress who played the 17 year old girl. But her performance was great.

Ken:

Yeah, very well done. She was you feel you felt that she was about ready to die, you felt you're waiting for that bullet. And it didn't happen. But um...

Jon:

And the other performance here. And again, we've seen great performances throughout season one. And again in this episode, but the performance by Charlie Hunnam in this episode, particularly in this scene, with her and with Tig. It is phenomenal.

Ken:

Yeah. So at that point after they let the witness go take next. I mean, Jax has been very clear that he's not done with Tig.

Jon:

Noooo.

Ken:

Nooo.

(Show Clip):

[Show Clip]

Ken:

They're back and forth. And it is brutal. Like they they go out very hard.

Jon:

Yeah. And you're left not really knowing where this leaves everything between the two of them, or where this leads everything with the club.

Ken:

Right. Yeah, you don't.

Jon:

Umm and I'm curious to know whether this ever gets addressed, right? Because as Tig said, "You've crossed a line." We don't know what line that is. We don't know if he's actually crossed a line. And we don't know what their relationship is going to be.

Ken:

Yeah.

Jon:

And that really never gets addressed. So we're left wondering,

Ken:

Where is the line? Yeah, what... I remember clearly him saying that but what does that really mean? I guess we'll find out.

Jon:

That's right. Which leads us into our final point of the night, which is clearly it can be nothing else but the funeral.

Ken:

The funeral. Yeah, walk us through this one. Walk us through this one because it I saw a lot here.

Jon:

Yes, that's the thing is we could probably add a part four and just talk about the funeral. There's so much here. So you've got Jax who basically after the fight with Tig has gotten drunk, slept at the cemetery.

Ken:

Right.

Jon:

And you realize he has a blanket around him that he has received from the same homeless woman that Gemma talked with and helped out in the last episode.

Ken:

Right. Right.

Jon:

And that we hinted has a more prominent role in this story than first meets the eye.

Ken:

Right. That's a good way to put it.

Jon:

And we'll leave it at that. But she shows up again. And then it kind of cuts to SAMCRO, and a funeral procession coming to the cemetery, which Jax is not part of. And then you have everyone there and service has started, right? The funeral is in process. SAMCRO's there. They're all wearing black. They've got their kuttes on and you have Jax stroll up in nothing but jeans and a white t-shirt. After spending the night in the cemetery, it's a very white t-shirt.

Ken:

It's very crisp. But that's one of the things that jumped out at me Is everyone else is clearly very dressed. You know, they're black and dressed in black for a funeral as you would expect, but very dark. And you have Jax who's bright, crisp white.

Jon:

Yes. And I have a theory on this, but I'm gonna I'm gonna hold it for a minute.

Ken:

Okay, I'm not gonna go there then but it jumped out at me.

Jon:

So I'll be interested to kind of compare theories on this. But let's first just kind of play the scene out so you see Jax, who has had time to drink and sleep and reflect on everything that he discovered the prior day. And he's now showing at the funeral of Donna, the life of his best friend, and he knows that all of this has happened because of Clay. So there's there's several different things that happened here. You see the club on essentially one side of the casket? Yeah. All in black. You've got JAx on the other side of the casket in white.

Ken:

Mm hmm.

Jon:

You have... So there's that that we've got to talk about. You have Tara who has shown up with his kutte, and brings that over to Jax. Jax puts it on. And then they embrace in a kiss....right in front of Wendy Wendy sees it and you can see she feels the pain. And after everything that happened previously between Jax and Wendy and Jax and Tara. I contend that at that moment, Jax and Tara have chosen one another. And Wendy realizes she's out.

Ken:

She's not the one.

Jon:

Yeah, so let's talk a little bit about the white t-shirt because I think you and I both hit on that. And I don't know necessarily how obvious that was to other viewers. But to me, it was pretty symbolic.

Ken:

A lot of symbolism. I felt the symbol symbolic as well. Now I have a thought, but I really can't reveal it here. We'll get into this down the road. But tell me your thoughts about that.

Jon:

In a very simplistic way. White kind of symbolizes good, and black symbolizes evil. And you have Jax on one side with white, and you have SAMCRO on the other side in black. And I think it is in a very simplistic way, a metaphor for Jax symbolically distancing himself or separated himself from the evil act of the club. Clay killing Donna. That was them and I'm not part of that.

Ken:

That's a great point. He, he wants. He wants to badly he badly wants to be associated with a good part of the club.

Jon:

That's right.

Ken:

What his dad is written. And he sees that that's not what it's become. Maybe that's the black and white.

Jon:

Yes. And what kind of put the exclamation point on that for me was after he puts the carnation on the casket, he walks away. He doesn't stay for the funeral. And he goes to the grave site of John Teller, right? That he was sitting on?

Ken:

I think...

Jon:

Or was it his brother?

Ken:

It was his brother. It was his brother that one but his his his father buried the same place? I don't know but he was sitting on his brother's stone.

