My Quick Thoughts On Grey's Anatomy "Unaccompanied Minor"

"Okay, we're gonna be okay. You and I, we're a team, right?"

I have never written about Grey’s Anatomy on this site and I honestly was not planning on it.  The show is a guilty pleasure and for a long time it was not a very good show that I just watched out of habit.  That changed last season when the show seemed to find its footing in the second half and culminated tn the fantastically bloody season finale.  I never expected the show to keep up the momentum, but I was proved wrong because season 7 was one of the stronger seasons of the show, culminating in last night’s subdued, yet intelligent finale.

The show ran in to problems in season 3-6 because it refused to let its stars grow up.  Even though we had been following Meredith and company for so long, they still made the same bonehead decisions and never seemed to learn anything.  Now though, with Meredith and Christina both married, and with the rest of the characters actually advancing forward in their lives, the show has found new life, and that was very evident in this episode.

Each argument that was had tonight felt like a grown up argument.  It was not petty twenty somethings fighting about what surgeries they were going to do.  So whatever side of the argument you found yourself on, you found logical reasons on both sides.  Sure it is Christina’s body and she has stated numerous times in the past that she did not want to be a mother, but Owen was right to, it is a topic that warranted much more then the couple hours of conversing they did.  Meredith jeopardized the trial, and all its patients, and her career, and she had an understandable reason for doing it, just as Derek is completely reasonable to want to take a step away from her to process what she did and what it means for their future.  And sure, they chiefs lack of a serious punishment seems a little far fetched, even though it was his wife that Meredith was helping, but id rather have it be far fetched now that have to watch Meredith be “fired” for 4 or 5 episodes next season and then have to think of a contrived way to bring her back.  We have seen that done with Derrick and Christina already, with limited success.

I never really considered reviewing GA before because most weeks it was a chore for me to sit through.  Somewhere along the way it really redeemed itself.

My Thoughts on The Office "Search Committee"

"Or, I don't know. Something always works out." 

I was pretty nervous about the season finale of the office.  Why is that you ask?  Because of all the guest stars they were packing into it.  I thought Will Ferrell was downright awful.  He seemed to play a different character each week and none of them were funny or fit into the genius world The Office has built.  That was one of the main reasons why I was really worried about last night’s finale.  As it turns out, I was right to be worried because the episode itself was all over the place and every uneven.

“Search Committee” at time almost felt like a sketch comedy show.  They trotted in each guest star one at a time to do their thing and for the most part it really did not work.  It was like the show needed to validate itself by saying “We might not have Steve Carrel, But look at all these other people we can get!”  As for the stars performances, the only one I enjoyed was James Spader.  I actually think he could make it work as a long term replacement, but I highly doubt that he would do it.  Ray Romano and Jim Carrey were just over the top and goofy.  The worst one was by far Rick Gervais and it pains me to say that because his cameo earlier in the season was SO well done that I wish they would have just left it at that instead of going to the well one too many times.

The most frustrating aspect of the finale was that just one episode prior to this, The Office had its strongest episode of the season and they did not need Michael Scott or any other outsiders to pull that off.  And the stuff in this episode that focused on the normal staff for the most part worked.  Erin and Phyllis as a mother daughter duo worked really well and made me smile more than a few times.  The Creed/Pam stuff was golden and shows that when Creed is taken in small doses, he can still be one of the funnier characters in the ensemble.  Even a storyline I don’t like, such as Erin and Andy provided moments that made me laugh out (“I wish the puppets would talk more about the alphabet”)

I really think The Office can work going forward.  They showed me that last week.  These other characters have had 7 seasons to develop, so while they may have started as bit characters, we know enough about them now that together they can carry this show.  In my mind, Darryl would make the best boss going forward.  I think by choosing him, your ensuring that the chemistry is still great, and picking someone very funny, who at the same time, is very different from Michael Scott.

Rating:  5 out 10

Retro Review: Sons Of Anarchy "Fix"

"Nobody likes seeing Mommy and Daddy fight."

Ethan and his buddies in the League spend a lot of "Fix" hatching various schemes to bring down Samcro, but they almost don't need to bother. Thanks in part to the emotional trauma they already inflicted on Gemma (and Gemma's refusal to share this with Clay), and in part to events that happened long before the League rolled into Charming, Samcro seems to be doing a bang-up job of trying to destroy itself.

