There’s no doubt that this episode pulled at the heartstrings in a serious way. This season has already dealt so many blows to the club and fans – losing Bobby (Mark Boone Junior) especially – but watching characters who have been on the front lines of the narrative unrelentingly for so long, succumbing to their lifestyle, really hit home tonight.
Juice (Theo Rossi) has been a wild card for the majority of the series. He went from loyal errand boy, to unwilling rat, to Gemma’s accomplice over the course of the show’s run with a fair share of both highs and lows, but his death seemed pretty much signed, sealed, and pending delivery since season four.
There’s no skirting around the fact that Juice was a complex character and when it was his time to go, everyone knew it. After seeing so many other members of SAMCRO exiting under far more tragic circumstances, it was almost a relief to see him go out on a solid note – even if the lead up was questionable. Was it really necessary to make him a butt boy in prison before letting him die? Either way, Tully’s (Marilyn Manson) last words to him did the scene and his death justice – “You went out good, sweetheart.”
It wasn’t any contest over who the more difficult goodbye was tonight. Love her or hate her, Gemma’s (Katey Sagal) death was less about her and more about Jax. True to her character, Gemma took joy in coaxing her son to end her life, almost making the decision for him as if he was still undecided when he walked in the front door. It was a mercy kill, for both of them. There was never any coming back from what she did to Tara (Maggie Siff) and it was the only thing she had left to offer that would bring Jax a sense of closure.
Jax’s reluctance to pull the trigger, knowing that his mother brutally murdered the love of his life, his wife and mother of his youngest child, added the human element that has been agonizingly missing lately. Mistakes, forgiveness, regret – those are all traits that real people have. The Jax Teller that fans flocked to their TV sets on Tuesday nights to watch had become almost unrecognizable over the seasons, and as SOA wraps up, viewers are getting a little more of the innocent version of him back (innocent being a relative term).
Unser (Dayton Callie) was just something standing in Jax’s way of doing what needed to be done. No more, no less. Ultimately, he had become a nuisance this season, almost as if the writers didn’t really know what to do with him anymore. He served little purpose except to act as an advocate for the law in their losing battle against the violence enveloping Charming. And, with Gemma gone, realistically he wouldn’t have had a lot to hold onto – “She’s all I have left.” That might not be the best justification for what Jax did, but like Bobby, his death didn’t seem to resonate like it might have during story arcs where he was more pivotal.
“Red Rose” sucked you in from the start and for 80 minutes didn’t apologize once. There wasn’t anything more that writers could have done to appease fans. It wasn’t about getting more face time with the individual character, or indulging every last possible whim. It was completely and utterly about the overall story. Whether Jax lives, whether SAMCRO survives, it’s almost a moot point. Kurt Sutter never promised viewers a happy ending, and I can’t wait to see what he delivers in next week’s final episode of Sons of Anarchy.