The Liquid Courage Show

Show #14 - Michter's Small Batch Bourbon Review & Sons of Anarchy - “Albification” (S2:E1)

• The Bourbon Bros. • Episode 14

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In show #14 of The Liquid Courage Show Podcast, Ken & Jon try Michter's Small Batch Bourbon for the first time before kicking off Season 2 of Sons of Anarchy, with their episode review of Episode 1, “Albification.”    


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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 fantastic show for you tonight as we roll right on into the first episode of season two. But before we get into all of that, let's welcome in my co host, my partner in this speed wobble we call a show, once again broadcasting deep below the frozen tundra of Heinz Field. Ken, how are you tonight?

Ken:

I'm doing well. How are you doing?

Jon:

I am fantastic.

Ken:

I can't believe we are on season two. I'm looking forward to this. So this is great.

Jon:

It was feeling like Season One was never going to end and then suddenly like it was just over. Yep, in a flash. And here we are in season two. Now, I'm pretty sure I know the answer to this. But let me ask you a question. Which are you more excited for the bourbon we have lined up for tonight? Or kicking off season two.

Ken:

I'm probably gonna say the bourbon. I mean, I'm happy to be starting off season two, but I have been waiting. I haven't had it yet. This is this is my first time having what we're going to be tasting.

Jon:

taste I I had a feeling you're gonna go with Season Two solely for the reason of you. You haven't been looking forward to opening this bottle.

Ken:

I do appreciate looking at a nice bottle of alcohol and a nice new bottle of alcohol. I'll give you that.

Jon:

Well, I'm looking forward to all of it. But I'm really excited to see what happens with our bourbon review. So let's get started so we can start enjoying some bourbon. If you're new to the show, The format is simple. First, we're gonna kick things off with the tasting and the discussion of a spirit. It is usually a bourbon. It is 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 all the way to the series finale. Tonight we will be discussing season two episode one of Kurt Sutter's Sons of Anarchy. And this episode is titled Albification. For those of you that are listening br podcast if you like the show, please give us a five star rating and a glowing review then remember to subscribe so you don't miss a single show. Also, if you prefer a visual medium, and you want to see why we say that we've got a face for radio, you can also check out our show on YouTube. We publish each and every show in three parts. And you can catch every single episode weekly on YouTube. 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 about the show what you dislike about the show. And let us know what you'd like to see more from us. You can email your questions to us at ask at Bourbon Bros. that's Bros.tv, and as we always like to say, if your question doesn't suck, we might have been answered on a future show. And with all of that out of the way, Ken, what are we going to enjoy to officially kick off season two tonight.

Ken:

Wow, I have been really looking forward to this and I have it here in pole position here over my shoulder. I'm gonna reach back and grab this and it's right here we are gonna be going with the Michter's Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon.

Jon:

Love it hold that up so we can get a good shot for the camera.

Ken:

Because there's a few of these actually, this is the this is the straight

Jon:

right? That's a small batch bourbon. Yep. Do you have several some ryes they've got an American whiskey but we're gonna do the the kind of flagship small batch bourbon. Fantastic. If you want to work on what I know you've been dreading, which is opening the bottle. I'll give a quick download on the key facts and figures. So this is the Michter's US * 1 Kentucky straight bourbon price on this. I think it's about 45 bucks. It is a straight bourbon, it is out of Kentucky bourbon distillers, which is part of Chatham imports. This is a 91.4 proof bourbon. There is no age statement. And so we know that because it technically meets the definition. It's more than four years, but it's probably fairly close. I would imagine this would be a fairly young bourbon.

Ken:

That's a great sound.

Jon:

That is like my favorite sound every week Ken. How's this? How's the nose on that?

Ken:

Yeah, smells good.

Jon:

Mashbill on this one is undisclosed. So little, little bit more secrecy behind this one in terms of no age statement, no mashbill but I'll give you a quick summary and then we can give it a try. Again, this comes right off of the Michter's website, but they describe this as Michter's US 1 Kentucky straight bourbon is made from a carefully selected mashbill that features the highest quality American court. It is then matured to the peak of perfection. Truly small batch each batch of our US 1 Kentucky straight bourbon is batched in a holding tank size to fit a maximum of 20 full barrels, leaving no bark margin for blending out and perfection and thus necessitating excellence from every barrel. Reflecting the spirit of the blue Bluegrass State Michter's US 1 Kentucky straight bourbon is nuanced, mellow and earthy.

Ken:

Nuanced, mellow and earthy. Okay. Maybe that'll come out in the flavor, um, wow. 20 barrels 20 barrel batches then is all they're making.

Jon:

That's truly small batch. All right, can you got the Michter's poured and ready to go?

Ken:

Yes, I do!

Jon:

All right. Let's raise a glass and give it a try. Cheers. Cheers.

Ken:

Wow! Wow!

Jon:

I'm just gonna go in for another taste.

Ken:

That's really complex. That's it's got everything. That deep oak barrel, the burn? The flavor is great.

Jon:

Yeah, that's a bourbon. Wow. Yeah. It burns clean. Ken.

Ken:

Yes, it does.

Jon:

It burns clean. So it's interesting, because this is a 91.4 proof. So it's not overly high. But I definitely get a little more heat on this. And I I would imagine that's likely from it being a little more of a younger bourbon in terms of age. But there's definitely a lot of flavor here. And as you said, I think complex is you hit the nail on the head. I'm getting a lot of nuance in the flavor.

Ken:

Do you get mellow and earthy there anywhere? Do you catch that? I don't know that I do.

Jon:

I don't know about mellow and earthy. No, I there's a strong I get a strong notice smoke on this. Yeah, very kind of in your face in a good way. Mm hmm. Like, like I said, I get a lot of heat.

Ken:

It's interesting, though, because we can't really compare this to other mash bills.

Jon:

No, it's you're flying a little more blind here, it to me it tastes like, although this isn't classified as a rye, it, it feels like there's more rye in the mash bill. You don't get quite the sweetness on this one. There's more.

Ken:

I can see that.

Jon:

And I tend to find that I pick up more spice if it has a heavier rye content. So I wish I knew what the mash bill was.

Ken:

Well, great job. Well tell us a little bit about it. Are you gonna get into some history and fun facts?

