S07.E13: Papa's Goods

[monakane]

 

The best moment in the finale, for me, was to viscerally feel and to see a genuinely menacing Chibs threaten Althea.  For the first time in a very long time, a SAMCRO member looked and felt the part to me.

 

What did he say to her?  I couldn't understand any of it.

[tomsmom]

I kept waiting for some big moment that never came esp since it ended with 70 mins left thanks to Sutters BS Anarachy Afterwards.

No Tara, no JT...no flash forward and since it was already spoiled that Jax would die...no surprises.

[WatchrTina]

Well, I'll admit that they tricked me.  I really thought Chibbs was gonna shoot Jax.  But this makes much more sense.  He wouldn't make them carry the burden of having killed him.

 

When Jax said goodbye to Happy I said "Aw, Happy is sad."  And then I laughed.  Not the reaction they were going for, I'll bet.

 

Happy taking a bullet for Jax (to add credibility to his making an escape from Mr. Mayhem) shows just what a BAMF Happy is.  Chibbs threatening the cop?  Also a BAMF moment.

 

Somebody explain who TO is please.  I thought he was the head of his own (rapidly diminishing) black MC and that they were going to patch over the whole club into the SOA.  Is that what is coming in the future but we just won't see it?  I also thought they said he should get a "top banner" or something like that, which I thought meant he was getting full membership but the cut they put on him said "prospect."  Like so many of the plot lines this season, this one left me puzzled.

Edited December 10, 2014 by WatchrTina

[panthergirl13]

Abel has serial killer written all over him, and he already knows what it takes to replace a parental figure.

 

They called him "monster" a couple of times so it seems Wendy and Nero have his number. "Look at the flowers, Abel..."

[LakeGal]

Jax wasn't wearing his white sneakers.  It was just odd to see him in boots.

[Artsda]

 

TIG in the doll factory? LOL!

 

I forgot about that, that was awesome. His and Sutter's worst nightmare. Driving though a  warehouse of dolls.

 

 

I was so hoping Abel would fall asleep like Wendy and Thomas and the ring would slip from his finger, forgotten in the blur of being a five-year-old and lost in the depths of a momvan's undercarriage.   Instead, Gemma wins.  I don't know which was more depressing: the poor tomato trucker's guilt or Gemma clinging to control from beyond the grave.

 

I think it was less about Gemma, but more about Jax's comments that his sons won't know this life or follow in his foot steps. His telling JT's marker that it was too late for him, but not his sons. Yet Abel's wearing the SONs ring, it's showing it's too late for Abel too. 

 

Abel was already far gone, before Gemma gave him that ring. 

[pennben]

 

It was just odd to see him in boots.

 

Die with your boots on?

Edited December 10, 2014 by pennben

[minirth]

Appropriate that Jax went out his way, but he really should have taken flight over the cliff. Guess he just wasn't man enough to do it a la Thelma and Louise. I'm satisfied though, and we got to see sweet sweet Venus one last time!

ITA. I was expecting Jax to deliberately wipe out where his dad died. Suicide by cop was my second theory. Scarring some poor innocent trucker for *life*, oddly enough, wasn't on my list.

I was hoping against hope that we'd see both Venus and Lyla one last time, safe and well. I've had a soft spot for Lyla since she first came on the scene. And to see Venus and Tig together one last time -- that was beautiful.

Most importantly, I got my wish: Wendy and the kids safe with Nero on the farm. I couldn't draw a breath until the closing credits because I was so afraid Jax would get a phone call saying there had been a terrible accident and screw me out of the only happy ending that I absolutely HAD to get.

It gutted me to watch Jax burn all of his journals, his father's manuscript, and the old pictures, But it made more sense to me after Jax's talk with Nero -- Jax didn't want to leave mementos upon which his son could build the image of a good man. He didn't want Abel to romanticize the life. (And how great was it for Jax to acknowledge that he's not a good man?)

The bodycount was ridiculously high, as expected, and frankly I lost track of who was being killed why, but I've had to put up with worse (re: Ireland) from this show.

Edited December 10, 2014 by minirth

[lesleymoon]

I forgot about that, that was awesome. His and Sutter's worst nightmare. Driving though a  warehouse of dolls.

 

 

I think it was less about Gemma, but more about Jax's comments that his sons won't know this life or follow in his foot steps. His telling JT's marker that it was too late for him, but not his sons. Yet Abel's wearing the SONs ring, it's showing it's too late for Abel too. 

