Sons of Anarchy – Series Review – The Best Moments: Opie’s Sacrifice, Gemma’s Confession, Venus Van Dam & Much More

Sons of Anarchy - The Farewell Article 

There are so many great moments from Sons of Anarchy's 7 year run, too many for me to mention. So I will be sharing with you some of the standout moments from its run. Please also share with me in the comments some of your standout moments! Let's relieve the outstanding show that is Sons's of Anarchy one last time before the years up!

The Moment: The Death of Opie

Season 5 Episode 3 "Laying Pipe"

Damon Pope tells Jax one of the boys (Chibs, Jax, Opie or Tig) must die in order to settle their affairs. Later they get called into "the box" and are told it is time to choose which one of them will die. As Jax is about to punch a prison guard meaning he will be the one to die, Opie hits the guard first. Opie tried to survive as long as possible, but ended up getting beaten to death.

What I thought of it

This was perhaps one of the most shocking moments in the shows run. Sutter took a huge risk in killing off such huge character, more importantly the fan favourite one. In what was an emotional death, yet brutal one where Opie chose to take one for the club and to save Jax from getting killed himself. Opie was my favourite character from the beginning, but I always felt his death was inevitable especially after Piney died. Opie lost everything; he lost his wife, his dad, his family. He was a broken man, but at least he went out protecting his brothers. He died a hero.

The Moment: The Death of Clay

Season 6 Episode 11 "Aon Rud Persanta"

When Clay is busted out of the prison transport by SAMCRO, then led back to the warehouse to meet with the IRA "big man" Galen Ross. Only things don't turn out the way Clay had hoped, the boys kill Galen O'Shay and his men, then Clay takes a bullet to the neck.

What I thought of it

Come on! His death had been coming for a long time; it was going to happen sooner or later. I was beyond glad when Clay finally died, and what better way for him to die than to have Jax deliver the final blow. He was poison right from the beginning of the series; he was always the character that would make me roll my eyes whenever he spoke. I don't think I have ever disliked a character as much as I did with Clay. When he decided to kill of Piney, and then try to kill Tara, you just knew a bullet was coming his way, but although I was glad to see him go his final scene where he locked eyes with Gemma was an emotionally charged end to his existence. I was a bit devastated, not for him, but for Gemma (I think I have gone mad).

The Moment: Gemma's confession

Season 2 Episode 10 "Balm"

After keeping quiet about getting violently attacked and raped for almost a season, and then seeing Jax about to quit the club due to disagreements with Clay. Gemma finally decides it is time to tell Clay and Jax what really happened to her

What I thought of it

Gemma knew if she did what Zobelle wanted her to do, which was to deliver the sons a message, it would divide them. So instead she put her pain aside and decided to hide the truth from her loved ones. But when she confessed all to the boys they finally put aside their differences for the sake of revenge. This was a much needed moment in Jax and Clay's relationship, it was already beyond breaking point, and it was starting to look as if one of them may kill the other so to have something as big as Gemma getting raped revealed to them put aside all their differences about the club, and from that point onwards they actually started to act like father and son. They became stronger from it.

The Moment: Tig Watches his daughter being burnt alive

Season 5 Episode 1 "Sovereign"

Tig watches his daughter be burnt alive, which came from the repercussions of him killing Popes's daughter a year prior, after he ran her down.

What I thought of it

This scene proved the words "An eye for an eye". Pope wanted revenge for his daughter, and what better way to get that than to kill the man responsible daughter. It was a chilling scene watching Tig see his daughter burnt alive, but it was also a great introduction to Damon Pope, and his means of payback, who would later go on to become one of SAMCRO's worst enemies, and one of the shows most hated characters.

The Moment: Clay - Tatoo Removal

Season 5 Episode 12 "Darthy"

When the sons finally decide to vote to have Clay's patch removed, the vote is unanimous.

What I thought of it

It wasn't that surprising when the sons decided to vote for Clay to lose his patch; I only wish Bobby had voted yes to the Mayhem vote, it would have saved us another season of seeing Clay stroll around like he still was king of the world. It was perhaps the biggest moment for Clay, he had long ago lost the respect of his fellow club members, but the tattoo removal just made that official. After all he had done, the damaged he had caused, he got the punishment he deserved. He was never fit to lead the club, and didn't become president through honesty, but the lies he told about J.T.

The Moment: Tara and Gemma's Bonding Session

Season 2 Episode 6 "Falx Cerebri"

Gemma takes Tara out back behind Caracara to give her a lesson in shooting, when Tara sees Ima, a girl who has been giving her a hard time for being with Jax. Gemma and Tara both start shooting at Ima's car.

What I thought of it

Tara and Gemma had been locking horns for nearly two seasons, so it was refreshing to see them two actually start to get along. I really liked how Gemma was teaching Tara a few things such as how to handle herself, and what she has to do to make sure everybody knows she is Jax's woman. I especially loved her hatred for Ima, and when she pointed the gun at her I couldn't stop laughing, this perhaps is the best moment the pair has shared that doesn't involve blood or chaos. After that point they did become really close where each of them could confide in one another which was nice, while it lasted at least.

The Moment: Opie Tries to kill Clay

Season 4 Episode 12 "Burnt and Purged Away"

Opie has a lot of reasons to hate Clay. One of those things was the death of his old man Piney. When Opie discovers a man he thought he could count on, and trust is behind his father’s untimely demise, Opie goes to see Clay where he delivers a non-fatal bullet to his shoulder.

What I thought of it

It was one of them moments when you thought "Why did he miss", well at least I thought that. If anybody had a good enough reason to kill Clay it was Opie, after Clay killed his father and was partly responsible for his wife's death. So really Clay got what was coming to him, for offing people left, right and center, the only downside is that Opie never got the revenge he was looking for. Shame.

