‘Son’-Set Flip: ‘Anarchy’ Creator Explains Explosive Finale
** I highly suggest you do not read this if you have yet to see the season 4 finale
Last night’s remarkable “Sons of Anarchy” season finale was packed with revelations.
From Jax Teller (Charlie Hunnam) taking the SAMCRO throne from evil step-dad Clay Morrow (Ron Perlman), to the Galindo Cartel leaders, including Romeo Parada (Danny Trejo), outing themselves as CIA agents, the episode seemed to change everything.
The Post spoke with SOA creator Kurt Sutter about the explosive season finale and where SAMCRO goes from here.
Q: The season ends with Jax and Tara (Maggie Siff) becoming the new Clay and Gemma (Katey Sagal, Sutter’s real-life wife). Did you know at the beginning of this season that Jax would finally ascend?
A: I did. That was originally gonna happen in the first season, but then I realized there was a lot of fertile ground in Jax’s ascension, and his figuring out what kind of man he would become. But as we get closer to winding up the series, I wanted at least a couple of seasons with Jax in that chair. For me, Seasons 5 and 6 will be about, can Jax take over for Clay and not become Clay. In this position of power, do you have to become as brutal as Clay to survive?
Q: Jax has always been fueled by conflict, but now there’s also a sense that he’ll be fueled by his hatred toward Clay. Will this change Jax?
A: It’s part of the evolution of the character: How does that hatred and resentment impact the choices he makes. For me, it was too easy to have Jax get [the information that Clay killed his father], and then just [kill] Clay. There’s so much to be played out with him keeping that buried, and dealing with this guy on a day-to-day basis. This is the kind of information that changes people. So this will force Jax to become a different kind of man.
Q: Was the attack on Tara by the cartel — at Clay’s request — conceived to get her to the dark moral place where she could become Jax’s calculating first lady?
A: I knew that by the end of this season, I wanted her to feel betrayed and to know that Clay [hired the cartel to kill her, destroying her hand in the process]. We thought about, what is the most devastating thing we could do to Tara. Since she’s a [surgeon], it was to take away that ability to heal. This is how we push her past that line. Her disconnect and her profound shift — I think we’ve earned it.
Q: With Tara by Jax’s side, did Gemma fail to anticipate that Jax being in charge means that Tara becomes first lady?
A: I think so. Gemma’s plan was for Clay to get out and Jax to take over, with her behind him pulling the strings. She didn’t anticipate the shift Tara went through. When Tara says to her, “I’m doing everything you taught me,” it’s like Gemma realizing that by educating Tara and bringing her close, she created her own Frankenstein.
Q: And with all that’s happened, including Clay viciously beating Gemma, how do Clay and Gemma come back together?
A: That’s another reason to keep Clay alive. I don’t know if they’ll ever be together as a couple again, but they are intrinsically tied to each other. Clay has information about Gemma. Clay being alive is not a good thing for Gemma. So how do we play that out? I don’t know yet. I just know that it’s really fertile ground for more story.
Q: These four characters are the show’s center. Can you see killing one of them off before the show’s final episodes?
A: I don’t think so — not that that can’t change. But if I’m lucky enough to get seven seasons, I have a pretty good sense of what that last season looks like, and that season is open to anything.
