10 Moments That Proved Sons Of Anarchy Was The Best Show On TV

The crow flies straight, a perfect line. On the devil's path, until you die.

By Jack Morrell /

It’s been seven years since Kurt Sutter’s Sons Of Anarchy began airing on FX in the States, and during that time the show has cemented its reputation as possibly the bloodiest, nastiest, most cod-operatic melodrama since Oz.

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But it’s not the violence that made the show so watchable. It’s not the Shakespearean themes, gallows humour, the fiendishly inventive plotting or the relentless brutality that characterised later seasons. All of those disparate elements had their place: but, simply put, Sons Of Anarchy told some of the most captivating stories on television, using some of the most compellingly tragic characters.

Over seven seasons, there are moments that define this show. There are moments that the narrative pivoted around, or moments that were game changers for the audience. For seven seasons, when the reaper swirled out of the black at the end of every episode it was met with howls of protest from viewers. Why? Because at its best, Sons Of Anarchy was the best show on television.

This is why: ten of the greatest moments in the history of the show, moments that made its name....

10. Fire Or Knife?

Given the general public’s likely unfamiliarity with the arcane bylaws and unwritten codes of the outlaw motorcycle club, one of Kurt Sutter’s most important tasks in the first season was to impress upon the audience the ethos and character of SAMCRO and the men who sat at that table. Episode 5 was a defining moment in the early going, proving to viewers the nature of the bond that the outlaws shared.

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In the episode mischievously titled ‘Giving Back’, former fully patched member of SAMCRO Kyle Hobart had been voted out of the club and banished after abandoning Opie at a crime scene, causing him to take the fall and a five-year stretch alone. When he arranges special dispensation to return to the town of Charming in safety to see his son’s band play at a fundraiser, Hobart thinks he’s settled the beef with Opie and the MC, and maybe he would have… except that Jax sees that he’s still rocking the club’s signature ink on his back, something he was supposed to have blacked out when he was thrown out.

Cornered at the club, Hobart is given the choice: fire or knife? He chooses fire, and, chaining him up in the garage, they burn the tattoo off his back with a blowtorch, the whole MC watching in silence. It sets the tone for everything to follow: there’s no middle ground with these men and their club, and it’s no picnic being patched.

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