(Obviously, spoilers ahead.)
One thing that quickly went away in the canon of television was a twist ending. In lieu of tying up loose ends and putting a bow on a series, television dramas decided to go with ambiguous endings that seemed like copouts to fans of the show. The ending to The Sopranos was the greatest example, with David Chase leaving everything up in the air until a couple months ago, and even then, he wouldn’t reveal exactly how things ended.
With an ambiguous ending already on his resume with The Shield, Kurt Sutter decided that with Sons of Anarchy, instead of leaving things open for Jax (Charlie Hunnam), he would cleanly close the whirlwind chapter in a series that depended on twists and turns maybe a bit too often for the fans’ liking. At the end of his ride, with everything set in front of him, Jax accepted his fate.
We’re going to have more follow-ups on Sons of Anarchy in the days and weeks to come here at The AP Party, but the finale, even though it lacked a lot of the mystery that other finales have shown, was one of the cleanest bits of television that Sutter has ever produced. Right from the start, you knew that Jax was ready to become a martyr for the things he loved, and he set in motion the pieces that would allow them to prosper long after his death.
Those loose ends included Jax severing all the things that ended up undoing him in the first place. Whether it was the inherent racism of his charter, the gun trade with the Irish, or the territorial beefs with August Marks (Billy Brown), he made sure that things were finally silenced for what he believed was the greater good. His sons would get an opportunity to live a better life, his club would have a fresh start without the threat of repercussion from their enemies, and Jax would have closure with his father’s vision for SAMCRO.
There were a few curveballs (Jax taking down an IRA king and Marks himself were ballsy choices, as were the club’s choice of not sending him to meet Mr. Mayhem and allowing him to go on his own terms), but nothing so big that it truly shocked you. Everything made sense. It all came together.
The legacy this show has will unfortunately be grayed out by listlessness in the middle seasons. Obviously, the trip to Belfast in Season 3 stands out like a sore thumb and one of those production calls that threw the show off its rocker to many, but there also was a lot of filler in the story that didn’t seem to mean much in the end. And yes, the killings of Opie (Ryan Hurst) and Clay (Ron Perlman) ended up making me enjoy the show less (as it did for many viewers). In fact, Clay’s death basically signaled the end of him being mentioned at all afterwards, and Opie’s death only got referenced in the cold open of the finale.
Like many other shows that stayed longer than it might have needed to, it knew how to end things eventually. This season might not have been its best (that would go to Season 2 for me) but as far as wrapping up a series, it definitely holds its own. Katey Sagal should at least get an Emmy nod, if not win the statue outright. Jimmy Smits was given a chance to truly shine this season, and it was nice to see him get a chance to show what’s made him one of the best television actors going for the last two decades.
There will be detractors to this season as well. The violence was turned up way past 11, Chibs (Tommy Flanagan) and Althea’s (Annabeth Gish) love affair didn’t seem to mean much at all, the death of Bobby (Mark Boone Junior), etc. But if you look at what the show is about, the ending felt right.
An instrument of mayhem in his own right, Jax knew he could no longer be a catalyst to even more mayhem around him, and the ambiguity of his motives remained even in his death. He wanted to be good, but what made him great were the bad things he did. That type of ambiguity didn’t come forced at all, which made the tragedy of Jax that much more palpable.
What will most likely be talked about is the Shakespearean quote after the final scene, speaking to how regardless of what you perceived in his intentions, Jax made sure to do things out of love. In saying goodbye to those he loved, he said hello to those he loved the most, but it took a tragic turn of events to do so. It’s a good way for Jax to go out, it’s a good way for the show to go out, and it’s good to know that even if you know what’s coming, it can be worthwhile to see it to the end.
