Jax: “I’m not going to turn into Clay.”
Opie: “I’m more afraid that I’m gonna turn into you.”

At the end of the fourth season of Sons of Anarchy, Jax and Opie had learned of Clay’s involvement in Piney’s death. While they both wanted to kill Clay, Jax knew that for the sake of the MC they couldn’t and was forced to stop Opie. The CIA was threatening a RICO case against the Sons unless they helped broker a deal between the Irish and the Galindo Cartel—but since they only trusted their dealings to Clay, he needed to live. So Jax hid the truth from the rest of the club and took over as president, but Opie refused to be his second.

The fifth season of Sons of Anarchy is an emotional, action-packed thrill ride that picks up almost immediately where the fourth season left off. Jax and the club must deal with all the fallout of Clay’s actions and lies. After Opie shot Clay, Clay told the club that he had been shot by two black men. Tig went on a rampage, accidentally killing the daughter of gangster Damon Pope (Harold Perrineau). Now Pope wants revenge and sets his sights on the MC. In addition to that threat, the Sons must also deal with the ever-looming RICO case, as well as a new series of violent home invasions that are being made to look like the Sons were involved.

The fifth season focuses more on the emotional journies of the characters. While Jax wants to prove that he belongs at the head of the club, he worries that he may be becoming more like Clay, and doesn’t want to leave that legacy to his boys. Gemma has sought solace in drugs and random sex, starting up a relationship with “companionater” Nero (Jimmy Smits). Clay struggles to find his place in the club now that he has lost his power (and his wife). Meanwhile, Tara worries for the safety of her children, and finds her role as a mother threatened by Gemma and the reappearance of Wendy (Drea de Matteo). And Opie must come to terms with the loss of his father and his hatred of Clay, while the other club members each have their own issues as well.

The thirteen episodes of this season are entertaining, and a nice blend of drama, action, mystery and humor. They play out more like one long storyline rather than separate stories-of-the-week that get resolved in an hour. There are smaller story arcs, but these all play into the one larger arc of the season. Season five has some real emotional highs and lows, and the creators don’t take the loss of characters lightly. They do a great job of using these events to fuel the motivation of others. There is also some much-needed comic relief to break up these heavier moments. This season there is a hilarious guest performance by Walton Goggins. While there are some really shocking and graphic scenes, they serve a purpose and don’t feel like they’re there just for sake of it.

While most of the episodes are already a bit longer than those of your typical network or cable series, four of the episodes on this Blu-ray are presented in an optional Creator’s Extended Cut, each running an additional 4-7 minutes longer. I didn’t compare the episodes to see what was added or modified, but watching the extended versions, I didn’t notice anything out of place or unnecessarily long. The Blu-ray contains a Season Mode playback option that lets you start binge-watching and easily pick up where you left off. This mode will play the extended version of the episodes when available.

The picture quality on the Blu-ray is excellent—the show looks beautiful—and the audio track successfully captures all the revving motors, explosions, music and other sound effects as well as the dialogue. This Blu-ray set is also loaded with bonus features, including two audio commentaries, almost 15 minutes of quality deleted scenes, a gag reel, some cast/creator interviews and some fan concert event footage.

Sons of Anarchy Season 5 is an easy recommendation for fans of the series, and even new viewers should be able to jump in fairly easily as a lot of the back story is explained early on. This season does a great job of ratcheting up drama, adding lots of twists and turns, and culminates in an action-packed and surprising finale. I really enjoyed re-watching the season in marathon form on this Blu-ray—it’s definitely a different experience not having to wait a week inbetween episode cliffhangers!

What’s Included on the Blu-ray:

Episodes: (895 min)

• All 13 episodes of Season 3, four of which are included in both standard and extended creator’s cuts.
  Disc 1: “Sovereign”, “Authority Vested”*, “Laying Pipe”, “Stolen Huffy”*
  Disc 2: “Orca Shrugged”, “Small World”*, “Toad’s Wild Ride”, “Ablation”, “Andare Pescare”
  Disc 3: “Crucifixed”, “To Thine Own Self”, “Darthy”, “J’ai Obtenu Cette”*
• Audio: English 5.1 DTS-HD MA
• Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French, Norwegian, Portuguese, Chinese

Extras:

• Deleted Scenes (14:43)
  A nice selection of deleted these that include both fun and more serious moments.
  • Disc 1 (4:59)
    4 scenes from Sovereign (501) and Laying Pipe (503)
  • Disc 2 (5:40)
    5 scenes from Orca Shrugged (505), Ablation (508) and Andare Pescare (509)
  • Disc 3 (4:04)
    3 scenes from To Thine Own Self (511) and J’ai Obtenu Cette (513)
• Audio Commentaries
  • Sovereign (501)
    Writer/series creator Kurt Sutter, director Paris Barclay, and actors Katey Sagal, Maggie Siff and Dayton Callie provide a behind-the-scenes look at what went into making this episode.
  • Darthy (512)
    Director Peter Weller provides interesting insights into the episode as well as the series as a whole, while also sharing some behind-the-scenes details.
• Gag Reel (4:51)
  It’s always fun to see a gag reel on a drama series. Lots of laughing, cursing, flubbed lines, dealing with crying babies and just general fun on set.
• Opie Winston (6:48)
  Kurt Sutter and the cast talk about the character of Opie and his journey on the show.
• Kurt Sutter: Creating Anarchy (3:41)
  Kurt Sutter talks about the challenge of keeping the show fresh and exciting while also heading towards the endgame of the final seasons.
• Fan Concert at The Clubhouse (19:29)
  Footage from a fan concert event held at the clubhouse set used in the series. Features interviews with Kurt Sutter and the lucky fans in attendance along with musical performances by The Forest Rangers accompanying Audra Mae for “The Unclouded Day”, Battleme for “Lights”, Katey Sagal for “Come Home To Me”, and Curtis Stigers for “John the Revelator”.

Final Thoughts:

The fifth season of Sons of Anarchy does a great job further developing the characters we have been watching for so many years. It provides an exciting story arc over the course of the season, while also taking viewers on an emotional thrill ride through many twists and turns. And the finale sets up some interesting situations for the upcoming sixth season. This Blu-ray looks and sounds great, and is packed with a lot of bonus features. This set is definitely worth checking out for fans of the series, and is an accessible entry point into the show for new viewers.