The much anticipated Sons of Anarchy finale has aired, and the reaction of viewers has been decidedly mixed. Some were satisfied with the two-parter and felt it was a nice set up to Season 5, while others were underwhelmed and thought it was anti-climactic, particularly the second episode. From the comments I’ve read online, the chief complaints seem to be that the twists were too convenient and contrived, it wasn’t action-packed, no one died, the resolutions they wanted didn’t happen (ie. Clay should have died) and the conflicts that have been building all season were suddenly resolved in ways that made them seem like afterthoughts as opposed to the major events we thought they were going to be (Juice’s dilemma, Potter’s storyline/RICO). While I understand the criticisms, I have to say that I really enjoyed the finale (both parts).
Full disclosure, as I said in a previous post, I’m a newbie to the show so my perspective will be very different than longtime viewers. I have no doubt that I’m judging the show and the finale much easier than others, and I totally admit it! So, here are some thoughts:
Clay Lives!! Yeah, I get that a lot of people expected, and even wanted, Clay to die. One could argue that Clay passed the point of no return, but DAMN Ron Perlman is kicking ass this season (and not just Gemma’s). I find Clay fascinating and his downfall has been riveting. I would have been disappointed if Jax killed him. Sure, short-term it would have been a great moment, but long-term there’s more potential with him staying alive.
A lot of people have compared SOA's finale with Breaking Bad and that's understandable. BB made the ballsy decision to kill off their super-villian Gus (the fabulous Giancarlo Esposito), and it seems people might be judging SOA harshly for not doing the same. Unfair, I think. While I'll miss Gus, Clay's death on SOA would leave a giant hole in the show and would be such a waste. The dynamics of his relationships with Gemma, Jax and Tara are forever altered and I want to see what that looks like next season. I want to see him face the repercussions of his actions, and frankly death would be getting off easy. Just a side note, the Jax/Clay confrontation was great, but nothing beat the look between Gemma and Clay when she realized he was still alive. I got chills!
Loved the Romeo and Luis reveal. I’d suspected Luis was undercover but never thought about Romeo being in on it. Okay, so a lot of people said it was awfully convenient and came out of nowhere. But apparently show creator/writer/everything Kurt Sutter has been dropping hints all season. Here’s the thing, if a twist comes out of nowhere and there’s no way you could have guessed, I consider it cheating. If there were hints and we didn’t pick up on it – awesome! It was a nice surprise and it meant that Jax stays in town and Clay stays alive. The look on Jax’s face when he realized he needs Clay was priceless. And last but not least, this reveal might mean that Danny Trejo and Benito Martinez get to stay on the show. I was a big fan of Benito’s on The Shield – he was terrific as Aceveda and I’m really hoping he gets to do more on SOA.
I officially love Potter. He’s such an eccentric oddball, I just didn’t know what to make of him and I loved that. I’m disappointed that he seems to be gone, but so glad he’s leaving alive and well. He may have only gotten a partial victory, but it was nice for the audience to see that Potter was a good guy who tries to do the right thing in a crazy, messed up world. His last conversation with Roosevelt was actually sweet. Am I the only one that didn’t quite buy his declaration that he ‘doesn’t like people much’? Ray McKinnon will be missed.
So one of the major complaints I’ve heard is that there was some quick resolutions that felt rushed and were disappointing. But honestly, I didn’t see any resolutions. The only thing I saw were (probably) brief reprieves for Gemma, Clay, Juice, Jax/Tara, the club. I don’t think anyone is safe. Everything was set up perfectly for next season and I can’t wait to see how it plays out.
Also worth a mention: the phenomenal performances by everyone. When you're telling outrageous stories, it's really up to the performers to sell it and they manage to.
What did you guys think of the finale? Did I get it totally wrong?
(Sorry this was a rambling mess. It's almost 2am and I'm too tired to edit lol.)
-Melanie/daisyclover/SoapOperaBabble
**PS. Juice watching The Shield in jail - priceless!
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