Sons of Anarchy

[Holli]

(view spoiler)[Warning: If you’ve yet to watch Tuesday’s installment of Sons of Anarchy, avert your eyes now. Everyone else, read on…

Sons of Anarchy fans on Tuesday night were not-so-cordially invited to the impromptu wedding of Mr. Jackson “Jax” Teller and Ms. Tara Knowles — a ceremony that, while unconventional even by SAMCRO standards, amazingly went off without a hitch.

To quickly recap: Once again facing incarceration, the Sons’ new king threw caution to the wind and asked his ladylove to swap I Dos that very afternoon. In a brothel. Surrounded by madams and johns. Though initially left off the guest list, Gemma dropped in to wish the couple well and, after giving Tara a pretty major guilt trip, made nice by offering up the wedding bands from her marriage to Jax’s dad, John. After vows were swapped, Jax and several of his brothers were carted off to jail, leaving behind the newlywed and her mother-in-law.

Here, star Maggie Siff reveals to TVLine her reaction to the sudden but sweet nuptials, and discusses what’s next for her character, who she says is most certainly “sliding toward a Gemma-like way of being.”

TVLINE | What was your reaction when you found out Jax and Tara would finally tie the knot?
My reaction was a little bit like the character’s reaction: ‘Really?! Here? Now? This way?’ [Laughs] It certainly wasn’t a Luke-and-Laura, come to Jesus wedding moment. But I also thought it was strangely appropriate and kind of funny. What ended up making the scene so enjoyable was that a wedding is a wedding is a wedding, and no matter where it happens, it’s kind of momentous. It actually felt that way when we were shooting it, which made it fun.

TVLINE | And, ultimately, a large chunk of the club was there for the ceremony, which was nice.
Yes, and in true SOA fashion, that impromptu speech that Tommy [Flanagan] made as Chibs was so beautiful and soulful. He’s such a great actor. It really did feel like a blessing; it was sweet.

TVLINE | From the proposal of sorts to the wedding itself, what was your favorite moment?
I actually think it was Chibs’ speech, that moment of surprise, of somebody getting up and saying something and — whatever he was saying — the benediction of that. Also, just saying those words ["I do"] felt really momentous — even though it was to a bumbling judge. I loved the bumbling judge, though. He was great.

TVLINE | It is funny how fitting such an off-kilter ceremony felt for such a beloved couple.
Right. I sort of liken it in my mind to being in a long distance relationship. When you’ve been apart from somebody for a really long time and you’re about to see them, for whatever reason you cannot anticipate what you’re going to feel. And then all of sudden you see them and it’s a flood of feelings. That’s sort of what the wedding felt like; it was so tossed off and last minute and haphazard, and then it happens and all of the feelings are there, right in place where they’re supposed to be.

TVLINE | How did you interpret the ring gesture made by Gemma?
That’s a complicated and interesting moment. At the end of the day, Gemma is the closest thing that Tara has to a mother, and in an unconscious sense, she always longs for her approval and for her love; she’s really hungry for gestures like that, for somebody reaching into their heart and their history and telling Tara that she’s a part of it and connected. She’s somewhat moved by it. But Tara is no dummy… The [rings] symbolize being locked into the family, and the fact that those rings belonged to Gemma and Jax’s father, in a weird way it’s Gemma claiming ownership of Tara and of Tara inside of this life. So, I don’t think that’s lost on Tara either… Although, she accepts the rings because she accepts the life.

TVLINE | And now Tara is once again left raising her sons while Jax is in jail.
No, there’s no honeymoon, is there? [Laughs] Tara’s lived through that moment once before, and this time she knows she’ll survive it and she thinks he will survive. So, there’s a kind of acceptance that this is the life and that they will make it through. Even if she has fear about it, she doesn’t give herself as much permission to feel that as she used to. She’s figured out some strategies for coping with or being numb to it. It’s not a very healthy strategy, but it’s part of what she’s doing this season.

TVLINE | When Tara quickly apologized to Jax for voicing her fears about his going to jail, it almost seemed as though we were witnessing her losing a bit of herself — or at the very least turning more into Gemma. Is that a fair assessment?
There are certain ways that she is sliding toward a Gemma-like way of being. That moment, which I really enjoyed thinking about, was part of her stepping into the role of what it means to be the queen of the club, or the matriarch, or Jax’s partner. Part of what she begins to really understand about that role in that moment is that she needs to treat all of those guys as if they were her family, so that her children have as much importance as Tig’s children, and that Tig carries as much importance as Jax. The shift is toward thinking of them as blood. I don’t think she’s losing herself in that; she’s trying to wrap her mind around a different way of being, and trying to not just think of her family as Jax and her children. (hide spoiler)]

[Jackie]

Anyone see last night's episode? I can't even spoilerize it....I'm stunned...and beyond words.

[Eileen]

I watched! I can handle a lot of things. BUT...I had to close my eyes during this weeks show. Even just listening I couldn't handle it.

[Holli]

My husband had a REALLY hard time watching it. He was upset.

[Michael]

OPIE!!! I watched it last night and Opie has always been my favorite character :(

"I'm going to get out of here. And I'm going to find out who you are and where you live and then I'm going to kill you."

I cannot wait for that scene!

[Eileen]

When Jax's said that it gave me chills!


I'm going to miss Opie!!!


This season is going to be one hell of a ride.

[Jackie]

I'm still reeling from it. I was in total denial watching it, thinking, 'No, Opie is gonna kill them all'. I can't conceive of SOA without Opie. Jax and Opie are my guys. And I like Opie even more than Jax, Opie is the good guy, honest and loyal and true. I can't take it. I'm so upset. I don't think I'm gonna get over this. (Yes, I know how crazy I sound over fictional characters.)

I liked that Jax threatened the guard but really, the guard? He better kill Pope, that's what I'm really waiting for.

Also disturbing for it's truth is when Pope said to Jax about that's how players are made into kings. What will Jax be without Opie? Opie grounded him, Opie was his conscience.

[Holli]

FX’s Sons of Anarchy has killed its fair share of characters over the years, but no death has packed quite the punch as Opie’s grisly murder in this Tuesday’s episode. To recap, grimacing anew with every keystroke: Per the terms laid out by Damon Pope to solve the Sons’ prison problem, Jax would not only cede half of the club’s coke-muling earn, but also sacrifice one of his brothers. (Tig’s life however was not on the table, as Pope also insisted that his daughter’s killer rot behind bars, forever.) And while Jax adamantly refused to give up a Son, Opie made the tough call for him, forcing his way into an off-book prison melee that had only one possible outcome: his death, via several blows to the head with a steel pipe.

