Yeah, looking back I think the end of season 3 was the high point for me, pretty much as soon as the club got into drug running they went down the path that led to this.
“I was quick when I came in here, I’m twice as quick now”
-Indiana Solo, runner of blades
That was predictably disappointing. This whole season was, of course. They didn't pull a Dexter, they pulled a True Blood - with less tension if that was possible. I felt no fear for Jax or the SOA, they had no real threats and when they did
try and fail to get the Irish gangster that shot at them it was shot like a joyride, not as if they were in danger. It was almost kinda funny when they run into a truck while he escapes like Bugs Bunny.
All his enemies fell like dominos
none really fought back, anyone the Sons wanted dead they murdered with ridiculous ease, no skill involved. Shoot, hit, move on to lecturing any survivors who roll over instantly. The worst was the police presence, which was lame and never goes anywhere. They're bystanders, not actual enemies to be fought unlike with Roosevelt. As usual they were outwitted like they weren't meant to be feared by criminals and why would they be? All season they've be reduced to ineffective losers who can't find their own ass with a map.
The lady sheriff was the worst sheriff ever. Why did Patterson trust her? She didn't get anything done all season.
Patterson herself wasn't much better. She was in no position to threaten the club, and her visit with Jax where he told her what happened (because the local DA is a complete idiot who didn't know shit about shit with the local criminals*) left her confused and gave her nothing to ruin any criminal's day since Jax put into motion that everything is hunky dory despite the truth coming out so...why is she relevant again?
A waste of CHH Pounder.
Jax was at peace for start to end. He had no worries, no fears, everything he planned went off like he David Xanatos, except even Xanantos can be outwitted and obstructed and fear his shit is going to get ruined. And why would he?
No one proved a challenge to him. Though I don't know why he killed Robocop, I missed that reason. Which the police discover much later confused as ever.
Jax goes out on his own terms worse than his mother. We're meant to think he's a bad guy, that his children should hate him and he deserved to die but I didn't get that at all. The show supported him to the end, he's a bad guy audience! *wink wink nudge nudge* Sutter could have salvaged a fitting death by having the SOA execute him, since that'd be ironic and tragic and has layers, instead oh no Jax planned to fake the SOA fuck up the execution so he could go off on a suicidal joyride one last time. Because, why not?
Ten minute montage later.
The lady sheriff puts an APB for Jax for multiple homicides, I must have missed something because I don't recall what for. Was it for Robocop? When he's on the road out of town he passes a cop car who chases and calls it in. Then the entire police force chases him for another montage while he calmly watches the scenery as if he was a tourist on a scenery route and we spend minutes watching the police slowly chase him like they're a damn parade celebrating Jax because why not? Did I forget to mention he spends minutes talking to the spot his old man died while a cop car was behind him circling around to see him like they were the worst cop ever because why not? It's 2 hours, 30 minutes - we need to fill time here. Anyway, when he finally sees Vic Mackay's truck he has a Jesus moment taking his hands off the steering wheel where he calmly runs into it. The end. At least he died. Mother fucker should have died 2 season ago when the show wasn't terrible.
I can't decide if this was worse than True Blood's finale or Dexter's, either way it's up there.
In my head canon Vic Mackay deliberately ran him over once he recognized who he was because he's Vic Mackay dammit!
Peter Weller's character was killed because he was the one who gave up the gun warehouse to Lin.
The APB was for the murders of Gemma and Unser, that's what Jax telling the DA was for. They possibly also knew about Marks at that point.
Except for the last ten minutes or so it didn't feel like a series finale though.
Thanks. I drifted off so missed a few things. The show was really boring to me as you can see. I agree, it was a lackluster episode. Hardly worth being a finale. Flash's and AoS's mid-season finales were much better than this.
he made sure his dangerous ex (until the plot needed her to change) surprise got the kids in a strange locale.
The DA put 2 and 2 together when she visited boroski. She knows hes dirty and she can do something about the rest of them. However
ummmm even with marx dead, he has an army. The 9'ners aren't taking his shit, and they hate samcro. That's not a resolution.
Wendy has been clean for a couple seasons now. There was a decent interval and she generally worked hard at unfucking her life. I don't have too much of an issue with that bit.
She's also just a biker chick addict. She never went around poisoning people for shits and giggles.
The 9'ers weren't that happy with Marx, that was their leader who set Conner up for Jax. They get a whole shit load of new territory so they are paid off.
Wendy has been clean for a couple seasons now. There was a decent interval and she generally worked hard at unfucking her life. I don't have too much of an issue with that bit.
Hell, look at the first episode.
