Sons Of Anarchy 7.11 Review - 5 Talking Points From Suits Of Woe

2. Gemma Says Goodbye

After all the waiting, burying the truth beneath lie after lie, running and hiding through a labyrinthine maze of deception and self-preservation, Gemma finally has to face the music. And what a bittersweet song it is. Katey Sagal has been so excellent throughout the entire run, but this season especially her ability to make the viewer despise her for everything she's done to those she claims to love, all the while continuing to justify it with her own twisted reasoning has been incredible. But now that it's out there, it's regrettable. Not because you can sympathize with her, but because you hate what it's done and will continue to do to these characters - her family that we've grown so close to over the past seven seasons. This episode was awash with symbolism of Gemma behind bars (the scene at Abel's school, the fence behind she and Nero), as well as a woman making peace with her God (visiting the church, listening to a hymn in the car) that it's impossible to predict which way this plays out. The scene with her and Nero, when Jax tells her lover the truth about what she has done, was crippling, for both Nero and the viewers. The decision of director Peter Weller to make the revelation silent and allow Nero's face and body language tell the story was another brilliant choice in an episode full of them. We felt for him, because we knew all along that he would never be able to make it work with Gemma, yet we were witnessing the very second when the realization finally struck him as well. Their relationship died in that moment.