Sons of Anarchy – The blond boy who changes Charming

Sons of Anarchy has never been a show that’s pulled any punches when it’s come to violence. Gun running, murder, IRA enemies, drugs — there has been no shortage of action and bloodshed over the first five seasons. The season premiere, however, sends the series down a completely different path, with a horrific act of violence that is sure to change both the makeup of Charming and SAMCRO forever.

It’s easy to ignore the beautiful little blond boy in an episode packed with Otto getting violently raped in prison, Tara brutally beating a fellow inmate, Lila getting tortured, Tig murdering a dirtbag and Jax cheating with a madame, but by the end of the episode, the boy clearly shows that ignoring him is a mistake.

With his blonde hair and omni-present notebook, it’s easy to see him as a stand-in for Jax as a child, or even Jax’s children in the future, reading the thoughts he so painstakingly records for them. The boy seems quiet, innocent and introspective.

But like Charming itself, there’s a great deal of pain and ugliness right below the surface.

At the end of an action-packed, violent episode, we are confronted with an act of violence so heinous, that it actually manages to top the preceding 90 minutes. We end the season premiere with the boy revealing that not only is he a deeply disturbed self-harmer, but his rage extends outward, causing him to perpetrate what looks like a truly horrific school shooting. How does a boy like this get a semi-automatic weapon, and what does this have to do with SAMCRO? I’m sure the second question will be answered fully over the next several episodes, but the first one is easy to answer: Arcadio (Dave Navarro).

Arcadio is one of Nero’s (Jimmy Smits) men. We don’t know much about him, but we do find out at the end of the episode that he’s involved with the boy’s mother. Due to his line of work, it was probably pretty easy for the boy to obtain the gun. This simple fact is sure to have devastating effects on SAMCRO. First, the club has further strengthened their business relationship with Nero by partnering up in the brothel business. Because the two groups have been so tight lately, and have joined each other on enforcement jobs, it’s entirely possible that the gun the boy used to shoot up the school originally came from the Sons. Obvious legal implications aside, this is going to have severe moral implications for Jax.

Jax probably thinks he’s doing right by the club by moving the business more over to the sex side from drugs and guns, but

This just further proves that no matter what he does, violence is never far behind him. Plus, SAMCRO’s entire stated purpose is to protect Charming, so if they’re even inadvertently responsible for a mass school shooting, it becomes pretty difficult to believe that their presence isn’t doing more harm than good. Jax and the rest of the group are capable of some pretty spectacular mental gymnastics when it comes to justifying their actions, but a school full of dead children may prove to be too difficult an obstacle, even for them.

So what does this mean for SAMCRO? They’re barely holding on as it is, members and now even their wives, can’t seem to stay out of jail, and now they’re destroying the very town they love above all else. With the threat of Clay’s betrayal looming over them, it seems like it’s just a matter of time before the other shoe drops and the club ceases to exist all together.