Sons of Anarchy - Papa's Goods (Series Finale) - Review: "The Final Ride"

Review Guide:
Episode 7.08 The Separation of Crows - Review
Episode 7.09 What a Piece of Work Is Man - Review
Episode 7.10 Faith and Despondency - Review
Episode 7.11 Suits of Woe - Review
Episode 7.12 Red Rose - Review
Episode 7.13 Papa's Goods (Series Finale) - Review
Farewell Article - Series Review - Best Moments


Sons of Anarchy - Papa's Goods (Series Finale) - Review

The Series finale of Sons of Anarchy aired last night, and what an episode it was. The finale delivered closure for us fans, tying up every major thing so that nothing was left open.

A good half of the episode was spent with Jax wrapping up business arrangements related to the club. He was also tying up loose ends that could potentially have caused problems for SAMCRO. In the last episode we saw Jax act as if he was a man waiting to die, this episode only furthered that with him taking out many big players. He wanted to leave the club in a better place than when he was president, so it was fitting that he decided to take out Mark's, the Irish kings and Barosky. Jax would under no circumstances make a move on any of them as the consequences would be too much for the club to bare, but since he was already a dead man he really had nothing to lose. I was actually pleased he decided to end the Irish kings miserable lives, they have annoyed me for seasons now.

Ever since Jax found out about who really killed Tara he has been on a mission to get vengeance. Jax on his mission to seek revenge for Tara has caused other people grief, and brought chaos to charming, luckily Jax has fixed all of that, and charming is now in much better place. Jax decided to finally tell Patterson (CCH Pounder) who really killed Tara and Roosevelt. He also informed her of what had been going on with Lin, and everything else. Jax even went as far as to give her the address as to where Gemma and Unser's bodies were. He thought she deserved the truth, and I am glad he told her. I do think she was grateful to him, as he talked about the violence stopping by the end of the day, and you could see in the closing scene where it showed Barosky's body that Patterson knew that Jax was going to die. Jax finally did what so many others have failed to do, getting rid of the violence and the chaos. Charming will be a better, and potentially safer town to live in, and its all thanks to him.

Speaking of setting things right, Jax finally decided to honor Tara's wishes to see to it that the boys left Charming. We saw last episode the plan for them to go with Nero, but after seeing Jax sleep with Wendy I didn't think they would leave.

I am glad they did, I only wish that Tara could have been the one to take them away from Charming as it was her dream from the very beginning. Jax asked Nero to sell the houses, and properties and give the money to Wendy so they had some financial security since they wouldn't be getting income from him, obviously.
He didn't want to die without having his family well looked after; he did tell Nero he was leaving, but we all knew what leaving was in Jax's terms. Nero also got told that Gemma was dead, although Jax never actually said it Nero knew what he was going on about. This provided yet again another emotional scene between the pair, and as usual Jimmy Smits and Charlie Hunnam delivered exceptional performances. In fact for me their conversation was a highlight of the episode. Nero thought of Jax like a son, they bonded over the years, Nero was like the step father Clay should have been to him. Nero will definitely miss Jax, and Jax Nero.

I think everybody knew Jax was going to die this, some people even ruined it for themselves by reading the death spoiler about the ending, but the question was how he was going to die. When Jax and the rest of SAMCRO met up after Jax went on a killing spree it look set to be Chibs as the one to kill Jax. The way it was presented to us with Jax giving his president’s badge to Chibs, and Tig getting the VP badge, and everyone else standing around him looking like they were all about to draw their guns on him, it looked like it was the moment Jax was going to die, but it wasn't. Jax decided he couldn't let any of his brothers kill him, so he saved them the trouble. It has been really hard to root for Jax all season, but he has definitly redeemed himself a bit for me. Unlike Gemma he couldn't let someone he cared about go through the tramatizing experience of shooting him. He had a conscience. He then left on his dad's motorcycle. I also did think it was good for us to not hear Jax's confession to Chibs as it kept us guessing all episode what would happen to Jax.

Perhaps the only good thing to happen to the club in the finale was that T.O joined SAMCRO. He has been a great assest to them all series long, but even though no one ever said it, there was always a feel of racism between SAMCRO and the Grim Bastards. I think it was a bold move from the club, but the right one. What better way to move towards the future than to patch in someone who is black. Things I think will certainly look better for the club now.

The big moment came in the final 10 minutes, which is a typical Sons move to save the best until last. Before Jax's inevitable death there was one last thing he had to do, which was to say goodbye to his father one last time. This episode we saw Jax remember his father a lot, by riding his bike that he had fixed, reading through the manuscript, so it was only fitting to have him stop of at the wall, for one last goodbye. You could see just by watching Jax's face when he was talking to his dad that he knew he was going to have the same fate as his father, and he did finally give in to his inevitable death. He got on his bike and rode down the interstate with dozens of police cars chasing him. He was an outlaw to the very end.

As he is riding we get a fitting tribute to the show by giving us one last glimpse at all the characters that remain alive. The music again was perfectly chosen, and was a good choice to end the series with. When Jax sees a Papa's Goods lorry he releases his hands from his bike and closes his eyes and goes straight into it. It was very sad to see Jax finally die, but it had to happen at some point. He was broken beyond repair, but at least he managed to set everything straight and fix his wrongs. He redeemed himself, and had nothing more to give. At least his death was quick.

Summary
It has been an outstanding show over the course of seven seasons, and I am sad to see it come to an end. It has had some bumpy seasons, with episodes lacking quality, but the final season really showcased the show at its best. The actors and actresses have been phenomenal all season long, and have truly delivered some ground breaking performances. If this show doesn't win an Emmy for best drama series, then I have lost faith in TV.


As always thank you for reading! Let me know in the comments what you thought of the episode!

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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