Sons of Anarchy Series Finale: Share Your Thoughts and Grade the Episode!
We walked into Sons of Anarchy‘s series finale with quite a few unanswered questions. And although it wasn’t neat and tidy, those loose ends were tied up by the end of the 113-minute broadcast.
Who lived? Who died? What became of the war on the streets, which came to a head during last week’s penultimate episode?
Read on for the highlights — and some of those answers — from Sons‘ final ride:
* There have been a few key moments we’ve been eagerly awaiting all season, and Jax visiting Tara’s grave ranks high on that list. At the start of the hour, Jax finally visits his wife’s plot (as well as Opie’s), kissing the headstone before leaving his wedding band at Tara’s grave and his SAMCRO rings at Opie’s.
* In one of the episode’s happiest moments — relatively speaking, that is — the SAMCRO brothers vote unanimously to make Grim Bastards prez T.O. one of their own. There’s laughing, there’s table-pounding, there’s plenty of hugging — and I have a sinking feeling it’s the last time Sons will be even remotely light-hearted.
* To tie up loose ends with the Irish, the Sons murder Declan and Brendan Roarke, before offering Connor Malone a new business plan for his shady gun deals.
* Before Nero, Wendy and the boys take off for Norco, Jax sadly informs Nero that Gemma is dead at his hands. What follows is an absolutely heartbreaking scene, as Jax says goodbye to his boys for the last time. (Say what you will about Evan and Ryder Londo, but they know how to deliver a gut-wrenching, “Love you, Daddy.”)
* Jarry and Chibs end their steamy, corrupt love affair, and it’s anything but amiable. Through gritted teeth, Chibs informs the sheriff that cops who get on the wrong side of SAMCRO “tend to go away.” His response when Jarry asks if he’s threatening her? “Don’t have to. History doesn’t lie.”
* Two of the series’ quickest kills arrive minutes apart: Jax fatally shoots both Barosky and August Marks. The latter death gets an assist from the show’s recurring homeless woman, who tells Jax “it’s time” before offering him her blanket (which he uses to camouflage himself before killing Marks. Smooth!).
* After a devastating Mayhem vote, in which all of Jax’s brothers agree their president should meet Mr. Mayhem, Jax gives his prez patch to Chibs (who makes Tig the new VP). But the SAMCRO brothers can’t go through with killing Jax themselves: They merely wound Happy, allowing Jax to ride off on his dad’s bike.
* Jax visits his old man’s place of death, confessing to John that it was “too late” for Jax to get out. When he’s found by a California Highway Patrol officer, Jax shoots at the cop, before taking off on another chase that collects more and more officers on Jax’s tail. Just as the chase reaches its height, Jax drives himself head-on into a truck — driven by none other than Gemma’s roadside companion from last week, Milo. Though we don’t see the moment of collision, we spy Jax’s blood on the road beside the crash.
* Fittingly — since the drama has drawn Hamlet comparisons throughout its run — a bittersweet Shakespeare quote is the last thing we see before the episode comes to a close.
What did you think of Sons‘ series finale? Were you satisfied with each character’s fate? Grade the episode in our poll below, then hit the comments to back up your choice.
NICE CGI AT THE END! :D
Haha! My thoughts exactly…
Meh…. No surprises, no twists, nothing new…. The way wAy we all knew It was going to end…. Nothing creative in it at all… Another disapointing lackLustre series finale… Zzzzzzz
You say that but simple and clean and satisfying was the way to go. There were no surprises, true. But there were also no horrendous screwups like we got from Breaking Bad.
Thanks
Breaking Bad’s finale is widely considered one of the best TV finales ever.
“horrendous screwup like Breaking Bad” ???? what was the “horrendous screwup” in the BB finale?
There was no “horrendous screw up” in Breaking Bad’s finale. It left me stunned and saddened for days afterward. With SOA I just feel a little let down.
Breaking bad? How dare you bring up breaking bad. This show is Sesame Street in comparison. Lol breaking bad was perfect this show was a 6.5 out of 10 and the finale was lame..
How about opinions are like assholes… I was hooked on SOA from the first episode to the last, but I couldn’t even finish the pilot episode of Breaking Bad I thought it was so bad…
The whole Final Ride was sad, but the last 4 episodes were amazing. Jax dying the way he did ? l had my eyes covered with both hands but my fingers were spread !! lt was sad, but also the only way it could have ended. l will miss the whole cast and show every Tuesday night !! l did LOVE when Jax killed Gemma !! Sounds cruel but l wanted her dead since she killed Tara who l loved . The show was simply amazing !!
