I am still trying to wrap my brain around what happened just a few hours ago during the second to last episode of Sons of Anarchy, aptly titled “Red Rose.” All season we knew that things were not going to end on a peaceful loving note for many of the characters, and the entire season has been a vengeful bloodbath. But does that prepare you for the 3 major deaths from last nights episode?
We all knew that Juice’s time was finally up, when Jax thanked him for his honesty in last week’s episode, and told him he’d make sure it was quick. Juice took a beating from the guards that landed him in the infirmary. As some of Lin’s crew walks in, I thought this is the moment, but it was a different moment between these rivals. Ultimately, the Chinese wanted Juice to take out Tully before they would kill him. Juice being a true Son till the end, sits down with Tully during meal time, and gives Tully the news about what the Chinese are expecting him to do, and how this would not be good for the Club. Juice willingly accepting his own death looming, gives Tully the weapon that will kill him, with the condition that he can finish his pie first.
Juice has always been one of my favorite characters throughout the seasons. Funny, dim-witted at times, and in my eyes he was loyal. Sometimes he didn’t think before he reacted, but that goes with the outlaw lifestyle. He seemed to have such a quiet sadness about him, and yet so unpredictable in his actions. One thing that never faltered was his love for SAMCRO.
It was a relief when Jax finally told Unser that it was Gemma that killed Tara. I think that if anyone really knew who Gemma was it was Unser. In his mind, I’m sure he suspected it was her, even though he would never want to admit it. The unspoken (and spoken) love Unser felt for Gemma has always been a constant throughout the series. So it was no surprise when Nero told Unser where Gemma was and that Jax knew, that he would go after her. To protect her this one last time. Unser found Gemma reminiscing and going through old photos at her father’s house. He was going to arrest her, maybe that was the only way to protect her, but that would never be part of Jax’s plan. When Jax arrived, he tells Unser to leave, Unser pulls out his gun, and so does Jax. Again, Jax offers him an out, but looking down at Gemma he says he can’t because that’s all he has left, and then he’s gone. Jax kills him. With Unser’s lifeless body on the floor, Jax sits down, and he asks Gemma about JT’s manuscript, and Gemma shows him a picture of her father during his younger years.
I’ll be the first to admit I was not ready for the death of Unser. Unlike with Juice, which we had been prepared for, this was a total shock. It was so bittersweet that in his final moments, he was looking at Gemma’s tear filled eyes, and to the very end his love for her took precedence over his own survival. Knowing Jax, knowing the Club, he must have known there would be no other way.
One of the most truthful statements was when Juice said, “Gemma knows every truth behind every lie inside every secret.” That truth sums up Gemma since the beginning. After Gemma left Nero, she drove away, and maybe she finally found some peace in the fact that this lie that has haunted her and caused so much unwarranted death was finally out in the open. She hit the road, ditched her car, and hitched a ride to see her father. Once she finally got in to see him, even though he didn’t recognize her, he remember that his Gemma was a sweet girl, who loved the garden, and the flowers. Throughout the entire episode there was such a sense of calm around Gemma, something we never get to see, but it felt right in these final moments.
Back at the house with Jax and Unser dead on the floor, she asks Jax if she can see the garden. Jax nods, and follows her out. Under the cover of night, among the beautiful flowers, he stands behind her. As he struggles to end her life, the mother in Gemma she tells her son its ok, and that he has to do this. It was a brief yet powerful endearing moment between a mother and her son in this outlaw world. And in that moment, execution style it was over…
It’s not over yet, with one final episode left, who will be left standing at the end. In between all the deaths this episode brought, there was meeting between the club president’s regarding Jury’s death. The outcome does not look good. Jax tells Nero that it’ll be good for Wendy to take the boys to the farm. Gemma gives Wendy control of her father. Will it be just Wendy and Nero left with the boys? Will Jax meet Mr. Mayhem?
