'Sons of Anarchy' - "John 8:32" recap

As Nero wakes up in Gemma's bed, Gemma has a tough time trying to tell him about what happened with Tara. Nero brings up a valid point, that Tara would need more than the word of a junkie, a junkie that Jax hates no less, to convince Jax that what Tara did what Gemma knows she did. Nero believes Gemma, as he actually should, as this time, Gemma's not actually in the wrong.

Jax tells Tara why Clay's not dead yet. He explains that the Irish are going to bust Clay out of prison while he's being transported next week so they can continue their gun business with him. This doesn't sit too well with Tara, and she doesn't want to hear anymore of it. Jax can tell that Tara is trying to distance herself from her husband, and he's doing everything he can, but she's not letting him in.

Patterson drops by the sheriff's station to tell Eli that she wants 24/7 surveillance on Jax and the Sons. Eli is pretty confident that Jax won't be doing anything outside the confines of the law for the foreseeable future, but he agrees so as to entertain Patterson.

Jax swings by the ice cream shop. Happy is back from talking to all of their gun buyers. Most of them are on board with Clay taking over, and he doesn't see any problems with that going forward. The Sons have gotten word that the Irish are going to get Clay a phone in prison so they can solidify their plans for the near future. Unser pops in once all the Clay talk is finished. Jax thanks him for his help with Tara, but just as Unser is about to talk about Gemma and her suspicions about Tara's "pregnancy," a girl across the street from the shop starts banging one of the bikes with a wrench, then tosses the wrench through the shop window, then takes off running. Jax chases her down, but the girl screams rape when he catches up with her, so Jax let's her go.

Back at the shop, Unser tells the Sons that the girl is Gary Putner's kid. She'd been in and out of juvenile programs, and has some mental heath issues. Gary is a foreman at Oswald's mill, and is now a single dad. His wife had died in a car accident, collateral damage from the tractor-trailer that killed John Teller.

On Jax's way out, Eli drops by the shop as a friendly reminder that the Sons are going to be under surveillance for a while, as he's Patterson's only suspect as the source for the KG-9. Jax gets what Roosevelt is telling him. Chibbs is skeptical, as he worries about their upcoming week, which includes Clay getting broken out of prison. Unser also requests that he and Jax finish their conversation about Gemma, and then Juice tells Jax that Barasky called about very urgent.

Lowen meets with Tara at Tara's house. They go over some of the legal documents for the divorce. Lowen tells Tara that her paycheck's will now be going directly to her account, as well as any cash. Tara is against that notion, she doesn't want to leave Jax with nothing. Lowen is visibly upset with Tara as she reviews Tara's recent medical records. Lowen realizes that every record was handled by Margaret Murphy, and she tells Tara that if she used false records, that's not going to exactly look good when going in front of a jury in a matter of weeks.

Clay sits in the prison chapel, genuinely disinterested. A guard enters and gives a signal to an inmate, who then gives a nod to Clay. Clay then promptly interrupts the preacher's sermon by going on a rant about the one true healing power: the one between a woman's legs. Clay goes on, making a show of the whole thing, and then when a guard comes to subdue him, Clay bites the tip of the man's nose off.

Jax, Happy and Bobby head to Diosa. Before Barasky gets there, Nero wants to talk to Jax alone. Nero brings up the situation between Tara and Gemma, but Jax immediately stops him by saying it's a family matter. Nero says Gemma is his family now, to which Jax says that if Nero wants to deal with her, it's fine by him. Nero subtly says that Tara may be lying about the whole situation between Tara and Gemma, but Jax doesn't want to hear any of it.

Barasky and Collette show up, but they're bringing bad news. The bakery has been shut down by the health inspector and the escort license for Diosa del Sur has been denied. He knows Patterson is behind it, but there's nothing he can do about it. Barasky says he can't take this heat right now, and pulls out if the deal with Jax and Nero.

Gemma walks in as Barasky and Collette leave, and Jax immediately blows up on her. Gemma comes back by telling Jax what Nero did for the club, taking the rap as the gun source so Patterson would back off the club. Nero doesn't make much of this, but Jax is taken aback that Nero would have done something like that for him. Jax tells Happy to get everyone together for chapel.

Tig joins the guys at Diosa with an address for the Putner's. They head there after leaving Diosa. Gary invites Jax in, and explains that his daughter is bipolar with some anxiety issues. Gary explains that he lost the house to the bank, and while packing, Brooke found photos of her mom and the article mentioning John Teller and the "accident." Jax looks at an old photo of Gary and his late wife, Emily, and thinks she looks familiar. Jax tells Gary not to worry about the window, and that he'll even talk to Oswald about helping Gary out with the house.