Clay and Jax are still pushing at each other, trying to establish both authority within the club and moral superiority over the other. And Gemma's increasing, unexplained coldness to Clay finally pushes him over the brink and leads to a nasty scene outside of Luanne's studio. Opie's still looking to go out in a blaze of glory, and now Bobby is getting sexual favors from Luanne (the wife of another club member) in exchange for keeping secrets from Clay.

As the line quoted above suggest, the Sons treat the club as a family - Clay's the dad, Gemma's the mom, Jax is the favorite son, Piney the crotchety grandpa, Tig the dirtbag cousin, etc. - so when the three people who really are family start going at it, the ripple effects are much stronger than if, say, Half-Sack and Chibs had a beef going. And making matters worse, only a few people know what the Clay/Jax feud is about, and nobody who's actually a club member has any idea why Clay and Gemma aren't getting along, Clay included.

In the middle of a surprising amount of action this week is Bobby Elvis, who I suppose in this family metaphor would be the guy who's not related to anybody but is called "Uncle" because everyone's known him so long and likes him so much. (That he does a mean "Hava Nagila" helps in the latter portion.) Bobby was in jail when the hit on Donna went down. Given the way Clay leans on him for counsel (he's the angel on the shoulder to Tig's devil), it's entirely possible Bobby could have prevented the tragedy had he been out on the street at the time, and now he's trying his best to shut down this current problem before it boils over. But if it comes out that he's screwing Luanne to cover for her skimming - "prison clause" or no - the club's internal strife is only going to get worse, no?

While the club members are fighting with each other, Tara gets stuck in a metaphorical catfight with Ima the porn starlet, who wants Jax for herself. Because Gemma is such a force of nature on the show (and so well-played by the creator's wife, particularly during this current rape arc), there's always a danger that she'll start to be right about everything. So I was glad to see Tara resist the advice to brawl with Ima, and that she instead found a more emotionally satisfying way to mark her territory, even if that's not what she intended when she ripped Jax's shirt open in the bathroom. (The "I won" look on Maggie Siff's face when Ima walks into the room is priceless.)

With the club still in business with Luanne, the problem with Ima likely isn't going to go away anytime soon. Nor are the issues between Jax and Clay, Clay and Gemma, and, of course, Samcro and the League. We've got a whole lot of season left to go, and knowing the way Kurt Sutter rolls, things are going to get a lot uglier before they get prettier.

Navigating Netflix: eXistenZ

REVIEW BY ZACH SANDLER


Trying to find something new on Netflix, I clicked on new instants, and then sorted by rating. Looking through the whole page of either documentaries, foreign, or indie stuff, I found something intriguing. The movie is called eXistenZ and it is written and directed by David Croenberg(The Fly, History of Violence).  The movie is a sci-fi flick that is ahead of its time. Jennifer Jason Leigh(Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Greenberg) and Jude Law(Gattaca, A.I, Repo Men) star in this film about a group of people who test out a new virtual reality game that allows you to be hooked up to a bio-tech console with other players. Their are too many twists and turns in order to give any more plot lines into what is actually happening.

 Made in 1999, it could be said that it was lost due to all the attention that The Matrix received.  Because of similiar themes such as the sci-fi idea of what is reality and what is not, eXistenZ was easily pushed under the rug due to its lack of production value and the fact that The Matrix changed the way special affects were used in the industry. However, I wouldn't compare it to the Matrix as much as I would compare it to Inception. With Inception having false realities as diving into your own sub-conscious, eXistenZ takes you into new realities created by technology and your own brain. As Allegra Galler(Leigh) and Ted Pikul(Law) try to find out what is happening with the video games, they meet a lot of interesting people a long with way played by notable actors Christopher Eccelston(One of the recent Dr. Whos), Iam Holm(Alien, LOTR), and Willem Dafoe(Boondock Saints, Spiderman).  Galler and Pikul are forced to test out a beta version of a virtual reality game in order to see what is wrong.