Jon:

And and Piney walks up, enhance him a fresh copy of the journal.

Ken:

Mm hmm.

Jon:

So you you obviously know from the episode thatJohn Teller gave Piney a close friend, a copy of the journal. Piney has basically been keeping this under wraps. Piney doesn't know that Jax has already discovered it. So he sharing the journal with Jax. And he has his comment, which is really kind of the final words of the episode is "It's time for a change," in which Jax kind of says to himself after Piney walks away."Yeah, it is."

Ken:

"Yeah, it is." Mm hmm.

Jon:

And to me that it's time for a change plays into this black and white that you saw beforehand.

Ken:

Yeah. Well done. Good. Good. You know, well, good symbolism. You had to read into it. But that that's I agree with you.

Jon:

It's pretty powerful again, understated, yet at the same time such a powerful episode.

Ken:

Yeah. So that's that Season 1. Or episode. Yeah, Season 1.

Jon:

Yeah. Yeah, that's the end of Season 1. And, and you and I talked about this, I think after the last show off the air, but imagine watching that episode and having to wait, what is it like four to six months? At least, maybe nine.. Before Season 2 airs. We get to go into Season 2 next week.

Ken:

That's great. Can't wait to get into it.

Jon:

Yeah. We'll get into all of that and more next week when we kick off season two. But this brings us to our second most important question of the night, Ken. We're kicking off Season 2, we need something great. To drink to kick off Season 2.

Ken:

I'd agree.

Jon:

And I don't know what your thoughts are, but there's something I see literally right on your shelf.

Ken:

Like right around here somewhere, maybe?

Jon:

Yes, it ties into a suggestion actually back from our mailbag. And... Our good friend Layden, who's likely one of our 12 fans, suggested that we review all the Michter's whiskies,

Ken:

All of them.

Jon:

And, frankly, we've not found all of them. But you and I do have a bottle of the same Michter's whiskey. Which is the small batch bourbon.

Ken:

Yep, we do. And it's a challenge, it'll be a challenge to to get all of them. Where I live anyway.

Jon:

It will be and and and look, as we said, before we covered the mailbag. Michter's whiskey jumped in and agreed, that, that should be something we review. So I think it's only fitting that they create a little care package for us and send us two bottles of each of their whiskies. And we would be happy to review them on the show.

Ken:

I'd agree, I am in complete alignment with that.

Jon:

Now, we're going to obviously get into the small batch bourbon. Next week, we'll talk a little bit about Michter's as a brand and a company. But I want to... I want to give you a couple of things to kind of whet your appetite for next week's discussion.

Ken:

Okay, there's it's going honestly, it's gonna take a lot to get me to crack that bottle because you know, me, I like to look at it a nice freshly purchased bottle.

Jon:

Yes.

Ken:

You know, of alcohol and just kind of enjoy the bottle and know that it's there.

Jon:

Whatever seal they have, you want to leave that intact.

Ken:

Yeah. Yeah.

Jon:

And with 92 episodes, frankly, that's gonna be really hard to do.

Ken:

Yeah, it will. It will

Jon:

And so I know you need a little encouragement. So let me just share a few things that might compel you to want to break that seal, and pour glass and Michter's.

Ken:

Okay. Okay.

Jon:

There are five specific things that Michter's considers key to their production of great whiskey, and we're going to cover all five next week. But here's the thing. Most of those five things add additional cost and are therefore things that most other distilleries don't do.

Ken:

Okay.

Jon:

Which has led to a motto that you will see on their website, which is "Cost be damned." They do the more expensive thing in their pursuit to a greater whiskey. And I gotta say, I love it. I'm all in.

Ken:

So they do what's right. ot what's most profitable, or w at might save a little bit of mon

Jon:

That's right. That's right. I love the attitude. I love the sentiment. I'm a big fan of anyone that doesn't differently. I'm all in.

Ken:

I can't wait to learn more.

Jon:

So we'll we'll cover that and try the Michter's small b tch bourbon next week. But th t's gonna do it for tonight's s ow. We hope you had as much fu as we did. We thank you for joi ing us. Do us a favor. Tell 100 friends, let's drive thi 12 fans to 1200 fans. And hen maybe someone like Michter s will send us a couple of bot les of bourbon, which I can t ll you from a bank account persp ctive, we would really appreci te and it will make it a little easier for us to figure out ho we're going to get to 92 episod s with a different spirit to ry for every episode. So for t ose of you watching on YouTube, please remember to like and sub cribe. Do check out our chan el for more shows. And for those of you listening on the podcast, please leave us a five star rat ng and a glowing review. A d then subscribe to the show so you don't miss any future sho s. And then tell 1200 of your riends or as many friends as yo have. We'll take as many as we can get. But most of all, ennedy thank you for joining us ere on tonight's show. We hope you'll join us each and every eek on the liquid courage sho. Good night. Good