Nero goes to see Tara at the hospital and tries to be civil in asking her to reconsider her situation with Gemma. Tara isn't as calm in her response, going as far as telling Nero to get out while he can, or he'll either end up in prison like husband number dead, or dead like the first one.

Clay gets a visit from a shady doctor in the infirmary who gives him a phone so he can contact the Irish. Clay makes his call, and when he's done, the guard who's nose Clay bit off comes in with a friend. The two guards proceed to beat the hell out of Clay, all while he's strapped to the bed.

At the hospital, Margaret gets a message that Tara is waiting for her in her office. She goes to Tara's office, but it's Gemma waiting in there instead. Gemma's first instinct was to strangle Margaret to death, but has finally decided to play it smart, and is planning on taking Tara's recent medical records to the hospital board and tell them how their administrator falsified documents. "It would be my word against yours," Margaret says. Gemma thanks her, saying that was all she needed to hear. Margaret is confused, but Gemma explains that if the pregnancy was in fact real, Margaret would have told Gemma she was crazy and that the records are real. Margaret then tells Gemma that she won't be able to prove it, but Gemma tells her that she won't have to. She's going to let Jax be the one to get the truth out.

The Sons all vote a unanimous yes on a very serious issue. Jax then goes from the clubhouse to the DA's office and sits down with Patterson. He's there to make her an offer that will clear the club, and Nero. He's willing to give up Galen and the Real IRA in exchange for immunity from all gun charges, past and present, and for her to ease up on the club's legitimate business deals. Jax claims he can deliver Galen with a gun shipment within the next 10 days. Patterson knows deals like this always come with a personal request as well, and Jax's is for Patterson to take another look at Tara's case, that Tara legitimately had no idea what Otto was going to do with that nurse. Patterson wants reassurance that this is real. Jax tells her that it is, but she needs to call off the tails, or else the Irish will walk. Patterson agrees to give Jax his 10 days, but if he doesn't deliver, she'll make both his and Tara's lives a living hell.

At Diosa, Nero heads to the back to talk to Jax about the meeting with Patterson. Before any words are exchanged, Jax clocks Nero in the face. Tara told Jax about Nero's little visit, and after some harsh words were spoken about Tara, Jax and Nero start beating the crap out of each other, throwing each other around the kitchen. Nero tries to stop, but Jax won't back down. It isn't until Happy breaks it up do the two stop fighting, but once the physical fighting stops, the verbal sparring begins. Jax starts attacking Gemma, but Nero comes to her defense, telling Jax what Gemma did for the club during her conjugal with Clay. Gemma then tells Jax that she spoke with Margaret, confirming her suspicion about Tara. She tells her son that Tara is doing all this to get out, and by out, meaning away from Jax, the club, Charming, everything.

Lowen drops by Unser's trailer at his request later that night. He asks her to take a seat and then he leaves. Jax comes out of the shadows, brandishing a knife. Jax, trying to stay as calm as possible, asks Lowen if Tara is filing for divorce and taking his sons. She says yes. Jax then asks Lowen if the pregnancy was fake. She says she thinks it was, but doesn't know for sure. Jax immediately yells for Lowen to get out. As Lowen gets back in her car, Unser reminds Jax that he had promised no one would get hurt in all this. Jax doesn't give a response. Lowen calls Tara as she leaves the garage.

Gemma is tending to Nero, who was a little more banged up than Jax after their fight. He mentions to Gemma what Tara said about John Teller. Gemma proceeds to tell Nero the long history of her falling out with JT, his affair with Maureen Ashby and his hopes to get the Sons out of guns. Gemma grew closer to Clay back then, and then she gave her blessing to Clay to kill John, justified by her as getting rid of the club's "weak link."

Jax gets back to the ice cream shop and sees that Brooke Putner is waiting for him. He sits and talks with her. She apologizes for the damage, but Jax tells her not to worry about it. She thanks him for talking to Oswald, for him helping to keep their house.

Tara sits at home signing a lullaby to Thomas. Clay is in solitary, sitting in silence while wrapped up in a straight jacket. Gemma smokes alone, Nero sits alone trying to process all the history he just learned, and Jax sits alone in shop. As Brooke is walking home, she passes the homeless woman that keeps popping up throughout the series. She looks eerily similar to Emily, Brooke's late mother. Tara continues to rock her son to sleep, waiting for Jax to come home, with a gun in her lap just in case.

image: FOX