Disappointed that in the afterwords shows Kurt never gave his writers credit….only about what HE wrote or what HE wanted. Meanwhile the guy from the show HE wrote for that was the truck driver or part of that show, gave him compliments and was the reason Kurt got this huge oppurtunity.Bad move on his part. ………….l would assume he did have writers that deserved a little credit like he got from his old boss is all.
I was just thinking that about your comment
no surprises or twist? like what kind of twist or surprise? i would have been very disappointed with some stupid twist , i am really sick of that kind of crap.
I am glad to see a man responsibly wrapping up his affairs and meeting death with grace.
Yoiu said it right!!!
A little late but I binge watched this show and loved it … the ending was beautiful. Jax got a police escort to his flight open armed out of this world to the next. They could have caught up to him but they were a quiet entourage in the distance. Never felt like a chase. Just company on the runway up up and away.
Ok “no surprises”, but it ended the best eay possible, Imean any other way wouldnt have made sense. They ended it the right way, though I must say it was heartbreaking.
It looked more like MS Paint
Ha ha—perfect comment! : )
Haha great comment! I also thought it looked tacky and cheap. The only other thing i’ll say about the show being over. At least we don’t have to watch any more cheap GoPro chase scenes with poorly selected songs. Hard rock Can’t Help Falling in Love during an epic chase scene… what the?
Otherwise a fairly predictable, but satisfying and necessary, ending. Loved the show, sad to see it finished. Thanks for the memories!
The ending reminded me of a second rate MTV music video. The slow speed chase could have been O.J. on a bike. It appeared the trucker was just about stopped and Jax was going about 10 miles an hour. At least they didn’t sacrifice the classic Harley for all that.
OMG the O.J. chase was all I could think about with that ending. It made it a bit more comical to me than it should have been.
I loved the song and the way it was redone. I am trying to download it. Just my opinion.
Based on the Sutter and Hunam commentary after the show, the only green screen was the close up of Hunam. He talked about just missing the truck (!) and taking his hands off the handlebars even though he was told not to.
Speaking of the after-show, someone to tell Sutter to stick to the writing and let a qualified host do that show. That was so boring and bad…so not what I was looking for ward to.
yeah they could of showed more of the cast in clips saying good bye never new why jaxs was limping and what nero found in the garage maybe jaxes fathers bike and he left those papers there jaxs gave him after everything would he be able to go back and get them
I TOTALLY AGREE UM UHA UM UH UM AHH UM AH OH YA KURT THE FINAL WAS CHEAPLY DONE AND WALTER GOOGINS PLEASE ILL NEVER LOOK AT BOYD CROWDER AGAIN OH WAIT JUSTIFIED STARTS SOON YES I WILL SORRY BUT SOA FINAL SUCKED BAD
Jeez those are some well trained crowd of the only cgi was a close up of Jax lol
Taking his hands off the handle bars is what MADE that scene……he was finally free of it all…..you could almost feel his relief knowing he was ready and welcomned the end.
Kidding, right? This has to be the worst special effects ever! TV in the 60s did a better job. Why would Sutter have made such a mess of the end of the show? Did he run out of money by then? Why was it the same trucker that gave Gemma the ride? How did he get so far away, looked like he was headed north? So many questions raised but left there, like that and Jax’ foot…… I thought the killing and violence got way too overblown the last 2 seasons, like it became a joke to them….just shoot them if they forget a line or you get too tired to write one….
It sadly sucked. sorry soa
Not everyone is going to be happy. But I found it to be a sad, but beautiful ending for Jax. Only way he saw to rid his club and family of the toxicity that was the Teller family once and for all.
As I said to a friend tonight, People will bitch & moan about the way things ended but I am happy with the way it ended. It had to end like that. It absolutely had to…
Based on the source material (a/k/a inspiration), of course it did.
Yep…Jax=Hamlet=dead. I could have had no other ending.
You guys are making me sick. Yes, Jax had to die, but it should have been at the hands of someone seeking revenge. All the people they killed they should have gone out the same way. Jax was a psychopathic serial killer. He was not a good guy, a hero, a savior, and he sure wasn’t Jesus as the finale alluded. Douchbag white boys win again, way to go Sutter, racism in its purest form.
Lol you ain’t fooling anyone with that screen name. Just an angry black person looking desperately to get the racist angle in. Nice try but go sell crazy somewhere else. We’re all stocked up here.
Lol…I am a white woman. Thank you for helping me make my point. White people should be able to see racism just as clearly as any other race or ethnic group, but they don’t. As long as the white guys come out looking good you’re happy.
