The Sons of Anarchy final season started off with a bang as we finally catch up with our favorite motorcycle club and see what kind of mayhem they have been causing lately.
Jax is coping with the death of Tara and still trying to discover who killed her.
Back on the streets, Northern California is on the brink of an all out bloodbath as rival gangs cope with the fact that the Niners gang has a clear advantage after business man and Niner's ally, August Marx was handed ownership of the Irish gun trading business from the Sons of Anarchy.
It turns out Jax won’t be facing any prison time and when he is released, he makes it known to the club that he is out for vengeance for Tara's death, asking them to be ready to die for the brother next to them.
This list highlights some of the best moments from the season premiere episode, “Black Widower.”
This season is going to be a bloody one and it’s not quite clear if there will be any survivors left standing. Cheers to the last ride with the Sons of Anarchy!
Check out the promo for the next episode below, "Toil and Till."
[ new page = Honorable mention: Nero enjoys ice cream ]
Honorable mention: Nero enjoys ice cream
Nero appears to be the newly elected "politician" and negotiator between the gangs in Northern California trying to convince them to be "smarter than a loaded gun." With his new partnership with the Mayans, only time will if eventually Nero will have to choose a side and stand alongside the Mayans or the Sons of Anarchy.
This particular scene happens when Nero goes to speak to Jax for the first time since Jax is released from prison at the Son's new ice cream parlor club house. Nero waits patiently at the bar while he and Chucky both enjoy a slightly awkward moment together listening to a delightfully charming tune playing in the shop.
Nero will definitely have a big part to play this upcoming season and it will be interesting to see how long he can keep the peace.
[ new page = 10. Pastor orgy interrupted ]
10. Pastor orgy interrupted
The Sons of Anarchy are helping the Grim Bastards get vengeance on a man who ran over and killed some Grim Bastards members. Both clubs arrive at an apartment complex where the president of the Grim Bastards, T.O., assures Jax that they have the man cornered.
The clubs break into the apartment but instead of finding the culprit, they walk into what appears to be some sort of bizarre, bisexual pastoral threesome. The Sons kill the people in the apartment after the woman in the threesome pulls a gun out and tries to shoot the Sons. Only after everyone in the apartment is dead do the Sons discover that the people inside the apartment were pastors.
Afterwards, T.O. apologizes to Jax for mistakenly sending them into the apartment and pleads for Jax's help to keep the Grim Bastards alive by continuing the look for the main suspect.
Was this really a mistake though? The last time we found Jax working with the Grim Bastards, Jax betrayed them when he killed T.O.'s cousin who played a part in Opie's death.
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9. Gemma tells Juice she is the only thread holding their family together
As much as we might despise Gemma for some of the things she has done, she still should be admired for how desperately she wants to keep her family together.
Juice helped Gemma after she killed Tara and in return, Gemma is now helping Juice by helping him hideout from the club at Wendy's apartment. In this scene, Gemma tells Juice that she is not insane, even after what she did to Tara. Juice asks Gemma what all of us are thinking, how could she possibly have a conversation with Jax about Tara after what she did? Gemma confesses that she did what she thought was necessary with the information that was given to her, even if that information was false.
Gemma's defense for not telling Jax the truth is hard to disagree with, but what is going to happen when Jax inevitably does find out this dark secret?
[ new page = 8. Uncer finds Juice hiding out at Wendy's apartment ]
8. Uncer finds Juice hiding out at Wendy's apartment
Juice is planning on leaving Charming as soon as possible, but before that happens, retired police chief Wayne Uncer stops by Wendy's apartment to investigate after a hankering suspicion that someone else was staying there.
Wayne opens up a backpack to find a Sons of Anarchy jacket tightly packed away and just then hears a gun click behind him. Juice ties Wayne up and we are left unsure what Juice plans on doing with him. Thankfully Wayne didn't walk in on Juice doing butt naked push-ups!
The next episode teases that Juice plans on making a deal with the Mayans for protection by selling out information about the Sons. Juice has betrayed Jax one too many times and if Jax ever finds out the truth that Juice helped hide the fact that Gemma killed Tara, Juice won't be safe no matter how much protection he buys.
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7. Sons of Anarchy plan a party
Jax Teller meets with the Mayans and Triads to let them know he is sorry for giving the gun trade over to August Marx.
Jax ends up inviting Lin and Alvarez to an "adult entertainment party" that the sons will be hosting at their new pornography studio in Stockton.
The Triads are skeptical about attending the party, as they should be, especially after Jax killed the Triads who kidnapped Happy last season. Jax promises them that the party will be safe and after promising that their Diosa escorts will be serving "snacks," the Mayans and Triads agree to attend.
Something about the way Jax talks about this party gives off a "Red Wedding" vibe, it seems that Jax has some ulterior motives for throwing this party.