 

Abel was already far gone, before Gemma gave him that ring. 

 

I don't know. It didn't read quite that way to me. Maybe I'm just an eternal optimist and hope that things work out for those kids. I think it could be interpreted as that Abel represented the only real way to change the club for the better, and that is, to end it, to break that cycle.

 

It could also become a symbol, later on, of not being defined by the sins of the father.

[WatchrTina]

Did anyone else find it troubling that the actor who played Opie (and who showed up for the "Afterword" part of the show) is still wearing the beard and long hair?  It feels like he's still trying to hang on to the role.  Dude, let it go.

 

For that matter, I was surprised that Charlie was still sporting the Jax look.  Filming must have ended months ago.  I know they probably have contractual clauses forbidding them from cutting their hair or shaving their beards as long as the show is in production but it seems odd to me that they would want to keep the look and increase the likelihood of being recognized from the show in their real lives now that they are no longer obligated to wear the gangster 'do.

[henripootel]

There is no way they would not be targets of black, Chinese/asians, IRA, and law enforcement.  I see no way the MC survives all that.

Is it even possible that Jax didn't leave Chibs with an Irish war?  He killed an Irish King and set up the Mayans with an alternative gun vendor (Conner), so .. what?  The other Kings are just gonna call it a day and let bygones be bygones?  Not sure about how the other groups will react (although I'm sure the Triads are still to be heard from) but Charming will shortly be hosting more Irishmen than a St. Patty's parade.

 

An angel of death, bread and wine, Jax dies with arms spread in cruciform - could we get a few more Jesus references in there, Sutter?  At least Jax didn't say to his dad's roadside cenotaph 'Forgive them, JT, for they know not what they do'. 

 

ETA: oh, now I get it - Jax died in order to cleanse his followers of sin.  Yeah, not gonna happen.  I'm guessing the Chinese would leave little behind for the IRA guys to mop up, but mop up they would.  Way to go, Jackson, your last act of self-sacrifice isn't gonna save anyone.

Edited December 10, 2014 by henripootel

[Febgirl]

Too tired to post about the episode as a whole, but I will say I was thrilled to see Venus comforting Alexander after his no good, terrible, horrible, very bad day complete with dolls, murder, saying goodbye to Jax, and promotion( well, not too bad)

[tom87]

They could have edited this down to an hour if they took out some of the hugging.  That is the hugging-est group of men ever.

[Lonesome Rhodes]

I thought it was excellent continuation for T.O. to have been given a prospect kutte since there was no knowing in advance if he would be voted a full patch.  However, how could a full member NOT have been a part of a freaking Mayhem vote?!  Rat Boy got a vote and T.O. did not?  No way.

[WatchrTina]

I've just realized that everything is Bobby's fault.  If Bobby hadn't been schtupping Otto's wife while Otto was in prison, Otto would not have turned on the club and set Tara up to be convicted for conspiracy to commit murder (Tara would not have even needed to visit him and be put in a vulnerable position) and so she would never have considered ratting on the club and thus Gemma would not have been provoked into killing her.

 

Also Bobby voted nay in the first Mayhem vote for Clay, which saved his life for a while and while I don't remember exactly what Clay got up to after that I feel certain that eliminating Clay sooner rather than later would have been in the best interests of Tara, the kids, and Jax (and most likely the club.)

 

Yep, it's all Bobby's fault.

[bfg]

Mixed bag, I liked that Jax FINALLY realized he wasn't a good man, though it's likely late for Abel (and thus, for Thomas since little brothers tend to look up to their big brothers). The sloooooooow car chase though was ridiculous, as was Marks getting shot outside the courthouse and there not being a single cop around or any reaction.

 

Not the worst finale I've seen, Dexter still wears that crown. I do really wish I could say I would miss this show but it overstayed its welcome unfortunately. Also, like a lot of shows with anti-heros, they really had to stretch to explain why everyone wasn't in jail or dead by the end of the first season or so. So the cops all have to be completely incompetent or corrupt (and incompetent). Ah well, so long show.

[La Tortuga]

The episode wasn't bad, it just wasn't the great thrill Sutter wanted it to be. It felt more like an extended ending; for me the show ended when Gemma was dead, because by that point it had become the Gemma Show.

 

I didn't like the poorly rendered CGI crows. It would have been better, and probably CHEAPER, if they'd just hired an animal trainer with some real crows.  But even better would have been using real crows and limiting them to just the shot of a crow flying into the sun. The way they did it instead, with a crow on the screen every 3 seconds, just looked self indulgent.

