Sons of Anarchy’s Season 6 delivered what it had to, putting the Men of Mayhem in constant jeopardy with unpredictable plot twists, satisfying paybacks, and the violent demise of two major characters.
While we expected Tara (Maggie Siff) and Gemma (Katey Sagal) to eventually settle their scores, the brutal rage that Gemma dispensed in Tara’s demise was a surprise. Tara had been igniting that fuse repeatedly since the season began, then burning all her bridges along the way. While slowly morphing into another Gemma, the transition was too little, too late to give Tara the foresight she needed to stay clear of her executioner. Clearly, Gemma’s actions will be hard to forgive, pushing her into the unsympathetic character column. It will be interesting to see the mea culpas the writers put her through to gain some semblance of contrition for her tragically misguided final act in Season 6.
We’ll miss the tug of war between Tara and Jax, although we knew their relationship was doomed from the start. While Tara gave Jax the center he needed to at least try to “fly right,” Tara’s demise on the heels of Opie’s brutal death will surely take Jax in the “Clay” direction as Season 7 unfolds.
The Shakespearean feud between Clay (Ron Perlman) Jax (Charlie Hunnam) came to a head with predictably somber overtones as Jax executed his “father,” underscoring the episode’s suggestively icy Aon Rud Persanta title.Jax’s offing of Gaalan (Timothy V. Murphy) and his stateside lackeys was also expected, as the two clearly despised each other.
Gaining increasing sympathy and likeability is Nero (Jimmy Smits). Teaming up with SAMCRO was good news-bad news for Nero, nose-diving his once lucrative semi-legit enterprise while providing an emotional uplift in a relationship he needed with Gemma. Will he go to the dark side with the MAYANS? Or will Gemma and the love for his son continue to pull him toward redemption?
One of the more interesting and troubled characters is Juice (Theo Rossi). Having snuffed out the life of a woman with a pillow, then killing Roosevelt (Rockmond Dunbar) to save Gemma for Tara’s murder, Juice will have some serious issues to work through.
Guest stars lit up SOA, adding ferocity, tension and smart confrontations that were a delight to watch. Donal Logue’s loose canon lawman Lee Toric pulled out all the stops in avenging his sister’s murder. CCH Pounder’s DA Patterson was calculating and cool, punctuated by a mano a mano sit down with Jax to hash out a deal that would eventually fall apart. And then there’s Walton Goggins, whose Venus Van Dam rivaled the best performance we’ve seen since To Wong Foo Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar.
What will Season 7 reveal? Will Gemma escape Jax’s wrath? Will SAMCRO get out of the gun running business and go “legit”? Will Jax survive prison? Will SAMCRO survive? The Season 7 premier is just days away.
Alex A. Kecskes is a published author of "Healer a Novel" available on Amazon. He has written hundreds of film reviews and celebrity interviews for a wide variety of online and print outlets. He has covered red carpet premieres and Comic-Con events for major films and independent releases.
