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Jackson "Jax" Teller
"I'm an okay mechanic with a GED. The only thing I do well is outlaw."
Played By: Charlie Hunnam
Rank: President (formerly Vice President)
Years Active: 1994 - 2014
"SAMCRO's got to change to survive."
The President (former Vice President) until his death of the Sons of Anarchy mother charter, having taken that rank from the previous president, Clay Morrow, by force. Born in 1978 to John and Gemma Teller, he has lived his whole life in Charming and has been raised in the club. While committed to his one-percenter club's lifestyle and his fellow outlaw biker brothers, Jax still yearns to steer the organization onto a path toward long-term stability. His day job is a mechanic at Teller-Morrow Automotive Repair.
- Affably Evil: Back in the early seasons, Jax was very caring of others and was more moral than the rest of SAMCRO. However, this is twisted in later seasons with his love for his families fueling his violence and manipulation.
- Alas, Poor Villain: Despite clearly having become irredeemable, his death, committing suicide and dying in the same way as his father, is more than a little saddening
- All Girls Want Bad Boys: Being a Badass Biker, he sure gets to be with alot of women both before and during the series.
- Anti-Hero: Straddles the line between Type IV and V. By the end of Season 5, it could be said that he's firmly Type V if not a Villain Protagonist. Season 7 all but confirms it.
- Anti-Villain: In earlier seasons, he was this as his primary goal was to stop SAMCRO's violent and unfettered ways, and only killed when he viewed it necessary. That being said, he was the most mentally sane member of SAMCRO, next to Opie, Chibs and Juice. After becoming president, anyhow, the anti part gets downplayed. .
- Ax-Crazy: Jax is already dangerous as it is, but as the series progresses his sanity starts to be derailed because of all the losses him and his club have endured slowly becoming more of a ruthless killer rather than the noble man as his father was before him.
- Bad Boss: After he becomes president and is corrupted by the gavel, Jax proves himself to be this trope to his men. Frequently manipulating them, putting their lives at risk and making club decisions behind their backs. Especially towards Juice, who Jax constantly blackmails and threatens into complete obedience. Its most notable when he forces him to help frame Clay for the murder of Damon Pope and to smother Darvanay, an innocent loose end, to death.
- Badass Biker: Obvious as he's a member of an outlaw motorcycle club.
- Be All My Sins Remembered: His final wish in the series finale is that his sons be told the truth of who he is; a criminal and a killer, and that they grow up hating the thought of him so that they don't follow in his foot steps.
- Beard of Sorrow: Jax's beard starts to grow after Donna is killed, and especially after Abel is kidnapped. He trims it back while incarcerated between the third and fourth seasons, and it stays in the same relatively thick goatee/beard hybrid for the rest of the series.
- Berserk Button: Never go after his club or his family.
- He won't think twice about killing anyone who hurts or threatens Tara. Even Wendy he's fiercly protective over, as he found the guy who sold her crank while she was pregnant and beats him to a bloody pulp and stabs him in the groin with a pool stick.
- Threatening either of his sons life or saying he doesn't deserve them will instantly set him off
- He gets enraged when he finds out Gemma was assaulted or preyed upon.
- Jax will go to war with the law or rival clubs, many crime bosses mafias, gangs. You name it he will massacre every last person to keep his club and family safe.
- Better to Die than Be Killed: In the finale,while being pursued by the police,he chooses to crash his bike into a oncoming semi-truck and kill himself rather than be caught.
- Blackmail: Very fond of this tactic in Season 5.
- Blood Knight: Jax has a talent for fighting and can often seen to be enjoying it. Especially if he's fighting someone he hates.
- Byronic Hero: In the earlier seasons, he was this. However, he turns into more of a Villain Protagonist later.
- Character Development: Jax started out as a introspective and remorseful Well-Intentioned Extremist. However, in season 5 and after he followed in Clay's footsteps by becoming a murderous manipulator for the perceived greater good of the club.