During a Wednesday conference call, Sons creator Kurt Sutter told TVLine that he first mulled Opie’s fate during Season 3, and firmed it up at the end of Season 4, when the character’s dad, Piney, met his own maker, at Clay’s hand.

“I got to the end of that season and realized there is this circular dynamic happening with Jax and Opie that I felt was very difficult to get out of,” Sutter explained. Having informally set his sights on a seven-season run, “This is the first [season] I’ve had to think about the end game, and knowing where I wanted to get my hero and knowing how I wanted to get there, the road I wanted him to travel,” Sutter continued. “And Jax needed that emotional upheaval, that one event that happens in a mans life that can change the course of his destiny — the death of his best friend was [that].”

Sutter acknowledges that the manner of Opie’s death and the suddenness was hard-hitting, but promises it was not served up lightly. “I knew this would be a gut-wrenching episode and difficult for people to wrap their brains around, but… the death of Opie will color the rest of the episodes for the rest of the series,” he stressed. “It’s not a death that will happen in vain. Of course there’ll be a sense of vengeance, something that drives out guys to retaliate, but also the emotional impact that his death will have on the rest of the characters will always be there.”

Other topics Sutter addressed during the press call:

WHY OPIE GAVE UP HIS LIFE | “I do believe that some of it was a sense of, ‘Here’s an opportunity for me to go out doing the right thing, to be of best service to my club’ — and also to his family,” Sutter said, noting that Opie never really reconciled his life with his relationship to his ex and their kids. “Jax wasn’t going to force himself to make that choice [of who dies]. Opie saw that … and had to step in and make that choice.”

GIVING RYAN HURST THE BAD NEWS | “It’s a difficult thing. He is very plugged into the show and loves the character, and Ryan is a super-sensitive dude, so it was difficult for both of us to figure out how to do this,” Sutter related. “In the end, when he read the script and saw the episodes that follow, he understood the nature of it and the importance of it in the mythology of the show.”

WHY SUTTER HIMSELF ‘SPOILED’ THE BIG DEATH | For a showrunner who is extremely averse to spoilers, Sutter’s use of Twitter and the like to talk up the looming death was, to say the least, surprising. “The reason I ended up teasing it … was really because of social media and the speed at which information travels,” he explained. “It was about giving people a heads up that if they weren’t watching the episode [live] to stay off social media until they did, so it wouldn’t get spoiled.”

[Eileen]

Thanks for sharing that, Holli! It was interesting to read the thoughts behind Opie's death.

[Holli]

You're welcome!

[Michael]

Anyone see Tuesday's episode? Thoughts on Venus Van Damme? The best TV cameo in TV history?

[Jackie]

Without a doubt! I have a feeling we'll see more of Venus in the future...or at least I'm hoping we do. It was much needed comic relief after the trauma of losing Opie. I was impressed at how well Walton Goggins walks in those high heels.

[Eileen]

I thought the show was fantastic! While I was watching, all I could think of his that the guy from Justified? He really deserves a Emmy for this one!

Jax is coming into his leadership roll amazingly well.

[Jackie]

Jax will become Clay and Tara will become Gemma, they're both off to a great start.

[Holli]

(view spoiler)[Sons of Anarchy continued to up the ante this week with an installment that laid the groundwork for both Clay’s undoing and Gemma’s redemption — though, per Jax’s orders, the two need not be mutually exclusive. Upon learning that Gemma had lied about the circumstances surrounding her recent car crash, Jax and Tara kicked the matriarch out of their lives for good. However, Jax later found out that Clay was actually the mastermind behind Charming’s recent string of break-ins, and as such, he came up with a plan to kill two SAMCRO birds with one stone: Gemma, leaving Nero behind, would get back into bed — both figuratively and literally — with Sons’ fallen king. If she unearths his blueprint to dethrone Jax, she’d be welcome back into the family. And if not? Well, Jax wasn’t too concerned about that. Juice, meanwhile, strengthened his unlikely bond with Clay when he confessed to him all of the sordid details surrounding that RICO case, Miles’ murder and even the controversial ethnicity of this father. Here, series creator Kurt Sutter speaks with TVLine about Jax’s increasingly dark demeanor, Gemma’s response to her son’s ultimatum and Juice’s dangerous new friendship. The EP also discusses Nero’s inner gangster — whom we’re about to meet — and reveals how high SAMCRO’s death toll might get by the end of Season 5.

TVLINE | Talk about the aftermath of that indecent proposal. After the death of Opie, we see Jax heading down this path that’s perhaps more dark than we’ve ever seen him; he’s doing things that perhaps we’ve never seen before. The irony of using Clay’s tactics to bring down Clay is what we’re going for. [Jax is] beginning to do things behind the club’s back, he’s making deals with different people at different times… That’s been Clay’s history up to this point, and that’s how he’s gotten ahead and managed his regime. We now see Jax being motivated to do that — probably even unaware of the patterns he’s repeating — and this is the beginning of it with Gemma and taking advantage of those situations. It’s sort of what I teased in the beginning of the season, when I talked about the idea of Damon Pope and Nero Padilla becoming these different mentors: one was about having to get out and doing the right thing, and the other was about not getting out, but learning how to turn disadvantage to advantage. And, again, whether he’s aware of it or not, we see Jax begin to follow the advice of Damon Pope and seeing the advantage in people’s disadvantage.

TVLINE | You also said prior to the premiere that we will learn exactly what kind of leader Jax is by season’s end. Is that still the plan? I think so. We don’t spell it out, but I do think that after the season ends, people will be able to judge Jax’s behavior and make that decision for themselves. And that’s ideally what we want to do.

TVLINE | Back to that proposition: Jax told Gemma that if she obliges, he and Tara will welcome her back into their family. Is there any truth to that? Or was that just more manipulation? It’s both. It’s a dark maneuver, obviously, to undermine Clay. But he does feel that this is leverage he has on Gemma, and leverage only works if you uphold your end of the deal. So, my sense is that it’s not a ruse or a lie. What I love is the idea that as much as Gemma may have disdain for Clay and as much as she’s drawn to Nero, there is a sense that she has this deep connection with [her ex] — and Jax knows that. Even if she’s forced to engage with Clay, she has the awareness that there is a deep bond and a lot of emotionality. It would be hard for her to separate herself from that. My sense is that the reason Gemma’s going out of her way to push Clay away is because she doesn’t want to get sucked back into those strong feelings she may have for him like she has done in the past… But Jax is very away of the connection he still has with her and as he says to her at the end of the episode that he knows that once they lay down together, the secrets will start flowing.

TVLINE | Nero has been fiercely loyal to both Jax and the Sons thus far, but I have to imagine there will be some ramifications after he learns what’s been asked of Gemma. It will definitely have an impact on him, and it will become a big complication for Gemma, in terms of what she’s starting to feel for Nero and her connection to her own family. It won’t be a straight line in terms of either one of them being settled. Gemma being Gemma, there’s a sense of her trying to navigate around everything, and that’s when things usually come crashing down. But it will definitely have ramifications on her relationship with Nero, and consequently, Nero’s relationship with Jax and the club.