Jon:

Yeah, so I've got some interesting, fun facts here. And some of this is readily available on the website, some of that had to do a little bit of digging for but all of that I found to be interesting. First of all, their motto, which I love is "Cost Be Damned." Nice. So they're, they're saying they're not trying to skimp and just pull as much profit that for them, it's about making the best whiskey they can make when they're willing to pay more to do it. And there were kind of five areas that they really focused on in terms of, you know, what they felt was really important in, in what makes a great bourbon and kind of how they differentiate themselves. One is the, the cupric you know, the, the wood and barrels that they use. They specify wood that has been thoroughly and properly dried, sometimes for as long as four years in order to make sure that they've got the best possible barrel that they can char and store their bourbon in, also tha the toasting and charring. So what they'll do is basically toast the barrel before they char it. So essentially warming up the barrel versus just charging a cold barrel. And the reason that they do this is they said that the toasting helps to kind of make all of the woods sugars come closer to the surface, make them more accessible. And then when they char the barrel, those sugars carmelize. and concentrate to form the red line and the barrel stave that adds more flavor and color to the whiskey as it seeps through that char to that caramel red line. So again, taking the time and effort to toast the barrel before charing, so that they can really maximize everything out of that barrel. The other thing I found interesting, and this was kind of point number three out of the five is the typical entry proof like industry wide. Your typical entry proof is 125. Right? We've talked about that, right? It'll be barreled at 125 proof,

Ken:

right,

Jon:

they actually barrel at 103 proof.

Ken:

So a little lower.

Jon:

And this used to be what was regarded as the gold standard in Kentucky, and allows for those concentrated sugars to dissolve more readily. But you get a lower entry proof yields fewer barrels, and so most will do the maximum of 125 to get the highest yield possible. But Michter's believes that the smooth flavor and kind of richer mouthful is worth the lower entry proof and smaller yield. So this kind of goes to that cost be damned. And then they do heat cycling. So the more often whiskey expands and contracts in the barrel, the more kind of flavor it can pull from the barrel. And so there's natural heat cycling through seasons, right, it gets hotter, it gets cooler, they will actually artificially raise and lower the temperature in their warehouses to force heat cycling.

Ken:

Wow,

Jon:

of their bourbon.

Ken:

That's very creative.

Jon:

Their putting that HVAC to use. But it's costly, not only from the actual cost of heat cycling, right, heating up the warehouse, letting it cool down. But it also increases the evaporation, right that Angel share. And so it's reducing the yield again, by doing that, so you're seeing a lot of things that reduce how much bourbon they can get out, but they believe this results in a better bourbon and so again, "Cost Be Damned." And then the fifth and final is the chill filtering. Michter's chill filters, all of their whiskies, instead of using the carbon filtration. Remember, we talked about with the Longbranch that they were using both mesquite and oak charcoal, they avoid that carbon or charcoal filtration that can strip out flavor and aroma, and they'll actually use different filtration methods and techniques for each of their different whiskies. So they tailor the filtration to the type of whiskey they're producing, rather than kind of a one size fits all approach.

Ken:

Okay, so as part of the recipe for each particular bourbon that they manufacture.

Jon:

That's right.

Ken:

Gotcha.

Jon:

So I'll just that process I'll just quickly tie in that one of the things I really loved about Michter's as a brand, as I researched it, is that they actually hired the first female master distiller at a Kentucky distillers association distillery since prohibition. Really, yep. So Pam Hellman was she had been on, she had worked for other companies and been part of that distiller team, but Michter's hired her and made her their master distiller. And she had brought with her Dan McKee, who's kind of her right hand and she has since left the day to day duties of master distiller and has handed the reins over to Dan, who's taken over as as kind of her former prodigy, but she's still involved in the brand and is really the one that kind of put Michter's on the map as their master distiller and she's not the only woman that they've put in a prominent role like that. Andrea Wilson is the brand's master of maturation. So she's still running the barrel side of things in terms of maturing the bourbon and aging the bourbon. So, you think about this, this brand in again, a Kentucky bourbon bourbon distillery and two of the most important roles in the creation of bourbon, we're both women, which I love it. more of that, please.

Ken:

Yeah. Wow.

Jon:

And then, you know, we're, as I said, we're dealing with a bottle, that's about 45 bucks, they've got some special releases that have gone for as much as seven grand.

Ken:

Oooh,

Jon:

so you and I both mentioned that. We, I think one of the areas that we always think that always makes us think of Michter's, which Michter's if you are listening, we're about to validate that whatever you paid for product placement worked, the show Billions,

Ken:

Yeah,

Jon:

you always see Michter's

Ken:

always there

Jon:

on the show billions, and I'm assuming I've got to go back and actually watch but I'm assuming they're pouring some of their more expensive. Bobby Axelrod is not going for the $45 bottle would be my assumption

Ken:

well, of course not. No, of course not.

Jon:

So you're probably pouring some pretty good stuff.

Ken:

Right. Where were they always in? Kentucky? Or?

Jon:

Oh, Ken, That's a fantastic question. And you don't even know why yet, but I'm gonna give you a little gift.

Ken:

Lay it on me!

Jon:

Michter's was originally started in the great state of Pennsylvania.

Ken:

Was it really? When was that? Because? I don't know. It's so hard to get here. It's like, I can't find a bottle anywhere. I had to..... You don't know what I had to go through to get this here.

Jon:

you would think being that it was founded in Pennsylvania, you could find it.

Ken:

Yeah.

Jon:

readily available. You were probably a wee lad at the time because it was originally founded in Pennsylvania, back in 1753.

Ken:

Oh, yeah. A while back. Okay,

Jon:

yeah a little while back, two Swiss mennonite brothers, started the distillery that would become Michter's they produced one of the earliest local American whiskies, with rye from its own grain fields in Shaefferstown, PA.

Ken:

Yes, on the east side of the state I believe.

Jon:

eastern side of PA. and that's interesting that I wonder if I thought this tasted like it had a little bit of a higher rye in it's mashbill, and I wonder if it does, and it's kind of a nod back to the original shank brothers that that started this with rye

Ken:

could be could be

Jon:

another kind of interesting folklore history. George Washington is rumored to have purchased whiskey from the shank brothers in the winter of 1778 to warm up his troops stationed at Valley Forge.

Ken:

Wow, yeah, that's going way back.

Jon:

Right. Like that's some some history and they're in look, we're fans of Michter's the brand. We love, that we see it on Billions. We love that they have the attitude of "Cost Be Damned" and this is not in any way meant to be a knock against Michter's but just in the spirit of transparency. I do want to say that the people who founded Michter's that is making the bourbon we're drinking today bought the rights to Michter's as a lapsed trademark. So the current brand doesn't actually have any ties to that original distillery from back in 1753. They didn't actually they weren't the ones that provided the whiskey to George Washington and his troops. They've based that, that brand expired in the trademark patent office and they've now bought the rights to it and have revived the brand.

Ken:

Oh, okay. Okay, so do do we do we know where the name came from?

Jon:

another great question. And actually I do it is a made up word. So if you're sitting there going,

Ken:

someone's name,

Jon:

.... I've never heard... Yeah, like when I heard it was from PA the first thing I thought is, is this like a little town in PA that I have not heard of. It was created by Louis Foreman who co owned the distillery that was still in Pennsylvania at the time back in the 1950s. So it had changed hands. Obviously the the Shank brothers weren't still weren't still around in the 50s after founding it the 1700s so Louis Foreman co owned it. He co owned it with Charles Everett Beam, you might recognize the last name Beam. And yes, it is that Beam. Part of the Jim Beam family and Foreman named their first pot still sour mash whiskey, Michter's as after his two sons, one named Michael and one named Peter "Mich-Ter" bind those two names to create the made up word Michter's.

