Jimmy Smits Joins the Cast of ‘Sons of Anarchy’

Jimmy Smits, one of those guys that seems to eventually land in every other heavy drama at some point (though he can’t carry is own show), is joining FX’s “Sons of Anarchy” next season. In the season-long arc, according to Deadline, Smits will play “play Neron ‘Nero’ Padilla, a Latino gangbanger with an exit strategy who becomes a dangerous mentor for Jax.”

I like Smits. He was great in the final season of “West Wing,” allowing that drama a post-Sorkin bounce-back year that let it to go out on a high note. However, the results were not as good in Smits’ season-long arc on “Dexter,” one of the worst seasons of that show (through no fault of Smits; it was the bad plotting that cratered that season).

I’m more interested in how a “dangerous mentor for Jax” will play in the upcoming season. Why does Jax have a mentor? He’s the President of SAMCRO now. Presidents do not need mentors. I hope this is not another effort by showrunner Kurt Sutter to distract us from the ongoing feud between Jax and Clay. I get the feeling that if Jax goes down the wrong path, it will create an opening for Clay to reclaim his spot at the head of the table, when the season should be about Jax somehow finding a way to put a bullet in Clay’s temple in every. single. episode.

Whatever. As long as someone finally kills of Tara, the fifth season can’t be anything but a success. Make it happen, Sutter. She’s the Lori Grimes of “Sons of Anarchy.”