So how did the white boys win if the blacks, Mexicans and the sons get what they wanted (other then jax dying)?it isn’t about race to the club obviously they let a black guy in the club so what does racism have anything to do with it?
He should have killed by autumn marks. That guy was good to him and he betrayed him in a way that had to get him killed.
This had nothing to do with racism. Bizarre thing to read into the finale. The way the bikers divide into races is realitic from prison culture. But Jax dying was not related to race at all. It WAS related to him being a bad guy–that was the point in what he said to Nero–he wanted his sons to know he was a bad guy. Not worship biker culture because of bhim the way he did because of his dad, step dad and the guys. You missed the entire point of his suicide and sending his boys away–and it started back in the season where Abel was kidnapped and taken to Ireland, and the couple tries to adopt him–Jax was going to let him go then so he could have a life free of the killing, etc. “Douchebag white boys win again?” Who? The guy who died in the head-on with the semi? Or the sons with no dad? Maybe you can get therapy for self-hatred?
I agree! I thought it was very well done!
What a fantastic ending. I wanted him to walk away but this was unbelievably sad and justified at the same time. I actually teared up.
Mr Sutter gave us a masterpiece and a remarkable ending.
FINALLY he visits Tara’s grave. This episode was sad and I was crying through much of it, to be honest. I knew what was coming, but that didn’t make it any less depressing. Charlie Hunnam, my god. What an actor! He made feel everything tonight. Fantastic freaking finale. Fantastic freaking show. SOA will always be one of my favorites for sure.
And now Jax’s kids are orphans. Wonderful ending.
How are Jax’s kids now orphans?… Wendy is Abels biological mother
Sure, Wendy is his biological mom. But let’s not forget his insides were born upisde down because of her. And, I’m not a Wendy hater, I know she wasn’t being ‘bad’ she was an addict. But, not only is Tara the one who raised Abel after all of that, but she literally aided in saving his actual life by being one of the doctors who saved him. Giving Birth isn’t all it takes to be a parent! Her being a doctor and in his life was so great for him, and now that is gone, as well. Tara is, and always will be Abels real mother, to me, and Abel should remember her as such, and for all she did for him.
Yeah, it’s a tv show. They aren’t orphans nor will able remember anything cause their lives ended with the show. So rest assured, they won’t be bothered by any of it.
I agree… I found jax’s insistence on telling Abel the”truth”about Wendy when he was obviously having a rough time very distasteful, just as distasteful as it was to coax him into calling her mommy when he obviously didn’t want to, by offering him candy…
It was not the worst thing, Jax did though. probably killing all them people measures a little higher?
Obviously killing people was worse, my point was t that for a man who “cared”so much for goods kids, he sure did his part to make sure Abel is screwed up for life!
They will have a chance at a better life and a real future without him. The life that Tara wanted for them and that Jax realized too late that they needed. And more importantly, they will have a SAFER life without Jax.
Do you know what it means to be an orphan genius?
Jax would have been killed by other charter Presidents, spent thw rest of his (very short because the Asians or AB would have killed him) life in prison or on the run? Kids would have been much worse off… Jax was never given the choice since Gemma chose his path before he was born. But atleast abel and Thomas will have the choice and not be brought up around chaos, buildings blowingup , porn stars and gangsters . I think it ended the only way it could
Abel has his Son ring, for when he patches in.
With a father and extended “family” like that, orphans could only be a step up.
The ending wasn’t what I expected, but it was satisfying and it made sense.
OK, can someone help me out here? I sometimes have a hard time hearing when people are whispering or speaking so softly on TV. What did Tig and Chibs whisper in Jax’s ear at their final good-bye? I replayed it several times to no avail. Thanks
‘I don’t have anyone else’ and ‘I remember, I remember’ respectively.
Actually, Tig says “I have no words, I have no words.” I closed captioned it.
Chibbs: love u my brother. My baby brother
Who was the homeless girl??! I would have loved a flash forward on everyone, but ah well. I wasn’t terribly impressed.
She was Death. The bread and the wine signified Communion.
The homeless girl was Jax’ guardian angel. She’s in Belfast and multiple other episodes. it’s hard to explain but she’s not a real person. beautiful show
She was the Grim Reaper or Mr. Mayhem. She was there before Gemma died up at the truck stop and Gemma died soon after.
Miss Mayhem naturally because death has no husband.
She was also the mother of the bi-polar girl that threw the hammer through the ice cream shop window (Rat’s old lady), Brooke? She died in the accident that killed JT. They showed a picture of her with her husband when Jax went to see Brooke’s father after she threw the hammer trough the window.