Ken:

Wow, great, great homework there!

Jon:

pretty interesting.

Ken:

Yeah, pretty interesting. Yeah, I had wondered about the name. But that's a great explanation.

Jon:

So now that you've had a little bit of time with the Michter's, what are your thoughts?

Ken:

I'm a huge fan. I'm a big fan. This is definitely way up there on my list of favorites.

Jon:

Really? Okay. Yeah, I thought about you because it wasn't as sweet as some of the other Bourbons that you wouldn't like it as much.

Ken:

No, it's profile makes up for it in other ways.

Jon:

And I will say that as and this is common with, I think, a lot of whiskies, but as I've enjoyed it a little more, and I've given my palate a little bit of time to adjust, the burn is coming down. And the flavor is coming up, including the natural sugars that are in there. I wouldn't consider this a sweet bourbon,

Ken:

right

Jon:

But I'm getting a little bit more of the sweeter notes and as that burn comes down.

Ken:

Yeah.

Jon:

And with with Bourbons like this, you tend to get an initial burn on first drink, and then the second drink, it burns less. And then by the third drink, it generally kind of goes away. We've had some where I didn't get any burn hardly at all from the first sip.

Ken:

Yeah,

Jon:

we did the Elijah Craig where it didn't matter how many sips that burn just stayed right in your face the whole time. Yep, this is more fitting than what I would call that traditional experience where you get that initial burn. And then it subsides pretty quickly. By the third drink. I'm not even noticing it.

Ken:

Yeah, I'd agree. And I think you know, even you know, they're killing it with marketing. I mean, they're everywhere you see it, product placement, is well done. But even if that wasn't in play here, I still think I would feel the same way about this.

Jon:

Yeah. It makes me want to try it with some other things that we really liked on previous shows. But I will say if you think of the flavor profile as being a spectrum, the spectrum is very wide. Oh, yeah. Right. It's not one note at all. And some of the other Bourbons that we've tried that we've actually enjoyed, I would say are more"One Note."

Ken:

Yeah. Yeah.

Jon:

This goes back to your initial comment. There's a lot of complexity here.

Ken:

Yeah, that the first thing I noticed was how wide it is just that it was everywhere.

Jon:

So there you have it, I think it's a it's a little bit on the younger side. And and what it what it actually says to me is, you know, this is this is what would be considered more of a budget bourbon for them, right, there's more there their entry level. And to think about the flavor profile we're getting in the spectrum of flavor we're getting it really makes me want to try some of their

Ken:

Oh, the $7,000 bottle.

Jon:

..well.... Yeah, I mean, if they would drop a couple of those bottles in the mail for us, that would be fantastic. But even just going into some of their ones that are more just obtainable special releases, you know, hundreds of dollars. I bet you it would be an incredible experience.

Ken:

Yeah.

Jon:

Alright, let's get into tonight's discussion of Sons of Anarchy. Season Two, Episode One, titled Albification. Ken?

Ken:

Yeah,

Jon:

September 8th 2009.

Ken:

Wow,

Jon:

we have jumped to 2009.

Ken:

It's been 2008 until this point.

Jon:

Now, if there's one benefit of us reviewing a show that ended almost seven years ago, it's that we don't have to wait through the hiatus to get to the next season. We finish season one last week. Bam! We're right into season two this week.

Ken:

That won't be a problem here. Not for this series.

Jon:

And this one was written by Kurt Sutter. So again, he finished us off at the end of season one, he's kicking it up kicking us off in season two, which is great. And I got to say after watching the season ender last week and discussing it. I would have been pissed having to wait eight or nine months for season two to come back. Right. Yeah. I'm glad we get to get into it a week later. All right, should we get into a quick synopsis?

Ken:

Yeah, let's do that.

Jon:

Alright, so once again, I've kind of edited this down so I don't give away the whole episode, but I'll give you kind of the salient details. SAMCRO still reeling from Donna's death, and it leaves much of the club divided. Clay sets up a new gun deal with the IRA. The League of American Nationalists or (LOAN) a white separatist group takes root and charming and threatens more than just SAMCROS control over Charming. and when asking SAMCRO nicely to stop selling guns to non white gangs and that doesn't work LOAN decides to use Gemma to send the club a message.

Ken:

Yeah, that that they did that they do

Jon:

that word that we got to get into that. And we will do so but man you talk about kicking off the season with a bang. This episode hits hard.

Ken:

Yeah. Hard to watch at certain times isn't it?

Jon:

Yes, it does. There. There are those moments where it's really fun and funny. And then there are those moments that are difficult to watch. We get a little bit of both in this episode. Ken, what were your overall thoughts on the episode?

Ken:

Yeah, I mean, I don't know that I have any real hard, you know, reviews that I can just summarize here in a few sentences, but were introduced to some new characters. We'll talk about that. I'm sure. It kind of takes over from where the last last episode left off.

Jon:

Yeah, I think for me, and I wouldn't say I'm surprised. I'm actually glad there was so much in this season opener. As I was watching the episode. The first thought that came to mind is, how are we going to cover all of this on the show? There's so much here.

Ken:

Yeah, there. They are planning a lot for what will become the season what's going to unfold?

Jon:

Right. So they're planning they're really trying to lay everything out and you get a little bit of a lot of different moments in this episode.

Ken:

Yeah.

Jon:

Would you agree?

Ken:

I completely well put.

Jon:

So you mentioned new characters. We we have some new characters?

Ken:

Yeah, I'm just afraid I'm gonna not remember them all. But we get Ethan Zoebelle

Jon:

Yes, yes. played by the phenomenal Adam Arkin.

Ken:

Yes. And he is the leader of the League of American Nationals, correct?

Jon:

Yes.

Ken:

Yes. And we have Edmund Hayes, right.

Jon:

Right. So this is

Ken:

this is Cameron's right hand, man.

Jon:

Thank you. Yes. Cameron's right hand, man. Yeah, we see him at the beginning when SAMCRO is checking out the guns. And yeah, trying to strike up a deal with the Irish. We'll talk about that.

Ken:

We have Jacob Hale, which is Deputy Hale's brother.

Jon:

Yes, we get Deputy Hale's or I should say deputy chief Hale's brother

Ken:

right. We get we have AJ Weston, who was another Aryan. Right? Yes. And he played by Henry Rollins. Henry Rollins. Yeah, so he he's Ethan's right hand, man.

Jon:

Correct. Correct. A lot of right hand man.

Ken:

Not a lot of people. They're they're building a little groups. forget Paulie Zoebelle, who ma es an appearance in this ep

Jon:

Don't

Ken:

Where did I missed that one?

Jon:

So Paulie is the daughter of Ethan Zobelle. And she is the one that lewers Gemma.

Ken:

Oh, okay. I didn't I didn't put that together. Okay.

Jon:

Yes, that is Ethan Zoebell's daughter will see more of her in future episodes.

Ken:

Okay. All right. Any more. So that is that was that about it?

Jon:

I think that's all of them. Okay, if memory serves? So if we've missed any, let us know in the comments, but I think those are the five that I would characterize as recurring characters. Okay. And then as far as main storylines. I'm kind of going into this with with the premise that we've not seen anything beyond this point. Right. Like you and I have watched the series but if we think about going through this for the first time and not wanting to know spoilers, right. So with that in mind, this being the first episode of the season, it's not fair to really differentiate between what are the the episodic storylines, and what are going to be recurring storylines, because we don't necessarily know yet.

Ken:

Right? Fair, fair enough. Yeah, finally and we'll talk about that.

Jon:

So for the purpose of the first episode, I'm going to kind of just lump all the storylines together. And we'll talk about kind of the the major ones. So there's Cameron and the new right hand Edmund Hayes, right, who are going to continue to take over the gun sales to SAM RO And the main storyline ri ht now being that they want to change the arrangement that was n place. You have taken Cla, who are very concerned about the fact that Jax and P ney know that they were the nes that accidentally killed Do na and when they were trying to kill Opey and so that's an ssue. As you mentioned e've got Ethan Zobelle and his L AN cronies arriving in Charming The one storyline that we can say is absolutely recurring i Tara and Gemma's relationshi, which I think in this episod turns the corner. Yep, we have Unser's health, which I think got touched on in season one, but I think it it takes a more serious tone in this episode and season two. And then we have Opie, who's really kind of wrestling with you know, past and present. Right? So while Donna was alive, and now that Donna is not alive and reconciling, you know what life was like before and after, and there's a lot to get in there. But he's clearly struggling with her loss and what life looks like for him now that she's no longer part of it.

Ken:

Right.

Jon:

Anything that you think I missed?

Ken:

No, I think that's that covers it.

Jon:

All right.

Ken:

Yeah, let's get into it. I mean, I the first thing let me take the first one here.

Jon:

Yeah, go for him jump in...

Ken:

The opening, to me. It seemed like I had forgotten that there was going to be credits rolling. In this one. I don't know about you. But it it was a long opening it.

Jon:

Ken we went 12 and a half minutes.

Ken:

was it that long

Jon:

before 12 and a half minutes before the opening credits roll. Wow.

Ken:

That's a long opening. But I mean, it was well worth it. You didn't you know, you I was enjoying everything I was watching. You see, SAMCRO, it opens with they're they're testing out these these guns with the Irish guys these new guns. And they kind of take matters in into the into the into the new warehouse, right?

Jon:

Yeah. Which is the Irish warehouse.

Ken:

It's the Irish warehouse. Okay.

Jon:

Well, maybe maybe it's not maybe it's theirs. I don't think clearly

Ken:

I talked about it being and this is the rebuilt warehouse, because they were discussing the new arrangement. One of the points was, you know, you've got IRA watching you, you don't want to lewer them to your, your new your new structure here.

Jon:

Right. I do remember that. I just didn't know if they were talking about the one they were standing in. But yeah, that's a great point it could have been.

Ken:

Yeah, it could have been a lot of things we'll have to look out for that next time. But they're there. And they're basically talking about the Irish wants to change the game, as you mentioned. Right? They want to, they don't want to sell the Russian guns anymore. They want to sell them some other knockoff.

(Show Clip):

What's you deal? We sell, ship, store, you load your saddlebags deliver charter to charter, give you 20%. We get 60%. We assemble our own We carry all the risk and overhead.

Jon:

So basically, you're your Instacart for guns. That's all you are. You're just a driver making a delivery. And we'll give you 20%. Which, understandably, SAMCRO is not thrilled with this arrangement, considering they've been making 60% by selling the guns wholesale in one transaction. And now they've got to go ride all over the country delivering these guns, or all over California, delivering these guns and only get 20%.

Ken:

Right, right well let's not jump ahead. I'm sorry to kind of steal your thunder there. But that that's kind of how it opens. They're at they're at that they're firing those guns, Opie's been it turns out he's been away on a ride.

Jon:

Yeah, you see him with his knapsack on the back and it looks like he shaved in six weeks.

Ken:

Yeah, he was out, you know, clearing his head, so to speak, kind of getting away thinking things through. So he's seen returning. You see, Tara, she's performing surgery. There. So you get a glimpse of her.

Jon:

Yeah, it was interesting in that opening scene, because I don't know, maybe I just missed it. But I up until this point. I hadn't thought of Tara as a surgeon.

Ken:

Yeah, I hadn't either.

Jon:

I thought of her as a doctor

Ken:

but not necessarily a surgeon.

Jon:

So that was kind of interesting to me.

Ken:

Yeah, good point. We'll see where that goes. You know, Bobby's being let out of jail.

Jon:

Yes. Which that was. Bobby didn't say anything. But just the look on his face. It was great.

Ken:

Yeah that was great. Gemma was picking up Abel right. taking him for checkup.

Jon:

Yep.

Ken:

But then one thing I noticed was at the hospital, they were at the hospital, you see Unser in the chapel at the hospital, lost in thought. And at first I was like What is he doing there? Like? I don't get why he's there. As the episode kind of continues, you start to put it together. He's contemplating his mortality is the way I read it.

Jon:

Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely.

Ken:

And then in that opening scene, too, I made a note. Do you remember when they were firing those guns and who had to change the target...

Jon:

poor half or half sack!

Ken:

Yeah, I gotta change the target, put the target up. That was funny.

Jon:

Now, here's the thing, and this is a little. This gives you a sense, I guess of what it would be like to be a prospect for an outlaw club. But like, I remember teasing and playing jokes on friends with things like whoopie cushions, maybe shooting a rubber band, their firing guns!

Ken:

Pretty close to them.....

Jon:

nearly hitting Half Sack and for them. It's funny. It's a joke.

Ken:

Yeah.

Jon:

All right, it's a different way of life that I don't think I'm prepared to be part of Ken, I'm just going to be honest.

Ken:

Yeah, I don't fully understand it myself. But it kind of the opening kind of touched on our key characters, key elements that they're going to dive deeper on throughout the rest of the episode.

Jon:

Yeah, absolutely. It sets the table for the whole kind of series. And I think at the same time, it catches you up on where we left off.

Ken:

Yeah, it does that.

Jon:

Right. Because Also, don't forget, you had Piney dropping off Opie's kids at school in the Cadillac?

Ken:

Oh, yeah, I remember that

Jon:

Which was fantastic as well. But yeah, you. So all of this is covered as including a summary of season one, right? You get that at the very opening, then you go into the cold open and 12 and a half minutes later, the credits roll and you're just kind of like, I was already in the episode, we're only getting to the opening credits. That's funny. There's a lot there,

Ken:

there is.