The Moment: Venus Van Dam - First Appearance

Season 5 Episode 5 "Orca Shrugged"

Venus was hired by the sons when they needed to stage some incriminating photos for the purpose of blackmail. It was Venus's first ever appearance on the show, and she didn't disappoint in making it memorable.

What I thought of it

If there was ever a guest star on the show that I looked forward to seeing more it was Walton Goggins as Venus. He was brilliant. When Venus first appeared no one imagined, since it wasn't announced; that Walton was going to be playing the transgender escort, but boy did he bring something special to the role. Straight away as soon as Venus spoke she was instantly likable, her personality shone through. She was actually really cheeky, but funny as well. Her first appearance was very much needed especially in an episode like this one which was full of drama, it was refreshing to see a character such as Venus come along and brighten up the episode. It was also the beginning of a beautiful friendship with Tig. You could see straight away there was visible chemistry between them.

The Moment: Jax Kills Unser, then Gemma

Season 7 Episode 12 "Red Rose"

Unser is begging Gemma to go with him into police custody so she is safe from the club, but she refuses. Jax then shows up, and doesn't waste much time, he was there for his mother. After Wayne refused to leave Jax shot him, and then he took his mother outside and shot her as well.

What I thought of it

This is the point in the season where I knew there was absolutely zero chance of Jax coming back from what he had done, after the killing of Unser it made me really hard to root for anything about Jax. He was broken, and deserved his fate. His scene with Gemma after though was one of the best’s scenes throughout the season. It was a very powerful scene, but also an emotional one. Charlie and Katy in the scene were phenomenal as usual and I felt that it was a good send off for a character that so many of us wanted dead seasons ago. I am still going to stick by what I said in my review though which was that Gemma was selfish to the very end letting her son kill her when she knew very well he would struggle to cope after doing that. To quote Nero "A Son killing his mother, there is no coming back from that". This is true, as after that moment Jax became a dead man walking.

The Moment: Opie finally kills Agent Stahl

Season 3 Episode 13 "NS"

After most of the sons are locked up heading for Stockton prison, Chibs, Opie, Piney and Kozak head out to tie up some lose ends. Unser helps out by pulling Stahl's car over which had Jimmy inside as well, he then holds her at Gunpoint as she watches Jimmy get killed by Chibs. Opie then gets in the backseat of the car, with Stahl now in the front seat, and then shoots her in the back of the head.

What I thought of it

If there was anyone more deserving of a bullet it was her, she was the biggest game player on the show; you didn't know what she was going to do next. Her constant quest for control was an absolute pain to watch, especially since she destroyed so many life's in the process. She was one of the son’s worst enemies, she was cunning, and always had a picture in mind of her end game. Her death was also the much needed closure Opie needed. Whilst killing her wouldn't bring his wife back it sure made him feel a lot better. Stahl isn't entirely to blame for Donna's death though, but it was her meddling that led to it.

The Moment: The Search for Abel

Season 3 Episode 1 to Episode 11

It all started when Hayes believed that Gemma had killed his son, another lie Stahl told. He then followed half-sack to the cabin where Tara and Abel were. Hayes then kills Half-sack, and takes Abel all the way to Belfast. The sons then spend an entire season looking for him.

What I thought of it

Whilst I did think the storyline dragged on a bit too long, I did like the change of scenery. It was really good to get a chance to see what another club nowhere near the redwood originals looked like. They had it much worse than Jax and co, and they were also corrupt and in with the local "gang lord". I loved getting to know a little more about J.T, and finding out that Jax had a half-sister was a real shock. The new characters were quite interesting and the interactions between Maureen and Gemma were great, especially as they tried to work through their differences. I also really liked it how we got to see a different side of Jax, a genuinely scared man who was worried for the safety of his child. At this point in the show Jax was my favourite character, he cared for his family more than he did his club. It is a real shame that the writers ruined what could have been one of the best characters ever to grace our screens.

Some other stand out moments

• Clay Kills Piney - Season 4 Episode 8 “Family Recipe”

• Otto And Toric’s Showdown - Season 6 Episode 4 “Wolfsangel”

• Juice Tells Jax the truth - Season 7 Episode 12 “Suits of Woe”

• Tara fakes a miscarriage - Season 6 episode 7 “Sweet and Vaded

• Otto bites off his own tongue - Season 5 Episode 13 “J'ai Obtenu Cette”

• Jax kills Tara's ex Agent Kohn, then sleeps with her next to his dead body - Season 1 Episode 8 “The Pull”

• Koazik's death (so unexpected) - Season 4 Episode 11 “Call of Duty”

• Head in the chili - Season 4 Episode 8 “Family Recipe”

• Juice Shoots Miles - Season 4 Episode 6 “With an X”

• Agent Stahl kills her partner - Season 3 Episode 12 “June Wedding”

• The Final Ride - Season 7 Episode 13 “Papa's Goods”

As always thank you for reading! Let me know in the comments what some of your favorite moments from the shows run are!

About the Author - Robert Fruin

Robert is a sixth form student from the United Kingdom, who is currently studying IT, Media and Business Studies. Robert is a huge fan of the ended ABC series LOST, he has seen it many times over and has even visited some of the filming locations for it. Robert mainly watches drama series such as Game Of Thrones and Person of Interest, but has a soft spot for the comedy The Middle. Some other shows he watches are The Walking Dead, Arrow and The 100. Some other interests include cycling, photography and kayaking. Robert will be reviewing Z Nation,The Librarians, Sons Of Anarchy, Intruders, The Fosters and Aquarius. Feel free to connect with him on any of these social media sites.

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