Cheers & Jeers: Sons of Anarchy's Perlman of the Hour

Cheers to Sons of Anarchy for unleashing the beast in Ron Perlman.

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FX's motorcycle-gang drama has sometimes soft-pedaled the Beauty and the Beast vet's character, SAMCRO prez Clay Morrow, depicting him as more of an arthritic pussycat than a ferocious tiger. But in SOA's superb Season 4 — and especially in this week's standout episode, "Hands" (directed by Robocop's Peter Weller) — Perlman got in touch with his inner Hellboy.

Clay ordered a hit on stepson Jax's old lady, Tara (Maggie Siff), and was unable to stop it once he learned Jax and their kids would be with her. The botched result: Tara's hand got crushed, along with her career as a surgeon. And in the hour's shocking climax, Clay savagely beat his wife, Gemma (Katey Sagal), leading her to swear revenge, via Jax. No doubt about it: SOA's central dramatic conflict — and Perlman's compelling performance — is really getting revved up.

What did you think of Ron Perlman on last night's Sons of Anarchy?

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