[ new page = 6. District Attorney Patterson and Jax share a moment in prison ]
6. District Attorney Patterson and Jax share a moment in prison
Jax and District Attorney Patterson seemed to come to an understand toward the end of last season before Tara was killed. Jax had decided that he was going to give himself up as the provider of the guns used in a school shooting as long Tara and his club walked free.
Representing the law and the outlaw, these two have butt heads in the past but still seem to have a mutual respect for one another.
Patterson reveals to Jax that her son and her nephew were killed due to gang violence so she understands his need for vengeance after the death of Tara.
She admits that for twenty years, she has never discussed her personal life with anyone she was trying to prosecute and warns him that he should know that more violence won't do his family any good. Will Jax heed this warning or is Jax's mental state simply too far gone after Tara'a death?
[ new page = 5. Jax and the Sons of Anarchy are all in ]
5. Jax and the Sons of Anarchy are all in
This is the first time that we see Jax back at the head of the table after Tara's murder and it's clear hes in a dark place. He tells that club that he's sorry for all of the dangerous and selfish things he had the club do to try and get the Sons out of the gun running business
"I already lost the women I love, I'm not going to lose my club," Jax tells the Sons at the table with a deadly look on his face.
He needs their promise that moving forward, everyone needs to be ready to die for the brother sitting next to them, indicating that the direction the club is heading is not going to be a peaceful one.
Chibs looks Jax square in the eye and tells him, "We are all in."
[ new page = 4. Gemma talks to Tara's spirit while washing dishing in the dark ]
4. Gemma talks to Tara's spirit while washing dishing in the dark
This haunting moment shows Gemma in Jax's kitchen washing dishes in the dark. She starts to speak, but just who is Gemma talking to? Surely she's not having conversation with the Triad member tied up in the kitchen who she framed for Tara's murder.
"I don't think she's trying to replace you...or me. I trust her...for now."
Gemma must feel some guilt for murdering Tara so is talking to her ghost Gemma's way of making peace with her? Gemma is talking about Jax's ex-wife Wendy who is fresh out of rehab, wanting to help Jax raise his children. Gemma has always been paranoid about Tara and Wendy trying to steal her grandchildren away from her, but in this moment, Gemma reveals to Tara's spirit that she trusts Wendy, at least for now.
Kurt Sutter has revealed that Tara will still have a presence in the series through Season 7 and it is now clear that this will be manifested through Gemma.
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3. Jax carves a swastika into a prisoner and rips out his teeth
This bloody moment kicks off the episode and shows how Jax is getting along in prison after being arrested at the end of last season.
Jax is mercilessly beating a prisoner and pulls a shank out. Jax begins to carve a swastika into the prison's stomach. Unfortunately for the prisoner, Jax doesn't stop there. Jax reaches into his mouth and rips out not one, but two teeth.
It's revealed later in the episode that the reason Jax did this was to gain favor with a leader in the Aryan Brotherhood, played by Marilyn Manson. Jax throws the snitch's teeth down at the Aryan leader's lunch table.
"I thought you guys were into that...make a necklace or something."
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2. Wheelchair gang member goes for a neighborhood stroll
This moment earns the number two best moment of the episode. The Sons have been busy while Jax was in prison building back their alliance with the Grim Bastards.
The Grim Bastards are looking for the man responsible for running over and killing their crew members and they start their search by talking to the East Dub crew.
The two crews exchange some witty banter but when the gang leader who happens to be in a wheel chair doesn't give the Sons the answers they are looking for, they take things to the next level in what could be considered old school Sons of Anarchy.
Tig straps his wheelchair to the back of Bobby's motorcycle and Bobby drags him through the streets giving him a tour of the hood in one of the most entertaining moments of the episode.
[ new page = 1. Jax tortures and kills the man who he thinks killed Tara ]
1. Jax tortures and kills the man who he thinks killed Tara
In the final disturbing scene of the show, Jax gets revenge by killing the man who he believes murdered his wife, at least according to Gemma, not knowing Gemma is actually the murderer. Gemma convinces Jax that she saw a Triad member at Jax's house the same day that Tara was killed and at this point, Jax has no reason to not trust Gemma, so he believes her.
A screwdriver, a hammer, and salt are just a few of the torture tools that Jax uses to hurt the innocent man tied up in his kitchen. Although this man is innocent from killing Tara, there really is no way of knowing what kind of life he lived being apart of Lin Triad gang.
As the rest of the Sons look on as Jax tortures the man, some are clearly afraid of what Jax has become and some seem pleased.
"Hey...stay with me. We're almost finished...we're almost finished," Jax tells the man as he rubs salt on his open wounds to further tortment him. Is this creator Kurt Sutter's way of directly telling his audience to hang on for a bumpy ending as he pours salts on our own wounds by killing off our favorite characters?
The closing shot of the episode shows Jax violently ramming a carving fork into the back of the man's head, mirroring the way Tara was killed. As a cover of Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" plays in the background, it is apparent that "nothing really matters" to Jax anymore.
Image via Twitter from SonsofAnarchy