Sons of Anarchy Recap: Five Things We Learned From the Season Premiere

Big Bad Damon Pope's punishment for Tig, Unser's attack and more

Now that's how you kick off a season.

Sons of Anarchy returned in a big way with season five last night, and over 90-minutes, the FX drama once again proved to be one of the most compelling shows on television right now. Let's go over the finer points from "Sovereign," the fifth season premiere of SoA:

1. We Met Big Bad Damon Pope: After years of hearing about the leader of the One-Niners, we finally met Damon Pope last night in all his suited-up glory. And more than that, we got to see him played to perfection by one of our favorite Lost alums: Harold Perrineau. How exactly did that introduction go? Well...

2. Damon Pope's Cruelty Knows No Limit: Tig (Kim Coates), who accidentally killed Pope's daughter last season, had to watch in horror as Pope burnt his own daughter alive in what was arguably the most gruesome death scene in SoA history. As if these two groups could possibly have more tension between then, the "daughter for a daughter" retaliatory act kicked their war into the highest gear possible.

3. Gemma Hooked Up With Jimmy Smits: She didn't actually hook up with the actor (though that would've been cool), but the NYPD Blue star debuted on SoA as Nero last night, and his intro was memorable to say the least.  And based on the connections he seems to have, we're betting he'll be involved with the Sons for awhile.

4. Clay Finally Came Clean...Sort Of: Clay (Ron Perlman) wanted back in SAMCRO, and to do that he finally told the club about killing Piney (William Lucking), but he did keep one important thing from them: why he did it. He claimed Piney pulled a gun on him, so it was an act of self-defense. Was the lie good enough to ensure his entrance back in SAMCRO? Maybe, but we have to wait for the group to vote on it. Damn you, titillating cliffhangers! 

5. Unser Is Attacked: The episode ended with the Police Chief (Dayton Callie) getting ambushed by masked men in his own home, but what was more shocking if that we got a quick glimpse of one of the attackers sporting a prosthetic leg. Is that you Greg the Peg?