Jax (Charlie Hunnam) is lost. In dethroning Clay (Ron Perlman) to remake SAMCRO in his father's image, he has become Clay, without turning back.

For the majority of the series, Tara (Maggie Siff), Opie (Ryan Hurst), Bobby (Mark Boone Junior) and his father's manuscript all acted as Jax's conscience.

Bobby is on the road, Tara is withdrawn, Opie is dead and that manuscript is in ashes.

Clay will mount an insurrection. A civil war. Bobby has always been sympathetic to Clay, he's clearly recruiting NOMADs for something and he's obviously at odds with Jax. Juice had his loyalties to Clay and has been conflicted about his role in framing him.

Jax has alienated other members of the club in various ways.

***** Mild Spoiler *****

He had Tig (Kim Coates) wrapped around his finger, but after the events toward the end of Episode 06.03: Poenitentia that will no longer be the case.

***** End Spoiler *****

Gemma and Nero

Gemma (Katey Sagal) may be with Nero (Jimmy Smits) and Clay may be locked up but that story is far from over. Nero and Jax could have a falling out based on the events of Episode 06.02: One One Six (another instance of Jax behaving like Clay), plus other decisions Jax has made that Nero is uncomfortable about. Let's not forget that Gemma's own role in John Teller's (Nicholas Guest) death is still a secret, thanks to Clay keeping it that way.

Take another look at the graphic advertising this season. It's all of them fighting with each other. It's certainly worth noting that Clay appears to be wearing his kutte, with his "FIRST 9"* patch in full view. I think this is definitely the season of Civil War for SAMCRO.

Whether the kutte's inclusion was intentional or merely incidental thanks to someone in the art department, Clay is the only surviving member of the First 9 other than Lenny The Pimp (aka Hells Angels co-founder Sonny Barger). Lenny the Pimp is also locked down. In one of the first three episodes, Clay name drops Lenny the Pimp as a way to stay protected while in the joint. That is also meaningful.

Finally: Last season, the Irish insisted they deal directly with Clay. The gun running business is what drove a wedge between Clay and JT (aside from the love triangle aspect) and ultimately led to JT's murder at the hands of Clay and Gemma. Jax wants out of the gun business, especially in light of that (pointlessly gratuitous school shooting, but that's another blog post) and the Irish want to keep it going. This sets up a perfect moneymaking scenario which Clay can use to entice members of SAMCRO to back returning him to the head of the table. The Irish can also provide guns and/or muscle for any Civil War and it's clear that they don't like Jax one bit.

Jax and Samcro

(* In case you've missed it, series creator Kurt Sutter has talked about doing a FIRST 9 prequel series! What we know about The First 9 as of right now is what we can piece together from the show as well as the iPhone app. The First Nine, in order, were as follows:

The FIRST 9
  • 01. John "JT" Teller (Nicholas Guest) (deceased, killed by Clay)
  • 02. Piermont "Piney" Winston (William Lucking) (deceased, killed by Clay)
  • 03. Lenny "The Pimp" Janowitz (Sonny Barger) (in prison)
  • 05. Wally Grazer (deceased, suicide)
  • 06. Thomas "Uncle Tom" Whitney (deceased, stabbed in prison)
  • 09. Clarence "Clay" Morrow (Ron Perlman)

Not sure the order of these three:

  • Chico Vellenueva (deceased)
  • Keith McGee (Andy McPhee) (deceased, killed by Clay)
  • Otto "L'il Killer" Moran (Kurt Sutter) (deceased, body found in a river)
Sons of Anarchy Season 6 The Mad King

Find out what happens next when Sons of Anarchy continues Season 6 with Episode 06.05: The Mad King. An attack at the compound leads SAMCRO to seek revenge. Now, the group must make an uneasy alliance, all-new on FX tonight!. Where will this lead Jax next?

Sons of Anarchy Season 6 continues tonight, Tuesday October 8 with "The Mad King" on FX.

- By Ryan J. Downey