This wild ride of a movie rarely ever gives you a moment to catch up. Stay buckled in, and just go with the flow even if you are unsure as to whats going on. Ask questions later, because you might miss the next thing as well. Also, maybe it was just me, but do not see this movie while eating or just after you ate. Their is some decent medical gore, and strange creatures/food that are not too appetizing. In the end, I give this movie a 7.5 out of 10. Law shows a new role instead of his charming, good looking, arrogant character I am more used to seeing. Leigh still acts as if she was in high school at Ridgemont High, but Croenberg's story keeps you so preoccupied as to what is going on, you do not have time to react, but just follow along. This is a bold prediction of our own future with the likes of Sims, and Second Life. I enjoyed watching it, but with seeing some recent blockbusters first, I feel as if they stole their idea from this eXistenZ. I probably would have given this movie a 9 if I saw it in 1999 instead of 2011.

Navigating Netflix: 2 Days

* This Review was Written by my Good Friend, and hopefully future contributor Zach Sandler*


A good friend of mine suggested a movie, 2 Days, to watch on Instant Queue. It includes Paul Rudd(Anchorman, Role Models), Adam Scott(Party Down, Step Brothers) and even Donal Logue had a random cameo(Terriers, Grounded for Life). With these headliners, one would think that this would be a funny movie. Well, after reading, it is actually about Paul Miller (Rudd), an out of work actor who recently went through a bitter break-up, and the decesion he makes to kill himself in 2 days while a buddy(Scott) and a crew follow him on his last days on Earth. Along the way, old friends, and acquaintances try to convince him to change his mind, but only helps convince him more. As the end of the two days end, the tension builds and builds to see if he really will do it.

It seems that the only good thing to come out of this movie alive is Paul Rudd's acting. He is very convincing from start to finish. Him and the actual originality of the story was the only aspect that stopped the movie from being turned off. The side stories and random jokes definitely took me out. However, it was sort of necessary in order to keep the story moving along and give us time. In the end, I was only rooting for Paul Miller TO commit suicide. That way he could get me out of having to watch all these horrible actors that are surrounding him in the movie.

I wouldn't say I disliked the movie. I definitely wouldn't say I liked it. Rudd made me somewhat enjoy this movie all the way to the very end. Their was a reason why you probably never heard of this movie, and why it is still viewable with the rest of those random Instant Queue movies. Its possible that my friend pumped up the expectations on this movie, and I thought I hit a random gem in the depths of Netflix. However, I only give it a 6 out of 10. I would treat this movie just as Paul Miller treated his life, their is nothing wrong with it/him, but just let it/him go and throw it away.

Upfronts Preview: CBS

Next week, the 5 major broadcast stations: ABC,NBC,CBS,Fox and the CW will present there upfront presentations.  These are presentations the networks make to potential advertisers, letting them know what there fall lineups are going to look like next year.  This is the opportunity they take to announce which shows have been renewed, and which pilots have been given a series order.  I will preview each networks upfronts, predicting what i believe there fall line up will look like next year.  Lets start with the network that i watch the least, CBS.  Time slots are listed in Eastern Time

Already Renewed Returning Series: The Amazing Race, Undercover Boss, The Big Bang Theory, How I Met Your Mother, NCIS, & Survivor.

Likely Returning Series: 48 Hours Mystery, 60 Minutes, Criminal Minds, CSI, CSI: NY, Blue Bloods, The Good Wife, Hawaii Five-0, The Mentalist, Mike & Molly, NCIS: Los Angeles, Rules of Engagement, and Two and a Half Men (in some form).

Likely To Be Canceled or Already Canceled: Chaos, The Defenders, Mad Love, $#*! My Dad Says, Medium, Live to Dance, Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior, and Three Rivers.

Likely New Series Pick-Ups: Untitled Susannah Grant Project (drama), Person of Interest (drama), The Rookies (drama), How To Be a Gentleman (sitcom), Two Broke Girls (sitcom), Ringer (drama for mid-season), and Herd Mentality (mid-season sitcom).

 

 

MONDAY

8:00 - How I Met Your Mother
8:30 - Mike and Molly
9:00 - Two and A Half Men
9:30 - How To Be A Gentleman (New Show)
Follows the life of a magazine columnist who writes an article on How To Be a Gentleman.  Starring Kevin Dillon (Entourage

10:00 - Hawaii Five-0

Thoughts:  The big question here is what the hell is going to happen with Two and a Half Men?  We know it will be back.  Rumors are flying about who will be the star.  Will it be Charlie Sheen?  Hugh Grant?  John Stamos? Rob Lowe?  David Kosak?  It could be anybody at this point.  The success of the new THM will really dictate the pace for the new CBS season.  If it continues to be a hit, CBS will chug along as a huge success.  If it fails, CBS has lost one of its biggest hits and is all of a sudden scrambling.  How to be a gentleman could be alright, but if it does not succeed look for the perennial utility hitter Rules of Engagement to replace it