 

Loved Chibs not letting himself be bothered by Jarry's defection.

 

The Afterword wasn't terrible, at least not the parts I saw. I think Sutter does a better job hosting, only because then we don't have to deal with him trying to take over the show when someone else is supposed to be hosting.

Edited December 10, 2014 by La Tortuga

[tilly]

When Jax finally interacted with - or really, acknowledged in any way - the baby, I like to imagine Thomas's thought process was like "eh? Who's this doofus?" 

 

I thought Abel getting the ring meant that, between his age and the law-abiding life he would now have, eventually he would come to remember it just as a family keepsake from his father. Whereas getting the SAMCRO ring would have signified this life-destroying clusterfuck of a club being dragged into his future. Then again, Sutter does like his themes of history repeating and repeating our family's mistakes so it probably was about Abel following in Jax's footsteps.  

 

I think this show has ruined montages for me forever. 

[Glaze Crazy]

Well, glad that's over.  I was less than satisfied with the fact that Jax got to close up all his loose ends and say goodbye to everyone.  Like that happens in the real life of a mass murderer, or most anyone else his age.  Sutter should have gone with something more random, like Jax getting mowed down by an anonymous bus while running away from one of his revenge murders and just taking the screen to black, ala The Sopranos.  But, this show has just been a fantasy world of violence presented as "Our Town" interprets "Hamlet," so the "hero" gets the last soliloquy and the epic symbolic death.

 

Glad that Wendy and Nero got out of town alive.  My goodness, Jimmy Smits is a great actor.  He portrayal of Nero's loss of control over what he knew was going down and his frustration that he couldn't stop it or help was sublime.  He knew he just had to cut it loose and drive away with Wendy and the boys.

 

I laughed at the sheriff telling the DA that she still had Gemma as a witness and Unser was out getting her to come back.  She was at least a half block behind the situation at that point.  Kudos to Annabeth Gish on her portrayal of this pitiful character.

 

It was good that both Chibs and Tig were left standing, but I agree with someone upthread, they are left with a huge bag of shite to answer to, even though Jax told the DA he didn't want blowback on the club.  I don't think Jax really believed the law wouldn't make life very rough for the club members still around after he went on his final shooting spree.  Sure, he was taking out all the ones who have been thorns in his paw, but he was still committing murder all over the place. 

 

I don't want to see an next generation SOA, I hope Kurt Sutter just moves on to his next project and lets this RIP.  I'm actually curious what he is going to do to Merry Olde England.

[AlliMo]

My son and I were watching when he says, "Wouldn't it have been great if Jax just kept driving and then... ran out of gas? This finale was so heavy on the symbolism, it could have represented the futility of it all."

[Lonesome Rhodes]

The final spoken word of the series?

 

"Jesus."

[Dusty]

This finale was...boring.  I wouldn't say that it was bad but it was just so anti-climactic.  I had zero hopes for this season and it still managed to disappoint me.

 

When Jax told Abel to "Enjoy all those animals" and Abel smiled the only thing I thought was "Oh my god, Abel is going to kill all those animals."  He's not just going to outlaw psycho, he's going to be serial killer psycho. The cycle has not been broken.  Maybe there's hope for Tommy but I can see Abel trying to drag Tommy down with him.

 

Also Jax, way to push the new Mommy on your already fragile, self-harming son.  I have no problems with Abel calling Wendy "Mommy" but seriously, he did just lose his mom.  Let him come to that in his own time.  He's like 5.  He's not going to call her Wendy forever.  This has really bugged me all season.  I get that Wendy is his bio Mom. But for him she hasn't been his Mom.  Tara was his mom. Period.  She just got her freaking tombstone! It hasn't been that long.  That's not saying that Wendy isn't, or won't be to him later but it's felt like they're trying to push Tara out of that role all season.  Let me be clear that when I say "they", I in no way mean Wendy.  Even though she's really disappointed me in the whole "I'm still in love with Jax thing" she's the only one that's tried to handle this transition of sorts in the best way for Abel.  Tommy has really been a non factor in all this, and I kind of get it since he's just a baby and can't do much but it's still sad.  Also I'm pretty sure that Wendy would rather Abel call her "Mommy" when Abel feels like she's his mom instead of because she gave him candy. Slow clap for you Jax.

