14 DAY TRIAL // “Sons of Anarchy” is over. After 7 more or less solid seasons, the FX biker drama, which has been compared to a modern “Hamlet,” with very clear notes of a biker soap opera, came to an end last night, with one last episode that offered closure to the surviving leads and the fans.
“Papa’s Goods,” the final episode in the series, was directed by Kurt Sutter, who also penned the script and is billed as series creator. Late last week, Sutter made headlines when he apologized to fans and ranted against Amazon distributors that had shipped copies of the companion book earlier, thus spoiling the finale for fans who had ordered them – and had them delivered one week earlier.
Useless to say, *this article contains major spoilers, so if you’re not caught up and are yet to see season 7 and the final episode, be advised that reading any further will spoil the ending for you.
Who lives? Who dies? What happens?
As many fans knew already and even more had guessed, the series finale of “Sons of Anarchy” finally saw SAMCRO President Jax Teller meet Mr. Mayhem himself. Yup, he died.
Our biker Hamlet, portrayed with relish by Charlie Hunnam, came to the end of his journey after his failed attempts to get SAMCRO (and himself) on the narrow path and succumbing to his most primal and violent instincts altogether in this last episode.
We won’t get into many specifics about the episode, just in case you’re reading this even if you’re still to see it, but suffice to say that Jax’s death was his own making, his own decision. Because of this, it felt right and satisfying.
It was predictable and a long time coming, but that didn’t mean that it wasn’t heartbreaking, and yes, most violent. “Sons of Anarchy” was FX’s biggest show in a while, so the network allowed Sutter to go free and run wild with his storytelling – and he did just that, by having his lead crash into an incoming truck during a wild police chase.
What do the fans say? What do critics think?
Here’s where reviews of the “SOA” series finale become mixed. Most fans thought that this final season was just the thing to cap off a wild ride because it simply could not have ended in any other way. Like Gemma said on the previous season, right before Jax put a bullet in her head, “it’s who we are.”
Violence breeds violence, and not even an anti-hero as beloved as Jax could have gotten away with a happy ending, one that would have seen him walk off into the sunset with his sons, away from the SAMCRO violent and mostly illegal trade.
Of course, there are also fans who think “SOA” lost a lot of storytelling power in this final season, which consisted mostly of unexpected and somewhat ridiculous twists and short violent outbursts that usually saw a major character be killed off.
If anything, season 7 was an accumulation of everything that used to make “SOA” great, in the sense that Sutter took all those hat tricks he used in previous season and repeated them ad nauseam. Most importantly, season 7 played out like a final run that overstayed its welcome and tried so hard to be shocking and outdo itself that it made viewers numb.
Critics agree with the fans who think “SOA” stopped being truly amazing sometime after season 3, becoming just a violent show with some great moments here and there. They also agree that the final season was too much, with the final episode being the perfect example of how, sometimes, more is simply more.
Then again, Sutter never aimed for anything other than that. He once described his show as an adrenalized soap opera – and in this sense, “Papa’s Goods” most definitely fit the bill. What better way for the lead character to go out than by offing himself after he made sure he settled all his scores in this world?
What did you think of the “Sons of Anarchy” series finale? Did it live up to your expectations, or do you think there was plenty of room for improvement? Drops us a line with your thoughts below.