- Best summed up by two examples: In Season 1, Jax arrives just in time to stop Tig from murdering a 17-year old girl who witnessed a club hit. Jax scares the woman into silence and allows her to flee before laying a No-Holds-Barred Beatdown on Tig for attempting to kill an innocent. Contrast with Season 5, where after breaking into the home of the guard who arranged Opie's death, they are surprised by his wife, who they assumed was out of the house. After the concern of her being a witness is raised, Tig abruptly shoots her in the head. Jax's response? "She's collateral damage."
- Child Soldier: He dropped out of high school at 16 to prospect for SAMCRO.
- Cold-Blooded Torture: In one of the most frightening, intense and horrific scenes in the entire series, Jax dispassionately tortures an innocent man who he thought was responsible for Tara's death. He only shows blatant emotion when he finally kills him.
- Corrupt the Cutie: While far from being innocent, he was more idealistic and fair than the rest of the members before becoming president at the end of Season 4. By the end of Season 5, the gavel has corrupted him BIG time.
- Crucified Hero Shot: He raised his arms in shoulders length right before he got ran over by a truck.
- Death Glare: Hoo boy. Tends to give these out to anyone who makes flippant references to his personal life, including Clay.
- Despair Event Horizon: At the end of Season 6, he seems to have crossed it with Tara's death completely shattering him.
- Driven to Suicide: In the finale, he makes no attempt to avoid the incoming truck and embraces his death head on.
- Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas: Jax is very close to his mother, and loves her dearly. Some might say he's far too close.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Despite everything they've been through, Jax genuinely loved Tara and was devastated by her death. He also loves his sons and his mom Gemma.
- Even Evil Has Standards: Jax might be a criminal who doesn't hesitate to kill, but he doesn't kill needlessly or impulsively and desperately wants to get the club out of gun-running. However, as the series progresses Jax becomes more willing to cross moral boundaries.
- Jax was disgusted with Tig's idea of killing a woman, and even beat him up for just trying to do such a thing.
- Evil Parents Want Good Kids: He realizes that his kids cannot grow up in the same environment as he did, as it would make them as bad and broken as he is. So he agrees with Tara to get out of Charming and take their boys with her, to avoid growing up in a life of crime an violence. Season 7 ends with him telling Nero that his kids should want nothing to do with him, and lets Wendy take them out of Charming to raise them somewhere where they won’t become what their father is.
- Expy: Of Hamlet. His entire arc may as well be “Hamlet becoming Macbeth”.
- Fallen Hero: Spends 4 seasons either wanting to take the club in a more peaceful, legitimate direction or just wanting to leave the club permanently; by Season 5, after becoming president, he ditches leaving the club and becomes more ruthless, manipulative, and self-righteous while being oblivious to the dangers he's putting his family in and the problems happening in his home-life. In the season finale, he even admits he's a lot like Clay.
- Fatal Flaw: Wrath.
- Good Hair, Evil Hair: Subtle, but his slicked back blonde hair in Season 5 resembles Clay's slicked back gray hair in Season 4, signifying his transformation into Clay.
- Guile Hero: Very smart and quick on his feet, and is a natural charmer.
- Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: Jax is one of the nicer members of SAMCRO and actually wants to stop them from their questionable ways of business and actions. But slowly during the show he slips to being more of a ruthless killer thus failing to grant his late father's wishes.
- Happily Adopted: Not formally, but before everything went sideways he did love Clay like a Father.
- He Who Fights Monsters: Over the course of the series, Jax evolves from the club's resident Only Sane Man into a ruthless and savage killer.
- Heartbroken Badass: In Season 5 after Opie's death, which becomes one of the major reasons Jax begins losing his way as club President. Exaggerated in Season 7 after Tara's death.
- The Hero Dies: In the finale. For a limited definition of "hero", of course.
- Heroic BSoD: After Abel is kidnapped. It happens again when he discovers Tara's dead body at the end of Season 6.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Opie. He even tells Opie he loves him during a heart-to-heart.
- I Am a Monster: Jax firmly believes he is this and fully admits that he isn't a good person, saying that he is nothing but a ruthless killer and wants his sons to hate him for his horrible actions so they don't end up like him in the long run.