The heroin almost killed her baby, he was still in serious peril, and she realized she needed to be clean. Ever since that moment she was trying. In that episode, Gemma interfered and she failed at kicking the addiction, but it shows she had a long and hard fought journey before she eventually succeeded.
Way too much Jesus symbolism for a character like Jax at the end there. Sutter really is as tone deaf as people have been accusing him of being when it comes to the shitty people populating his show.
I don't think "leaving rehab early to rejoin the biker gang 'royal family' with no job" is the road to succeeding. She might not have jumped back on the junk herself to get landed in there, but she was solidly back on drugs again.
I feel you're skipping what she did in like the vast majority of the run of the show (get out, get clean, get a job helping people like she used to be, try and get Tara out).
I had forgotten she relapsed last season though looking up her history I did find this:
Along with Half Sack Epps, Wendy is the only main character not to have killed anyone.
I feel you're skipping what she did in like the vast majority of the run of the show (get out, get clean, get a job helping people like she used to be, try and get Tara out).
I had forgotten she relapsed last season though looking up her history I did find this:
Along with Half Sack Epps, Wendy is the only main character not to have killed anyone.
Which is interesting.
Well going by that stat, her landlady better watch out...
RedTide#1907 on Battle.net
Come Overwatch with meeeee
Wendy's arc would've been more complete too if they'd been able to have her for the entire run of the show, but she was busy with other stuff for some of the seasons so they had to cut stuff they wanted to do with her.
RE: the finale, I thought it was better than I expected based on some of the stupidity of the last couple seasons. Thoughts:
Liked:
- Jax accepting that violence is part of the fabric of the club, and realizing that meant he had to choose between the club and protecting his family, just like Tara told him. I think if Gemma doesn't kill Tara, maybe he realizes it and actually gets a happy ending, but after killing Gemma and Unser, there was no going back. He couldn't walk away and just be a Dad, because he'd gone too far over the line and he knew it. He just had to let his sons go and do what his Dad couldn't, which is not try to be an idealistic martyr figure for his sons, but a monster that he doesn't want them to look up to.
- Tig and Venus having a happy ending. The scene between them from a few weeks back was probably my favorite of the season, and I'm glad nothing bad happened to them since then.
- Wendy getting a happy ending. As mentioned above, they had to cut some of the middle of her arc for the show, but she deserved a happy ending after everything Jax and Gemma put her through over the years. Remember Jax forcefully injecting her so she'd fail a drug test after she'd worked so hard to be clean? =/
Disliked:
- The episode was more of a denouement than anything, and it lacked any real tension. We all knew it was going to end with Jax dying, so it was kind of going through the motions for a quite long episode.
- I HATED Jax doing a little smile and going "Who are you? to the homeless woman. I'm pretty sure that Sutter actually intended that woman to be some sort of angel of Emily Putner, and that's so stupid I can't even fathom.
- Somewhat related to the above, Jax's homeless blanket camo jump out was also very stupid.
- That ending montage and the way Jax died. Jax should've done a suicide by cop and let them gun him down or something, not give some truck driver PTSD because he wants to go out with the wind blowing through his hair.
All in all, I didn't hate it, but the show definitely lost all the momentum and tension it once had early on.
I feel you're skipping what she did in like the vast majority of the run of the show (get out, get clean, get a job helping people like she used to be, try and get Tara out).
I had forgotten she relapsed last season though looking up her history I did find this:
Along with Half Sack Epps, Wendy is the only main character not to have killed anyone.
Which is interesting.
What a weird coincidence that Half sack is the only samcro gangster to not have killed somebody on the show, but did a murder suicide in real life. =(
So I bought the song from the closing montage, because I like The White Buffalo.
But he worked with Sutter on the lyrics, and well, ...here they are for posterity.