 

Oh well. At least it's over now.  And I have to say that I don't hate the show as a whole so maybe that's something.  While the show did turn into a sort of hate watch thing towards the end I can still remember when I loved it. Perhaps even rewatch the first couple of seasons later on down the road.  There have been shows where the end has ruined the whole for me. So there is that I guess.

[Snookums]

Well, at least Jax went out leading a parade.

 

Okay, so, I'm so happy Jax got his big symbolic goodbye complete with bread, wine and really dreadful CGI blood, but isn't the rest of the club a bunch of dead men walking? Either they'll be gunned down by the Chinese or the Irish, or murdered in jail after Althea picks them up on any of a kazillion charges (are the two dead guys still on the roof, roasting gently in the sun?) Frankly every last one of them deserves it.

 

And I don't know if I can forgive Sutter for hauling Annabeth Gish onto the last season's dead horse to play such a horrible idiot wimp of a character. What the hell was the point, other then humiliating the woman in every way possible except sending her to work in her underwear? I really wanted her to shoot Chibs in the back, the asshole.

 

At least Wendy and Nero scraped up a few rags and managed to flee this hellpit--loved Jax telling Nero to have Wendy sell the property, etc. Who the hell's gonna buy property in Charming? That dream went up in smoke what, three seasons ago? Hey, maybe they'll end up having to sell the ranch to pay all the property taxes and Nero will FINALLY get the clue that these people are life-wrecking idiots, alive or dead!

 

Okay, things I did like:

 

Jax burning everything to do with the romanticizing of club--his journals, the manuscript, photos, etc. Then visiting the clubhouse--his kingdom of ashes.

 

The homeless woman handing over the blanket and peacing out. She must be so thrilled her slo-mo massacre of an angelic assignment is over and she can go watch over some puppies or something. 

 

Jax shooting Barofsky with no preamble. One in the head, two in the chest, and the last bullet as a little gift for himself.

 

The courthouse that's smack dab in the middle of one of the most violent areas of the United States that has no law enforcement presence and nobody who thinks a blanket draped weirdo hanging out on the steps is in any way strange. 

 

All the shots of the club as they contemplate their life choices. 

 

Geez, how old is Abel again? He's not very good at coloring.

 

 

He's coloring a picture of a book, when there's a dinosaur on the opposite page! How much more evidence do we need that he's a demon?

[Pickles Aplenty]

I enjoyed it.  I hadn't felt any sympathy for Jax in quite a while, but the finale really made me see things through his eyes, and it got to me.  Loved the fact that Nero and Wendy escaped with the boys, loved all of Chibs' and Tig's scenes, loved seeing Venus one last time.  Venus has a great rack.  I'm envious.

 

I actually like Kurt Sutter; he doesn't seem any more full of himself than the average show creator to me.  Call me crazy, but at times he even seems funny and down-to-earth.  I think he's fine.

[LoveLeigh]

The finale was nothing great. It was just another episode. I thought finales are supposed to be special... sort of like the imaginative end to The Newhart Show or Six Feet Under. This finale won't make it to any "best finale" lists.  

[pythonite]

I am a very infrequent viewer, but I just found most of what I saw pretentious. And the visual effect in the bike crash was laughable.

[Sir RaiderDuck OMS]

And so the saga of Jax Teller of Nazareth has ended.

Are the rest of Grim Bastards getting patched in or not? Seems weird to just take T.O.

So the dead eyes and stilted speech by Abel was nothing more than a mediocre child actor.

During the entire low-speed chase, I kept thinking of OJ Simpson.

Gotta love how Gemma gets one last long, loving closeup. And wouldn't squirrels and bugs have eaten half her face by now?

More than a few plot threads were dropped, but none I really care about. Series finales are hard to do, and this one got the job done.

[Gachnar31]

That last shot with the bread ... but what does it mean, Sutter? What does it mean?? Good grief, show.

 

I think I liked this, overall. Not a great finale, but about as good as expected for this show. 

[Captanne]

From my post two days ago:

 

ETA:  The whole idea of the "tableau" of "apostles" the night before Jax will surely "die" might lead one to make a religious Christian allegory but, personally, I wouldn't.  I don't think that's where Sutter was ever headed with this series.  I think it's Shakespearean and that's quite sufficient.  (Although, Shakespeare probably had his Christian allegories, I honestly don't think that's where he's headed with SoA.  Jax has never, never, ever struck me as an innocent martyr and I don't think the character believes that of himself.  Nope.  But, based on the idea of the "Last Supper" and Judas being "Juice" and dying, essentially, by a pre-ordained suicide...blah blah blah.  I'm just not convinced.  Gemma ain't no "Mary" no matter how far you stretch.)