Jon:

So let's go back to what you opened with, which was SAMCRO buying the guns from the Irish,

Ken:

okay.

Jon:

This is kind of a core storyline, which I assume is going to bleed into other episodes and become an ongoing storyline. But the part I want to talk about and I refer to this as "let's make a deal," which is the negotiation between SAMCRO and the Irish

Ken:

Oh, yeah.

Jon:

Right. So you've got the Irish that lays out this new deal of yeah yeah yeay, we're not going to sell you the Russian parts that you assemble and then sell for 60% margin. We're going to give you these assembled guns, and then we want you to play Instacart and deliver them for 20%. Which you can tell like, like, you don't have to be very savvy to put two and two together and go well, then that would be worse, wouldn't it? So, Clay, you can tell he doesn't like it. But he says you know, like, what do you think VP?

(Show Clip):

What do you think VP?

Jon:

What I liked about this moment is Jax doesn't share what he's thinking. He doesn't talk about it. He just looks over and I think he thought he said it to Juice. He's like, bring the Irish back.

Ken:

Yep, that's what he said.

Jon:

He just takes control. And so the Irish come back and he basically starts negotiating and lays out the terms

(Show Clip):

you get us the Russian guns, we need to keep our open business intact. We use your facility to store and assemble, that will run your hardware up to coast. But MC Pony Express is gonna cost you 30%

Jon:

I don't know if Jax is just a really shrewd negotiator, or the Irish suck at it. But this is a pretty damn good deal that Jax has negotiated.

Ken:

Yeah, he did it on the fly. But you know he took control of the situation. And did you catch what he said when he was when he was done with the deal?

Jon:

Yeah, so he basically presents the deal he's negotiated and and you can see Clay's pissed that Jax is just kind of done this. And what does Jax say?

Ken:

He says call a vote pres kind of you know very Yeah, he was sinnacle

Jon:

like I know I've negotiated something that people are going to approve like the deals done and you can feel that tension between Clay and Jax.

Ken:

You can you can you can see it.

Jon:

And my take on this is because Jax knows that Clay knows that Jax knows. Clay tried to kill Opie. Yeah. All right. I know it took a long way to get there, but you understand what

Ken:

I do I know.

Jon:

Jax knows Clay tried to kill Opie, Clay knows that. So Jax is kind of in that position of what are you going to do about it? Like, I hold all the cards. You want me to stay quiet, you're gonna keep your mouth shut. And so Jax is taking advantage of that opportunity? Because he knows like, I've got dirt on you.

Ken:

Yeah. Without coming out and saying it.

Jon:

That's right. That's right. And then you can see at the end of that scene, all Tig is worried about is Opie's coming back and what's going to happen because Jax and Piney know what we did?

Ken:

Yeah.

(Show Clip):

Opie's gonna want payback for Donna's death right? Jax and Piney both know it wasn't the Niners. Any ideas where the hell we're gonna land with this? Give Trammel a call, we are gonna need some police intel, I can do that!

Jon:

It really sets up this tension with within SAMCRO. And we don't know where it's gonna go. But but it's very clear, like this is not over.

Ken:

Nope.

Jon:

So that really kind of is a great opening scene. That kind of I think, again, I think this is going to be an ongoing thing of this gun running that will probably come up in other episodes. But it was really interesting the way that I think Kurt wrote the episode to take this and weave in all this backstory around Donna's death and the power struggle that is now resulting from that, and how it's kind of emboldened Jax to do things that maybe he normally wouldn't do, because he feels like he has leverage with Clay.

Ken:

Yeah.

Jon:

All right,

Ken:

good writing good writing.

Jon:

It's fantastic writing. Yeah. So what do you got next for us?

Ken:

What's next? Um, did you happen to catch a scene where, where Unser's coming out of the hospital? And he sits on the bench?

Jon:

Yes. So this ties into what you said earlier, where Gemma bringing Abel in for a checkup sees Unser in the hospital chapel.

Ken:

That's right.

Jon:

And doesn't stop or say anything. And so Gemma sees Unser on the way out. Right and sits down and they have a little chat.

Ken:

Yeah. And it's a serious chat. I mean, you can tell he's really coming to grips with his mortality and thinking about it. Gemma's concerned she sees that he's in bad shape

(Show Clip):

is just a follow up. Where are you at with it? Basically the treatment is keeping it contained to my bladder.

Jon:

When Gemma sits down and starts to ask him how he's doing what you see is Unser deflecting downplaying, he doesn't really share with Gemma the truth. But Gemma knows because she saw him

Ken:

that is more serious than that is more serious. And he's letting on. Yes, right. Yes.

Jon:

And I think that's kind of why Gemma lights up the joint like she knows this guy is dying. He's probably in pain. And so this is a small gesture that will make him feel a little better,

Ken:

right. So continuing to keep keep up on the pace here. I know we're running long here. What do you got? What jumped out to you?

Jon:

So let's just talk quickly about we mentioned that we have Alan Arkin, head of LOAN. And AJ Weston played by Henry Rollins. There's a scene that I'll just touch on for a minute, but it's where AJ Weston's character goes and meets with Darby, which makes perfect sense, right? You've got Darby, who's part of the Nords, And you've got LOAN and they have similar kind of goals and beliefs. And so AJ goes and meets Darby. It's not quite the meeting that you're expecting. You're thinking these two to be kindred spirits.

Ken:

Yeah.

Jon:

It went a little differently.

Ken:

It did, I thought they were like part of the same team.

Jon:

Yes, exactly. And I think it won't come as a surprise for anyone who's seen the episode, but it's that end of that scene. When AJ says,

(Show Clip):

If I were you, and button your shirt. I got nothing to hide. It's not about hiding. You haven't earned it.

Jon:

It's so unexpected. And I like the fact that it's not just a simple you know, we're on the same team. I like that dynamic and the the additional complexity that Kurt put into that dynamic because the the assumption is these two are going to be kindred spirits and get along famously and what you realize is they actually don't think that Darby is worthy, but he's below them. So wrap up the the first half of the episode for us, Ken, what do you got for point #5?

Ken:

Well, I think the the party or there's there's a lot the party seems to run throughout the last half of the entire show.

Jon:

True,

Ken:

they're having a welcome, welcome party for Bobby.

Jon:

Okay, yep.

Ken:

And everyone kind of greets Opie when he gets there, right.

Jon:

Right, which those are two separate things right, you got Opie returning and church, and then later you've got Bobby coming.

Ken:

That's right party. That's right. So the first part would be Opie

Jon:

Yes,

Ken:

Bobby doesn't arrive till later.

Jon:

Correct.

Ken:

So So Opie shows up and I don't know about you, but I was watching to see that reaction.

