The Revelator (Sons of Anarchy)
"The Revelator" is the thirteenth and final episode of the first season of FX television series Sons of Anarchy. The episode was directed and written by series creator Kurt Sutter. The episode originally aired on November 26, 2008 in the United States, and garnered 2.4 million viewers.[1]
| "The Revelator" | |
|---|---|
| Sons of Anarchy episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 1 Episode 13 |
| Directed by | Kurt Sutter |
| Written by | Kurt Sutter |
| Production code | 1WAB12 |
| Original air date | November 26, 2008 |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Guest appearance(s) | |
| |
Plot
Jax consoles Opie, who blames his choice to return to SAMCRO for Donna's death. Jax visits Tara at the hospital to check in on her and she breaks down, guilty over Kohn's murder and unsure about her future with Jax. She tells Jax of her plans to leave Charming, and he accuses her of using him to do her dirty work. Jax assures Tara that she is the only one he's ever loved. Gemma consoles a guilt-ridden Clay, but orders him to put on a strong face for his men. Opie's father Piney is eager to hit the One-Niners as 'revenge' for Donna's death, and demands satisfaction from Clay. Piney drives up to Oakland and demands a meeting with Laroy Wayne, and Clay sends Jax, Chibs, and Half-Sack after him to prevent him from making any messes. Wayne assures them that the Niners had nothing to do with Donna's killing. Bobby's lawyer Rosen warns Clay that Brenan Hefner's mistress is preparing to testify against Bobby and Opie, and Clay blackmails Elliott Oswald into helping SAMCRO figure out her identity so that they can silence her. Hale begs Unser to help him take down the club, but Unser flatly refuses, encouraging Hale to let the bikers serve their own justice. Hale reaches out to Jax and tells him that he suspects that Clay is guilty of ordering Opie's murder. Jax confronts Clay and demands the truth, but Clay lies and tells Jax to put it out of his mind for the good of SAMCRO. As Jax leaves the club, Juice informs him that Hefner's mistress is a 17-year old girl, and Jax rushes off to prevent her assassination. He stops Happy, Chibs, and Tig just before they finish the job, and then tussles with Tig in the safehouse before leaving and drinking himself to sleep in the Charming graveyard. He wakes up and walks to Donna's funeral. Tara gives him his SAMCRO kutte and a kiss, and he shoots a knowing look at Clay, Gemma, and Tig before placing a flower on the coffin and walking off. Piney follows and hands Jax a fresh copy of his father's memoirs, declaring that it's "time for a change." Jax visits his father's grave and proclaims his agreement as Gemma and Clay look on, nervously.
Music
The song, "John the Revelator", performed by Curtis Stigers and the Forest Rangers, plays over the ending scene.[2]
Reception
IGN gave "The Revelator" an 8.6/10.0 rating, stating, "I can't talk much more about this episode without revealing anything important, so I'll just wrap it up. I made a backhanded comparison between Sons and The Wire last week, and that was unfair. The Wire is a completely different show from Sons. I'm not exactly sure what this show has in store for us over the next umpteen seasons, but the growing civil war within the gang ".[3]
Zach Handler of The AV Club gave "The Sleep of Babies" a perfect A rating, stating; "And then there's Donna's funeral. It plays out like the end of a rock video; Jax shows up during the service in a T-shirt in jeans and Tara brings him his Sons jacket; they make out a bit; and then Jax gives the evil eye to Clay and the others. It's a goddamn chasm between him and the others now, and it was awesome to see. This whole season, I'd been thinking we were building up to some massive catastrophe in the final moments, but when "Revelator" ended, I couldn't stop grinning. Still can't, really. The ground has broken, and break is final: on one side, it's Jax trying to bring his father's dream to Charming, with Tara at his side, and hopefully a few others (Piney, for sure, but other than that…). On the other side, it's Clay, Gemma, and Tig fighting to keep that dream dead, with the weight of the charter and all of Clay and Gemma's cunning behind them."[4]
References
- Levin, Gary (December 2, 2008). "Nielsens: 'Dancing' hits it's ratings stride for finale". USA Today. Retrieved June 2, 2015.
- "Sons of Anarchy (S1/E13): John the Revelator". TV.com. Retrieved March 24, 2014.
- Amitin, Seth (25 November 2008). "Sons of Anarchy: "The Revelator" Review".
- Handlen, Zack. "Sons Of Anarchy: "The Revelator"".
