14 DAY TRIAL // This is probably one of the worst things that could happen to a television show: with just one episode to go before wrapping up for good after 7 seasons, FX show “Sons of Anarchy” had its ending completely spoiled by a major leak. Kurt Sutter, the series’ creator, has confirmed that the leak is legit – and apologized for it to fans.
Some time ago, in between season 6 and 7, Sutter announced that a companion book, a collector’s item, would be released after the series finale, with “after” being the operative word here.
Something must have gone wrong because several distributors shipped the book to those who had pre-ordered it one week in advance.
Fans find out who dies on series finale
“Papa’s Goods” is the final episode from “Sons of Anarchy,” which tells the story of the motorcycle club SAMCRO and is a tale of love, violence, and gun / drug trafficking. The previous episode, “Red Rose,” saw events precipitate towards closure with the death of 3 major characters, whom we shall not name in case you are not caught up with the series yet.
It’s been long said that most of the characters fans have come to know and love on “Sons,” including the leading ones (here’s looking at you, Jax Teller!) will meet their demise by the series’ end and the one before the last episode definitely seemed to confirm that.
Still, it was shocking for fans to find out precisely who would die and who would survive “Papa’s Goods.” This happened because one page in the companion book features a tribute to all the people who died on the show’s 7 seasons, including the seventh, naturally – which comprises the final episode.
Kurt Sutter is sorry, will see heads roll for this
Obviously, this is a most unfortunate situation, because no one wants to see their work revealed to the public one week ahead of time and especially not Sutter, who has worked hard to set all the pieces in place for the final puzzle, which is represented by the series finale.
So no wonder he’s furious right now. In a longer post on his Twitter, Sutter says that, while the blame isn’t his in the sense that there was nothing he could have done to prevent the leak, he will take responsibility for the leak because the book was his idea.
The distributors who shipped the books in advance violated an embargo and they will be held accountable for it, though, Sutter assures. By the time he’s done with them, many heads will roll, he promises.
Still, he’s terribly sorry that this happened and he hopes fans will still tune in to see the finale next week, because it plays much better onscreen than it does on paper.
“I apologize. I ask that you not share your wrath or pain or opinion in social media so as to not spoil the experience of others. There is no excuse for utter ineptitude. It pains me that this will be the parting memory of some fans,” he writes.
A blessing in disguise
“Sons of Anarchy” has millions of fans from all over the world, which means it has the kind of support other TV shows can only hope to get one day. It’s highly unlikely that they won’t tune in for the series finale just because they know who dies on the episode: they’ve lived with these characters and rooted for (or against) them for 7 years, so a stupid leak like this one, even if huge, won’t keep them away from their TV screens now.
At the end of the day, this leak could even turn out to be a blessing in disguise, in the sense that those who for whatever reason had stopped watching “SOA” could tune in to see how what they already know will happen on the final episode will play out.
If you feel like you can’t wait for next week until the episode airs, here it is:
FAN APOLOGY Read: http://t.co/Hh3bmhlpNi
— kurt sutter (@sutterink) December 5, 2014