Edited by Captanne, December 07 2014. 11:32 AM.

 

I haven't seen this final episode yet, so I will reserve "judgment", hee, but I still think a Christian allegory is a reach if you try to take it past Jax himself.  Sutter, you nailed Shakespeare, don't over reach.

[La Tortuga]

I thought it was funny that on Anarchy Afterword, one of the first things Kurt Sutter did was acknowledge that some of the viewers are hatewatchers.

[Captanne]

The attitude reminds me more of that trend in the media (one network in particular) where you are snide, holier than thou, snarky*, not necessarily in possession of the "whole story" and what's worse, imo, you don't give a shit that you don't know the whole story -- like the folks right here who open with "I don't watch this show but I hated this finale".  WTF is with that?  ANYway, sorry for the mini-rant.

 

*No reference to TWoP and MightBigTV which did the snark with fully-informed intelligence and panache.

[DrSpaceman]

It was an OK finale, not the worst I have seen.  (That would be without a doubt How I met Your Mother, the worst entire last season in the history of TV)

 

It was very predictable though, nothing surprising.  The last scene was Thelma and Louise meets City of Angels.  ANd the entire last episode felt a whole lot like the last episode of Breaking Bad, kill all your enemies and then die as the cops are closing in on you.  Even on Breaking Bad though there was some tension about whether Aaron Paul would die or not.  And Breaking Bad had a great tension filled scene in the fianle between Heisenberg and his old Grey Matter partners in their house. 

 

This all seemed more like a checklist of things to do and loose ends to tie up before the predictable ending happens. 

 

And really, as others have stated, how on earth does SAMCRO get away with this crap?  They just ruthlessly and violently kill anyone they feel like and that stands in their way, who is going to trust them now?  Aren't they going to be at war and a target for every gang in southern california after all this? 

 

I could sum up the entire last season in one sentence : "Jax is pissed his wife is dead and kills a bunch of people in retribution, including Gemma finally, then dies. "  really I lost track of all the club dealings long ago, they became far too intricate, convoluted, unbelievable and boring long ago. 

 

As a finale it was OK, like a two star "done, done, done....." sort of thing though.  Just the whole last season though seemed bloated, over the top and hard to believe. 

[WatchrTina]

 

I'm pretty sure that Wendy would rather Abel call her "Mommy" when Abel feels like she's his mom instead of because she gave him candy.

Oh god yes.  I laughed when Jax offered Abel candy.  Bad Parenting 101.  Abel is doomed.

 

 

That last shot with the bread ... but what does it mean, Sutter? What does it mean??

 

Is THAT what that was?  Bread with wine on it?  I couldn't tell.  And where the heck was that supposed to have come from?  Was our buddy the truck driver having a little wine and bread while he drove?  That's some heavy-handed symbolism there.  But what should I expect from a show that has an angel-of-death homeless woman haunting the show for multiple years.

 

My biggest frustration?  The closed captioning was intermittent for this episode.  It skipped a lot.  I had not realized how dependent I had become on it when watching this show.  Everybody mumbles.  Annoying -- especially during the big dramatic good-bye bro-hugging kiss-on-the-forehead farewell scenes.

Edited December 10, 2014 by WatchrTina

[terrymct]

YAWN!!! What a complete bore.  So he finally admits that he is basically a cancer but then he goes out and kills several more people and terrorizes innocents in a deli.  Then he lets Michael Chiklis live with running over another human being for the rest of his life.  

 

The only good thing in the whole episode was seeing Venus again!!!

 

Poor Unser---Nero didn't seem to give a shit that he sent Unser to his death.  There were no surprises, this was just self indulgent 'mythologizing' of a character that wasn't worth it if you ask me.

 

 

I hated the ending.  The goodbyes among SAMCRO were good.  Then, they should have done their duty and just shot Jax.  No one will believe that Jax evaded the whole bunch of them by winging Happy in the arm.  Yeah, he "laid down fire" and a dozen bikers caved and let a single man escape.   I hated the cops chasing Jax, starting at the point his father died.  I especially hated that Jax went out in the way of his choice AND ruining the life and maybe livelihood of an innocent trucker.

 

And you're right.  Poor Unser.  After all you did for the Club, no one at all gives a rat's arse about you.  No one.  Chucky is mildly curious.  Nero just seems to have forgot.

