Simply to be a member of a motorcycle club, you must operate by your own set of morals.

You can cheat on your Old Lady, as long as it's out of town. You can set up partnerships with African-Americans, but you can't let one sit at your table. No matter what your personal convictions, you must follow the vote of the organization.

But "Una Venta" makes it clear that Clay has taken his ethical code to an entirely different stratosphere, somehow finding the ability to not just look down on the SAMTAZ Sergeant and VP who arranged their own drug deal, but to take action against them.

Can someone tell me just how different this backdoor maneuvering was from anything Clay set up his own? Or any agreement he reached with Jax? SAMTAZ got a taste of money and couldn't resist voting in the drug deal, huh? Sounds familiar.

Both Jax and Clay are so focused on their personal agenda that they can justify such overt hypocrisy, even at the expense of their own club's future, which might be where we'd headed. Heck, even ADA Potter (Nick Stackhouse to Gemma) instantly can see the effects SAMCRO's new deal has had on the club. They've never operated in such a literally explosive manner. It's downright Mad Maxian.

Piney sees it, too, and he appears to be breaking Tara down. Will she soon show him the letters? Will they point a murderous finger at Clay, who does seem to be the more likely culprit if John Teller really was murdered because he had been plotting to end the drug deal with the Irish? I had previously hypothesized the opposite, that Gemma actually acted on her own, but let's assume for a moment that Clay did the deed and Piney tries to blackmail him with that intel.

In Clay's current state of mind, it's not hard to imagine where this will end up. Piney even hints - or more than hints, really - that he wants it to go there. He wants Clay to kill him, perhaps, so the rest of the club can see how far off the edge their President has fallen. Talk about taking one for the team. (Check out next week's episode promo for more, if you dare.)

But maybe that won't be necessary. Maybe everyone will realize how deep they are now in with the Cartel - it was impossible to miss the frightened looks on every biker's face at the concluding exchange - and they'll work out a peaceful resolution with my man Romeo before returning to the calm life of gun-running. No? You don't think that's what's on tap?

Elsewhere... I know Otto has done some seriously messed up stuff in his life, but damn. No man deserves to be told that a close friend was sleeping with his wife, may have killed her (we know Bobby did not, of course) and then be left in a minute cell with nothing but photos of her bloody corpse. That's cold, Potter.

Conversely, Gemma has made a new friend. Sort of. Not really. I can't guess where her new bond with Mrs. Rooselvelt is going, but it's a pleasure to watch two strong women try to feel each other out. Clearly, Gemma is looking for an angle, but the chief's wife knows that. Gotta love Gemma's smile of respect when called out for her attempt to cage rattle inside the store. Well played, surprisingly formidable foe, she silent said.

So, we end this episode with SAMCRO officially part of the drug game and Clay able to separate dealing from muling. Bobby can't, however. And neither can Piney. And it's hard to believe that Jax - he of the bad ass bikery and journal-keeping - will be able to fool himself into thinking this truly is the best way out for much longer. One of these days in the near future, the club won't need to shoot any containers of gasoline to create an explosion.

The mounting tension will take care of that on its own.

Matt Richenthal is the Editor in Chief of TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter and on Google+.