Jon:

Well, I was on the edge of my seat to watch that reaction,

Ken:

Sure. And you can see that the look on Clay and Tig's face they just have this guilty look on their face.

Jon:

Well, and they don't know what to expect. Like they don't know what Opie knows

Ken:

they don't

Jon:

any and so it's this I don't know what's gonna happen here. But I'm just gonna play all right.

Ken:

I mean, they all embrace each other. They hug each other welcome back and all that but you see that with Jax and Piney know, and Piney he's kind of like he's ready. He wants things to escalate. But Jax pulls him aside and talks him away from doing that. And he's not happy about that.

(Show Clip):

Clay tried to kill my son he slaughtered his wife by mistake. I'm depending on you to make that right kid. You gotta trust me Piney, me fixing things doesn't happen quick or easy. Right now it's about protecting. Ope.

Jon:

yeah, the thing with Piney is like, there's the fact that they murdered his son's wife, which is horrific enough, right like that, in of itself. would would put me over the edge as a parent. But the bigger issue here not to take anything away from Donna's death. But Donna was not the intended target. So Piney is sitting there going you wanted and attempted to kill my son. You botched it and killed his wife instead. But let's not lose sight of what your intent was. I would be fit to be tied too

Ken:

Yeah, the fact that he could be that restrained.

Jon:

And now every bet Well, not everybody like for Piney and Jax and Clay and Tig. You get to sit there and look the man in the eye, Opie, and lie to him,

Ken:

right.

Jon:

for very different reasons. But you still have to lie to him. And that would be hard to do as well.

Ken:

Yeah. So after that, they end up in church, right? And they're discussing what needs to happen or what the plan should be. And Clay leads Opie down the path that it's the Mayan's right?

(Show Clip):

Myan's? How do you know? Jax and Piney talked with Laroy. So we know wasn't the Niner's? That's right. As far as Laroy is concerned, the Niner's and the SOA are

Jon:

And when Clay shares the intel that they get from Trammel good. which is all fake. And Opie ays he wants to do it and Clay's I'm gonna be there. like, agreed. And then Cla suggests that it's Tig and Chib s that go with them. And like t e timing of it like J x immediately goes, "And me," and shoots this look to C ay like what the hell a And then Opie oblivious to all of it. This is like yeah, what Jax there. Things are coming to a head between Clay and Jax.

Ken:

The are. So they're out to now find..... a person worthy of being killed. So as church ends Jax goes in to close the door and it's just Jax and Clay and they're they're talking, Jax says

(Show Clip):

whoever you put this murder on, just make sure they deserve to die. Because the guy that killed Donna is out there sharing a beer with her husband.

Jon:

Such a great line. Yeah, cutting.

Ken:

Mm hmm.

Jon:

And of course that you know, Clay bristles with that so it's like you better be real careful how you navigate around this one

Ken:

right. And then he says what are you going to put a bullet in my head? So he's calling on him. He knows that Jax knows what he has on him. He's holding the cards.

Jon:

But he knows it. And he's pushing it.

Ken:

Yep.

Jon:

All right Ken. Let's get into the back half of the episode. I think we we kind of teed this up in the last point that you covered, which is Opie's return to the clubhouse. They had church. And Clay has brought Opie in and brought him up to speed and let him know, although it's not true, but Clay has positioned the Mayans, as the ones that have killed Donna.

Ken:

Right.

Jon:

Right. And so this is the scene I want to talk about is where they go and basically kidnap the Mayan. And Opie is now going to execute this Mayan as retaliation, revenge, whatever you want to call it. This is what he needs for closure over what happened.

Ken:

Right

Jon:

What this kind of takes a turn because you have Jax and Tig, in particular, who are really in on what has actually happened and what they're trying to create for Opie and they're surprised to find that Opie wants to hear him say he did it.

Ken:

Right.

Jon:

And this poor boy from the Mayans has no idea what Opie's talking about.

Ken:

Yeah, no idea. But if you if you back up a little bit, there was a little bit of action in the build up to where they're where they get to where they're going to have their way with him, right. Do you remember the scene where Jax jumps to the window, asks Opie to drive a truck. And he grabs that rod and throws it through the wheel of the Mayan.

Jon:

Yes!

Ken:

that was pretty well done. Very creative.

Jon:

Yep. Yep, yeah, there. So there was a neat, your right, a neat little action scene set up there. And you've got Tig and Chibs, following behind Jax and Opie. And yeah, they they send this guy flying off of his motorcycle, and then pick them up and throw them into the back of the van. They take them to a deserted location. yank them out and their goal is alright, Opie, here's the guy, kill him, let's get the hell out of here and Opie wants to monologue with the guy.

Ken:

Yeah.

(Show Clip):

Tell me you did it, What? Tell me you killed my wife! I don't know what the hell you're talking about? Tell me pulled up behind me.

Ken:

They just want to move on and get him out of this mode he's in. And Jax is willing to give it to him. Just because he knows that's what Opie needs.

Jon:

Yes, but initially, when when Jax sees this all happening, you see him kind of shoot a look to Tig like, this could go wrong, right? This guy. Like if he don't be talked too much. Opie's gonna figure out this isn't the guy that actually killed Donna. And then we got a whole nother set of problems. Jax kind of pulls him aside like what are you doing? Like execute this guy and let's get the hell out of here. Yeah. And what I loved about that scene, and and I thought Ryan Hurst who plays Opie just did a phenomenal job in acting the scene you see the look on his face. And the way he reacts to what Jax has said, and

(Show Clip):

Just do the guy, let's get the hell out of here. You guys can go. I gotta do this my way. Listen, if it was Tara, with her head blown off, You'd be ripping off that guy's fingers, one by one.

Ken:

And what I was noticing too, is while they were off having their discussion. This guy was begging for his life in Tig is kind of holding them down. But the look in Tig's eyes, he's like, this isn't the way this is supposed to be going.

Jon:

we were hoping for a quick execution and everything's good.

Ken:

The cats kind of come out of the bag here. This guy can't talk this. This can't go on. And he's kind of looking like and what does he do?

Jon:

Tig puts a bullet through the side of the guy's mouth so he can't talk?

Ken:

Yeah, it was kind of gruesome to see that.

Jon:

And then claims that the guy cause Tig has cut him loose claims the guy had gotten loose and tried to get away. and that was why he had to shoot him. But it was gruesome. I felt bad for the Mayan because he's in this crime he's totally innocent. At the same time I went, that's pretty smart and quick thinking on Tig's part.

Ken:

Yeah.

Jon:

So yeah, it was just a fantastic scene, a tough scene. You feel for Opie, but we're left feeling that now, Opie has closure. whether or not he does remains to be seen. But for all intents and purposes, this storyline has been tied up,

Ken:

and for the moment, at least.

Jon:

So what do we want to get into next?

Ken:

Well, back to the clubhouse. They're having a party for Bobby. There is a lot of excess going on at the club. Right?