TVLINE | Will Nero live up to his name in the latter half of the season? We’ll see that what Nero’s doing with Gemma and the Sons will start to impact his own crew, and that’s perhaps where you’ll start to see his life get more complicated… One of the things I told Jimmy [Smits] from the start is that Nero’s a reformed gangster, but he’s still a gangster — and you will definitely see some of that gangster before the season’s over.

TVLINE | Similarly, Damon Pope has proven more friend than foe — save for the death of Opie. Should we expect the other shoe to drop? I don’t want to give anything away in terms of where that relationship goes… But both men are aware of who they are and what the other is capable of. I don’t think Jax has sipped [the Damon Pope] Kool-Aid, nor do I think Pope [believes] Jax can really be trusted.

TVLINE | What prompted Juice to confess his sins to Clay of all people? Was it purely a catharsis for him? We felt like there was a relationship that had been established with Juice and Clay, really [from] when Clay gave him that Men of Mayhem patch awhile back. That was really the thing that broke Juice’s heart the most and caused him to almost kill himself last season. And then we’ve played this whole season as Juice being the guy taking care of Clay during his rehab, so there’s a lot of stuff that’s happened off camera between these two guys; their relationships has grown. Clay knows Juice well and has enough information to know that he’s keeping something from him. It’s really just about him pressing Juice. Juice is unstable; he’s really broken, and Clay exploits that to his own end. It’s that weird gray area; yes, he does care, and yes, there is a fatherly connection, and yes, he is taking care of Juice. But at the end of the day, he’s also getting information that may give him some insight into what Jax is planning and what might impact his own fate. What I love about it is the idea that we’ve played four-and-a-half seasons of the sanctity of the club, and all of a sudden you have a member saying, ‘We all lie. That’s how it works.’ You know what I mean? [Laughs] And for someone like Juice, who’s still a relatively new member… He’s naive in some of the realities of the world. Clay throws that line out in such a cavalier way. Whether or not that’s what everyone believes, the fact that Clay puts it out there for Juice is one of those moments that’s like, ‘Really?!’ That secret will ultimately serve and blown back on both of them.

TVLINE | Can we expect the deaths of any series regulars before season’s end? Potentially. Maybe one. I’ve said this from the beginning: If I go back to my Hamlet archetype, there are a couple of acts where wheels are spinning and then the third act is where the guillotine falls — and that’s what’s happening now. It’s the ramifications of a lot of circumstances, a lot of relationships, a lot of lies. It’s a bloody life. One of the things we’ve always done and continue to do on this show is, as random and as off-handed as some of the violence may seem, we very rarely do stuff in a vacuum… It may not happen until the next episode or the next season, but actions have reactions and that stuff can come back and bite you in the ass at anytime. That’s really what we’re seeing now; the stakes are higher and relationships are much more complicated. So, when you raise the stakes like that and your narrative continues to get thicker, s–t happens. [Laughs] (hide spoiler)]

[Timothy]

Clay needs to die after all the shit he has pulled. The nomads got what the desserved after rita's death. Gemma needs rehab. Now is her boyfriend is that jimmy smitts?

[Holli]

Question: Something’s been troubling me about Sons of Anarchy, and hopefully you can help. When Tara visited Otto in prison, were we supposed to infer that she ultimately gave him what he wanted (sex!) in exchange for the intel? I seriously hope not. The Tara I know would never go there. —Samantha
Ausiello: I had the same worry. Thankfully, Sutter — who plays the incarcerated SAMCRO member — put those fears to rest. The EP points out that viewers “saw Otto leave” at the end of the scene. Furthermore, “The reason Tara [later] lied [to Jax] is because she failed, and she doesn’t want to feel like she’s letting Jax down. She half-lied. She also knew that if she told Jax exactly what [Otto] said, Jax would say, ‘F–k it. You’re not going in there again.’ She didn’t want to reveal that because she wants another crack at Otto.” And she’ll get it. Sutter confirms that the Otto/Tara arc “will all play out” at season’s end.

[Timothy]

What is it with tyg he likes shemales now come on and he was jealus of the kid really,really.

[Michael]

I don't know, Walton Goggins did look pretty hot in that outfit! Tig's sexuality has always been a question mark for me because way back in, I think, the first episode, there was something involving him that I can't remember exactly, but he either had oral sex from an hispanic guy before he killed him or he killed him and then had sex with him. I wouldn't be unhappy if he doesn't survive the season.

As much as I love SoA, I sometimes have a hard time following the storyline. Between the guns and the drugs and the cartel/CIA and the IRA and RICO and everything going on between Jax and Clay I sometimes feel a little lost. These last few episodes have helped me to get things straight, but truly, I'd be happy with a little less complextity and a simpler plot next season.

[Jackie]

Tig gotta go. All his 'accidental' killings keep putting the club in hot water. He's a loose cannon and he's got to go.
I like complexity and have no problem following the story. If were simple, I'd have no interest.
And Walter Goggins did look pretty damn not in that outfit! lol

[Jackie]

The thread is back! Thanks to Goodreads prompt attention!

So....what Jax did to Wendy. We've seen Jax do some bad shit, but this is just too much. Wendy is too stupid for telling him what she planned to do. Now look where she's at. Her chances of relapse have increased by a big margin. I'm pissed at Jax. And I think Tara will be too.

[Driftwood]

I just never imagined I would like this show. My brother in law kept telling me to watch, so I started season one on netflix and I am hooked! Sorry I saw on here about Piney and Opie, don't want to know what's happening as I am on season 3 right now. Love this show, and I am hooked on the characters. Couldn't believe my awesome writer Stephen King was in an episode as a "cleaner", that was great. Also, alot of actors were on another show I loved, "Deadwood". Did anyone notice this?

[Eileen]

Jackie wrote: "The thread is back! Thanks to Goodreads prompt attention!

So....what Jax did to Wendy. We've seen Jax does so bad shit, but this is just too much. Wendy is too stupid for telling her what she..."

I agree, I think that was a stupid move on Jax's part. But with this show you never know where it's headed. Which I like.

[Jackie]

Jax is the new Clay, it's inevitable.

[Timothy]

All caught up ready for tonight season finale. :D

[Holli]

(view spoiler)[Warning: If you’ve yet to watch this Tuesday’s Sons of Anarchy, avert your eyes now. Everyone else, read on…

The penultimate episode of Sons of Anarchy‘s Season 5 set the stage for yet another epic finale, particularly for our warring leading men Jax and Clay.

On the SAMCRO king’s end, things quickly began to unravel as an always loyal Bobby seemingly betrayed Jax by striking a deal with Clay: The VP would vote the traitor out of the club but side against delivering upon him the proposed (and deadly) mayhem.

The disgraced former leader, meanwhile, set into motion an exit plan of sorts, one that would save his life — at least temporarily — and reunite him with his one, true Old Lady: Gemma.

In the end, a distraught Jax took great pains to secure the “beautiful life” he’d promised his family, ultimately making a move that mirrored some of Clay’s darkest moments, while Clay patiently awaited the start of his new life sans the Sons.

Here, Sons of Anarchy star Ron Perlman shares with TVLine his thoughts on the stripped-down Clay and what his current status means for a future with Gemma. He also reveals scoop about the forthcoming finale, which may include a comeback for the controversial character.

TVLINE | After the past two seasons, I never thought Clay could come across as a sympathetic figure. Yet this week’s episode almost accomplished it, particularly in contrast with the extremes of Jax’s behavior –
No, no, it’s just because I’m that good… [Laughs] How could you ever write that in print and make it sound as cynical as I did when I just said it? Trust me, I wasn’t being serious. [Laughs]

TVLINE | How do you, as an actor, feel about Clay and his current standing going into the season’s final hours?
It’s always been a tightrope walk on this show because clearly [creator] Kurt Sutter is the only one that knows where he’s ultimately taking everyone — and he’s always been the only one who knows where he’s taking us in the interim, while he’s getting us to where we’re ultimately going to end up. So, a lot of this has been seat-of-your-pants stuff. There are certain promises I had to make to myself in order to continue to play Clay and admire the character, because even though I’ve played a wide swath of bad guys or troubled individuals, there’s always something about their wiring that attracts me to them; there’s some sort of deep-seated nobility. Sometimes it’s very buried, and sometimes it’s short-circuited by psychological misfires that create some reprehensible behavior. In this particular instance, it’s a TV series where you haven’t read the whole script and you’re not performing something that you know the beginning, middle and end of; you’re having to reserve judgement.

One of the promises I had to make to myself is that I would never, ever judge Clay, I would only try to understand what his move meant in the moment and what it means in the bigger picture. The thing that I’ve always tricked myself into believing, perhaps, is that ultimately he’s a very heroic figure; he is somebody who’s a born leader, somebody who you can really, really trust in a foxhole. He will make what appears to be completely unacceptable and barefaced, ruthless moves, but in his mind it’s always for the greater good of the family. Having said all of that, there have moments where I’ve been given certain things to execute by Kurt that I’ve had trouble with, and I’ve had to go to him [asking] how I manage to get past my disdain for this specific act and play him in a way that fits into my overall overview of Clay, which is that he’s a flawed hero. So, it’s made for some lively discussions.

But I would rather be having those kinds of discussions with this kind of material, playing somebody as complex as Clay, than pretty much anything I could ever imagine doing in television. It’s always exciting, it’s always challenging, it’s always keeping you on your toes and it’s always forcing you to never become complacent… These guys are really complex and they’re not one thing or another; they’re not good or bad, but a compilation of all those things. You’d be surprised if you really examine people’s behavior and what they’re willing to do — especially when their back is against a wall and their family is at stake; we’re not that far afield [from society]. Having said that, it’s a family story, ultimately, and it’s about protecting the family’s values.

TVLINE | The scene where Clay breaks down was pretty heartbreaking. What exactly was he grieving in that moment?
Oh man. The reason why he finally breaks down and does it in a way that’s so cathartic and so physical is probably because it’s everything. Whatever he was trying to save is destroyed… Having some sort of a functional relationship with his stepson is destroyed. His standing in the community, which he worked his entire adult life for, is destroyed. He’s now finally been sent into the wilderness; he’s a man without a country, he’s a man without a family, he’s a man without anything. Even though he’s trying to hold one thing — probably the most important thing, which is Gemma — he’s not even that sure about that. It’s just this release. The sins have finally, irrevocably come home to roost, and this is something that even he and all of his cleverness and ruthlessness cannot reverse. This is a done deal. Kurt has not given me that many opportunities to have that kind of emotional release in five years. He was very specific the way he wrote this, that he wanted it to be a violent release of emotion, and I can only assume it’s because it’s a guy who’s lost everything he ever valued.

TVLINE | Talk a little about Clay and Gemma’s current status, particularly the shift in dynamic in their final scene together. Gemma seems to be genuinely considering leaving with Clay.
I certainly think he’s very unsure [about their status] up until that moment, and I do believe he walks out of that scene thinking that he’s won her — maybe not won her back, but he’s won a round in the big fight and that she’s going to give it a chance… Even though everything else has crumbled, this is the one thing he can build anew and start from scratch, like he says to her: “No more lies. No more chicanery. No more deceit. No more manipulations. Just you and me, baby.” And I think he believes that. That’s what this whole season has been about.

TVLINE | You say Clay’s a broken man, but in his latest dealings with Tig, Gemma and Galen, he seems as confident as ever. Is that just a front?
I’ll leave that to the audience to decide, but all I can say is that you’re getting to see why Clay became as powerful as he did. It’s because he’s a guy, even in the face of abject turmoil and loss, who can come up with a contingency plan, and one that makes him win. That’s why he’s an interesting character to watch; that’s why he was an interesting leader to follow for the club for many years. Whether you like his move or not, he’s a guy who knows how to turn loss into victory on a dime, because he’s really, really bright. He’s got all the moves and a huge amount of confidence in his ability to survive… You get a chance, as the audience, to watch this guy come back, or at least plan a comeback. But we won’t find out until Episode 13 [the season finale] whether that plan gets executed or not.

TVLINE | The last scene of this penultimate episode strongly suggests that Jax is more than on his way to becoming Clay. Do you see it that way?
One of my favorite scenes of the season was kind of a minor one, but [it] really resonated deeply with me and turned out to be kind of an epiphany as to what Kurt was trying to explore. It was the one where Clay makes some comments about Jax’s leadership to Bobby, and he gets really defensive [and says] that Jax is doing a great job. Clay then said, ‘That’s exactly what I’m saying: He’s doing such a great job, but there’s no way he’s going to not be corrupted by the seat and the gavel.’ It was kind of a warning shot that Bobby doesn’t take seriously, and the audience doesn’t even know if Clay is saying this just to get even or because he’s got a personal beat on what the ravages of power do to a person and the price of it; that you cannot stay who you started out to be. The epiphany for me is that ultimately what Kurt is doing here is exploring the ravages of power; what it does to the purest of men and whether, in one’s intrinsic destiny or karmic wiring, one is able to come back from going to a very dark place or doing things that are truly reprehensible. (hide spoiler)]

[Eileen]

I'm not a looking at your post, Holli!

How did you already see the finale?

[Timothy]

After tonight the shit that gemma pulled she needs to go so bad. Argh that BITCH and I am being nice after tonight.

[Holli]

Sorry Eileen, I put that in spoilers for you so you don't see it.

That was from an online interview regarding last week's episode..... it wasn't about last night's finale. I should have made that clear!! :) I was just late posting the interview on here. LOL

[Jackie]

Gemma's move is gonna bite her in the ass, what does she think will happen when Jax finds out?
And why is Jax so upset about the move, he did tell Tara to pursue it. WTF?
Glad Bobby quit the VP spot, he sucked at it.
Wished Tig died but liked this outcome even more.
Will Clay die? I doubt it. He's got a knack for weaseling out of tight spots.
What about Nero, will he be back for next season? I hope so.

[Eileen]

Holli wrote: "Sorry Eileen, I put that in spoilers for you so you don't see it.

That was from an online interview regarding last week's episode..... it wasn't about last night's finale. I should have made tha..."

That's okay! I didn't see anything I didn't want to see. : )

[Eileen]

Why would Gemma do something like that? Jax's will kill her!

While watching last night's show I keep screaming at the TV...OMG...OMG. There were plenty og OMG moments last night. The show really leaves you wanting more.

When (view spoiler)[(?)pit his tongue off (hide spoiler)]was one of those moments.

[Jackie]

That was insane! But true to Otto's character.

Gemma is desperate, but there can be no good outcome for her. I'm sure she'll recant, it'll never go to court, yet another power struggle between these two.

[Holli]

As the credits rolled on Sons of Anarchy‘s Season 5 finale, an old proverb immediately came to mind: The more things change, the more they stay the same.

A whole lot went down in those final 90 minutes, sure, but the end result certainly resembles the SAMCRO we’d seen in years past — save for a few major details.

The biggest changes afoot involved Clay and Tara, last seen making their respective ways to jail. Other than that, life in the tumultuous town of Charming sort of fell back into an all-too-familiar place.

Jax, who had long worked toward securing the future of SAMCRO so that he could finally walk away, mirrored Clay more than ever and let his deep ties to the club cloud his devotion to his family. Gemma, meanwhile, may have put into motion the downfall of her daughter-in-law/nemesis and once again secured a place alongside her son at the table — a position she’s long believed is hers and hers alone.

Here, Sons of Anarchy creator Kurt Sutter weighs in on those events and more from the finale and answers all of your lingering burning questions. He also reveals some early plans for the FX drama’s sixth season, including who’ll be back and how a tongue-less Otto will prevail.

TVLINE | Talk about the significance of creating this season’s final shot so that it mirrors last season’s, with one major difference: Now Gemma is behind Jax, not Tara.
It’s not that I began this season with the intention of doing that, but I did realize we had the opportunity to do it. It’s been a rough season for Gemma. She began somewhat astray and lost. She had a rough ride, but at the end she really feels more grounded and like she’s earned her way back. She knows that people need her, and that’s the thing that grounds Gemma more than anything. So it was the idea that she got her balls back. Also, it’s just continuing to tell the story of that Hamlet/Gertrude quality of this very dysfunctional family.

TVLINE | Just to confirm: Tara’s arrest was the result of Gemma making good on her promise to rat her out?
My intention was to definitely put that out there as a possibility, and I think we’ll reveal how that happened. I do want the audience coming away with, “Wow, did she actually follow through on that threat? And what does that mean for Gemma and Jax if he finds out?” I definitely wanted to create that discussion.

RELATED | Sons of Anarchy‘s Ron Perlman on Clay’s ‘Cathartic’ Breakdown and Potential Comeback
TVLINE | Have you decided where and when Season 6 will pick up? That seems particularly important, given that we were left with two of our main characters being carted off to jail.
I don’t know yet. I have a sense of maybe where we’re going to start. But until I sit down and start to map it out with my writers, I’m really not certain if it’s going to be a couple of weeks or a couple of months, or if it’s going to be longer.

TVLINE | Why do this to Tara? She’s been loyal and strong and patient, and the moment she gets some good news, this happens.
I don’t think it’s a decision about “doing this” to a character. I’d like to think that the things that happen happen out of circumstance and out of character and that it was organic to the story. There’s this notion of Jax getting all of his ducks in a row on the outlaw side while the family side fell apart; pulling off one plan flawlessly while another plan completely fell apart was sort of the idea behind that. Also, for Tara, this takes her to a new place. Her involvement in what Jax has done has only really been through supporting what he does and not asking too many questions and patching up guys who are injured. Now she’s plugged herself into a situation that’s blown back on her, and she can suffer the same outlaw consequences. So, what does that do now to her? What does it do to that relationship? To me, it opens up a whole new level of possibilities for that character.

TVLINE | Is it safe to assume her Oregon job offer is officially dead?
That will remain to be seen.

TVLINE | Jax barely reacted to Tara’s arrest and then seemed all-too-content with welcoming Gemma back into the fold. What was going through his head in those moments?
My sense is that there is a level of shock and awe in his mind, and a sense of betrayal by what she did — not that she wasn’t justified in doing it and not that it wasn’t the right thing to do, but he felt betrayed. I also think [there was a] level of strength and almost stillness she had about those decisions; she wasn’t the fragile, neurotic Tara we’ve seen in the past. She was much more Gemma-like in these decisions: “This is my job, this is what I have to do, and I’m f–ing doing it.” That was new to Jax, seeing Tara be that strong and be that Old Lady. He was overwhelmed by all of that, which impacted his ability — or perhaps inability — to react when she got taken away. He was neutralized by it all, and that’s what was going on.

TVLINE | Is a main takeaway here that Jax is no longer looking for an out? Everything was finally squared away, and yet he seemed to be opting to stick with SAMCRO.
The takeaway is really the impact of this life; the impact of being in that chair changed all of that. I’m not going to just come out and say this, nor is the character going to come out and say this, but one could argue that once you have a taste of that power and a taste of the ability to move things around on that level, it’s hard to walk away from it. You can justify it 100 different ways, and at the end of the day, that’s still the case. Jax makes the argument to Nero when [Nero] says he gets pulled back in: ‘You f–ing knew that was going to happen.’ It’s the idea that they’re both kidding themselves.

TVLINE | In what scenario is Clay not immediately offed next season — especially given how easily Opie was killed behind bars? Is there possibly any longevity left in this character?
I don’t know if there is longevity — not that the premiere of Season 6 will be Clay getting a bullet in his head, but the intention was that we end this season with Clay a doomed guy. That will be a reality for that character in Season 6.

TVLINE | You somehow managed to make Clay half-sympathetic in these final Season 5 installments. Were you purposely trying to redeem him a bit?
I don’t know if it’s about redeeming him. I wanted to get Clay to a point that I think a lot of these guys do. We saw it a little bit in Belfast with McGee, that they get to the point where they just can’t do another round, you know what I mean? Clay got into the season and set up the thing with nomads and then that f–ing goes south, and then Eli’s wife gets killed and he just reached a point where he didn’t have the energy to do another round of it. At the end of the day, he just wanted to come out with a little bit of a piece of the pie — which was the gun business — and Gemma. That was completely sincere; that wasn’t Clay playing anybody. Not that that should buy him forgiveness for all the heinous sh-t he’s done as president, but I think it was an interesting place to take that character. Whether or not you feel for him really depends on the viewer’s connection to that character. I just wanted to show that at a certain point, these guys get worn out by the life and they can’t suit up anymore.

TVLINE | Bobby was merely choosing to vacate his spot as VP, not leave the Sons completely, correct?
It’s sort of what Tig did when he couldn’t feel comfortable being an officer under Clay. Bobby now feels like he can’t do his job as VP and that he’s just giving up the position. They’ll vote in a new VP next time they have church.

TVLINE | Did the thought ever cross your mind to actually have Jax give up Tig to Damon Pope?
There were a couple different scenarios on the table. I think there was even an early scenario where Tig died in jail with Opie. I love the actor and I love the character and unless I really needed it for story or I really needed it to take the series to the next level like we needed the death of Opie to do — if I was going to get rid of a guy like Tig, it just had to be something that the series needed. At the end of the day, I liked the idea that Jax still took a risk with his life, but ultimately got him a pass. I think Jax has the realization that his inner circle is getting smaller and smaller and that he perhaps needs as many allies as he can get.

TVLINE | Is Juice now officially in the clear for ratting out the club?
You know, we had a scene in the finale that we cut out of the broadcast version because I didn’t know what I wanted to do with it next season. We had Chibs ask what they do about Juice and Jax just gives him a nod. We then see Chibs go to Clay’s house and he beats the sh-t out of Juice within an inch of his life. But I realized that I didn’t want to do that because I loved the moment with Jax and Juice in the clubhouse, when he kisses him and says, ‘I’m proud of you.’ I didn’t want to undermine that moment and make Jax look like a psychopath. [Laughs] Also, I wanted the option of going in a couple different directions in Season 6. I didn’t want to put a bow on it with a beatdown, which suggests that all is forgiven and this is how we’re going to fix it. I just like the idea that it’s out there and maybe we play it, maybe we don’t play it. But ultimately, Juice has earned — for now anyhow — some time.

TVLINE | The finale left things open for Jimmy Smits, Donal Logue and Billy Brown to all return next season. Is that the plan?
Donal I know is coming back. We have him for 10 episodes, I think, so he’ll definitely be back for 7 or 8 [more] next season. The way we’re doing it with Jimmy is that nothing would make me happier than to bring him back. I love the character, I love the guy, it’s just good energy on the set and, I think, ups everybody’s game. But he’s a busy guy, so what I wanted to do was leave it a little bit open-ended so that there was emotionality and story left on the table that we could pick up with, but that there was nothing that was lynch-pinned to anything that needed him to swing to the next place. We’ll probably get into that soon with Jimmy, but I would love to bring him back. And the same thing with Billy Brown. Sometimes it’s harder to get these guys who you don’t have big season arcs for because they’re in demand, like Billy… But I’d love to bring him back and I think there’s an arc for him. I just don’t know what that is yet.

TVLINE | You’ve told me in the past that you hate playing Otto, so I thought that his whole tongue debacle might be your swan song. But probably not, if Donal is back next season.
Here’s the good thing: I won’t ever have to say anything else again. [Laughs] I’ll be mumbling and I’ll be writing stuff on pads — that’s all I’ll have to do. I dunno, my intention was to always see Otto make it to the gas chamber and play that scene out. I think that’s an interesting place to see these guys go. I don’t know if or when that will happen, but, again, I didn’t foresee anything we did [with him] this season. It just became a great way to plug Tara into that world and set her up. So, who knows? [Laughs]

TVLINE | And now, most importantly, will the dog Tig rescued be back next season? Perhaps as a SAMCRO mascot?
[Laughs] We’ll see. For me and for Tiggy, it was Dawn’s replacement. It was giving him another child at the end of the show, so he had something to love. I don’t know how much that dog costs per day, so that will dictate whether or not we have it again. [Laughs]

[Holli]

Sons of Anarchy is making Jimmy Smits a full-time member.
TVLine has learned that Smits — who joined the FX smash last season as gangbanger-turned-”companionator” Nero — is not only returning in Season 6, but will appear in all 13 episodes.

In December, series creator Kurt Sutter told TVLine that he was anxious to further examine the relationship between Nero and Katey Sagal’s Gemma, but noted that Smits’ busy schedule could be an obstacle.
“I dig [them],” said the boss. “In the finale, when he’s all twisted up about being back in the life, that’s the thing that makes Gemma the most comfortable. She knows what to do with those kinds of men; she knows how to be strong for those kinds of men. So, what does that look like? It’s a culture clash that we haven’t explored yet. To plug her into that world, which is traditionally somewhat misogynistic, could be interesting to see played out a little bit and to see what that looks like. I’d love to keep that going.”

Despite being signed for all episodes produced in Season 6, Smits won’t technically be billed as a series regular.
SOA, which currently stands as FX’s highest-rated series ever, is slated to start production on Season 6 in early summer ahead of a fall 2013 launch.

[Jackie]

Yeah baby! I've loved Smits for decades! Yummy!

[Eileen]

Yeah! I love Smits and Sagal's characters together!

Thanks for the info!

[Holli]

New faces, new headaches and a new look at the SAMCRO table are on tap for Sons of Anarchy Season 6, which this fall will pick up “probably just a matter of days” after the events of the last finale. Speaking with TVLine at FX’s Upfront party on Thursday night, here is what else series creator Kurt Sutter shared about the hit drama’s next cycle.

BIG TROUBLE | With Donal Logue back for at least seven episodes, Sutter says that former U.S. Marshall Lee Toric will prove to be a profoundly painful thorn in SAMCRO’s side. “We sort of fluctuate, where one season the adversary will be in the outlaw world and other seasons it’ll be someone from the law enforcement world — and the interesting thing about Donal’s character is he sort of falls in the middle,” Sutter explains. “He’s law enforcement, but he’s ex-law enforcement.” As such, “He’s probably the most dangerous adversary they’ve ever had in terms of his access to law enforcement information, yet he doesn’t necessarily have to follow all those rules.”

ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT | With Tara behind bars for her role in Otto’s murder of a prison nurse (aka Toric’s sister) — and just as she was set to leave town with the kids for a normal life! — the Tellers’ nascent union shall be tested. “You saw the beginning of the shift in that relationship at the end of last season, when Tara broke that news to Jax about wanting to get out with the boys,” Sutter notes. “[Tara's imprisonment] obviously has a big impact this season as far as where they are at emotionally. Can it be fixed? Does it bring them closer together? Or does it separate them more?”

CHANGES AT CHURCH | When the show returns, “There will be a new VP” in place, given Bobby’s resignation at the close of Season 5. “And there will be a new sergeant-at-arms.” Sutter, however, wasn’t about to name names.

NEW FACES | In addition to Logue’s return and Jimmy Smits being promoted to a series regular (as Nero), Season 6 will add two new characters still to be cast. One Sutter describes as “an old-school shot-caller that’s out of Stockton,” while the other is a major female character who is “in sort of the escort world.”

[Jackie]

More whores, just what this show needs, hahaha

Love that Smits will be a series regular. Any guesses at who will be the new VP and S-at-A ? I'd like to see Chibbs as VP.

[Holli]

Question: I’d be grateful if you could toss some Sons of Anarchy scoop my way. —Ron
Ausiello: Don’t look for Clay to find an easy way out of the pokey. Asked how long Ron Perlman’s ex-SAMCRO frontman will be behind bars in Season 6, series creator Kurt Sutter acknowledged that the character backed himself into quite a corner. “That’s a rough one,” he says. “We’re going to have to play out that storyline a little bit to know exactly where it goes. We’re still kind of figuring out the ramifications of everything in terms of where he lands.” The bigger question is whether there’s anyone left in Charming who gives a damn about him. “The interesting thing is by having the two people he loved most in terms of the club, Juice and Gemma, kind of turn on him,” Sutter notes. “I do think there was a moment where, even though you despise Clay to an extent, you actually felt sorry fort this guy. So yeah, there’s not a lot of sympathy out there.”

[Holli]

Question: Any news on the upcoming season of Sons of Anarchy? —Teresa
Ausiello: As a matter of fact, yes: Sutter essentially confirms that Jax has given up on the fantasy of ever getting out of the family business. “I think Jax has made the decision, ‘This is my life, this is what I’m supposed to be doing, but can I do it the right way? Can I get us out of guns? Can I go legit?,” shares the boss. “He’s at the same precipice his dad was at 25 years ago. It’s not so much about getting out but, ‘Can I make it less dangerous and keep people safe? Can I keep my family whole?’ That’s the shift that has happened.”

[Holli]

As if Tara’s prison ordeal weren’t enough for her and Jax to contend with on Sons of Anarchy, one of the embattled couple’s longtime adversaries will be back in their crosshairs in Season 6.

TVLine has learned exclusively that Drea de Matteo has signed on to reprise her role as Jax’s presumably-steamed ex (and baby momma) Wendy for multiple episodes.

When last seen, Jax cruelly injected the former junkie with heroin as a way of undermining her credibility after she threatened to string up his dirty laundry all over the Charming police department.

While Wendy’s return doesn’t bode well for Jax and now-incarcerated Tara, it could prove to be in the best interest of little Abel and Thomas. As series creator Kurt Sutter recently pointed out to TVLine, “The most f—ed-up person at the beginning of the show is now, in a weird way, the healthiest parent.

“She’s the only one that’s hit bottom and had to do some work on herself,” he continued. “And now she has some self-awareness, which none of those guys do.”

Sons of Anarchy‘s sixth season bows this fall on FX.

[Jackie]

90 minute premiere on Sept 10th

[Eileen]

YAY!!

[Driftwood]

Caught the end of a marathon last saturday of season 2012 (5?), and so sad about Opie, I haven't seen the whole season, but looking forward to more!! Sweet little Ashley Tisdale, playing a whore!! And Gemma with Jimmy Smitts?? And Tara acting like Gemma? wow. Love this show. And the porn business? Lots to think about.

[Holli]

(view spoiler)[he Sons of Anarchy cast and creator Kurt Sutter closed out Comic-Con Sunday night with a panel highlighted by a rapid-fire glimpse at the FX drama’s upcoming Season 6. The major takeaway from the teaser: SAMCRO’s new VP!

Replacing Bobby as Jax’s right-hand man at the table is none other than… Chibs. What does the newly promoted veep bring to the president’s term? “Maybe some conscience,” portrayer Tommy Flanagan teased. “He has a blind loyalty toward Jax in a lot of ways.” Adds Charlie Hunnam: “Tommy’s like my big brother in real-life, so that dynamic’s been coming through a lot this season.”

Here’s everything else we learned during Sons‘ Comic-Con session:

DADDY DEAREST | Sutter reveals that “we begin Season 6 a few days after Season 5. The [story] continues to be Jax’s journey in terms of, can he be the leader of this outlaw organization and still be a loving father and a devoted husband? Can he take the club and lead them into a more legit line of work and still be an outlaw organization?” The question of “what kind of father is Jax destined to become” will also still play a huge part in the story.

LOCKDOWN | Now behind bars, Clay realizes that “there’s no more leveraging,” Ron Perlman shared. “There’s just this bounty that’s on his head and he’s no longer in control of how many minutes he has left.” As for a what the character’s journey is while in the clink, the actor noted,”I didn’t know what [it was] until I saw a tweet the other day [where Sutter described Clay’s journey this year as] ‘redemption.’”

AFTER THE AFTERMATH | Jax in Season 6 will let the tragic loss of Opie “inform him in a more positive way,” shared Hunnam. “He’ll try to let it inspire him to turn this club into what [his father] John Teller wanted it to be. “

SHORT HAIR, DON’T CARE | A newly jailed Tara (Maggie Siff) is rocking a spiffy new ‘do in Season 6. Added bonus: The promo revealed that she’s kicking major inmate ass behind bars.

SERIES FINALE SCOOP | What will Sons’ likely series finale in Season 7 consist of? “A big pool of blood,” Sutter joked. More seriously, the showrunner said he “has a sense of what I want the last scene of the show to be. How we’re going to get there and what that looks like, I’m not sure. I come into each season knowing what I want the season to be… and the looser I grip those [ideas], the better the season is.”(view spoiler)[ (hide spoiler)] (hide spoiler)]

[Holli]

PREVIOUSLY ON... | Jax was finally successful in his efforts to dethrone Clay. What's more, he was able -- with a little help from Gemma and Juice -- to frame the ousted president for the murder of Big Bad Damon Pope, resulting in an incarceration. Tara, too, was arrested, for her involvement in the death of a prison nurse, while Bobby vacated his seat as SAMCRO VP.