- If You Kill Clay You Will Be Just Like Him: In "Darthy", Bobby gets Clay to confess in exchange for his life to prevent Jax from killing him behind the club's back and becoming Clay 2.0. Opie and Chibs also begin to notice how Jax is changing slowly into Clay, even using the same justifications such as 'protecting the Club'.
- Important Haircut: Not really important to him but more to the viewers who were surprised.
- In-Series Nickname: Jackie or Jackie Boy (by Chibs)
- It's All About Me: In Season 7, all Jax cares about is getting personal revenge. He murders without remorse and puts his friends and allies in deeply dangerous situations without a thought for their safety, all in the name of his own satisfaction.
- The Leader: Type Mastermind. Becomes the President following the events of season 4 and holds this rank until his death in the series finale.
- Manipulative Bastard: As part of his relationship with Clay, Jax does know how to manipulate. Put in full force in Season 5 both the Manipulative and Bastard part, successfully pushing Pope, Tig, Juice and Gemma in the directions he desires so that Clay is toppled. Keeps it going in Season 6.
- Mr. Fanservice: He has more shirtless scenes than any other character.
- Only Sane Man: Jax originally was this to SAMCRO, until becoming President, gradually forgetting himself.
- Papa Wolf: To his sons, Abel and Thomas.
- Pint-Sized Powerhouse: Jax isn't the biggest person but he can still manage to beat larger and more dangerous foes.
- Protagonist Journey to Villain: He begins the series as a voice of sanity, trying to be the angel on Clay's shoulder. Gradually he becomes more and more emotionally compromised as he goes head-to-head with Clay, and then he's morally compromised.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: He is the Red to Opie's Blue.
- Revenge: One of his main issues as when something extreme happens in his life he will go from unhinged to outright apocolyptic.
- Revenge Before Reason: He kills Randall Hightower despite knowing it would damage his relationship with TO Cross.
- This is basically his entire operating procedure in Season 7. Nero lampshades this to Gemma.
Nero: Your boy, he's unchained right now. He's looking for any excuse to rage. - Roaring Rampage of Revenge: After Opie's death, he decides to kill everyone involved.
- Sanity Slippage: He goes from a Tragic Hero trying to stop SAMCRO from selling guns, to slowly becoming a cruel murderer who has forgotten everything he ever stood for.
- Sadist: He has shades of this starting in Season 5, and just gets worse from there. The clear grin on his face whenever he takes part in cruelty, and the extent of his brutality, are both big indicators that he enjoys committing violence. By Season 7, he's into full on Cold-Blooded Torture.
- Self-Made Orphan: In season 6, he finally kills his stepfather Clay. In season 7 he kills Gemma in the penultimate episode of the series after discovering she was the one who killed Tara.
- Shirtless Scene: He has a lot of these.
- Slowly Slipping Into Evil: Jax takes small steps at first, but gradually he becomes a Manipulative Bastard responsible for dozens of deaths.
- Street Smart: Jax is well versed in navigating the treacherous criminal underworld that SAMCRO lives in. His knowledge only grows as he's forced to contend with more dangerous and intelligent enemies as the series progresses.
- Stupid Evil: In Season 7 after Tara's murder, Jax's actions in pursuit of revenge against her killer, devolve into this trope. His impulsive plans involve so much raw rage, petty sadism and blatant treachery of the club's allies and partners that by the end of the season SAMCRO is almost destroyed.
- Took a Level in Jerkass: He goes from a firm Anti-Villain who wanted to change SAMCRO for the better and was genuinely kind to people despite his tendency to kill in cold blood whenever he viewed it necessary, to a straight-up sociopath and murderer who, though in his mind thinks what he's doing is right, sadly isn't. It was only in the finale that he realizes what he's become and ends up committing suicide because of it.
- Tragic Villain: He was raised in SAMCRO, and to believe that they're doing the right thing. However, he starts to become disillusioned with the criminal lifestyle after becoming a father, and tries to shape SAMCRO into a more peaceful motorcycle club like his father intended. Unfortunately, he slowly lets go of this goal as progressive losses force him to become more and more ruthless in order to survive. By the end of the series, he has lost sight of everything he ever stood for and become what his father hated.