There's a black bird perched outside my window
I hear him calling, I hear him sing
He burns me with his eyes of gold to embers
He sees all my sins
He reads my soul
One day that bird he spoke to me
Like Martin Luther, like Pericles
Come join the murder
Come fly with black
We'll give you freedom
From the human trap
Come join the murder
Soar on my wings
You'll touch the hand of God
And he'll make you king
He'll make you king
On a blanket made of woven shadows
I flew up to heaven, on a raven's glide
These angels have turned my wings to wax now
I fell like Judas, grace denied
And on that day he lied to me
Like Martin Luther, like Pericles
Come join the murder
Come fly with black
We'll give you freedom
From the human trap
Come join the murder
Soar on my wings
You'll touch the hand of God
And he'll make you king
He'll make you king
I walk among the children of my fathers
The broken wings, betrayal's cost
They call to me but never touch my heart now
I'm too far now I'm too lost
All I can hear is what he spoke to me
Like Martin Luther, like Pericles
Come join the murder
Come fly with black
We'll give you freedom
From the human trap
Come join the murder
Soar on my wings
You'll touch the hand of God
And he'll make you king
He'll make you king
So now I curse that raven's fire
You made me hate you made me burn
He laughed aloud as he flew from Eden
You always knew you never learn
The crow no longer sings to me
Like Martin Luther and Pericles
Come join the murder
Come fly with black
We'll give you freedom
From the human trap
Come join the murder
Soar on my wings
You'll touch the hand of God
And he'll make you king
He'll make you king
“I was quick when I came in here, I’m twice as quick now”
-Indiana Solo, runner of blades
- Jax accepting that violence is part of the fabric of the club, and realizing that meant he had to choose between the club and protecting his family, just like Tara told him. I think if Gemma doesn't kill Tara, maybe he realizes it and actually gets a happy ending, but after killing Gemma and Unser, there was no going back. He couldn't walk away and just be a Dad, because he'd gone too far over the line and he knew it. He just had to let his sons go and do what his Dad couldn't, which is not try to be an idealistic martyr figure for his sons, but a monster that he doesn't want them to look up to.
Except that's what the SOA were always about. Killing, murdering, torturing was a day in the life before he put bullets in Gemma and Uncer. The club has been threatening judges lives and killing cops from day one and Jax has always been ok with that. The show never goes into why this is a bad thing, also the fact the club isn't a typical organization it's part cult given how its members are taught to adhere to its structure. That's another barrier between members and their real families. You can't be there for your real family when you're meant to drop everything for the club at the first sign they need you - no exceptions.
- Jax accepting that violence is part of the fabric of the club, and realizing that meant he had to choose between the club and protecting his family, just like Tara told him. I think if Gemma doesn't kill Tara, maybe he realizes it and actually gets a happy ending, but after killing Gemma and Unser, there was no going back. He couldn't walk away and just be a Dad, because he'd gone too far over the line and he knew it. He just had to let his sons go and do what his Dad couldn't, which is not try to be an idealistic martyr figure for his sons, but a monster that he doesn't want them to look up to.
Except that's what the SOA were always about. Killing, murdering, torturing was a day in the life before he put bullets in Gemma and Uncer. The club has been threatening judges lives and killing cops from day one and Jax has always been ok with that. The show never goes into why this is a bad thing, also the fact the club isn't a typical organization it's part cult given how its members are taught to adhere to its structure. That's another barrier between members and their real families. You can't be there for your real family when you're meant to drop everything for the club at the first sign they need you - no exceptions.
Yeah, but earlier on Jax at times had this idealistic idea of how he was going to get the club out of guns for good, start earning money legitimately and be less violent and what not. Eventually he just accepted that it wasn't a thing that was ever going to happen.
- Jax accepting that violence is part of the fabric of the club, and realizing that meant he had to choose between the club and protecting his family, just like Tara told him. I think if Gemma doesn't kill Tara, maybe he realizes it and actually gets a happy ending, but after killing Gemma and Unser, there was no going back. He couldn't walk away and just be a Dad, because he'd gone too far over the line and he knew it. He just had to let his sons go and do what his Dad couldn't, which is not try to be an idealistic martyr figure for his sons, but a monster that he doesn't want them to look up to.
Except that's what the SOA were always about. Killing, murdering, torturing was a day in the life before he put bullets in Gemma and Uncer. The club has been threatening judges lives and killing cops from day one and Jax has always been ok with that. The show never goes into why this is a bad thing, also the fact the club isn't a typical organization it's part cult given how its members are taught to adhere to its structure. That's another barrier between members and their real families. You can't be there for your real family when you're meant to drop everything for the club at the first sign they need you - no exceptions.
Yeah, but earlier on Jax at times had this idealistic idea of how he was going to get the club out of guns for good, start earning money legitimately and be less violent and what not. Eventually he just accepted that it wasn't a thing that was ever going to happen.
I doubt Jax would have ever made the club truly legit. Crime was bred into the club's marrow, being less violent wouldn't have altered that - they'd have been less bad then they were yes, but still a criminal organization who broke the law to get what they want. . Not to mention the rest of the charters would have flipped if Jax did that it for real. The only way to do that would be to shut their chapter down and they all start working honest jobs, and that wasn't in the cards.
