Sons of Anarchy: Season Two

The second season of this FX original series about the Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club Redwood Original (SAMCRO)—a gang that practically rules the desert town of Charming, CA—finds leader Clay (Ron Perlman) struggling to maintain control while heir apparent Jax (Charlie Hunnam) tries to reclaim the original outlaw philosophy that has become twisted through criminal enterprise over the years. Their uneasy relationship frustrates Jax's hell-on-wheels of a mom, Gemma (Katey Sagal), who is in a second marriage to Clay and supportive of his leadership. Tension escalates when a white supremacist group (led by Adam Arkin and Henry Rollins) arrives on the scene and declares war on SAMCRO (brutally assaulting Gemma, a fact she hides from Clay and Jax), which is moving into the porn business as a way to rebuild its revenue stream. For all the criminal activity, sex, and violence, Sons of Anarchy is more about family, community, and duty, celebrating SAMCRO's code of loyalty while acknowledging its hypocrisy and the damage left in its wake. Compiling all 13 episodes from the 2009 second season, DVD/Blu-ray extras include episode commentaries, a “making-of” featurette, a cast and crew Q&A, deleted scenes, and a gag reel. Recommended. (S. Axmaker)