It's a testament to how screwed up Kurt Sutter and his writing staff are willing to let their protagonists get when they can't even fall apart properly. "Fruit for the Crows" demonstrates just how in over their heads everyone in the MC has gotten this season and the result is the best, tightest episode in this admittedly uneven batch. It's a hallmark of every crime story to see the crooks get by on their dirty dealings for only so long before it all comes crashing down. That's what we're watching as of this episode of SoA and now that the show has been renewed for another season, it's going to have to be the story of who survives the collapse and what they do in the aftermath.

The episode starts on an action-packed note. The Sons drop by the cocaine packaging and distribution site Alvarez and the Mayans have set up, only to get caught up in an assassination attempt against Alvarez by who we later find out are hired muscle for one of Galindo's rival cartels. Alvarez takes a bullet in the shoulder, so the Sons bring him back to the clubhouse where Tara patches him up. In the confusion, Tara catches wind of the club's drug connection and unwittingly becomes the center of a back room drama surrounding the origin of the death threat against her. Clay, naturally, tries to keep everything quiet, but Gemma starts to suspect something foul in her own house in the process. It's a smart storytelling move to pit Gemma against Clay. After all, it was their conniving that began the pattern of rot that's currently destroying the club.

Speaking of internal rot, Juice reaches the end of his rope (or in this case, chain) when last week's ugliness mixes with increased pressure from the authorities. Linc, the DA, essentially entraps him to push him deeper into desperation, but by episode's end Juice decides to take the easy way out. An unintentionally ironic promotion within the club makes his guilt get the best of him. He wraps a chain around his neck and tries to hang himself off a tree. We don't see it, but an audio cue suggests he wasn't successful.

But the most interesting development of the night happens right around the clubhouse table. After tracking down the shooters who attacked Alvarez, the Sons learn that they were just innocent immigrants forced by the rival cartel to do their dirty work under death threats to their families. Before the club can learn this, two of the shooters and one of their sisters lay dead. The full scope of the hopelessness of cartel work coming to light, Bobby insists on a vote to elect a new club president, claiming that Clay's decisions have jeopardized the MC. But that vote never happens. The club is already too messed up to even follow due process. Juice is trying to kill himself at the time, Opie is hung up on Leila (who split with her kid when Opie tried to reach out) and Piney is too busy seemingly preparing for war to even answer his phone. The club has been beyond saving for a while now, but at the end of this season there's no telling how many of them will be left to save in the first place.

Best Moment: The chase scene. I've always really admired the way Sons of Anarchy handles ride-and-shoot staging.

Notes: If Season 5 ends up being the story of Jax rebuilding the club, I'd love to see how a criminal motorcycle gang goes about recruiting people, seeing as prospects seem to just appear out of fat, hairy air.

Episode Rating: 4.8/5- Guns, deception and brutal politics. That's what I want out of this and that's what this episode delivered, plus some relationship drama.