Sons of Anarchy, "Better Half": My old ladies

Spoilers for last night's "Sons of Anarchy" coming up just as soon as I get some rosary beads...

As the title suggests, "Better Half" was all about the women of SAMCRO, and the different ways they responded when the club is under siege by law enforcement (and, appropriately enough, by a female ATF agent). While a lot of dramas that take place in a criminal milieu treat the female characters as afterthoughts, "Sons of Anarchy" has made a concerted effort to depict the role of the women in this world, to the point where Gemma was the first character to stand out in the show's shakier early episodes. All the women -- from Gemma to Tara to Opie's wife to "Cecil B. DeMILF" to Agent Stahl -- got great material to play this week, and the intensity didn't seem any slacker for having Clay and Jax and the guys somewhat in the background.

Much as I'd love to have Ally Walker be a continuing presence on this show, I do wonder how Kurt Sutter and company are going to deal with the ATF's continued pursuit of SAMCRO. "The Sopranos" could keep Tony out of jail for years because it portrayed the FBI as a bunch of bumblers. "The Shield" has maintained Vic Mackey's freedom because he's a cop who has the ability to undermine his own investigators, and because the LAPD brass at times decided he was too valuable to get rid of. Though the Sons have a handful of law-enforcement contacts, they're not as influential as Mackey, and this show's version of the ATF is a lot tougher than the "Sopranos" feds were.

We have four episodes left this season. Even if Clay somehow manages to get the club out from under Agent Stahl's current investigation, how will they stay off the ATF's radar forever? Not a complaint; I'm genuinely curious to see how they attempt to pull this off.

What did everybody else think?