Sons of Anarchy - Ending Explained

The series concludes with a total purge of the club's past. The major twist of the final season is Jax discovering that his mother, Gemma, murdered Tara and framed the Chinese, which led to a catastrophic gang war. This revelation leads to the most shocking moment: Jax executing Gemma in her father's garden. To resolve the chaos he created, Jax kills the leaders of rival gangs and the corrupt cop Barosky. Realizing he is 'the bad guy' and that his presence is toxic, he ensures SAMCRO will survive by voting for his own 'Mayhem' (execution). He then commits suicide by riding into a semi-truck, mimicking his father's death, but doing so voluntarily to end the cycle for his children, Abel and Thomas.

While the Hamlet parallel is the most common interpretation (Jax as Hamlet, Clay as Claudius, Gemma as Gertrude), some critics view the show as a Western in modern clothing, focusing on the lawless frontier of the American highway. Another perspective argues the show is a Greek Tragedy, where characters are not fighting their circumstances but their own inescapable 'fates.' A more cynical reading suggests the show is a dark soap opera, utilizing sensationalist violence to mask a narrative that became repetitive in its later years.