Did u notice that the blanket she gave Jax was the blanket he originally gave her at Donnas funeral at the cemetary in season 1?
She rats girlfriend mom, they think she died in the crash that John caused the day he died..but she just became crazy and stayed in the streets… jax saw the photo of her when he visited her home and realized he knew her from somewhere but never put 2 in 2 together..
Not possible really since she was in Belfast. She was at the truck stop just before Gemma died. She was Sutter’s version of a guardian angel or the grim reaper. She was Brooke’s (rats girls) mom.
Given the tight ties with Ireland and the general visuals, I have always thought she was Mr. Sutter’s vision of The Morrigan.
Good point. The Morrigan is the Irish/Celtic goddess of death. She comes in the form of a woman or a black bird (crow or a raven), and her presence signifies death is near…she carries the soul to its next destination. Right before the scene where Jax takes his hands of the bike handle, there is a scene where birds at flying back/forth—five in separate sequence, then the 6th one flies up to the clouds. Interesting.
This is so interesting. I did not know. Would love to copy and tweet to SOA ADDICTS. May I?
I counted 7 crows fly by which I thought was a nod to the 7 seasons.
what about the homeless woman? what’s her deal?
She was a “ghost”…Only people to see her was JT (when he crashed), Gemma and Jax. She died in the car crash/bike crash between JT and her huband that killed JT.. she was the mother of that psycho teen we saw a few seasons back. When Jax went to visit the teen girls dad who got in the accident with JT there was a picture of her in which jax says she looks familiar. She’s like the Guardian angel of death for the tellers thus the wine and bread symbolization. In season 1 when jax got drunk and feel asleep at the grave, he woke up the next morning and gave her the blanket (which we saw her give back last night).
Did you notice that psycho teen is rats girlfriendand aAbel and Thomas caretaker? (I dont mean that sarcastically. A lot of peopleddidn’t catch thatfor some rreason)
I don’t think it is normal that I will miss a fictional character so much. Very sad. Jax was a bastard at times but ultimately a good guy. At least Hamlet is with his Ophelia now.
Holy sh*t, I LOVED it I care what anybody says Jax went out on his own terms. Seeing him going to Opie’s grave and then FINALLY see Tara’s I wanted to F-in cry. I gave this finale an A that ending was just sad but beautiful …… going out like his father.
One of the worst finales I’ve ever seen. It was so forced and obvious. Sutter went overboard shoving symbolism down our throats.
It seems like Sutter needed someone in the room to tell him no.
Awful.
I agree… Predictable and boring. No shocking twists? The season should have ended 2 episodes ago… Right when jax shot Gemma…. The End…
There were seven seasons of twists and turns. I think we can all live witha finale thwt doesn’t hsve some.
Sutter didn’t want the finale to be rushed or to leave anything up in the air. It was all about closure. The story is over and I am satisfied.
I totally agree! This season was such a disappointment! They tried so hard to drag it on. I do like how all the loose end were tied I just thought this episode was so forced. I still love SOA but have been very disappointed this season.
Season 7 was a series finale–actually it started with Bobby’s decimation and death in season 6…. I binge watched the series, so I may have different p.o.v., but I felt like the last 15 or 16 hours of the show was all finale. I was choked up almost the entire time, and the episodes never really stood alone….they were a continuous single episode of grief.
I thought it sucked… red rose was better
Homeless woman was a sign for those about to die. They all saw her before their end. Gemma, Juice, Jax… Bread & Wine=possibly communion/Jesus of sorts?
Jax was the “Jesus”. He sacrificed himself for everyone else so that they may have better lives. It all kind of makes sense now. JT was the “God” and Jax was his Son. Huh. What an ending.
Jax’s arms were out like Jesus on the cross.
Dex, Wow dude, totally blew my mind!
Yeah…that and the fact that Milo (truck driver) actually yelled ‘Jesus!’ in case anybody missed the obvious symbolism of Jax’s arms out as if he was on a cross.
hated the ending felt like he went out as a coward by killing himself
He went out on his own terms. How else did you expect him to go out?
So true!
No… He went out on his own terms only after having saved his family, and fixing his mistakes. What was cowardly about it?
it was not cowardly. he was to die. it was voted. he just went on his own terms instead of a member killing him.
I think, in the right moment, Suicide can be extremely brave. Come on, you ever tried it?
Without Samcro Jax is nothing, that’s all he knows. It was a fitting ending for the character.
I didn’t think he went out like a coward. Part of me, though, felt uneasy that he got to experience peace and choose his own fate after all of the lives he took (directly or indirectly). He didn’t kill good people, though. So… Internal conflict.