- Tragic Bromance: Opie's death is what causes him to finally jump off the slippery slope.
- Tranquil Fury: Played with. Jax has no problem raising his voice in anger. But he has a tendency of speaking quietly and smirking when he is really angry.
- The Unfettered: In Season 5 he will do anything to see Clay dead.
- Unstoppable Rage: Jax is capable of doing this when fighting but only happens when he's in a fighting mood. He also might really enjoy this part of himself as he's shown to have a thrill when fighting.
- Villain Protagonist: After Opie's death, Jax seems to be heading right into He Who Fights Monsters territory. By the final season, he is firmly this.
- Warrior Poet: Starting around Season 4, begins to take after his father by writing journals.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: If he goes to kill someone, its usually because they've got away with something horrible.
- Would Hit a Girl: Not his wife, but Ima is another story. Also Wendy, whom he forces to take a speedball in one of the most distressing scenes in the series.
- You Are in Command Now: Following the events of Season 4, Jax assumes the role of Club President after stripping Clay of his patch.
Clarence "Clay" Morrow
"Whatever you may think, the truth is, everything I do is to protect what we got."
Played By: Ron Perlman
Rank: First 9
Years Active: 1969 - 2012
Clay: Two in the back of the head. Quick and painless.
Jax: It ain't easy being king.
Clay: Yeah, you remember that.
The President of SAMCRO and one of the 9 founding members, Clay is Jax Teller's stepfather and Gemma Teller's husband. Suffering from arthritis in his declining age, Clay frequently disagrees with his stepson about the direction the club is going.
- Affably Evil: Mostly in Season 1. He might be a scheming murderer, but Clay does have a sense of honor, morality and even feels genuine guilt for the terrible things he's done. Personality-wise, he's an easy blend of casual charm and subdued menace. However, he slowly tends to graduate from this to Faux Affably Evil.
- Alas, Poor Villain: Clay's death may have been a long-time coming, but it's a solemn affair. Only Jax and Tara seem to relish his death; Gemma is distraught although understanding, and even Nero is somewhat phased by it. Clay himself faces the decision bravely, makes final peace with Gemma, and selflessly allows himself to be killed to save the club.
- All Men Are Perverts: Clay talks a lot about sexual things. Most prominent in season 6 where he stood up in front of everyone, talking about needing pussy.
- Ironically, Clay is surprisingly conservative when it comes to pornography and wants nothing to do with the business. He only relents getting into it when he is outvoted, and as soon as it becomes troublesome he wanted to pull the plug.
- Animal Motifs: Arguably, apes. Clay is a man who uses brute strength as well as cunning, and he even uses his teeth in a fight at one point, much like an ape. He also shows physical similarities in his face, especially when he shows his large teeth.
- Asshole Victim:
- He is shot and almost killed by Opie towards the end of Season 4, but the only reason Jax and the others want him alive is because The Irish won't do business with them otherwise. He survives, but his near-Butt-Monkey status and Badass Decay in the subsequent seasons isn't exactly undeserved.
- He is falsely incriminated for the murder of Damon Pope at the end of Season 5 and goes to prison for a crime he didn't commit. But everyone is in an agreement that he deserves to go to prison regardless after all the awful things he has done.
- Big Bad: In Season 4. For the sake of lining his own pockets, he throws the club in turmoil by forcing them into the drug trafficking business and begins targeting Jax Teller's loved ones to cover up his role in his father's death.
- Big Bad Ensemble: With Damon Pope in Season 5. While Pope is seen as the greater threat, Clay's efforts to undermine Jax's authority as President become too much of a danger to ignore thereby compelling the latter to devise a plot for neutralizing them both.
- Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: Starting around season 4, he just doesn't seem to care who he screws over to get what he wants.
- Deadpan Snarker: The man has a snide remark for everything.
- Death Equals Redemption: It isn't exactly a Heroic Sacrifice, but Clay allows himself to be killed by Jax to protect the club. He goes about it with remarkable dignity, managing to be happy for Gemma and her new relationship.