Yeah, I don't think any of us watching the show thought Jax was ever going to get the club away from guns and just run a legit side business to earn their money and hang around and take bike rides together. But earlier on that was Jax's idea of how he was going to fulfill what he thought his Dad's legacy was. He was just wrong about what the future was going to hold.
Yeah, I don't think any of us watching the show thought Jax was ever going to get the club away from guns and just run a legit side business to earn their money and hang around and take bike rides together. But earlier on that was Jax's idea of how he was going to fulfill what he thought his Dad's legacy was. He was just wrong about what the future was going to hold.
The show weirdly didn't go into the details of how far they want to go to be legit. Occasionally someone would bring up how awful the life was or how it sucks doing things they don't like, yet that was ignored too much for Jax to learn anything of value. It was like an unspoken rule no one wanted to cross.
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Deebaseron my way to work in a suit and a tieAhhhh...come on fucking guyRegistered Userregular
Yeah, I don't think any of us watching the show thought Jax was ever going to get the club away from guns and just run a legit side business to earn their money and hang around and take bike rides together. But earlier on that was Jax's idea of how he was going to fulfill what he thought his Dad's legacy was. He was just wrong about what the future was going to hold.
I don't think anybody had any illusion of going truly legit, but I think the club's forays into porn were an attempt to bring in legitimate revenue and the brothel was, if not legitimate, at least a less/non-violent alternative that was much less likely to have the Sons shooting people or getting shot at.
They also tried to secure that sanitation contract for the new homes in Charming Heights or whatever.
Well, this ended about as well as I could have expected given this last season.
Everything wrapped up entirely too neatly. Jax just walks around in broad daylight gunning down the last of his enemies. Marks really walked out of court with only two guys? I mean I knew exactly this was going to happen, but still.
The closure was done well enough I suppose. Jax went out exactly like his old man, killing himself because his lifestyle had become too dangerous for his own family, but he finally succeeded where JT failed and got his boys away from all the people who might have poisoned their lives.
It's also crazy just how much shit went down that all led back to that one bylaw prohibiting black members. Juice's breakdown that led to his betraying the club to Nero that led to killing Roosevelt and concocting the Chinese lie with Gemma, so everything bad that happened this season. See guys, racism is bad mmkay! Glad they finally got around to ending that policy (though I still wish they hadn't waited until season 4 to bring it up out of nowhere).
Still, pretty glad Chibs made it through okay.
First they came for the Muslims, and we said NOT TODAY, MOTHERFUCKERS
I still feel the last two seasons could have been decent, if they had stuck to the 42 minute episode schedule. There was plenty of silly stuff that makes SOA, SOA, but it just got too self-indulging.
But atleast Quinn watched Chibs bang the sheriff, because the sheriff demanded to be banged.
Posts
-Indiana Solo, runner of blades
All his enemies fell like dominos
Jax was at peace for start to end. He had no worries, no fears, everything he planned went off like he David Xanatos, except even Xanantos can be outwitted and obstructed and fear his shit is going to get ruined. And why would he?
I can't decide if this was worse than True Blood's finale or Dexter's, either way it's up there.
* Potter was never this stupid in season 4
The APB was for the murders of Gemma and Unser, that's what Jax telling the DA was for. They possibly also knew about Marks at that point.
Except for the last ten minutes or so it didn't feel like a series finale though.
-Indiana Solo, runner of blades
Thanks. I drifted off so missed a few things. The show was really boring to me as you can see. I agree, it was a lackluster episode. Hardly worth being a finale. Flash's and AoS's mid-season finales were much better than this.
The DA put 2 and 2 together when she visited boroski. She knows hes dirty and she can do something about the rest of them. However
Also guys, let me tell you about this amazing new concept I've discovered, it's called symbolism. SYMBOLISM SYMBOLISM SYMBOLISM.
I think Sutter is about 3/4th of a very good writer. He definitely needs an editor/partner to reign in some of his trite as fuck shit.
Excellent bromance scenes though. Also Jimmy Smits is the fucking bomb.
Wendy has been clean for a couple seasons now. There was a decent interval and she generally worked hard at unfucking her life. I don't have too much of an issue with that bit.
The 9'ers weren't that happy with Marx, that was their leader who set Conner up for Jax. They get a whole shit load of new territory so they are paid off.
Hell, look at the first episode.
The heroin almost killed her baby, he was still in serious peril, and she realized she needed to be clean. Ever since that moment she was trying. In that episode, Gemma interfered and she failed at kicking the addiction, but it shows she had a long and hard fought journey before she eventually succeeded.
I had forgotten she relapsed last season though looking up her history I did find this:
Which is interesting.
Well going by that stat, her landlady better watch out...