TUESDAY

8:00 - NCIS
9:00 - Persons of Interest (New Show)
a crime drama centered on an ex-CIA agent, presumed dead, who teams up with a mysterious billionaire to prevent violent crimes in New York City.  Staring Michael Emerson (Ben Linus From LOST)

10:00- NCIS: LA

Thoughts:  One thing is for certain,  CBS needs to the The Good Wife out of Tuesday nights.  It loses way to much of the CBS audience for it to continue to air on the same night as NCIS.  NCIS needs to be used to develop a following for a new show next year.  I think Persons Of Interest is the perfect fit.  Not only is the subject matter similar, It is executive produced by J.J Abrams.  And although Undercovers bombed, this also has Michael Emerson, so at least a few LOST fans will be checking in.  Expect CBS to continue to do big numbers on Tuesdays.

WEDNESDAY

8:00 - Survivor
9:00 - Criminal Minds
10:00 - CSI

Thoughts:  CBS is not going to mess with a good thing.  It will be business as usual on Wednesdays.

THURSDAY

8:00 The Big Bang Theory
8:30 Two Broke Girls (New Show)
Two girls from very different backgrounds - Max ( Played By Kat Dennings) , poor from birth,  and Caroline, born wealthy but down on her luck - who wind up as waitresses in the same Brooklyn diner, and strike up an unlikely friendship that could lead to a successful business venture.

9:00 The Rookies (New Show)
The show focuses on six green NYPD cops as they adjust to life on the force and attempt to balance their personal lives with their professional ones. Adam Goldberg (Dazed and Confused, A Beautiful Mind) and Leelee Sobieski (Eyes Wide Shut, Joy Ride) star.

10:00 - The Mentalist

Thoughts:  CBS Thursdays will likely have The Big Bang Theory leading off, but that still depends on what happens with Two and a Half Men. At 8:30pm, Rules of Engagement will likely be saved for mid-season (for either Monday or Thursday), to make room for new comedy Two Broke Girls. CBS will likely make a chance at 9pm, but what? CSI is likely on the move, so perhaps new drama The Rookies will get this time period? The Mentalist could move to 9pm also, but I think it will remain at 10pm to close the night.

FRIDAY

8:00 Undercover Boss
9:00 CSI:NY
10:00 Blue Bloods

Thoughts: Fridays will probably start off differently, as the 8pm slot has been soft for the network since Ghost Whisperer was canceled. Perhaps they move Undercover Boss to this night and time to help start off the night better? From 9-11pm, CSI: NY and Blue Bloods should remain but there is always a chance CSI: NY could be canned, but I think it will remain

SUNDAY

8:00 The Amazing Race
9:00 Untitled Susannah Grant Project

10:00 The Good Wife

Thoughts: CBS reality series Undercover Boss has faltered this season, especially in the spring, so they might be doing something different at 9pm. But first, Amazing Race at 8pm should remain out of 60 Minutes. Perhaps at 9pm they can air the Susannah Grant medical series project starring Julie Benz? At 10pm they should move The Good Wife to this night out of a better fitted lead-in. If there is NFL, these two dramas should be good counter programming. It'll be interesting if CBS brings back CSI: Miami or not, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was gone or back. It could go either way

 

 

 

My 10 Favorite TV Moms

With Mothers day right around the corner, what better way to honor the women who gave us life by counting down my favorite TV moms.  These arent necessarly the BEST moms on television, but they are my favorite and the ones that entertain me the most


10. Gemma Teller Morrow, Sons Of Anarchy - Anytime a mom can have a grown son in a biker gang and still be a sexy, bad ass, gun toting outlaw, count me in.

9. Livia Soprano, The Sopranos -  "It's all a big nothing."  And that's indicative of Livia Soprano's view on life.  She made her family's life miserable, and we were riveted. 

8.  Carol Brady, The Brady Bunch -  She made blended families look easy and allowed people to escape into a fantasy world of astro-turf lawns and talent shows.

7. Lois Griffin, Family Guy -  Lois Griffin has one of the most difficult TV jobs as the wife of Peter, someone who traded a boat for a mystery box.

