Claire Danes won’t be working with a baby, either in Season 4.

This “let’s skip to the good stuff” attitude is why Sons of Anarchy leapt ahead 14 months to jump over the time the crew spent in prison. We’d much rather see SAMCRO out causing havoc on the road than ruling the roost behind bars. The real question with this brand of time jump, though, is whether these short cuts feel earned. This is the “have your cake and eat it too” approach to storytelling. Leslie Knope should have a family, Carrie Mathison needs an unbreakable connection to Brody, the outlaws of Charming, California, ought to have their misdeeds catch up to them at some point. All that happens without any of the narrative downsides of slowing our characters down from doing what they do best. But is that honest storytelling? Skipping the rough stuff?