FX has had some amazing shows since the network’s start in 1994, some of which have won multiple awards including Emmy’s and Golden Globes. While Sons of Anarchy has only won one Golden Globe, it became a fan-favorite for its seven seasons, which generated 92 episodes.
The dangerous world of Charming California introduced people to a club called Sons of Anarchy Motor Cycle Club Redwood Originals also known as SAMCRO.
Before Charlie Hunnam was fighting giant Kaiju or exploring the lost city of Z, he was a member of the Redwood Originals. He was joined by Ron Perlman and Katey Sagal, the latter of whom won a Golden Globe for her performance on the show.
With the talented cast, creative writing, and stellar camerawork, it was no surprise that Sons of Anarchy was going to do well with the network.
Jax, Charlie Hunnam’s character, struggled on the show to balance his life as a father and the leader of SAMCRO, but the network also struggled with certain elements of the show. Even though Sons of Anarchy was overall well received by fans and critics, there are still some parts of the show that do not make any sense and were never explained.
Some fans are willing to look past these mistakes since the rest of the show excelled on almost every level.
With that said, here are the 20 Things Wrong With Sons Of Anarchy That Fans Choose To Ignore.
20. Nobody Ever Has Enough Money
For some people, money is what makes the world go round. Whether it be legally or illegally, the task of getting more money is often the basis for movies and television shows.
For all of the illegal activities that the gang gets into, it is kind of surprising they do not have more money to live comfortably. Between the substance business, firearm business, and all of the other illegal deals, there should be plenty of money to go around.
Clay Morrow especially makes a point to say that he is motivated to build back up his retirement money, but that never seems to happen on the show.
Everybody has bills to pay and obviously it costs money to keep a ruthless gang functioning effectively, but the bikers should be able to live a more luxurious lifestyle than what they do on the show.
Maybe the bikers just want to live a rough and tough lifestyle, but it would have made more sense to show the characters giving back to their loved ones, especially Jax.
By the end of the show, Jax has two children who will likely grow up to have a tough life thanks to their father’s choices. Money can’t solve everything, but it could have at least made their lives easier.
19. Real Biker Gangs Aren’t As Violent
While Sons of Anarchy may not be real or even based on a true story, biker gangs do exist in real life.
Often times, the show depicts series of events that are extremely violent and brutal. While Biker Gangs in real life can most certainly be this violent, it is not like it is on TV.
Sons of Anarchy depicts violent outbursts from the gang members during and after a substance or arms deal goes wrong, but in real life, bikers are not usually involved with this extent of criminal activity and usually just fight for the fun of it.
Vaughan C. Jones is an attorney who represented a member of a biker club after they were taken into custody. Jones mentioned that, “In real life many tasks of violence and aggression by MC members are for seemingly petty things” and “MC members have been attacked and or [destroyed] for reasons that are senseless to 99% of society.”
While Sons of Anarchy depicts these violent acts to be part of bad business deals, in real life the members could get into fights with each other and other gangs for reasons that don’t make sense to anyone else.
The violence on the show may not be exaggerated, but it does not play out like it does on the show in real life.
18. Gemma Giving Abel The Club Ring
It is safe to say that the Redwood Originals ruined a lot of people’s lives. This means not just the people they had conflicts with but the members themselves.
Many members of SAMCRO ended up meeting untimely demises or experiencing abuse and torture along the way.
A motorcycle club is far from the best thing a child could be exposed to but Gemma does just that in the episode titled, “Suits of Woe”.
Gemma dragged Jax into SAMCRO and she appears to be doing the same with Jax’s son Abel. Before she goes on the run away from Jax, Gemma gives her grandson a Sons ring.
On the surface seems harmless, but when you think about Gemma’s character, it becomes much more hazardous.
Despite the horrible things that have happened during her time in SAMCRO, Gemma still wants Abel to one day be a part of the club.
While Abel having the ring does not mean that he will for sure be a member of SAMCRO one day, him having a Sons ring makes that somewhat more likely.
Why Gemma would want to lead her grandson down this path is troubling, but then again a lot of Gemma’s actions were troubling.
17. Juice’s Character Arc
Juan Carlos Ortiz was a character who appeared in the very first episode of the series. Often referred to as “Juice,” he was a loyal member of the Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club.