6. Lucille Bluth, Arrested Development - She wasn't exactly a warm and cozy gramma.  She cheated on her husband, pinned crimes on her children, and did whatever she could to get her hands on money.  And we wouldn't have it any other way.

5. Estelle Costanza, Seinfeld - While always with good intentions, she often spends her time yelling back and forth with her son and husband, or inadvertently humiliating them both

4. Marion Cunningham, Happy Days - Marion takes us back to simpler times where a good meal and sound advice can solve any crisis in under 30 minutes.

3. Marge Simpson, The Simpsons - . Constantly dealing with her donut eating husbands shenanigans, Bart’s trouble making and Lisa just being Lisa, Marge has her work cut out for her, but she manages to add humor and a sense of pride into every episode.

2. Peggy Bundy, Married With Children -  Katey Sagal's second entry on this list. hether she is feeding her neighbor Marcy a cigarette butt or trying to get Al to have sex with her or not feeding her children, she is always good for a few laughs.

1. Tami Taylor, Friday Night Lights - Balancing her roles as wife of a small-town football coach, high school guidance counselor and mother to a whip-smart, independent teen daughter, Tami is the rock of tiny Dillon, Texas, with every smidgen of her deep love and frustration evident in her motherly eyes

Retro Review; Sons Of Anarchy "Small Tears"

"Anyone finds it out, they win. I can't let that happen."


Looks like trying to cover up for things that won't stay buried is going to be a big problem this season; the first scene we get in "Small Tears" is Unser finding Gemma, beaten and bleeding, and nearly the first thing Gemma says to him is that she won't go to the hospital. She's been gang raped, in a professional, bizarrely courteous fashion that doesn't make her situation any less horrible, but instead of wanting revenge, she's already thinking long term. Once Clay and the rest find out what happened, it'll be all out war, and nobody can control that. So, with Tara and Unser's help, she tries to pass the whole thing off as car wreck.

But just like Jax's attempts to pin off the Mayan murder as the work of the Niners, the tricky thing with lies is that they go in unexpected places. When Alvarez finds a corpse showing nine fingers, he decides it's time to go to war, and the only thing Clay can do to balance the equation is by offering Laroy and the rest the guns he wouldn't sell Alvarez. It's a temporary patch on a situation that's only going to get worse--because what happens when Opie figures out Jax covered up his kill? Not to mention the fight between the two rival clubs that's going to inevitably land back on SAMCRO's head. Hell, that's already happened: when the Sons hand the promised AK's off to the Niners, the Mayans are waiting in ambush, and Bobby gets a bullet in the shoulder.

The Mayans had a tip-off from the knight in white whiteness, Zobelle--and while Zobelle and Weston were less involved this week than last, we got more of a glimpse of how the two of them work together. Weston is upset when he realizes that Gemma hasn't told Clay or the others about the rape, but Zobelle is less bothered than impressed; he, at least, realizes that things in Charming might be more difficult to control than he expected. That Weston doesn't get this, and that Zobelle is keeping the Mayan contact in the dark, tells us all we need to know for now about them. Zobelle is the brains here, and Weston is the muscle; even more importantly, Weston is the True Believer, with all the short-sighted stupidity that entails. I don't have any doubt that Zobelle is a racist asshole, but he's smart enough to know it's worth dealing with the "lower races" if it'll get him what he wants in the end. Weston, clearly, wouldn't agree. So there's another lie here, and fingers crossed it'll lead to some much deserved ass-kicking down the line.

And hell, how long before Opie, who does a pretty good impression of a suicide when he marches into Mayan gunfire during the stand-off, goes off the rails? He tells Tig he's been having dreams about prison again, violent dreams, and when he wakes up, he's glad to wake up--until he remembers Donna's gone. Tig tries to comfort him, and Opie's buying, but it's just one more lie. What makes it work so well is that Tig is sincere about wanting to commiserate with Opie, and the story he tells is almost certainly true; it's just, since he's responsible for Opie's grief, how much comfort can he really give? (I'm hoping we get more of Tig this season. He's one of the most interesting characters on the show, and Kim Coates always brings the awesome.)

