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Tonight’s episode is all about truth and boy, does it ever come out. Tara’s actions finally come to light and Jax tries to orchestrate a way out of the mess with D.A. Patterson.

Spoilers below.

For all you Jax fans, the man starts out the episode without a shirt, Abel and SOA tattoos in full display. How long do you think the back tattoo takes to apply? However long, it’s worth it.

Gemma’s also got her tattoo on display, even though she’s fully clothed. Nero, in her bed, is not. Thank you, Sutter. It’s an eerily quiet and relatively calm morning in Charming but as we all know from watching SoA over the years, the shit is about to hit the fan.

Jax tells Tara the Irish are breaking Clay out of prison during his transport next week. Gemma tells Nero about what went down with Tara. I’m going to say, again and again, that Nero is the most stable person in Gemma’s life and she should cling to him like grim death.

Jax points out to Tara she hasn’t said I love you since she got out of prison. He says it in an understanding way, making clear he loves her, even if she can’t say it back right now. To me, this proves he doesn’t yet know how far down the rabbit hole of separation and deception Tara has gone.

D.A. Patterson visits with Eli and tells him she wants around the clock surveillance on Jax. He questions this but she’s determined to not let another incident with the club happen on their watch.

Jax notices a sad looking girl sitting outside the scoop shop. He doesn’t say anything to her though and goes inside to meet with the club. Happy reports the meet with the Irish went well. Unser shows up and Bobby says, “Wow. You didn’t die yet?” Unser: “A little, every day.” They hug. It’s awesome.

Unser asks to talk to Jax alone. He starts to talk about Gemma when Jax sees the girl outside beating the crap out of one of the bikes with a wrench before smashing the window Chucky just cleaned. Chucky makes a wah-wah downer sound on the kazoo he’s been playing. It’s the little things.

Jax chases down the teenage girl and catches her. He asks her in a concerned, not angry way, “Who are you? Hey, why’d you do that?” She responds by yelling rape as a crowd forms. “Seriously?” Jax asks, before letting her go. She runs off. Congratulations, mystery girl. You’re suddenly the most interesting person in Charming.

Unser explains the girl is Gary Putner’s kid and has been in and out of juvie. Turns out the girl’s mother was killed in a pileup on the highway after the tractor trailer killed John Teller. That sucks. The club assumes she blames them for her mother’s death.

Tig walks in through the smashed window and says, “Why my bike? I mean, really. Do all teenage girls just hate me?” Oh, Tig. I’m sure there are many teenage girls that just adore you. And I’m sure Kim Coates is about to be inundated with tweets from them on Twitter.

Eli warns Jax he’s about to be put under surveillance. Chibs tells Jax they’ve got a busy week coming up and this is not good. Jax puts Juice and Tig on finding the girl, while Jax, Bobby and Happy meet Barosky at Diosa.

Tara meets with Lowen, her lawyer. Lowen noticed all of Tara’s pregnancy tests, ultrasounds and evidence were signed off on by Margaret Murphy. She warns Tara that falsifying medical records is a felony and will not help her legal case.

Meanwhile, Clay is at bible study in prison, where the preacher’s sermon is about truth. Clay mockingly praises Jesus and says his salvation is pussy. He then gets up and being filled with the holy spirit of pussy, preaches about it to the inmates. Clay: “Can I get an amen for pussy?” It’s rare we see Clay so animated and it’s fantastic. He then bites a corrections officer’s nose off. With all the blood dripping down Ron Perlman’s chin, he’d make a damn good vampire. Can someone get on that? I’ll also accept Hellboy 3. Just sayin’.

At Diosa, Nero and Jax catch up. Nero tries to get Jax to look into the truth about what happened with Tara. Jax gets super defensive and ends the subject. Nero, voice of reason. Barosky tells Jax his business got shut down for health violations, thanks to the D.A. and Collette shows her escort license got shot down, as well. Both pull out of business with the club.

Gemma shows up at Diosa. She and Jax fight until Gemma tells how Nero gave himself up for the gun charge and wouldn’t rat on the club. Nero acts like it’s no big deal. You’re a sweetheart, Nero. Stay forever.

Juice and Tig found where the girl, Brooke, lives and go with Jax and crew to her address. Jax talks to Brooke’s dad, who explains she recently found out John Teller’s accident caused the pileup her mother died in.

Nero visits Tara at the hospital day care. Tara advises Nero to get away from Gemma before he ends up dead like John Teller. Okay, Nero’s spinning a lot of plates in this episode. I always get nervous when secondary characters are suddenly grabbing a lot of screen time. It’s like when someone who never talks suddenly talks on Walking Dead. It never ends well.

