Sons of Anarchy (season 2)


The second season of the American television drama series Sons of Anarchy premiered on September 8, 2009 and concluded on December 1, 2009 after 13 episodes aired on cable network FX. Created by Kurt Sutter, it is about the lives of a close-knit outlaw motorcycle club operating in Charming, a fictional town in California's Central Valley. The show centers on protagonist Jackson "Jax" Teller, the then-vice president of the club, who begins questioning himself.
Sons of Anarchy is the story of the Teller-Morrow family of Charming, California, as well as other members of the Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club, Redwood Original, their families, various Charming townspeople, allied and rival gangs, associates, and law agencies that undermine or support SAMCRO's legal and illegal enterprises.
Introduced in this season was white separatist called the League of American Nationalists. LOAN arrives in Charming with leader Ethan Zobelle and Zobelle's enforcer, A.J. Weston, seeking to drive the Sons of Anarchy out of Charming.

Plot

called the League of American Nationalists arrive in Charming. LOAN's leader Ethan Zobelle and Zobelle's enforcer, A.J. Weston, seek to drive the Sons of Anarchy from Charming. To send a message to SAMCRO, Zobelle orchestrates to have Gemma kidnapped and gang raped by Weston and two others. Due to the improper handling of an internal problem, the rift between Clay and Jax continues to widen as Jax challenges most of Clay's decisions and comes to a head when a lone car bomb nearly kills another member of SAMCRO. The second season sees SAMCRO battling LOAN for control of Charming, Jax and Clay veering further apart in their individual visions for the club, and evading the ever-present threat of the ATF.

Cast and characters

Main cast

Although Sons of Anarchy is set in Northern California's Central Valley, it is filmed primarily at Occidental Studios Stage 5A in North Hollywood. Main sets located there include the clubhouse, St. Thomas Hospital and Jax's house. The production rooms at the studio used by the writing staff also double as the Charming police station.
External scenes are often filmed nearby in Sun Valley and Tujunga. Interior and exterior scenes set in Northern Ireland during season 3 were also filmed at Occidental Studios and surrounding areas. A second unit shot footage in Northern Ireland used in the third season.

Reception

The second season received critical acclaim. This season of Sons of Anarchy also saw a substantial increase in positive reviews in comparison with the first season. On Rotten Tomatoes, the second season has a rating of 93%, based on 15 reviews, with an average rating of 8.7/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "Sons of Anarchy continues to intensify the drama with riveting storytelling brought to life by a talented ensemble." On Metacritic the second season has a score of 86 out of 100, based on reviews 6 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".
IGN gave the second season an 8.4/10.0 rating, giving praise to Henry Rollins' character, AJ Weston, saying, "A decidedly stronger second season sees the gang unravel and knit back together."
Writing for Chicago Tribune, Maureen Ryan called the second season "engrossing". She elaborated that "the pacing is better the plotting is tighter" and commended Sagal and Perlman for their performances. Variety’s Stuart Levine called the new season "compelling" and complimented the acting skill of Perlman, Sagal, Hunnam, and Siff. James Poniewozik of TIME called Sagal's performance "devastatingly powerful" and named the series on his list of Top 10 Shows of 2009.

Episodes

Home media release

The second season was released in the United States on DVD and Blu-ray on August 31, 2010.