 

I did appreciate that the boys were going with Nero and Wendy.  They have a chance, but I think the ring thing at the end was a hint that maybe Abel is already fairly warped and the whole idea of making him hate Jax and the biker lifestyle maybe too late.

 

Chibs threatening Althea was actually the right thing for his character to do, but I was still secretly 'shipping the two of them.  Unlikely, no, impossible, but I was still shipping them somehow.   Chibs helped her by cutting off her weird attraction to him.

 

I'm glad Teo was brought in as a full member and not a prospect, although I swear the cut they gave him said prospect.   On the other hand, though, that plotline did seem like the biker equivalent of a very special after school show from which we all can learn.  Teo always struck me as a bit too stable and Dad-like to be the leader of a biker gang.

 

I was glad they didn't forget about shooting Baransky (sorry, probably got the name wrong).  Of any of the many, many dead characters this season, he was just about the most in need of shooting.

 

Venus is amazing and only partly because of the way the character was written.  Walton Goggins is wonderful.  I'm glad Justified is coming back soon.

 

I'm still confused by the homeless lady.   Was she supposed to symbolize something?  I thought that Jax was going to use the blanket to carryout something he was destined to do, but instead he just shot Marks.  That's not his destiny.  He shoots rivals almost on a daily basis.  The bottle of cheap wine and bread, then the same bread at the end with the crows confused me, too.  As others have said, the most obviously linkage would be to the Last Supper and Jax as the pascal lamb, but he's hardly a Christ like figure no matter how far out he stretches his arms at the moment of his suicide.

Edited December 10, 2014 by terrymct

[ryebread]

Can anyone give me the gist of what was said to Gish?

I lost a little respect for Patterson when she told Althea that she was the right one to clean up Charming. Really?

Edited December 10, 2014 by ryebread

[SunnyBeBe]

That might be the worst series finale I've ever seen. It was totally predictable. All this episode proved was that Jax was a selfish bastard who had no hope of going legit, and that Tara and the boys never stood a chance as long as he was alive. He started off a selfish bastard and died a selfish bastard.

The only good thing was Nero and Wendy riding off into the sunset in her Mom-mobile.

 

 

 

I totally agree Pepperment Patty, however, I don't agree about Nero and Wendy.  They are not very bright and they love criminals.  How are they going to stay away from trouble?.  I'm afraid the boys are doomed.  

 

I'm so sick of that theme about how one can't change.  First from Gemma and then Jax.  If Jax was really a sociopath then why all the moping and whining?  Please.

Edited December 10, 2014 by SunnyBeBe

[ryebread]

I loved Venus' character but I didn't like her and Tig together. I didn't buy it. That's probably the only unfinished business that I will miss by this series not continuing. How can the Vice President of a murderous MC carry on that relationship when said MC has *just* deemed a black man worthy of membership? It'll be a long time before Venus can put on a pretty dress and play footsies in a restaurant in Charming with Tig. Sadly, transgenders have a ways to go before being wholly accepted - especially in small towns. I hate that Venus is in love with Tig. Nothing but a world o' pain in store for her.

[Madding crowd]

I teared up when Jax was saying goodbye to the boys. I don't think any 5 year old is doomed, but the fact that Nero and Wendy have never been on the straight and narrow themselves, makes it unlikely they can do a great parenting job. And Nero might not want to be Abel and Thomas' parent-Jax put a lot on him in the end.

 

I thought the homeless lady represented death somehow, but Sutter overdid it with the homeless angel, the Shakespeare stuff and the Christ analogy in the end. But damn, I teared up again at ending (and I love Bruce Springsteen so I teared up at his singing too).

 

The after show was only good to me when Charlie was speaking and the rest of the actors came out. Sutter is obviously very smart, but he can't answer a question without rambling on and on. Goodbye Sons, it was a wild ride.

[Broderbits]

 

I loved Venus' character but I didn't like her and Tig together. I didn't buy it.

But even from the first episode we know that Tig's romantic choices are....unusual. He was drawn to Venus from the moment they met. His club brothers have accepted and defended his choice (remember when that Aryan guy started calling Tig names?) And I don't think any restaurant patrons in Charming are going to insult Sons in public.

 

Venus & Tig need their own spin-off show, kind of the New Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet.

[Lambie]

They shouldn't have claimed three hours, when the last hour is actually Sutter worshiping himself!

 

 

No, it was a full 3 hours of Sutter worshiping himself. Plus 6 seasons and 12 more episodes of it. 

