Sons of Anarchy Season 3 - DVD

Content: The Sons of Anarchy are still deeply shaken by the events at the end of season two. Most notably, Jax (Charlie Hunnam) is reeling from the kidnapping of his son Abel. Convinced that Abel is no longer alive, Jax has completely given up on himself. But when his buddies find a first trace of the kidnapper Cameron, Jax gets new hope. He wants to do everything he can to find Abel again. But the gang can't fully focus on rescuing the little boy, as they must first bury one of their members. When a bloody attack occurs at the funeral service in Charming, of all places, the small town is shaken by a particularly tragic loss, which could also have consequences for the future of the SoA. Meanwhile, Gemma (Katey Sagal), who has gone into hiding and learned of her grandson's kidnapping, tries to get back to Charming to stand by Jax. But that turns out not to be a very good idea, because after all, the FBI is already here waiting for the alleged murderer. While Gemma is facing a long prison sentence and the conflict between the Sons of Anarchy and the Mayans threatens to escalate, Abel's trail leads to Ireland, where there are also some secrets from the past buried that Clay (Ron Pearlman) and Gemma actually didn't want Jax to ever know. But those are far from the only challenges the motorcycle gang faces in this third season...

The signs are set for change in Charming. In the third season of Sons of Anarchy, Kurt Sutter (The Shield) has attempted to inject a bit of fresh momentum into the story with some minor and major changes. Whether it's the escalating feud with the Mayans, the impending prison sentence for Gemma, or the unexpected death of a not-insignificant supporting character in the very first episode, Sutter once again makes it clear that anything is to be expected on this show. But the decision to move the action to Ireland in some episodes proves to be a refreshing change only at the beginning. Because after a while this exciting plot line seems to be dragged out, so that this season loses a little bit of the momentum and the power, which makes Sons of Anarchy so thrilling.

However, this hanger is not permanent. Towards the end, things pick up considerably and the finale sets the stage for season four, which can't come fast enough. But even in the course of the somewhat weaker episodes there are always extremely strong moments. The usual mix of suspense, drama, some humor and unexpected twists ensure that Sons of Anarchy is still a very tasty piece of TV fare even when the series is not at its best.

The excellent scripts, the now perfectly coordinated ensemble of actors, the great soundtrack and not least the excellent camera work are on the usual high level. With this Kurt Sutter proves that good entertainment can present itself extremely high quality and sophisticated without coming across too cerebral. All it takes is a thrillingly constructed dramaturgy, accessible characters and a decent level of suspense - and Sons of Anarchy has plenty of that to offer. If you already liked the first two seasons, you will also devour these thirteen episodes. It may not be the best season of the series, but still, these episodes are absolutely worth watching every minute!

Picture + Sound: Nothing has changed in the technical quality of season 3. The picture is again absolutely clean and convinces with a very earthy, atmospheric color scheme. Overall sharpness is also at a good level, revealing more than convincing detail here and there. The Dolby Digital 5.1 mix allows the rather centrally mixed dialogue to come through clearly and powerfully, while some well-executed effects such as gunfire, explosions and, of course, the hum of motorcycles provide audible movement on the surround channels every now and then. Good!

Extras: Once again, the third season has some good extras to offer. Starting things off on the first DVD is an audio commentary on Abel with Kurt Sutter, Dave Erickson, Chris Collins, Regina Corrado, Liz Sagal and Marco Ramirez. There are also ten minutes of cut scenes to watch. Disc 2 has another 5:30 min. of cut scenes, and DVD 3 has 8:03 minutes. In addition, here is an audio commentary on the episode Nothing but the Truth by Kurt Sutter, Charlie Hunnan, Katey Sagal, Maggie Sift and Tommy Flanagan.

Finally, DVD 4 has more cut scenes (about 3:13 min.) and an audio commentary on NS with Kurt Sutter and the Sons of Anarchy cast. Also included are four webisodes (The Future Begins Now, approx. 9:20 min.) that transition between seasons 3 and 4. A roundtable discussion with the writers (approx. 17:30 min.), a script reading for the season finale (approx. 42:18 min.), a motorcycle workshop for charity (approx. 15:08 min.) are also on the program. Finally, there's a look at the finale with Kurt Sutter (approx. 5:19 min.), a visit to the premiere for season 3 (approx. 5:16 min.) and an amusing gag reel (approx. 2:55 min.). Good!

Conclusion:Sons of Anarchy returns with a very rousing opener after the exciting events from last season's finale. The end of the first episode immediately brings the first dramatic twist and the first farewell to a central supporting character. When the action shifts to Ireland, there are some dramaturgical lengths. But overall, the 13 episodes of this season again offer television entertainment at a very high level: exciting, dramatic, humorous, cool and dirty - that's the Sons of Anarchy! The technical realization is again very successful and also the bonus material can be heard and seen. For this there is, as with the seasons 1 and 2, a very clear: Absolutely recommendable!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp