Oh, and obviously Sutter showing solidarity with the protests against the UK porn bans with a face-sitting movie getting filmed in the background of one of the scenes.
Re: Recommend me a TV Series
Posted: Thu Dec 11, 2014 9:09 pm
by DrGatineau
magma wrote:So.... that Sons of Anarchy finale then. Strange mixture of sadness that it's finally over and relief that it's FINALLY OVER.
The series clearly peaked in season four (?)... the one where the female Agent went fucking HAM, anyway... and has been going downhill ever since, but there's always one thing per episode which makes you think "Ok, I'll give it one more chance..."
No surprises really, but they went a bit too hard with all the symbolism around the homeless woman and Jax going out like Jesus. The Jax and Nero farewell was the only scene that really sucked me in... I don't think half the people watching to the end would still be there if it wasn't for Jimmy Smits tbh. Jax's GTA-style 'making it right' spree was ridiculous. How are you emptying a clip into two people on the courthouse steps and then calmly walking away with no heat?
Sorry for the long post lol but I watched the finale last night and always thought it was an interesting show.
I couldn't agree more. SOA has always been entertaining in terms of the plot & (sometimes) the action, but the acting has always been corny & the plot has holes at times. I've always found the larger plot to be pretty good - the clever plot twists, things that happen off camera & surprise you later, the symbolism, etc, but yeah, that rampage was unrealistic. I think SOA kinda accepted it's place in television, understanding they weren't The Wire or Sopranos, but a cheaper, yet sometimes more intense/entertaining crime show, and that's what they've created & it's also sorta their market.
I think SOA started going downhill when Jax became president & the writers started killing off major characters. I don't mean Tara, Gemma, Unser - those were major parts of the story (or happened at the end), but it kinda ruined the show for me when people like Opie, Piney, Bobby, Clay, & Juice died. Some of these deaths were just downright unnecessary given how flexible SOA's plot can be (Opie, Bobby) and others could have been accomplished in more satisfying ways such as having Clay leave the club due to health problems & become an Unser-like character; I also didn't like the way Juice went out - how did he even get on bad terms with Jax? It just became a bit boring when there were only 2 original members left (aside from Jax ofc) - Chibs & Tig - and one of them is Tig, he barely counts, and you only knew like one other members' name (Happy).
The finale was a bit boring imo, certainly had less action/plot twist than previous season finales. But i did like the symbolic aspects. It's funny how at the end of the day, the only reason Jackson really had to die was because of a club rule (killing the other charter's prez). It had nothing to do with killing Gemma, Unser, that crooked cop, all of the asian & black criminals, ordering Juice's death, etc. I liked the way Jackson went out, like his father, but I don't really think there was a Jesus metaphor there, I think that was just SOA being corny.
I didn't get the significance of the homeless woman Magma, other than providing Jax with that prop. Maybe you could explain that? There was one other scene I didn't understand, not from the finale but 1-2 episodes earlier, when Jarry (the female cop) put an APB on Jax and then her & Unser interrogated Juice at the prison, and he says something like "you don't understand. it's too late for me, for you, for all of us. the truth is right in front of your eyes & you don't even see it." I thought that meant Jax had set up for someone to come in & kill all of them (since he wanted Juice dead anyway and Jarry & Unser were trying to arrest Jax), but that never ended up happening, so I was mad confused about the purpose of that. Did you get that scene?
SOA was clearly a very deep show, despite being corny on the surface. Sutter definitely cared a lot about including strong social/political themes. I think the problem was probably a small budget. Sometimes it was hard to tell if the message of the show was conservatism or radical change, but I think it was radical change, and I think the entire point of the show was just one huge dig at conservative culture, which was extra special because the show has massive appeal among conservative blue-collar America. I think Sutter was truly out to change hearts & minds. Gemma's stubborn, conservative mindset ultimately ruined the family, the club, and the town, and got so many people killed. Clay represented tradition ("SAMCRO sells guns!"), while Jax's father represented change.
Jax was ultimately too corrupted by Gemma & Clay to be that change, but he clearly chose it in the end by sacrificing himself for a better life for his kids. However, he still stuck with some conservatism even at the very end, choosing to go out just like his father, showing his attraction to tradition.
Re: Recommend me a TV Series
Posted: Thu Dec 11, 2014 11:22 pm
by FuDuzn
I thought the homeless lady giving jax the blanket basically was jax becoming the symbol of SAMCRO, ie when he was sitting on the steps he looked like the grim reaper.
Re: Recommend me a TV Series
Posted: Sat Dec 13, 2014 2:37 pm
by mIrReN
really like ajime no ippo too bad I'm already at the end of new challenger
I think I did a post about it a few pages back.... superb, I thought!
Re: Recommend me a TV Series
Posted: Sat Dec 13, 2014 7:36 pm
by hubb
hold tight tambor massive
Re: Recommend me a TV Series
Posted: Sat Dec 13, 2014 10:28 pm
by magma
Though funnily a trans friend of mine had a little Facebook rant yesterday about the rise of 'trans issues' entertainment written by and starring non-trans people and named it as an example, but tbh I honestly thought it was one of the best things I'd seen all year and it explored a lot more than just the headline topic. The experimenting daughter was fucking amazing.
Re: Recommend me a TV Series
Posted: Sat Dec 13, 2014 10:34 pm
by ehbes
can we have another tranny thread so mags can blow up and get all "dad angry" at someone
Re: Recommend me a TV Series
Posted: Sun Dec 14, 2014 12:47 am
by hubb
magma wrote:Though funnily a trans friend of mine had a little Facebook rant yesterday about the rise of 'trans issues' entertainment written by and starring non-trans people and named it as an example, but tbh I honestly thought it was one of the best things I'd seen all year and it explored a lot more than just the headline topic. The experimenting daughter was fucking amazing.
i want trans friends now lol
I dont think I've ever even considered it a possiblity that society could become more lax about it all, but with like the focus there is on it now, I'm certain it will change in our lifetime.
It just became a bit boring when there were only 2 original members left (aside from Jax ofc) - Chibs & Tig - and one of them is 
its very good imo
