By the time "Sons of Anarchy" finished its seven-season-long ride back in 2014,
the FX show had become one of the must-see crime dramas of its time.
It doesn't have the nuance achieved by other critically acclaimed shows like "The Wire"
or "Breaking Bad," but the series' lovable band of rogues is no less entertaining.
"Sons of Anarchy" follows Jax Teller, played by Charlie Hunnam, as he goes through an existential
crisis. He discovers that his long-dead father didn't want the Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club,
Redwood Original, to be a criminal enterprise funded by drugs and gun-running.
As communicated posthumously through a discovered manuscript, John Teller's
high-minded ideals and peaceful vision for SAMCRO basically upends his son's entire world.
Jax is suddenly pulled between his duty to his brothers' conflicts with his father's
undeclared vision, and what Jax himself knows to be right.
"Sons of Anarchy" is a grimy and unrelenting view of the criminal underworld,
but its roguish characters are somewhat charming. However,
they do dish out brutal punishments to anyone who crosses them. Notably, the series was envisioned
as a modern-day retelling of Shakespeare's "Hamlet." Jax is the indecisive Danish prince
and his father's posthumous words are a kind of reimagined paternal ghost.
"I am thy father's spirit."
The central conflict between Jax, Clay, played by Ron Perlman, and Gemma, played by Katey
Sagal even mirrors the conflict between Hamlet, Claudius, and Gertrude from the Elizabethan play.
Shakespeare's original story is pretty grim in its own right, but "Sons of Anarchy" creator Kurt
Sutter took the FX series to some dark places even the bard wasn't willing to conjure. Gore,
death, and torture are splattered across nearly every single season.
Since there are so many deaths throughout the series,
some moments get lost in the sea of blood. However, there's one particular death from "Sons
of Anarchy" that stands above the rest because of the emotional weight that comes with it.
The death of Harry "Opie" Winston, played by Ryan Hurst, during one of the Sons' brief stints behind
bars in Season 5 is emotionally devastating, and many fans are still reeling from the loss. Yes,
Gemma killing Tara Knowles, played by Maggie Siff, in Season 6 is horrific. However,
the reason Opie's death hits harder is because it's the last self-destructive step
on a long journey into despair that begins after Opie loses his wife in Season 1.
He's ultimately killed in retaliation for the death of the daughter of
Harold Perrineau's character, Damon Pope. His daughter was accidentally killed by Tig,
played by Kim Coates, when attacking another club. Though he gets to play the hero and save
his brothers through self-sacrifice, Opie's final act is as much an escape for him as anything else.
He's running away from a life he'd long given up living.
Opie volunteers to fight in prison knowing he's going to be killed.
Jax, Tig, and Chibs, played by Tommy Flanagan, watch on in horror as two other inmates
mercilessly beat Opie to death with a pipe. To make matters even more galling, the whole thing
is facilitated by a corrections officer who's presumably in Pope's pocket. That bond between
Opie and the brothers he saves is what makes it the most impactful death in the series.
Rolling Stone voted it the 4th best moment in "Sons of Anarchy" overall,
and it was exceeded only by sentimental scenes. No other death scene — even those involving
main characters — comes close. Entertainment Weekly also ranked Opie's death 4th in the 50
most shocking moments of the series, and his death nabbed the top spot in a similar list at Goliath.
But even after Opie's gruesome slaying, "Sons of Anarchy" is clearly a series that continues
to loom large in the imaginations of its fans. The show's enduring impact is enough to fuel
continued discussions on social media, even years after the series took its final bow.
The cast were equally heartbroken over Opie's death. As a way of saying goodbye,
they all shaved Hurst's beard with a samurai sword. Hunnam told Entertainment Weekly,
"I started crying, and then [Mark] Boone started crying. By the end of it,
it was the catharsis that we'd all hoped it would be."
So R.I.P., Opie Winston. Don't cry too hard about it, though.
Ryan Hurst landed a sweet gig playing Beta on "The Walking
Dead" after departing "Sons of Anarchy," and for that, we are eternally grateful.
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