Giving Back

"Giving Back"
Sons of Anarchy episode

Opie and Jax confronting Kyle.
Episode no. Season 1
Episode 5
Directed by Tim Hunter
Written by Jack LoGiudice
Production code 1WAB04
Original air date October 1, 2008
Running time 45 minutes
Guest actors

"Giving Back" is the fifth episode of the FX television series Sons of Anarchy. It was written by Jack LoGiudice, directed by Tim Hunter, and originally aired on October 1, 2008.

Plot

At Stockton state prison, Chuck Marstein is attacked in his cell by members of the Chinese Mafia. Otto Delaney, a member of the Sons of Anarchy, and some other bikers then come to his rescue and fight the attackers off. Chuck then begins masturbating - a bizarre nervous tic of his. He was an accountant for the Chinese but began stealing money, and when he was later imprisoned, he informed on a number of Chinese gangsters. In prison, he hired the Sons of Anarchy to protect him from the Chinese Mob in exchange for a cut of the $400,000 he stole.

In Charming, Gemma organizes her annual fundraiser at a local school, and is approached by April Hobart, the ex-wife of Kyle Hobart, whom SAMCRO ex-communicated in 2003 because he fled with the getaway car, leaving Opie to be caught by the police after an arson job. She asks Gemma to ask Clay if Kyle might attend the fundraiser to see their son perform with his band at the event the next night. Gemma passes the request on to Clay, who refuses; however, she eventually persuades him to put it to a vote. Josh Kohn approaches a shocked Tara at the hospital. She warns him to stay away from her, but he tells her he is in town on official business.

At the clubhouse, a vote is held at Chapel. Opie shocks the other members by voting to let Kyle come back to town. Despite the objections of some members, the motion is passed and Kyle is allowed to attend the fundraiser. Clay warns Opie that revenge had better not be his motive for letting Kyle return, but Opie says it isn't. Clay still has his reservations, however, and tells Jax to watch Kyle during the fundraiser.

Clay and Jax then visit Otto in prison, and he informs them that Chuck is being released. Later, Tig and Bobby pick Chuck up from outside the prison in a van and take him to the clubhouse. Chuck tells them the money is stashed in a Chinese restaurant, and they plan to raid it that night after it closes. However, Chuck's masturbation greatly annoys the bikers, and they decide to raid the restaurant immediately. When they get there, they force their way into the kitchen, and Jax opens a newly-plastered patch on the ceiling where the bag of money is. The cash turns out to be counterfeit, however. As SAMCRO leaves the restaurant, the Chinese gangsters turn up in cars, and a shoot-out briefly ensues. After a while, Clay decides to make a deal with the gang's boss, Henry Lin, in order to avoid a war; SAMCRO hands over Chuck, the fake money, and the forging plates, and the Chinese pay SAMCRO in real cash.

The next day, Kyle turns up at the fair with a young girlfriend and an expensive vehicle, and proceeds to have fun playing with his children. Opie is chagrined to see that Kyle is doing well for himself. Jax is keen to keep the peace, until he notices that Kyle is still wearing the club tattoo on his back (ex-members are required to have their tattoos removed - usually by blacking them out with a tattoo needle and ink - when they leave the club). Opie follows Kyle into the school gym and shuts the door behind them. "I think you and I need to settle a few things", he says. "Yeah, I guess we do", replies Kyle. While they sort out their differences with a fistfight, Jax takes the opportunity to talk to Opie's wife Donna about the club. He explains that Kyle was thrown out of the club because he fled with the getaway car when a job with Opie went wrong, leaving his friend to face the police alone.

With the air apparently cleared between Opie and Kyle, Jax revisits Kyle's earlier offer to give SAMCRO a cut of his business selling stolen car parts. Jax accepts and invites Kyle back to the clubhouse that night. After a few drinks, Bobby lures Kyle into the garage to see his new motorcycle. However, this is a set-up, and the Sons grab Kyle and forcibly remove his shirt to reveal the club tattoo. Kyle apologizes for not having the tattoo removed, claiming to have too much love for the club. "Fire or knife?" is Clay’s only response. Kyle chooses fire: the club chains him in a standing position with his arms spread apart, gives him a few drinks of whiskey, pours more whiskey down his back, and then Tig burns the tattoo off with a blowtorch; the agony causes Kyle to quickly pass out. SAMCRO then drops him off, unconscious and with most of the skin on his back literally burned off, in front of the local hospital as his son's band plays at the fair. Jax, meanwhile, is too withdrawn to read his father's manuscript.

Music

Pop culture reference

When Opie confides about the problems in his personal life to Jax, Jax replies that he has no answers; his own life is Sid and Nancy.

External links