 

So the limp last week was...what? A stupid and poorly done red herring to make us think he'd lose control of his bike? The reason he can't wear his white sneakers anymore? A sign he was aging out as a biker like Clay was with his hands? I think I'm more pissed about that right now than anything else.

 

Also, didn't Jax shoot Gemma in the back of her head? Why did she have the oh-so-dramatic bullet wound in the front other than so Sutter could have his death fantasy of wrapping up a gorgeously dead Katy Segal in a body bag. 

 

I'd say this was almost on par with Dexter. I hate that Jax goes out a "hero" but what he really did was say his sons weren't worth changing for. If he really wanted he could have done witness protection if he wanted to go legit. Or, he could have gone to Alaska and been a logger which here would have actually worked. Nope. He kills more people, ruins a truck driver's life, and gets his arms outstretched glory moment. 

 

I love, love, love what was upthread about wishing the ring had slipped of Abel's finger and he forgot about it as 5-year-olds do (sorry for not crediting the poster). That would have been beautiful and more symbolic than the stupid crows and bread (I thought that was Jax's blood spilling). Well, first I thought it was Jax's hairpiece, then I realized it was bread.

 

Shitty finale. Sutter was given 75- to 120-minutes an episode for 13 weeks to make this work. It failed. But these were shitty, irredeemable people no matter how much Sutter tried to make us believe otherwise. 

 

Moving onto Justified. Hoping that series doesn't have a horrible last season.

[Primetimer]

We say a final goodbye to a show that devolved from Hamlet on motorcycles to a live-action Ed Hardy t-shirt.

Read the story

[Ottis]

The episode wasn't bad, it just wasn't the great thrill Sutter wanted it to be. It felt more like an extended ending; for me the show ended when Gemma was dead, because by that point it had become the Gemma Show

 

 

What was surprising to me was just how poorly it was done. Just a few examples:

 

Forget the CGI ... that truck looked like it was going 10 mph (maybe even uphill), and Jax was barely going faster. There was no sense of speed or danger.

 

And what was up with the spastic cops behind him? They would weave in and out, and one would sometimes pass the others, but to what end? And why didn't they just shoot his tires (or Jax), or get ahead of him and do a roadblock?

And what sort of dumbassses (well they are MCs, I guess) would believe Jax escaped in a shoot out where just one guy got hit in the arm?

And Jax-in-a-blanket, at a state building, with NO cops around (and none who show up imediately after the shots were fired), made no sense.

And it seemed like it took forever for the Oregon cops to call the Samcro cops when they found Unser and Gemma ... it was well after we saw all the cops and the guy taking the photos. There was an APB out on her and he was an ex-cop, that should have happened within minutes, assuming there was any ID around (and we were given no reason to think there wasn't - shoot, Jax told Patterson that Gemma and Unser were in Oregon, her first call should have been that direction and she would have found out about the bodies being discovered).

 

The bread and wine thing escaped me. I thought it was cake, and kept trying to figure out how "Let them eat cake" fit in. There seemed to be clear Jesus metaphors going on, but I don't know what Jax saved by sacrificing himself. The MC is still in a mess, and his oldest son appears to be headed for the same fate.

 

And as I have posted the last several episodes, I hate that Sutter is saying that these characters had no other choices in life. That isn't true.

 

I tried to get into it, and listen to Jax's final comments on his sad life. But all the dumb stuff kept taking me out of the show. Even with all that said, and with how bad the show had become since those initial great two seasons, I will miss these characters.

Edited December 10, 2014 by Ottis

[ryebread]

Also, didn't Jax shoot Gemma in the back of her head? Why did she have the oh-so-dramatic bullet wound in the front other than so Sutter could have his death fantasy of wrapping up a gorgeously dead Katy Segal in a body bag. 

 

Exit wound.

So does Wendy get the house and all those lovely, lovely rose bushes?

[henripootel]

That last shot with the bread ... but what does it mean, Sutter? What does it mean?? Good grief, show.

That was Sutter's pretension of being a great dramatist and film maker.  There always has to be deep symbolism underscoring that what we see has deeper meaning, in this case that Jax Teller died for everyone's sins.  Truth is, he died cuz he was an idiot and his death meant nothing.  Closing with a Shakespeare quote don't make you Shakespeare, Sutter.

[ChicksDigScars]

Hey, it wasn't a Lincoln, it was a Pontiac GTO...and what a waste of some good old American Muscle. I was watching the chase and yelling, "Don't dent that car, Connor, you piece of shit!"