He killed plenty of good people.. Unser just last episode for instance.
I dunno. Driving straight into an 18-wheeler doesn’t seem like it would be all that peaceful to me. Quicker maybe. Dead nonetheless.
What about the young school shooters mother? He had juice milk her to protect his club. He got one thing right. He was a killer and a criminal! I liked the ending
I suppose dead is dead but would have preferred him to die begging on his knees. Jax was long deserving of an ignoble death. How does one romanticize terrorizing an innocent tuck driver?
Not much too say, hated the ending!!
Not much to say! Hated the ending!
Kurt Sutter and the cast of SOA should be very proud of what they have created. They created a world we cared about and was invested in right up to the last drop of blood.
The homeless girl was a very nice, creepy symbolic touch.
Beautiful poetic ending. My tissues are out.
Very sad ending. Couldn’t imagine walking away from everything that Is loved.
How a biker gang would be run if weoman wrote the plot.
i must agree… a soap opera at best.
Kurt, who is a MAN, wrote it. But don’t let facts get in your way.
I have watched since Day 1 and have to say I really liked the way the series went out. I feel like I knew what was going to happen early on–Jax going out on his own terms—but it was done quite beautifully. I feel like all the loose ends were tied up and Jax did what was best for his boys. The CGI of him against the truck was surprisingly bad, but I think it was a great end to a great series and a million times better than so many other finales–I’m looking at you, Dexter. Great job by everyone.
Just a helpful tip. Don’t name you mediocre article something that has such an impact on the show. Are you that desperate for clicks? A spoiler like that should be IN the article. Not in the name. Please learn this tactic if you are going to continue writing for the world to see.
“Red Rose” was a much better episode than the finale. How dare Jax be so selfish as to orphan his boys and to kill their grandmother. It was quite symbolic to see Abel take out the “SON” insignia ring, There is no way that Jax could have known that the boys would not fall back into the MC lifestyle. He should have chosen to stay alive, testify against enemies, go into witness protection, and raise his boys. And since we didn’t really SEE the body, we can assume that Jax is still alive… right??? #naivefan
Very well said and agreed!
Actually my thoery is that Sutter isn’t done.. It may take a couple years or more, but I think there will be more SONS.. Ask yourself, are you gonna walk away from a bullet to the head or a motorcycle accident?? Obvious answer is the motorcycle accident, so I think we’ll be seeing more SOA with an older Jax watching Abel in the club!!!! Just my thoughts
I’m thinking a prequel spin off about J.t. and his life between Charming and Belfast. Just my 2 cents.
Yeah, I don’t see a sequel but I could see Sutter doing a prequel…give his wife another job.
The prequel is already a go…it will be called the first nine
It’s in the works… Being developed now and will be called The First Nine.
go into witness protection? wtf are you talking about? He killed his mother, he knew he couldnt live with himself doing that for long. He has committed too many crimes to go into witness protection, and he would never leave his club vulnerable like that, Did you not see the scene between him and Nero? He did not want to raise his sons, he didnt feel worthy.
If he ratted out the IRA and other major players.. Hell yea they would allow w.p.p. but your right he didn’t feel worthy. And prison with that many enemies isn’t an option. Went out the only way he possibly could
I’ll explain to those who disliked it because they simply don’t understand. Homeless woman is death like the reaper, she was in the crash that killed john teller as you can look up because Im not gonna take the time to explain that. Jax’ ultimate goal after tara is the safety of his kids and his clubs revival and survival. He sets up the club to prosper and be less violent if not violent at all. His kids will be safe with a normal life with a loving mother and loving uncle as you might call Nero. it’s a beautiful show and a beautiful ending. I’m sorry some of you can’t see that and don’t like it but Jax had to die and his brothers are not going to kill him. He went out like his father after doing exactly what his father wanted to do. Have his family be safe and out of this violence; and the club to be a club, not a gang. beautiful.
Exactly. Thank you. I’m glad someone on here has enough depth and understanding of sacrifice to understand how good this episode really was.
Thank both of you, I am so sick of the truly stupid questions surrounding this show. I generally really hate to be a dick, but when you look on these, it’s just too astounding sometimes. One of the great things about this show was that it kept one guessing, that is true. But, following along with it wasn’t that hard. I just think maybe a lot of ppl who really claim to love the show never really got into the blood of it. And, it’s true. As for what I think of the ending, god******…..why, oh why oh why were the graphics so incredibly bad??? I have loved this show from the beginning, so wth was that? So bad, so bad………good ep, but the end……the graphics, killed it for me, sorry, couldn’t get past it, it cheapened it.
Great response!