Juice was played by Theo Rossi for 85 episodes of Sons of Anarchy before his character was excommunicated and taken out by Ron Tully.
Juice was originally a light-hearted and naive character who brought a special set of skills to SAMCRO. Juice’s skill was hacking into databases to find intel about other motorcycle gangs so that SAMCRO could take them out and lower the competition in the substance and firearms business.
His character was loyal to SAMCRO for a solid three seasons until it was discovered in season four that his father was black making Juice half African-American.
One of SAMCRO’s original club rules forbid ethnic minorities to be members of the club, so Juice panicked and was manipulated by law enforcement to work against SAMCRO.
The members of the club have worked with people of different ethnicities before and do not seem to have a problem with black people.
Despite knowing this, Juice still completely turns his back on his friends and becomes a mole for the police.
16. Their Love Of Motorcycles
Despite everything that happens in Sons of Anarchy, the program is still a show about a motorcycle gang in California.
There are some cinematically epic shots of the guys riding down the street on their bikes, but if the show was more accurate, the bikes themselves would play a more important role in Sons of Anarchy.
When it comes to biker gangs, most of them are formed not because of their love of substances or alcohol, but because of their love for motorcycles and the open road.
For a gang calling themselves a motorcycle club, SAMCRO really does not seem to love the thrill of riding a motorcycle. The characters depend on their motorcycles for transportation, but that is about it.
In real life motorcycle clubs, the members are supposed to solely rely on their bikes for transportation wherever they go which is not always the case on the show.
For example, members of the real-life motorcycle club called Hells Angels are expected to travel across state-lines and basically live on their motorcycles.
This may not be the case for the Sons of Anarchy, but the show was intended to be based on Hamlet. It is not surprising that their love for motorcycles was more of a side note than a main plot point.
FX probably didn’t want a show like The Devil’s Ride on their network, so fans will more than likely forgive them for not making the show as accurate as it could be.
15. Chibs Gets Together With Lt. Jarry
Filip Telford, also known as Chibs, was one of the few characters who survived the entire show. Even though he was not in every episode, Chibs was still a main character and one of the most devoted members of SAMCRO.
Chibs was at first Sergeant at Arms but quickly became the Vice-President of SAMCRO after Jax was promoted to President following Clay’s excommunication.
Chibs was incredibly devoted to Jax Teller, which led to him becoming the president of the Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club Redwood Originals following Jax’s passing.
Lieutenant Althea Jarry, on the other hand, was nothing like Chibs. She was the head of the San Joaquin Sheriff Department following the passing of Eli Roosevelt and was only in ten episodes of the final season.
She is able to bond with Chibs because she has a scar from a gunshot wound on her abdomen and Chubs has scars on his face.
Their relationship was odd from the beginning. It is confusing why a lieutenant of a police department would fall for a member of a biker club, but stranger things have happened.
What makes their relationship even stranger is that they decide to consummate their love on top of her police cruiser in the middle of the day where anybody could find them.
The awkward scene does not make any sense and most fans are keen to ignore it.
14. The Presidents Of SAMCRO Do A Lot Of The Heavy Lifting
There is no denying that it takes a lot to become the president of a biker gang. The positions of president and vice-president function the way you would think.
The president is the head honcho and makes all of the tough decisions and sets up many of the business deals between the charters. It is even revealed that the President of SAMCRO also may have authority over other chapters.
The Vice-Presidents are basically the President’s right-hand man and is given the opportunity to give input on certain deals and plans.
If anything were to happen to the President, the Vice-President would take over as the new President much like the United States Government works.
John Teller, Clay Morrow, Jax Teller, Bobby Munson, and Chibs Telford have all been President of the club and they all seem to handle business in similar ways.
As important as the President of the Sons of Anarchy is, they usually end up doing a lot of the heavy lifting and are often put in danger.
With someone as important as the President is, it does not make a ton of sense to have them in harm’s way. It would have made sense to have the other prospects do more of the dirty work but that wasn’t the way it went for the Sons.
13. Jax Trying to Legitimize Their Gang
The Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club Redwood Originals have seen a lot of crime since the club was founded in 1967 by John Teller and Piermont “Piney” Winston.
The first season of Sons of Anarchy was one of the most important of the series. At the start of the show in 2008, the biker gang was mainly involved with firearm manufacturing and distribution which gave them most of their income.
The first season also shows Jax discovering a book of memoirs from his father John Teller. The book depicts John’s vision for SAMCRO and Jax realizes that the direction that Clay is taking the group in is not what his father would have wanted.
The entire show is really about Jax trying to balance his life as a father and support his family through his role in the Sons of Anarchy.
It came as no surprise when Jax eventually wanted to legitimize their gang and stray away from the substance and gun business in season six. His plan was to run an adult studio and escort service, which is apparently more legal than substances and guns, but his plan still seemed far-fetched.
SAMCRO had already had its roots in the substance and firearm business for so long so it is hard to imagine that the rest of the club would be okay with the sudden switch.
It was a good thought and a nice change to Jax’s character development, but ultimately it makes little sense.
12. Gemma Wouldn’t Have Gotten Away With Her “Shenanigans”
Gemma Teller Morrow was the wife of John Teller and Clay Morrow and the mother of Jax Teller. Gemma appears in every episode of the show, even though she just appeared as a body in the series finale.
Gemma had one of the more interesting story arcs of the show, since her character had a lot of ups and downs throughout the seven seasons.
While her character changes over the course of the 92 episodes, she always does what she thinks is best for her son and grandkids even when her plans clearly are not the best choice.
Before her passing, she was known as the Queen of SAMCRO and often did whatever she wanted despite being a female in a male-dominated gang.
As horrible as it may sound, women would not have nearly as many rights as Gemma did and she certainly would not have gotten away with the meddling she did throughout the show.
Gemma is shown to constantly give her two cents on many matters the gang is dealing with and even be present during meetings.
However, in the real world, she probably wouldn’t be able to get away with many of these things.
11. Characters Just Disappear
Whether it be a character like Judy Winslow from Family Matters or Chuck Cunningham from Happy Days, some characters disappear on TV shows without a trace.
Most of the time, if an actor has scheduling conflicts or simply does not want to be on a show anymore, they will just replace the actor rather than getting rid of a character.
Other times, the characters just do not seem to gel with the other characters and are never seen again.
In the case of Sons of Anarchy, characters being destroyed is never a big surprise, but sometimes they are mentioned and then never heard of again. This happened multiple times on the show with some of the minor characters but it was nonetheless annoying.
For instance, Trinity Ashby was only on the show for seven episodes and then never came back up again. She was the daughter of Maureen Ashby and John Teller making her Jax’s half-sister.
Despite it being revealed that Jax has a sister, she is never seen again after “Bainne” in season three.
Many people may also forget that Chibs had a wife and kid. They were only seen in a few episodes and went missing after season three.
10. The Initiation Process Seems Too Simple
We are introduced to a wide range of characters during the six-year run of Sons of Anarchy.
Some of these characters lasted for the entire length of the show while others were cut off rather quickly. Many of these people were already established members of SAMCRO, while others had to prove their loyalty.
New members of the Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club Redwood Originals were known as “prospects” and were not given as much trust as long-term members.
Some of the prospects we meet include Filthy Phil Russell, Half Sack Epps, and Eric Miles. It makes sense that these prospects would not be given as many responsibilities as someone like Opie or Chibs, but the initiation process itself doesn’t make sense.
The writers did not go into a lot of detail on how people are recruited for SAMCRO but the process seems too simple.
Prospects are seen to just get smaller tasks and errand jobs with the occasional hazing, but in real life depending on the club, the initiation process would be much more ruthless.
According to Thomas Barker in his book Biker Gangs and Transnational Organized Crime he explained that new recruits “may be forced to cook and eat excrement or drink from a boot filled with urine, vomit, and beer.”
Building playgrounds for Abel sounds a bit more pleasant than real life biker initiation.
9. The Identity Of The Homeless Lady
Very few TV shows and movies are able to escape with zero plot holes or unsolved mysteries. There are several unsolved mysteries in Sons of Anarchy but among the most intriguing is the identity of the homeless woman.
The homeless woman was first seen in the season one episode “The Sleep of Babies” and last seen in the series finale titled “Papa’s Goods”.
There are multiple theories on who the homeless woman is, but one thing is for certain-she is not just some random extra.
