I didn’t have much hope for the season finale of Sons of Anarchy, which would be the capstone of a show that has descended from greatness into something pretty terrible the last two seasons. I’ve spent nearly every week expressing my disdain for the direction the series has moved, and I wasn’t expecting the finale to be the end the show deserved.
And yet, it was.
Even though the final episode hit nearly every single note I thought it would, and in that sense was predictable, it was a surprisingly emotional finale in a season that’s been anything but. And it was a perfect final episode for the series, despite the past two years where the show has lost its way. That’s no easy feat, but mercifully now the show can be remembered fondly instead of reaching Dexter “Remember the Monsters” levels of lumberjack badness in the finale.
Why was the finale good? Because while the past two years have been Jax making one horrible decision after another, last night was when he finally stopped and took responsibility for everything he’d done. The entire episode was carefully calculated as Jax tied up all loose ends before his inevitable death. If you couldn’t see it coming all season, you really should have known what was going to happen by how deliberate the opening scene was, and Jax was clearly on a suicide mission from the start. And his father’s bike? Come on.
Jax manages to throw law enforcement a bone by copping to Gemma and Eli’s death, he kills Borosky and August and an Irish King, securing a new deal that will (hopefully) mean less violence on the street. And in the end, he forces his club to vote aye on Mayhem, keeping their good standing with the larger organization, but stages a fake getaway so he doesn’t burden Chibbs or the others with having to execute him outright, even if it makes him look like a coward. And last of all, he finally lets what remaining innocents there are out from the Sons trap. Nero finally got out, and Jax ensured Wendy and the boys went with him to ensure they don’t grow up under the club’s influence. While Jax didn’t save his entire club from being criminals, he at least saved his family, even if it meant his boys would grow up hating him. In short, Jax stepped up to the plate in every way possible, and that meant his character could be adequately redeemed after years of selfishness and stupidity. That’s an impressive feat.
The episode seemed predetermined from the start, but it was fantastically filmed, and Jax’s final ride with six wanted stars worth of cops following him was the blaze of glory he deserved. I think Kurt Sutter maybe got a little carried away with the Christ analogies, however. The bread and wine last supper was clever enough without needing the camera to hold on it for ten seconds. Jax’s last sacrificial ride was good enough without him needing to stretch out his arms before pancaking himself on the truck like he was literally being crucified. But outside of one or two heavy-handed moments like that, it worked.
I know I’ve been really, really critical about Sons of Anarchy for a long time now, but I’m ecstatic to see it find its groove in its final moments, right when it meant the most. I thought the show was mishandling plot points left and right, culminating in the frankly depressing and absurd penultimate episode last week. This was a sad finale to be sure, but that had nothing to do with its quality. There was a sentimentality to it that just felt right, and like all the pieces finally fit together, no matter how jagged and misshapen they were. In a way, this echoed the Breaking Bad finale in the sense that it felt almost too perfect the way it tied everything together and redeemed the central character who in the end, was a good guy despite being an anti-hero and occasional villain. But it works. Breaking Bad also had a killer final season to go along with a killer finale, but at least Sons escaped with the latter, and that counts for something.
So while I don’t apologize for the last two years of criticism, I will hand it to Sutter, Hunnam and all the rest who went out on top. Good work boys, and I’ll look forward to what all of you do next.
[Photos via FX]
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