Back at the prison, Clay’s in the med ward and a doctor gives him 40 minutes to get his business done with the Irish via cell phone. The good doc threatens Clay with a Thorazine overdose if he gets caught and rats on him. Dude. Clay don’t rat.

Meanwhile, Gemma confronts Margaret in Tara’s office, where she tricks Margaret into admitting through lack of denial that Tara’s pregnancy was fake.

Over at chapel, everyone votes yea to Jax making D.A. Patterson an offer. In Patterson’s office, she first laughs at the idea but stops when Jax offers up Galen in exchange for immunity for the club on all gun charges. He also asks she re-examine Tara’s case. Patterson agrees but stipulates if he doesn’t deliver Galen in ten days, she will rain hell on the club and Tara will rot in prison. It looks like the whole mess with the Irish and Patterson could clean up nicely but given this is Sons of Anarchy, I doubt it’ll be this easy.

Jax asks Oswald to help save the Putner’s house for an IOU. Oswald says he’s running for mayor and might need favors.

At the prison, the good doc takes a bribe from the noseless guard and gives him 40 minutes to beat up Clay, who’s restrained to a bed. What’s with this guy and 40 minutes?

Over at Diosa, Jax punches Nero for talking to Tara. Come on, man. Jax: “You said she was a manipulative bitch.” Nero, who never said that and I don’t think even calls women bitches, says, “If she told you that, then I guess she is.” The punchfest that ensues is audible from the Diosa lobby. Gemma arrives and convinces Happy to break up the fight.

Both Jax and Nero’s pretty faces are messed up by the time they’re pulled apart. Nero insists Jax know what Gemma’s done for the club and brings up the disastrous conjugal with Clay. After Nero tells Jax exactly what happened, Gemma says, “It doesn’t matter. It’s done.”

This info breaks down Jax’s wall, giving Gemma the perfect moment to enlighten Jax about Tara’s fake pregnancy, divorce and custody plans. Jax is stunned but he hears it. Here we go, guys. Can you feel all the pieces of this season’s endgame start to fall into place?

Lowen, in some bitchin’ heels, meets with Unser in his trailer. Unfortunately for her, Unser locks her in and an armed Jax demands to know the truth. After he slams a fist against the table, she throws attorney-client privilege right out the window and answers that yes, Tara is divorcing him and taking the boys. She also admits the pregnancy was fake but she didn’t know. Jax kicks her out of the trailer. Just be glad you got off easy, Lowen.

Unser reminds Jax he promised him “nobody gets hurt.” Lowen calls Tara to warn her.

Nero asks Gemma if what Tara said was true, that she killed John Teller. Gemma explains she blamed John for their son, Thomas’ death, and that turned John into a repentant man who regretted everything he’d done with the club. She tells Nero, “I didn’t kill him but I knew it had to be done” and that she gave Clay her blessing for John’s death, something she’s never told anyone.

Jax goes to the scoop shop and finds Brooke waiting inside for him. She apologizes for attacking the bike and window. She asks why he would help them save the house and Jax replies, “It’s just my way of saying sorry to a mother.” She thanks him and cries. I adore her. It’s nice to see some new people who have nothing to do with club business and see Jax do a good thing for a stranger.

The episode ends with Tara singing “May You Stay in the Arms of the Angels” to Thomas, who she rocks in her arms while she keeps a gun on her leg.

I’ve got to say, I love Tara and whether or not Gemma or Jax, a combination of the two or Tara’s own growth as a person drove her to this point, I hate that she’s this person now. I want old Tara back. Unfortunately, SoA is a show where characters, as Zobelle once said, “adjust and adapt” so there’s no going back to what once was. There’s only forward, through all the fractures.

Bonus Points:

Chucky has really become the light part of serious episodes. Remember him on the scooter a few weeks ago? Tonight, we got him washing the scoop shop windows while playing kazoo. I’m glad he seems happy. He had a rough couple of seasons, what with the hand issues and all.

I can’t be the only one who thinks Nero is dead sexy in those black tanks he wears. Anyone with me on this?

Next week, all hell breaks loose. We’ve got a bike being run over, Gemma arming herself, Jax riding through a chain link fence and Tara looking terrified as she runs into the boys’ room and doesn’t see Thomas.

What did you think about this episode? Bets on who survives this season? It’s not looking good for Tara. Do you think she deserves what’s coming to her?