['Sons of Anarchy' - 'To Be, Act 2']

I've been saying for weeks now that the Season 4 finale of 'Sons of Anarchy' would be a pivotal episode of the show. It was clear that the way that the current series of events resolved would influence the show for some time to come, and give us a big clue as to what creative directions the show would follow and what kind of risks it would be willing to embrace.

You can find the audio version of my reaction to the finale in this week's 'SOA' Talking TV podcast, which is live now here and here. Or you can read on for my thoughts on how things worked out for Jax, Clay, Gemma, Tara and the rest of these Charming men.

['Sons of Anarchy' - 'To Be, Act 1']

The shocking ending of last week's 'Sons of Anarchy' episode made me wonder if tonight's hour would be dominated by Clay Morrow; even in absentia, the club president casts a huge shadow.

For the most part, however, this week's gripping hour belonged to two of the people Clay has hurt most -- Tara and Jax. The scenes that featured those two characters talking to each other or to Gemma were flat-out fantastic, and once again demonstrate that the show's secret weapon isn't its crackling action but its top-flight cast. Katey Sagal was terrific this week, as always, but in 'To Be, Act 1,' Charlie Hunnam and Maggie Siff's performances gave me chills.

Many storylines are reaching the boiling point right now, but this terrific hour wisely focused tightly on the couple who have the most reason to despise everything that Clay and Gemma stand for. What made the hour tragic was the fact that Jax and Tara stand on the brink of becoming Clay and Gemma.

And they know it.

['Sons of Anarchy' - 'Family Recipe']

Anyone else have a taste for chili? Anyone?

Didn't think so. Well, you can't say that this was a quiet episode of 'Sons of Anarchy,' though I'd argue that one of 'Family Recipe's' calmest scenes was also one of the most satisfying.

But first, let's address that Big Thing that happened...and also, the Big Thing that didn't happen.

['Sons of Anarchy' - 'Fruit for the Crows']

FX sends out episodes of 'Sons of Anarchy' in advance, which makes life easier for those of us who write about the show on a weekly basis.

This week, the network sent out a DVD containing 'Fruit for the Crows' and next week's episode as well, and it took a generous helping of self-control not to watch the Oct. 25 episode as soon as the credits rolled on this week's outing. Even though I was dying to see what happened next, I wrote this review without knowing. It's killing me a little bit.