Olivia Burnette played the character for eleven episodes scattered throughout the series, usually at a time when Jax and Gemma were about to do something rash.
Some people think that Emily Putner actually survived her car accident and is the homeless woman, while other people think she is a guardian angel or even Jesus Christ.
Kevin Sutter has even mentioned that the homeless woman is Jesus Christ, but he did not go into detail and never made an official statement on the matter.
Because of this, some fans chose to ignore this answer and create their own fan theories that make more sense. There is even still an ongoing debate on her identity four years after the series finale aired.
8. They Take Out An Unrealistic Amount Of People
FX has never been scared to show violence on the air. Even now that Sons of Anarchy is over they still have shows like Fargo and American Horror Story with an excess amount of gore.
With as much violence as Sons of Anarchy had, characters passing away was sure to follow. Most shows portray demises in one form or another, but the writers behind Sons of Anarchy cut out an unrealistic amount of people.
There is plenty to be seen in each season of Sons of Anarchy. Now that the show has ended, fans have been able to tally up how many people SAMCRO have actually destroyed– 153.
The number goes even higher if you count the people who the prospects took out before they were initiated and even higher if you look at the number of people who the excommunicated members destroyed.
All in all, SAMCRO is responsible for taking 175 lives. Jax Teller takes the cake for claiming the most lives, coming in at 46, with Tig in second place with 28.
It sounds more like the statistics for a sports game but that’s what makes the body count so unrealistic.
Even if destroying this many people was plausible for a biker gang in such a short period of time, it certainly would not go unnoticed by law enforcement.
7. SAMCRO Is Able To Outsmart Law Enforcement
Even though there is a ton of gang-related activity in the area, Charming California is still depicted as, well a charming place to live.
Several years have passed within the show, but nobody seems to really mind the gang activity occurring in their neighborhoods.
Some people may just be used to the chaos but it does not make sense that law enforcement would just sit by twiddling their thumbs.
There were several instances on Sons Of Anarchy where the police knew what was going on, but they were either too slow or too naive to catch SAMCRO in the act.
Even if the local law enforcement could not stop the biker gang, you would think the FBI would be able to arrest the SAMCRO members, but nope. The Sons are smart enough to evade them as well.
With the number of illegal activities the Sons of Anarchy were performing, it is incredibly unlikely that they would be able to completely outmaneuver local law enforcement and the Feds.
There are bound to be dirty cops in the world. This can account for Sheriff Wayne Unser, but having one friend on the local law enforcement team should not have allowed SAMCRO to slip past as many officers and federal agents as they did.
6. Wayne Unser’s Illness
With nearly 90 acting gigs under his belt, actor Dayton Callie is no stranger when it comes to acting.
He played the father of the Miniature Killer in CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, a corner in the Rob Zombie’s Halloween II, and also Chief Wayne Unser in Sons of Anarchy.
Chief Unser first appeared in the episode “Seeds” in season one and was last seen in “Papa’s Goods”, making his appearance come in at a steady 85 episodes.
During his time on the show, Unser was seen as a dirty cop but also a cop who cared about Charming California. He was considered dirty since he often worked with SAMCRO and helped them get away with their schemes.
He helped the Sons because he felt as if their work could protect Charming more than the police department could.
While he was a main character for most of the seasons, his role could have been cut a lot shorter if they would have gone with his storyline that was introduced after he retired.
When Unser retires from the police force, he moves into a trailer because his cancer treatment is too expensive for him to afford while living in comfort.
Even though this part of his storyline was introduced, it was never touched upon again and most people just forgot that his character was supposed to have cancer.
5. Jax’s Demise
Charlie Hunnam portrayed Jax Teller on all 92 episodes of Sons of Anarchy. The entire show revolves around Jax and his loyalties to his family and the Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club Redwood Originals.
When he is first introduced to the show, his loyalties to SAMCRO are shaky at best, but he eventually became one of the most devoted members and even destroyed himself to keep the club and his children safe.
With as many people as Jax took out, it was not a huge surprise that he felt like his life had to end.
He went out in a violent yet poetic fashion, but there is still one question left unanswered. What was the point of Milo being the truck driver in the final scene of the show?
Not a whole lot is known about Milo since he was only seen in two episodes– “Red Rose” and “Papa’s Goods”.