Jon:

Great word for it. Yes. We don't need to get into details. But I think excess people can figure out what that might be.

Ken:

Yep. If you've seen it, you know what I'm talking about. But the moment that kind of jumped out at me is when Ethan Zobelle and his cronies just decide to show up and this is, you know, 10 o'clock at night in the middle off the party is a great time to to have a discussion with them about not selling guns to the Mayans or the Niners?

Jon:

Ah, yes, they're attempt at a peace offering.

Ken:

Yeah, their attempt, they bring cigars, don't they?

Jon:

They bring cigars....

Ken:

that's least the front that he's bringing to town. He wants to open a cigar shop. And he's got his, Ethan's got his eyes on a storefront.

Jon:

Yep,

Ken:

so he shows up with the the box of cigars and tries to hand them to Clay and but first decides to tell him, yeah, you guys need to stop. Stop what you're doing selling guns?

(Show Clip):

What advice would that be? We feel it would be best for all concerned if you stopped dealing arms to the One Niners and the Mayans.

Ken:

At first everyone just kind of laughs right?

Jon:

Right. Like, here's this, like, business guy. He's not a badass, trying to tell the Sons of Anarchy, what to do.

Ken:

Right? And so Clay, they kind of laugh and Clay says

(Show Clip):

I don't know what your talking about, we're just mechanics and Harley lovers

Ken:

It was well put.

Jon:

and it was really well delivered, by Ron Perlman.

Ken:

Great acting. I love that guy. But when it gets serious, he kind of lays it down and saying no one tells the Sons of Anarchy what to do.

(Show Clip):

I don't know what he told you. I don't know what your angle is. But I'd be real clear. Nobody threatens SAMCRO. And nobody tells us what we can and can't do.

Ken:

You see Tig there too. He was like, he's ready to start shooting things up like he's ready to throw down. He always is.

Jon:

He is, did you happen to see Happy in that scene?

Ken:

No, I didn't.

Jon:

It was very short. But it cuts to Happy and it's a kind of dark, like dimly lit scene, because he's not upfront with Clay and Tig but he's kind of in the background. But it just the camera goes on him for just a moment. It's just a beat. And then it goes away. But the look on his face. And again, we know Happy, he's a hitman. Right? The look on Happy's face, as he's looking at this LOAN group is I will murder every single one of you. And you just see it on his face. He doesn't say a word but the look on his face. Like if if I was standing there with Zobelle and I looked over and happened to catch the look on happies face. I'm like, we need to go It's time to go.

Ken:

Yeah. So Clay, there's some other words exchanged but Clay basically tells them to what did he say again?

(Show Clip):

So why don't you just climb back into your little German clown car and drive back to Nazi town.

Ken:

I thought again, Clay did a great job acting, but that, they've been served right?

Jon:

Well, and I also like like there's this very kind of surface level banter. And, and Clay kind of dismisses it. And then there's this escalation. And I also like what Ethan said,

(Show Clip):

What do you do for a living is between you and your maker? I'm not here to adjust your moral compass. This is just a reality check. You're a criminal and you're done selling guns to color.

Jon:

So it goes from a polite request and peace offering of cigars to I'm telling you, you're done. And that's where things escalate.

Ken:

Right. Right. So after that, after that dialogue Tig when he's ready to start throwing down and pull his gun out, Ethan he says Listen, Mr. Trager. What are you gonna do shoot me right now? So he's done his homework on who these people are like he knows everybody by name.

Jon:

That's a great catch yes. They didn't beat you over the head now, like, that's what you get if you're paying attention.

Ken:

What are you gonna do shoot me with all these witnesses and there's a ton of them from all the excess is going on? There's people everywhere.

Jon:

Yep.

Ken:

So anyway, that that little bit that that exchange there jumped out at me at the party.

Jon:

So let's stay with that. And I'll just I'll move right into the next point because again, it's this party, which is really all about Bobby's release from jail. Yeah. Right. That's why the party exists. And so Bobby finally arrives like that, you know, they're having the party because they know he's being released, but they're waiting for him. Bobby's not there yet.

Ken:

Yeah, he's a celebrity here.

Jon:

So this whole thing has happened with Ethan Zobelle and his lone idiots. They've now left. But finally Bobby arrives and our good friend agent June Stahl is personally delivering Bobby back to SAMCRO.

Ken:

Yes, Yes, she is.

Jon:

And I love the dialogue between Clay and Stahl.

Ken:

Yeah, it was almost like they were just gonna let this one slide. They weren't gonna have they just letting them in. She was letting them enjoy that moment.

Jon:

Yeah, and I think that's what I liked most is Clay's obviously won. Right and he's peacocking a little bit because he's won and agent Stahl is just gonna let him have the win. She's not upset. She's not triggered by it. Like for her you've won the battle but you've not won the war. And so they end up with a little dialogue. Remember that the dialogue they had back and forth like Bobby's gone he's into the group he's ready to party and it's just Clay install at the car.

Ken:

I don't remember exactly what was what was said.

Jon:

So Clay's obviously having a good time. He knows he's won

Ken:

Okay, go ahead....

Jon:

He looks at Stahl, an he says

(Show Clip):

thanks for giving him a lift. What do I owe you? No charge.

Jon:

Right so now he's he's belittling stall like she's a taxi or an Uber. Right. and Stahl plays right along with it. No charge. Enjoy the party. So Clay not getting a rise out of her pushes it further.

(Show Clip):

Enjoy the party. Hey you want to stick around for a while? I'm sure you can do some major damage to a stripper pole. You have no idea.

Jon:

Now again, you would imagine if I didn't get you triggered with calling you a taxi driver? I'm sure as hell gonna trigger you now. Implying that you could work a stripper pole

Ken:

Yeah, you would think

Jon:

and Stahl just looks at him gives him a little mischievious smile and says you have no idea and then gets in the car

Ken:

great character

Jon:

it's so good cuz she's she firmly believes you can you can see both sides of it Clay sitting there going you tried? You lost? I won. I'm gonna rub your nose in it. And yet you've got June Stahl going you have no idea you may have won the battle but I will win the war. They both think they're winning.

Ken:

Yeah. But it's not over yet. There's much more to go

Jon:

not over yet. So much more to go

Ken:

so anyway what what's your final point? I think we're running a little bit long here

Jon:

yeah let's let's just go to the ending, what what I think will often call fade to black right it's what leads to that final fade to black and the Sons of Anarchy logo then washes onto the screen, the climax of the episode. It's a tough scene to watch Ken!

Ken:

Very!

Jon:

Let's break it down here.

Ken:

Go ahead.

Jon:

So we've got Tara like all of this is happening as it kind of jumps from scene to scene. So it's you said Tara is taking Gemma's advice she's talked to Jax. Jax has confided in Tara. You see Opie finally going home to find his kids sleeping in his bed.

Ken:

Oh, that's a tough scene to see. Because you see, you see Opie's again pain facing life on his own and it's different.

