This week’s episode, though action packed, is dragged down by recurring dramatic issues that take the fun out of the show.

The sixth season of FX’s “Sons Of Anarchy” has been one of drama and violence, two things that have been a staple of the shows running and made it so entertaining to audiences over the years. For the most part the balance between drama and violence has been equal with a 50/50 ration down the line with each episode. This week’s episode, “Las Fantasmas,” breaks the ration and is too drama heavy.

The action of the episode was good, though relatively short in its time allotment. We got to see Juice (Theo Rossi) flirting with death again, which seems to be a constant theme in the past few seasons, as the fall-out from the season opener continues to carry repercussions this far into the season.

The dramatic elements of the episode, based largely around Tara (Maggie Siff) and her master plan to protect her children above all costs. I’m beginning to wonder, as each passing episode carries more and more weight of Tara’s grand scheme; if this plan is really in the hopes of protecting her children from legitimate threats or if she is simply trying to stick it to her husband and mother-in-law, Jax (Charlie Hunnam) and Gemma (Katey Sagal). I was actually very surprised with the control and planning of Sagal’s character.

I’m so used to her simply beating the hell out of anyone in her way, but this episode shows a more calculating aspect of the character’s personality. One of the main reason’s I’m looking forward to the rest of this season is due to Gemma’s character. Now that she knows what’s going on, it will be very interesting (and entertaining) to see what she’s going to do to Tara’s master plan.

In all honesty, this week’s episode didn’t satisfy me as much as “Sons of Anarchy” normally does. I found myself distracted as the moments of story driven drama drones on and on and on. There wasn’t enough pop, not enough violence, to keep me interested in this week’s installment. I’ve come to appreciate the show for its grit as well as for its storytelling. Hopefully Kurt Sutter, show creator and writer, will be available to even things out a bit in next week’s episode.