COMING UP NEXT | A controversial twist in the Season 6 premiere "is truly the catalyst for the final act of our morality play," Sons creator Kurt Sutter shares, adding that the development "sets everything in motion" and eventually leads to "the final season and what I see as the ultimate comeuppance of everything, in terms of the series." In the interim, might time behind bars be exactly what Clay needed? The ex-prez starts the season believing he's on a "redemptive path... There's a certain amount of resignation and understanding of who he is and the things that he's done; he'll try to go out with a little bit of dignity," Sutter says. Donal Logue's vengeance-seeking ex-Marshal Lee Toric, however, has different plans for Clay -- most of which involve his flipping on the club. And sorry Jax/Tara fans: The semi-estranged couple's impending reunion is described by the showrunner as "loving, but very sad."

TVLINE BONUS SPOILER | Juice's internal grieving process over his many "betrayals" of SAMCRO will "continue to play out in fits and spurts throughout the season," Sutter teases. Expect to see the misguided biker on both the receiving and giving ends of some serious pain early on.

RETURN DATE | Tuesday, Sept. 10 at 10/9c (FX)

[Holli]

(view spoiler)[Here, Sons creator Kurt Sutter explains the rationale behind the episode’s shocking final moments and further discusses how what happened in them will inform the remainder of the series. The EP also talks Clay’s redemptive journey, Jax and Tara’s latest obstacle, Toric’s plans for SAMCRO and much more.

TVLINE | The secret’s out: There was a school shooting in the Sons premiere.
The timing of it is somewhat controversial, but it is something I knew I wanted to do for a couple of years now, and I knew it would be a series of events that would have to [occur]… as we kind of slide towards the end of our mythology. Things are never done in a vacuum, meaning there are ramifications to everything, whether it be legal consequences or emotional consequences or familial consequences. There’s sh-t that always happens; sometimes it happens immediately, sometimes there will be a season or two before stuff comes back to haunt them. It all comes back around, and this series of events changes all of their relationships.

TVLINE | Can you tease the fallout of the shooting?
It changes their relationships with the Irish, because now Jax has the emotional catalyst he needs to motivate [everyone]… to not be in guns. It impacts his relationship with the DA and with Toric, and we’ll really see the relationship shift within the town of Charming and how suddenly the favorite Sons, or at least the accepted Sons, are seen as a danger and potentially more of a pariah than a savior.

This takes [our characters] down this path that perhaps they won’t be able to come back from. It was a fine line; I didn’t want it to become this big political storyline where I had to acknowledge it and have everyone have an opinion about how bad it is and who’s responsible, and blah, blah, blah; that’s not what this show does, nor is it why people watch it. And yet I couldn’t completely ignore all those things and still feel like I handled it responsibly.

So, I tried to layer in my point of view in terms of why I think these things happen. And what I hope is that people come away with [the idea that] if there is a social and political point of view about the shooting and a moral point of view, it is not one particular party that’s responsible for these tragedies, that it is a combination of gun laws, mental health, schools, parents, media… It wasn’t about seeing dead bodies. It was more about the emotional impact of what happened, and you just really get it in those few pops in the aftermath, when we come back from the act-out. So, I feel like that suggests a certain level of responsibility in terms of how we were telling the story and what our goals were.

TVLINE | Let’s talk about Toric. How would you describe him? A junkie? Insane? Desperate? None of the above?
The most dangerous kind of cop is a cop that thinks like an outlaw… In terms of what’s going on with him and the drugs, it’ll reveal itself ultimately. We’re playing with the idea that he himself has some medical issues that he is struggling with as well, and perhaps he is also operating under a sense of a ticking clock. To me, it was interesting to have a guy who had the relationships, the access to information, the skill set and yet… he didn’t give a f–k about breaking the rules, because he didn’t have anybody looking over his shoulder. And we’ll see ultimately what he does to get access to these guys… A guy like Toric, he almost needs the Sons and what happened. They’re feeding him, they’re giving him what it is he needs. So yes, it’s vengeance and he’s motivated by that, but it’s almost like giving him this gift, because now he’s got something to hold onto and pursue.

TVLINE | Given the redemptive nature of Clay’s journey, can we assume that he’s maybe not working with Toric strictly to save himself?
I don’t want to spoil where all that’s going, but I think that Clay is trying to navigate his own end. Yes, he’s willing to help the club. Is he willing to help the club to the point of his own death? That remains to be seen. Will he try to somehow orchestrate both? That remains to be seen as well… Clay’s been around the block a few times; he knows guys like Toric. So, there’s an interesting chess match going on between the two of them, more so than anybody else. Even Jax.

TVLINE | What is Tara’s journey now that she’s essentially stuck in Charming? Is her quest still to free herself and her boys from this life?
I think so. Her quest will always be about: What’s best for my family? There’s a line in Episode 3 where she’s talking to Unser and he mentions something about her and her prison friends, and she’s just looking at the boys and says, “You know, it’s not about me anymore.” I really think that’s how Tara feels. She has that higher sense of what’s best for her family, and that will be her motivation for the season — and very much in a Gemma, bigger picture kind of way.

TVLINE | Talk a little about Jax’s relationship with Kim Dickens’ Madame moving forward.
We’re still discovering that… Right now, Jax has this disconnect from Tara. He feels shut out by her. There’s just something [there] – not to get weird and incestuous, but I think his connection to her is almost maternal in those moments.

TVLINE | Oh yeah, that was very apparent — particularly given the laundry aspect of it all.
[Laughs] She’s a little bit older, there’s just something about her that he needs. My intention was never to have it be this big, love-triangle thing. It’ll be a complication for him emotionally. She will ultimately become a business partner at some point, so it continues to complicate his life emotionally and professionally.

TVLINE | What exactly does Bobby “going Nomad” mean for the club?
I don’t want to give it away in terms of how long he’s away or what that means… But Bobby’s a substantial guy. He’s not like Juice. He’s got almost as much time [in the club] as Clay, so when he gets dismissed like that, he feels like he’s not needed… He’s dedicated to this club, and he’s going to move on and find a way to find what it is he’s supposed to be doing and that’s best for the club. And that’s really his quest this season. He’s not in it a lot, but we’ll continue to play out his storyline in terms of the MC and what that means.

TVLINE | Nero seems to be returning to his old ways. Will the shooting further inform that?
Absolutely. He’s intrinsically tied now to the club as a result of that shooting… and it will have a deep impact on his relationship with Gemma and Jax and the club (hide spoiler)]

[Jackie]

Finally got rid of that evil Toric and now crap with the Irish is hitting the fan!

[Jackie]

Wow! (view spoiler)[ Clay! Finally. I thought they'd drag that out til the end, glad they didn't, I was getting sick of reasons why Jax couldn't or wouldn't kill him. (hide spoiler)]