Come Overwatch with meeeee
RE: the finale, I thought it was better than I expected based on some of the stupidity of the last couple seasons. Thoughts:
- Jax accepting that violence is part of the fabric of the club, and realizing that meant he had to choose between the club and protecting his family, just like Tara told him. I think if Gemma doesn't kill Tara, maybe he realizes it and actually gets a happy ending, but after killing Gemma and Unser, there was no going back. He couldn't walk away and just be a Dad, because he'd gone too far over the line and he knew it. He just had to let his sons go and do what his Dad couldn't, which is not try to be an idealistic martyr figure for his sons, but a monster that he doesn't want them to look up to.
- Tig and Venus having a happy ending. The scene between them from a few weeks back was probably my favorite of the season, and I'm glad nothing bad happened to them since then.
- Wendy getting a happy ending. As mentioned above, they had to cut some of the middle of her arc for the show, but she deserved a happy ending after everything Jax and Gemma put her through over the years. Remember Jax forcefully injecting her so she'd fail a drug test after she'd worked so hard to be clean? =/
Disliked:
- The episode was more of a denouement than anything, and it lacked any real tension. We all knew it was going to end with Jax dying, so it was kind of going through the motions for a quite long episode.
- I HATED Jax doing a little smile and going "Who are you? to the homeless woman. I'm pretty sure that Sutter actually intended that woman to be some sort of angel of Emily Putner, and that's so stupid I can't even fathom.
- Somewhat related to the above, Jax's homeless blanket camo jump out was also very stupid.
- That ending montage and the way Jax died. Jax should've done a suicide by cop and let them gun him down or something, not give some truck driver PTSD because he wants to go out with the wind blowing through his hair.
All in all, I didn't hate it, but the show definitely lost all the momentum and tension it once had early on.
What a weird coincidence that Half sack is the only samcro gangster to not have killed somebody on the show, but did a murder suicide in real life. =(
But he worked with Sutter on the lyrics, and well, ...here they are for posterity.
I hear him calling, I hear him sing
He burns me with his eyes of gold to embers
He sees all my sins
He reads my soul
One day that bird he spoke to me
Like Martin Luther, like Pericles
Come join the murder
Come fly with black
We'll give you freedom
From the human trap
Come join the murder
Soar on my wings
You'll touch the hand of God
And he'll make you king
He'll make you king
On a blanket made of woven shadows
I flew up to heaven, on a raven's glide
These angels have turned my wings to wax now
I fell like Judas, grace denied
And on that day he lied to me
Like Martin Luther, like Pericles
Come join the murder
Come fly with black
We'll give you freedom
From the human trap
Come join the murder
Soar on my wings
You'll touch the hand of God
And he'll make you king
He'll make you king
I walk among the children of my fathers
The broken wings, betrayal's cost
They call to me but never touch my heart now
I'm too far now I'm too lost
All I can hear is what he spoke to me
Like Martin Luther, like Pericles
Come join the murder
Come fly with black
We'll give you freedom
From the human trap
Come join the murder
Soar on my wings
You'll touch the hand of God
And he'll make you king
He'll make you king
So now I curse that raven's fire
You made me hate you made me burn
He laughed aloud as he flew from Eden
You always knew you never learn
The crow no longer sings to me
Like Martin Luther and Pericles
Come join the murder
Come fly with black
We'll give you freedom
From the human trap
Come join the murder
Soar on my wings
You'll touch the hand of God
And he'll make you king
He'll make you king
-Indiana Solo, runner of blades
-Indiana Solo, runner of blades
The show weirdly didn't go into the details of how far they want to go to be legit. Occasionally someone would bring up how awful the life was or how it sucks doing things they don't like, yet that was ignored too much for Jax to learn anything of value. It was like an unspoken rule no one wanted to cross.
They also tried to secure that sanitation contract for the new homes in Charming Heights or whatever.
The closure was done well enough I suppose. Jax went out exactly like his old man, killing himself because his lifestyle had become too dangerous for his own family, but he finally succeeded where JT failed and got his boys away from all the people who might have poisoned their lives.
It's also crazy just how much shit went down that all led back to that one bylaw prohibiting black members. Juice's breakdown that led to his betraying the club to Nero that led to killing Roosevelt and concocting the Chinese lie with Gemma, so everything bad that happened this season. See guys, racism is bad mmkay! Glad they finally got around to ending that policy (though I still wish they hadn't waited until season 4 to bring it up out of nowhere).
Still, pretty glad Chibs made it through okay.
But atleast Quinn watched Chibs bang the sheriff, because the sheriff demanded to be banged.