He was first seen giving Gemma a ride when she was trying to visit her father in Nate Madock’s nursing home. Michael Chiklis may have been the one to run Jax over since he was also in The Shield, which Kurt Sutter wrote for, but other than that explanation it is quite a mystery why Milo showed up again.
Milo being the one to end Jax’s life does not make a lot of sense, but most fans will just ignore it so they can just enjoy the satisfying ending of the show.
4. The Gang Still Follows Jax
Game of Thrones is known for claiming the lives of characters just when you start to like them, but there are other shows that contain a lot of violence that lead to just as many demises. Sons of Anarchy fits this description.
A lot of people pass away on Sons of Anarchy. These people include not just random minor characters, but also main characters, some of which were fan favorites.
SAMCRO itself seems to be a group of loyal individuals, but sometimes even the members betray each other. Jax himself is shown to not always have the best judgment yet for some reason people still follow him.
With all of the backstabbing and betrayal, it is a mystery why everyone still sticks around SAMCRO.
Yes, there are serious penalties for trying to leave the club as we saw in season one episode five when Kyle had his tattoo burned off, but people who have stayed have seen even worse things than this.
Tig’s daughter was burned in front of him, Jax’s son hurt himself, and multiple characters were assaulted. Why anyone would follow a leader that lets all of these horrible things happen is mind-boggling,.
3. What Actually Happened to Jax’s Father
John Teller, who is commonly referred to as “JT,” played an important role in Sons of Anarchy. First and foremost, he was the father of Jax Teller and the husband of Gemma who, obviously, are the two main characters of the show.
John was one of the founding members of the Sons of Anarchy and was considered one of the “First 9.” Teller was a Vietnam War veteran and coming home after the war to a divided country allowed him to craft his ideas on peace, freedom, and liberty while he perfected his street smarts.
Even though he was one of the founding members of SAMCRO, the motorcycle club quickly turned into something that John was not proud of.
While he is only seen in the episode “Booster”, he was referenced in every season and was a main source of inspiration for Jax.
It is said that he lost his life when his motorcycle crashed into a semi-truck, but no one knows the exact circumstances of his passing.
It was mentioned that Clay and Gemma may have tampered with his bike causing the crash but that may not have been the case.
Later on in the series, a character named Jury White mentions that John knew that people were plotting against him so he decided to destroy himself to make a point to the club.
This is never confirmed which, left many fans scratching their heads.
2. People Keep Working With SAMCRO
There are many people and organizations throughout Sons of Anarchy that are shown collaborating with SAMCRO. The Mayans, One-Niners, and the True IRA all worked with SAMCRO at one point or another and things always went South.
It is confusing why the members of SAMCRO would stick around such a chaotic leader for so long but it is even more confusing why other people would work with them.
People often have up close and personal interactions with the gang, so people should know the kind of people the Sons of Anarchy are.
Even their name spells trouble but that does not stop people from making the same mistakes over and over again. If that were not enough just look at the body count! 175 lives were taken by the Sons some of which were their own members.
Do people honestly expect for something good to come out of working with the Sons of Anarchy? Apparently so, since people never learned their lesson and kept working with them.
Again, it does not make a lot of sense but fans are willing to look past it so that their show continues to be a flawless piece of entertainment.
1. The Respect For Women
The treatment of women is far from fair in Sons of Anarchy, but it can be even more unfair in real life. Domestic violence is always a touchy topic to try to portray in media, but Kurt Sutter doesn’t shy away from it in the show.
Even when it comes to Sutter’s wife Katey Sagal, he is not afraid to show brutal depictions of domestic violence in the show.
In the tenth episode of the fourth season titled “Hands”, Clay beats up Gemma after he confronts her about a hit placed on Tara. Gemma tries to defend herself but Clay ultimately does a lot of damage.
While this type of abuse happened occasionally in the show, it probably happens a lot more frequently in real life biker gangs.
Attorney Vaughan C. Jones explains that women are often treated as property and wear specific clothes and tattoos to signify this.
The show often depicts women staying behind in the club to think of plans or even being the brains of certain operations, but in real life that is far from the case.
As horrible as it is, men are often encouraged to abuse women and they are treated as property, nothing more, nothing less.
Is there anything else that does not make sense about Sons of Anarchy? Sound off in the comments!
