TellAllFerryman

I'm not sure the club survives after the finale. Chibs did not look as if he was ready or willing to go on. If you read my original post again, you will see that I've explained fully why Jax was the only one who could guide these children into becoming good men. His being a 'terrible father' was due to the overwhelming entrenchment in the club. His repenting his sins did not have to include suicide. This was extremely out of character for Jax. There is an interview I just watched with Charlie Hunnam on whether he would want Jax to live or die. Charlie said that he would have rather have seen Jax survive the finale. Paraphrasing what Charlie said: He had been through so much, and it would have been more satisfying and interesting to see what he would have done with the rest of his life. .. This interview was done after episode 9 (E online). The cast didn't have access to scripts much in advance, so Charlie did not know what path Sutter ultimately chose. Jax could have been a good father without his being involved with the club. He loved deeply his 'family'. Being raised by Gemma and Clay darkened his true self.

Unser's involvement of the club really was because of his love of Gemma. He knew her growing up, and had an unrequited love for her always. He didn't agree on much of what the club did, but Gemma's wants were his main concern. Anything she wanted, he did. I look at his murder as a mercy killing. Jax shook his head when Unser said he would have nothing left after Gemma was gone. This was absolutely the truth and Jax knew it.

To see all of these negative comments about the show makes me wonder if any of you were true 'fans' of SOA. I was disappointed in Jax taking his own life and I will discuss why. The symbolism of the homeless woman throughout the series signified 'impending death' for those who saw her. The bread soaked with wine is a reference to Christ and sacrifice. Christ sacrificed himself for the sins of others, not for his own. Due to the references to Christ, redemption was a strong theme throughout the show. I believe that once Jax realized that his choices caused tremendous chaos and heartache, he was then ready and free to cut ties with the club and be a father to those boys. This is ultimately what Tara wanted: Jax AND the boys out of the clutches of the club. The killing of Marks was to help ensure that Marks would not interfere with the club and the alliances that had been set up. The killing of Barofsky was due to the killing of the SOA member that died while guarding the 'gun' warehouse, and because of Barofsky's betrayal of the club. Gemma's death was to free his Jax sons of her insanity and deadly interference in their lives. Her death was justified 100x over. Every tragedy that happened within the club was directly or indirectly due to Gemma's lies or interference. No tears for her. Now to the how the final scene went. Jax killing himself was wrong in so many ways. His son Abel was old enough to remember everyone in his family. Since Jax was killed on the same highway as JT, there would have been a funeral and massive grief. He had lost Tara (whom he had believed to be his mother), grandma, and now his father. How can someone so young overcome all of this tragedy? Yes, he is young, but because of the 'ring' reminder, he will question how all of these tragedies came to be when he's older. No doubt of that. Jax could have left the country and lived another life (bike mechanic?), but his suicide insured that he would never see his sons again. Never have the chance to explain to them what happened and why he left. Jax needed to explain this to his sons personally; it would leave too many open questions for his sons if someone else did the explaining. This seems an awful burden to heft upon his children. Given Jax's personality of perseverence, I doubt seriously he would have taken his own life. A person without repent and redemption would not have made sure his sons were taken care of financially and emotionally. Nor would he have made it possible for the club to continue if they chose to. I thought the scene with Chibs sitting at the table was interesting. He has a look of deep thought, while holding and rubbing the President patch. Could he be thinking that the death of Jax was not worth continuing on with the club anymore? Chibs loved Jax, and Jax's death may have been the sign for Chibs to get out also. Staying in the life of chaos just was the ruination of all involved, and the pain was just not worth it. Another food for thought about the ending. As Jax is riding on the infamous highway, he seems to be surprised to see the truck appear before him. I don't believe he knew exactly how he was going to, or if he had actually made the final decison to take his life. The trucks appearance seemed to spark the idea in his head; possibly as a tribute to JT. Much sympathy has been placed towards the truck driver. I agree on this, but if the ending had gone differently this would be a mute point. Dragging down another innocent was just plain old bad writing. The crows flying over the highway chase involved symbolism also. A Scottish legend states that crows take the dead to the afterlife and therefore know the fate of those individuals. 7 crows flew over the scene before the crash. There are 10 meanings depending the number of crows at the scene. 'Seven is for a secret; never to be told'. And the Shakespearean quote at the end confirms that Jax did love deeply and had the inner components for redemption. He just made the wrong choices and his values were comprimised by his upbringing. I've enjoyed this show immensely and it remains my second favorite show of all time, with Breaking Bad as the first favorite. The ending prevented SOA from making the #1 favorite for me. This post was quite cathartic for me; I thank this venue to be able to put it on paper.