Yeah, I must be too dense for Sutter logic. What was the purpose of shooting Happy in the arm? So they can point to the injury to other charters and say, "Hey, we TRIED, but the motherfucker got away. See? He SHOT our Sargent at Arms.'

Tig as VP. Well, I love Kim Coates, so I was happy about witnessing the emotional scene, but at the same time, I thought. "God forbid if Tig ever ascends to the Presidency. " Tig's a bit too "shoot first, reason later." He's not exactly cerebral.  But what a LMAO moment when Tig was driving through a warehouse of dolls! In fact, didn't he let out a scream of anguish as they raced through and wrecked countless bins of bare ass nekkid dollies? LOL.

And WHAT a copout by Sutter in the Aftershow when asked what the Homeless Woman meant/symbolized. He said, "She means whatever you want her to mean." In other words, he was fucking with viewers. Thanks, Kurt. Dick.

Chucky didn't get anything? Way to go, Jax.

 

 

Somebody explain who TO is please.  I thought he was the head of his own (rapidly diminishing) black MC and that they were going to patch over the whole club into the SOA.

 

Yeah, I was puzzled. Where was Theo Huxtable and the rest of TO's crew? All three of them? 

 

During the show, I Tweeted: "Is the SOA Finale a combo of The Godfather (settling all family business) & Thelma and Louise (ride that fucker off a cliff)?" I guess I was pretty damned close.  

Edited December 10, 2014 by ChicksDigScars

[ryebread]

The bread and wine thing escaped me. I thought it was cake, and kept trying to figure out how "Let them eat cake" fit in. There seemed to be clear Jesus metaphors going on, but I don't know what Jax saved by sacrificing himself. The MC is still in a mess, and his oldest son appears to be headed for the same fate.

 

That was the body and blood of Christ spilled all over that road, yo.  Perhaps the legacy of JT (God) led to the sacrifice of his only begotten son, Jax (Jesus) for the sins of Mankind (Samcro) so that the club could have eternal life??  Why was Abel named Abel?  So much to ponder.

 

I tried to get into it, and listen to Jax's final comments on his sad life. But all the dumb stuff kept taking me out of the show. Even with all that said, and with how bad the show had become since those initial great two seasons, I will miss these characters.

 

Exactly this.  But so much dumb stuff.

Truth is, he died cuz he was an idiot and his death meant nothing. 

Yeah, that too.

[BigBlueMastiff]

What Chibs said to Jarry:

 

Chibs: I think that's a mistake.
Jarry: Why? 'Cause you have feelings for me?
Chibs: No, 'cause cops who land on the wrong side of us, they tend to go away.
Jarry: Are you threatening me?
Chibs: Don't have to. History doesn't lie…Stay safe, sheriff.

 

Like others have said, I feel relieved that this show is over, so I don't have to watch it anymore. I'll miss Jax and the guys, but why did Sutter have him go out like that, so lame. Would've been better to meet Mr. Mayhem, isn't that what being a real leader is about, doing the hard stuff, huh Sutter?

Edited December 10, 2014 by BigBlueMastiff

[PiggyRod]

 

The only good thing in the whole episode was seeing Venus again!!!

 

ONLY thing was this, and it was much too short.

 

This was worst than lumberjack Dexter in my opinion.

[ryebread]

What Chibs said to Jarry:

 

Chibs: I think that's a mistake.

Jarry: Why? 'Cause you have feelings for me?

Chibs: No, 'cause cops who land on the wrong side of us, they tend to go away.

Jarry: Are you threatening me?

Chibs: Don't have to. History doesn't lie…Stay safe, sheriff.

And...I've lost my lady boner for Chibs, 

 

That was another unrealistic coupling.  But if, in real life, a guy named Marilyn can be married to Dita von Teese, why not Chibs and a police lieutenant?  Tig and Venus?

 

Thanks for translating, BigBlue.

[larapu2000]

Yeah, I must be too dense for Sutter logic. What was the purpose of shooting Happy in the arm? So they can point to the injury to other charters and say, "Hey, we TRIED, but the motherfucker got away. See? He SHOT our Sargent at Arms.'

 

 

Right???  Happy didn't need to get shot.  All they had to do was say they couldn't find him before he offed himself.  But then again, this is the same writer and the same characters that have murdered the entirety of every Stockton/Oakland gang in the most convoluted plot machinations ever seen on television.