“I’d watch your back. Opie will want settled scores.” – Gemma
In my opinion, Ryan Hurst is one of Son of Anarchy’s most unsung heroes. Katey Sagal and Ron Perlman get most of the attention and accolades for their performances. And deservedly so, the two are no doubt great. Hurst doesn’t get as much credit as some of the other members of the cast, but he should. For years he has turned in subtle, yet outstanding work.
You might say that his performance is heartbreakingly excellent.
I picked a good time to bring up Ryan Hurt’s awesomeness, because he cranks it up to a whole new level in “Burnt And Purged Away.” The episode opens with Opie paying a visit it Gemma (Katey Sagal) and Clay’s (Ron Perlman) house. This comes on the heels of Unser (Dayton Callie) informing Opie of Clay’s role in his father’s death. Opie sees Gemma’s battered face and asks “Why did he hurt you?” Hurst does a great job of conveying the fact that he already knows the answer to this question, yet desperately hopes he’s wrong.
Opie spends the remainder of the episode seething with rage. For an actor, it’s not much a challenge to play mad. Hurst steps up the difficulty level by layering betrayal and heartbreak into his anger. It’s really an impressive feat.
“Burnt And Purged Away” ends with the big confrontation between Opie and Clay. It’s a moment that has building since the first season, when Clay had Opie’s wife killed. Opie gets Clay alone and pulls his gun. “You’re gonna die at the gavel,” he says coldly. Right before Opie pulls the trigger, Jax (Charlie Hunnam) bursts in and trains his gun on Opie, begging him to drop his weapon. Opie declines. Instead opting to blast Clay two or three times in the upper chest. Jax appears to be in a state of shock. He doesn’t immediately fire at Opie.
The screen fades to black before the standoff is resolved. Is Clay dead? Does Jax shoot Opie? I honestly have no idea, but I do know I’m pumped to tune in next week and find out.
Some stats and info about Sons of Anarchy, “Burnt And Purged Away”
TV SHOW – Sons of Anarchy
SEASON/EPISODE – Season 4, Episode 12
AIRED ON – November 22nd, 2011
NETWORK/STREAMING SERVICE – FX
GENRE – Drama, Crime Dramas
CREATED BY – Kurt Sutter
CAST – Charlie Hunnam, Katey Sagal, Mark Boone Junior, Kim Coates, Tommy Flanagan, Theo Rossi, Dayton Callie, Maggie Siff, Ron Perlman, David Labrava, Jimmy Smits, Drea de Matteo
This review originally appeared on TV Geek Army.