Jon:

He's wrestling with that past and present. And he we know he's been avoiding his kids. Not because he doesn't want to see them but because of his guilt. He doesn't know what to say. And it reminds him of Donna. Right. And so it was a very vulnerable moment and you felt all of that emotion in that scene. And then you have Gemma, who is lewered by Polly to help what Gemma believes is a child in need

Ken:

a choking baby, right?

Jon:

a choking baby. And she basically knocks Gemma out and LOAN. Right Ethan Zobelle's group takes Gemma. And you basically see, Gemma kind of get knocked out. And you next see her chained up against a chain link fence. Right, her hands above her head. And this scene plays out where although Gemma initially does not know we know that it's AJ.

Ken:

Right.

Jon:

And other people in LOAN and they rape Gemma as kind of punishment for SAMCRO not agreeing to stop selling guns,

Ken:

right.

Jon:

And they leave her with a message to give to Clay.

Ken:

Yeah,

Jon:

right. So, so LOAN is escalating things in a very big way. And showing SAMCRO and Clay they're serious and they mean business. This I don't even know how to describe like, I put myself in their shoes where I'm trying to force someone to do something. It's it sounds weird to even say it. But in some ways this is even worse than just killing someone. Right. Like if they just gone and killed Tig to send a message. It's weird to think that killing one of SAMCRO would seems almost not as severe as this.

Ken:

Yeah, the way the way it played out. Yeah.

Jon:

And I think the reason I kind of landed on that is not that this is worse than murder. But if I'm an outsider, like, I don't know Gemma's background, the assumption is she's an innocent. Tig and the other members of SAMCRO are not we're targeting an innocent.

Ken:

Yeah.

Jon:

That's lower than targeting someone from SAMCRO. Like you're just, there are no boundaries.

Ken:

I'd agree.

Jon:

It reminds me of those ones where it's like, I don't just go after you. I go after you. I go after your family. Right. Like, there are no boundaries. And that's essentially what they communicate through this act. And, man, it, I gotta say, Katie Sagal who plays Gemma? It was a tour de force performance by her.

Ken:

Yeah. Well done. It was well done.

Jon:

I can't imagine how difficult that scene would be to shoot.

Ken:

Well, and, and Kurt, who is her husband wrote it. So I'll put that one together. That's a well, that's tough. But they they tell her that the message to Clay is tell them to stop selling guns to people of color? And if not, this will continue.

Jon:

Right. Which if that's your message, it's pretty obvious who the message is coming from? Do you really need a mask?

Ken:

Yeah, that's a good point.

Jon:

Like we know,

Ken:

that's a good point. Yeah, we know, what's the mask for?

Jon:

I mean, I get that you can't actually, you know, pick someone out a lineup, but like, it's pretty obvious. who's sending this message?

Ken:

Because they've already confronted them directly. It'll be one thing if they didn't, they didn't stop by the party.

Jon:

Right. So I found that funny. But yeah, it's, well, Right. let's just leave it there because obviously this is not where the storyline is going to end. We'll talk a little bit about it as we tease the next episode, but let's summarize the episode. How does this one rank for you? As we head into season two, and you've got the entire season one behind you? How does this rank?

Ken:

I don't know. I don't know. That's a good question. I think it's setting the table. So it was your heart kind of pounded a little bit during that final closing. The last two, were just so darn good that this one is just a little bit lower with me. I would say it's probably top seven or eight.

Jon:

Yeah, I think I agree. It reminds me of the pilot, right, where we talked about how the pilot was good. But a pilot's difficult because you've got to set the table. Yeah, for the entire series. There's a lot of things you got to get done. This season opener, it's similar, right? You feel this setting the table, right and laying out the storylines for the season. There's a lot here, for sure. And again, you get a little bit of everything. But I can't say that this kind of makes the top 10.

Ken:

Yeah, I agree. It's not one of the best, but we don't know what's coming (well we do). But we're gonna step through it.

Jon:

Yep. And again, great episode. So many great moments, but there's, it's tough when you keep one upping yourself. And that, frankly, is what Kurt does throughout the series. So that brings us to next week's show. Season Two, Episode Two titled Small Tears,

Ken:

Small Tears. Okay.

Jon:

So I don't know how much you remember about this episode. But I'm just going to say that this is largely going to be a continuation of episode one that will largely center around the aftermath of gems rape.

Ken:

ok

Jon:

So the question that remains to be seen is what is going to happen based on LOANS escalation, and the rape and the message that they've sent? And how will Clay and SAMCRO respond to that?

Ken:

Yep.

Jon:

So we'll cover that next week. Which brings us Ken to our second most important question of the night. What are we going to drink?

Ken:

What are we going to drink? Well, you and I both I believe have in our arsenal, a bottle called Redemption. Right?

Jon:

Ah, the batch 30.

Ken:

Yes, I believe so.

Jon:

In fact. ....

Ken:

Do you have it?

Jon:

I'll give you a little sneak peek. I've got it right here.

Ken:

I have it. I have a right here. I'm gonna That's it. That's it. Yeah, that's the same one. So let's let's plan on cracking that.

Jon:

Mine is sealed. It's one of the few that I have. But that, by the way for anyone watching. The reason Ken always shows the bottle is he tends to keep his sealed. I tend to drink them. So we use his new bottles for a presentation on this show, which he hates me for. But I actually have a new bottle that is still sealed.

Ken:

Well, hey, Next next week, we'll let you crack it down and show it. How's that?

Jon:

Well, we'll see if the bottle makes it to next. Okay, I'll never know. Well,

Ken:

mine will be sitting there right here. Ready for ready for us to crack then

Jon:

well done. You know, one of these days, maybe, who knows, maybe we if we make it to 15 fans, we could actually build a little wood platform and whatever bourbon we choose, we'll set it up there. And we'll display it till the next show. And then it's there for you. Next week.

Ken:

There we go.

Jon:

Let's pull it off of the little platform and a little display.

Ken:

Let's plan on doing that. But for now. It's just sitting right there. And we'll get we'll get to next week.

Jon:

I like it. And that's gonna do it for tonight's show. Hopefully, you had as much fun as we did. We always have fun doing the show. One final reminder for those of you watching on YouTube, please remember to like and subscribe and do check out our channel for more shows. And if you're listening to us on the podcast, do take a moment. Leave that five star rating. tell people how much you love the show. And be sure that you subscribe so you don't miss any future shows. And again, if you don't want to give us a five star rating, none is preferred, like but again, real, real transparent. We're wanting five star ratings. We're wanting glowing reviews. We want you to tell at least 100 of your friends about the show. And you know, we say that we have no discernible skill or talent. Leave that out. tell them were great ! That's fine. Let's just bring more people to the show. But most of all, thank you for joining us for tonight's show. We hope you will join us here each and every week on the Liquid Courage Show. Good night, everyone. Good night.