It was a long time coming, but Gemma's lies finally caught up with her near the end of the series' run. A character many hated to love or loved to hate, even simultaneously, Gemma's death at the hands of her own son is one of Sons of Anarchy's best moments, giving Katey Sagal an emotionally-charged send-off that many had been waiting for, particularly as her decision to lie about Tara's death had cost so many lives and caused so much trouble. From the beginning of the series, Sagal had been one of its most valuable assets, frequently getting the chance to explore every facet of Gemma one can imagine. Whether she was making us laugh as she smashed a skateboard over Cherry's head or delivered one of her dry one-liners, making us sympathize with her after West's molestation of her in season two, making us frustrated with her schemes and obsessive devotion to her boys or shocking us with the capacity of what Gemma was able to do to Tara, Sagal nailed it time and again. Some had theorized that Gemma would end the series alive and alone, facing the punishment of being stripped of everything she had fought so hard to hold on to. For Gemma and Jax, however, both knew that her death had to happen because that's "who they are," gifting us with a gripping, time-stopping scene in which Gemma leads Jax into doing what needs to be done and Jax wrestles between the love for his mother and having to do what he feels needs to be done.
Writer, film enthusiast, part-time gamer and watcher of (mostly) good television located on the fringe of Los Angeles, who now has his own website at www.highdefgeoff.com!