The "Small Tears" of the title refers to injuries to vaginal injuries Gemma sustained during the rape; slight wounds that will heal quickly, or so Tara says. But a thing can look healed and still not be healthy. Gemma does her best to put up a good front, but she flinches when Clay comes to see her, and she nearly tells everything to Neeta, the new housekeeper/nanny (which, to me, was the episode's one real weak-point; am I forgetting some kind of connection these two had?). She's strong, but that doesn't make what happened to her any easier to move past. "Tears" ends with Gemma and Jax on the clubhouse roof. "You okay?" "Yeah." It's a nice, quiet moment for them both; but it's still a lie.

Retro Review: Sons Of Anarchy "Albification"

NOTE:  I have started watching Sons of Anarchy from the beginning.  I have never seen it before.  It was so great that i plowed through season 1 in 5 days.  Now that i am starting on season 2, i figured, why not write reviews of the episode.  Enjoy.


"You love the man. You learn to love the club. If you can do that, there's no truth you can't handle"

At the end of last season, great changes seemed to be coming for the Sons. Jax had discovered that Clay and Tig were responsible for Donna's death, and for the first time, he went against the will of the club and saved the life of a witness Clay wanted killed. The finale ended with him at his father's grave, holding a new copy of the dead man's manifesto, while his mother and Clay watched nervously from the sidelines. The decision he'd spent the last thirteen episodes coming to seem to've finally come to pass. Jax was going to step into the dream his old man left behind, and that would mean going against Clay and Gemma and god only knew who else in the club; and who the hell wasn't stoked to see that battle come to pass?

So it's a little surprising that "Albification," the first episode of season two, opens with Jax and the rest of the club testing out some new guns from Cameron, their IRA-funding connection, as if nothing happened. And, yeah, it's a little disappointing too, as great as it is to see everybody screwing with club flunky Half-Sack and grumbling about the new arrangements. But it quickly becomes clear that there are tensions here that everyone is doing their level best to play around. When Jax takes control of the negotiations, Clay supports his decision, but the eye contact between them goes on longer than it should. During the first montage, we see that things are largely as we left them last summer. Tara is still in town, staying over at Jax's regularly; Gemma is still doing a lot of the leg work taking care of Jax's baby son Abel; and Opie still doesn't know who really shot his wife in the back of the head. Change is coming, though. It's just that everybody's trying to pretend otherwise.

The biggest sign of problems to come arrives in the form of Adam Arkin and Henry Rollins, the Jekyll and Hyde faces of white power. A pair of assholes that make the local skinhead leader, Darby, look infantile, Zobelle (Arkin) and Weston (Rollins) get invited into Charming by good-guy Officer Hale's brother, Jacob. Zobelle runs cigar shops, and hands out cards for the League of American Nationalists, while Weston glowers and gives speeches about how sick it made him to find out the little league his kid was in gave medals to all the kids. This is a new kind of threat for the town, and even if Hale sees through them, the invitation has been made, and the damage is already beginning. These guys are organized, and they have a plan. A polite visit to the SAMCRO clubhouse gives the statement of intent, but it's only when Gemma gets kidnapped and raped by Weston and his men (wearing bald Michael Meyers masks; Weston's tattoo is a give-away) that the seriousness of the problem becomes clear. These are men who are organized, well-funded, and without reservation about getting what they want.

SAMCRO isn't in the best shape to deal with external woes. Jax is doing his best to hold on to shaky ground, keeping the true about Donna's killers from Opie when he comes home from his walkabout; he tells Hale and Piney he's doing it to protect Opie, and while his reasoning is sound, you have to wonder how much he's doing this for himself. He says he can't take Opie away from the only family he has, but that's at least a little true of Jax himself. A great scene between Jax and Clay, where Jax lays it all out on the table, establishes a temporary fix between the two, and Jax spends the rest of the episode making sure that fix stays in place, helping to pin Donna's murder on a Mayan, and then destroying the mark Opie tries to leave on the body in the hopes that the killing might not get laid at the Sons feet. But all this desperate covering up can't hold together for long. Opie's not going to be happy when he finds out he's being lied to, and it's easy to see, the first trouble that comes up between Jax and the others, this is what'll hit the table.

The episode title, "Albification" means "the process of making white." On the one hand, we've got Zobelle and Weston doing their level best to purify the races, preaching "separatism," and demanding Clay stop selling guns to the Niners and the Mayans (a bad demand even in the best of times, but given the financial pressure the club is under, it's not a request that goes over too well). But there's also the way Jax, Clay, and Tig just want to pretend everything's clean when it clearly isn't. Some stains won't stay gone, no matter how many times you paint them over.