'Sons of Anarchy' - "Salvage" Recap

Jax and Chibbs walk through what used to be their clubhouse, surveying the damage. There isn't anything left except the frame of the building. Jax sits on what remains of one of the chairs and tells Chibbs that he did this, that it's all his fault. Chibbs finds the gavel, still in one piece, and hands it to Jax. He tells his president that they're going to fix everything.

Outside, Roosevelt is on the scene. Jax can't tell Eli who bombed them, but he does tell him that it happened because the Sons are trying to end a relationship. Both Jax and Chibbs promise Eli that something like this will never happen again, but Eli doesn't seem to believe them. Jax tells Roosevelt he's trying to get the club out of the illegal stuff and into more legitimate business, but it'll take some time. Roosevelt goes to head back to the station, where he has Nero locked up for Erin's killing.

Gemma is already at the station, raising hell when the deputies won't let her see him. She knocks a few officers over trying to get to the cell. Gemma finally gets to see Nero, but she's in cuffs for her antics. She understands that this bombing likely makes Nero want to distance himself from the club further, but she can't leave her family at the drop of a hat like that. Gemma wants to be with both Nero and the club, determined to make it work somehow.

The club is gathered at Gemma's house, everyone around her kitchen table. Jax is checking on Tara and the boys when Chuckie comes in and tells him that he just got a long distance phone call. Jax takes the phone, then puts it on speaker for everyone to hear. Galen tells Jax that the council (the Irish Kings) are prepared to offer the Sons terms for their betrayal. Less an offer and more an ultimatum, Galen tells Jax that Clay will take over the gun distribution in Northern California, or else the rest of the charters can expect keg bombs as well. Another term is that once Clay takes over, the Sons don't receive a profit, that the club is fully out. Jax looks around the table, gets a nod of approval from everyone, and agrees to Galen's terms.

Gemma gets a police escort back to her house. She arrives just as the Sons are about to ride up to Chester to have a meeting with all the other Northwest charters. Jax tells Gemma to head back to the prison to tell Clay what happened, and to make sure that Clay takes whatever deal the Irish offer him.

DA Patterson stops by the station to meet with Roosevelt. Eli catches her up on the IRA blowing up the Sons' clubhouse, carefully using the same words Jax used ("ending a relationship") when telling Patterson why it happened. Roosevelt also tells Patterson that he thinks the evidence in Nero's truck was planted, likely by Toric, but he doesn't say that at the time. Patterson shrugs that off, telling Eli to keep going forward with the "hard" evidence that they have.

At the hospital, Tara fills Unser in on a few of things going on, including her filing for divorce from Jax and filing for full custody of the boys at the same time. Just as Unser asks who will take care of the boys if and when Tara ends up in prison, Wendy shows up, visually answering his own question.

Jax and the guys are riding up to Chester, and as they head through a small town called Eden, they are stopped by a pair of motorcycle cops. The cops tell the guys that gang colors are prohibited in their town, and Jax tells them that they're just passing through and don't mean any trouble. The cops don't seem to care that Jax is attempting to handle this calmly, and keep hassling the Sons. The cops tell Jax that there have been reports of after market bike parts being sold, so he calls in a flatbed so they can check the Sons' bikes for stolen parts. Jax knows a scam when he sees one. Juice gives the cops some lip, and they don't seem to like it too much. The cops get a call to go elsewhere, so they cuff Juice to his bike, then shoot out the tires. This angers Juice, so he reacts the only way he knows how: by elbowing a cop in the face. Happy is also quick to react, as he quickly disarms the other cop. The Sons all get back on their bikes when they see backup arriving. The two cops hop in the SUV and give chase. Juice, on one of the police bikes, is just ahead of the SUV when Rat pulls up beside him with the van. Rat opens up the side door of the van, and Juice jumps in. The police bike rolls under the SUV, causing the SUV to lose control and flip off the side of the road.

The Sons arrive at the lodge in Chester for the meeting with the other charters. Bobby approaches Jax and tells him that he needs to speak with him after the meeting.

Gemma goes to see Clay in prison. She tells him about the Irish blowing up the clubhouse, but that Jax also needs Clay to take their deal so he can get on the inside.

Jax sits at the head of the table with members of all the other Northen Cali charters surrounding him. He talks about the sacrifices they've all had to make, and that their actions as a club in Charming affect all the other charters. He informs the rest of the club that his decision to get out of guns will hurt the Sons of Anarchy initially, that the sudden lack of cash flow might sting at first. Jax tells them about his business partnership with Nero, about Diosa, and that SAMCRO is looking to reboot Cara Cara. He says that the club has no future in guns, solidified by the Irish blowing up the clubhouse the night before. He then offers SAMCRO's help to any charter that wants to move in a legitimate direction. Everyone is in agreement with Jax.

Gemma heads back to the station to talk with Roosevelt. She barges into his office to see Patterson on the phone. They exchange a couple of "who the hell are you?"'s, and then Gemma tells both Patterson and Roosevelt what Toric was having done to Otto, and threatened to do to Clay. Gemme reiterates that that's why Otto killed Toric, not to save the club, just vengeance. She then tells Patterson that Nero was with her the night Erin was killed, then they both went to church the following morning. She knows Patterson wants to find the person that put the gun in the boy's hands, but she assures the DA that it wasn't Nero. After Gemma leaves, Roosevelt suggests looking into Toric to see what he was actually doing, as he knows that he was on the DA's payroll, and that wouldn't look good if it came to light what Toric actually did do.

Roosevelt and his deputy head to the motel that Toric was staying at. They go into the room and the first thing they notice is the ridiculous amounts of bleach that were used throughout the room. They find a couple of guns, including the one that happens to be the gun that was used to kill Erin, as well as multiple bags of pills and drugs. Roosevelt also finds a bleach spot on the floor, and two bullet holes underneath the carpet. Patterson isn't willing to let Nero go until the tests come back on the hotel room, knowing that her case is about to fall apart with what Roosevelt found.

Bobby talks to Jax outside the lodge after the meeting gets out. Jax is expecting Bobby's Nomad transfer papers, but that's not what Bobby had in mind. Instead, Bobby hands Jax transfer papers for Quinn, Montez and West to join SAMCRO; one of the guys backed out after the explosion. Bobby hand picked these guys because they're the type of guys that would put the club first and back on the right path, and that he resigned as VP because he didn't think he could help Jax with those type of things anymore.

Patterson meets with Tara and Lowen at the hospital. She offers Tara a deal: full immunity for proof of the gun running. Tara tells Lowen that she doesn't need to think about it, despite the lawyer's push to.

Jax and the guys ride back through Eden and stop at the chop shop that the dirty cops had mentioned. Jax and Happy ring the bell and lure the guy working there over with a nice wad of cash, also mentioning the cops sent them there, and also confirming that the cops are part of this chop shop ring. After Juice finds his bike with parts missing, Jax has the guy call the cops to get them down there so they can chat.

The Eden cops show up and once they walk in the garage, they see Jax and realize they're out of luck. Jax tells them that he took photos of all the bikes, just as a precaution. He then tells Juice to pick out a new bike. Jax then tells the cops that nothing comes back on the club. Jax asks the cops for an apology, but when they don't seem to play nice, Jax decks one of them. Outside the chop shop, the cops take turns apologizing to each Son that's there. Bobby laughs, "It's good to be back."