- Dented Iron: Sets in late season 4, becomes really prominent in season 6. Old age and the cumulative effects of a violent life have left Clay in a sorry state; he still has his offense, but he completely lacks defense.
- Dirty Coward: Especially from Season 4 onward. Clay most of the time issues his own orders to others. He also tends to sneak around people's backs getting help from them only to stab them in the end.
- Dirty Old Man: Proven in Season 1 with Cherry.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: For all his faults, at one point he did genuinely love Gemma, and loved Jax as a son.
- Even Evil Has Standards: Like everything with Clay, his standards are ass-backwards. He's all about selling guns, but considers a legitimate porn business to be 'dirty'. It's played a little more straight when he balks at the idea of allying with white supremacists and desires to keep rapists out of his town.
- Clay also does not want the club to get into the murder for hire business, calling it "a dirty business".
- Expy: Of Claudius from Hamlet.
- Face–Heel Turn: In Season 4.
- Face Death with Dignity: When it becomes clear that the Club had a vote to kill him, Clay is accepting. For once in his life, he doesn't try anything or make another play. He simply walks with them into a room, stands perfectly still and looks sorrowfully at Gemma as he waits.
- Fate Worse than Death: Gets one of these courtesy of Jax when he strips Clay of his president's patch, effectively castrating the character. After admitting to everything he did in Season 4, Clay is kicked out of the club and gets his inked blacked out by Happy. One vote saved him from being executed by the club, but one wonders if subjecting him to "Mr. Mayhem" would have been more merciful.
- From Camouflage to Criminal: An interesting example in that he joined the military after initially joining an outlaw motorcycle gang. He joined SAMCRO as a young adult and then a few years later enlisted in the U.S. Army, serving in Vietnam as a paratrooper. After leaving the Army, he returned to SAMCRO. So, he's an example of criminal to camouflage and back to criminal.
- Genius Bruiser: Clay is a big guy and an extremely dangerous fighter, but it's his cunning that makes him a true threat.
- Greed: Of Clay's many, many flaws his greed might be the most damaging. He's drawn into violence and high-risk deals in an effort to line his pockets.
- Grumpy Old Man: Especially when things don't go quite the way he wants.
- Handicapped Badass: A minor example, but Clay has arthritis in his hands, and it makes riding more and more difficult over time. Since being President requires that he can ride, this is something that Clay dreads a lot, but he still manages to both ride and fight through the pain for the first four seasons. But by Season 5, the arthritis has progressed to the point that he physically can't ride a motorcycle.
- Happily Married: To Gemma, but not anymore.
- Heel–Face Door-Slam: He seems to feel some degree of regret about his past actions in season 6, and atleast he tries to make peace with Gemma. But almost everyone else, including Jax, wants nothing to do with him and it's only when he is killed that they consider it even.
- Hot-Blooded: A sign in the shop of Teller-Morrow says "Forget the Dog, Beware of Owner!" It's not exactly an exaggeration.
- It's All About Me: He is revealed to be this in Season 4 as his primary concern is himself only and is willing to go to extreme length to ensure is own well-being. To make sure nobody reads the letters revealing his involvement in J.T's death, he kills Piney (one of the oldest members of the club), orders an assassination on Tara (his own daughter-in-law and mother of his step-grandchildren) and brutally assaults Gemma (his wife) when she confronts him for it.
- Jerkass: Clay is rude most of the time, but when he's in a bad mood he confronts people who didn't cause him any problems.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Before he betrayed SAMCRO. Then he's a Jerk with a Heart of Jerk.
- Jumping Off the Slippery Slope: As Clay ages further into his twilight years in conjunction with his worsening arthritis, it becomes increasingly evident to both him and the club that his days as an outlaw and more importantly SAMCRO pres are coming to an end. Seeing this inevitability, Clay becomes much more concerned with lining his own pockets for his endgame and making sure his past sins stay buried, no matter who gets in his way.
- Karma Houdini Warranty: Clay has done some pretty horrible things over the course of the show, but whenever you think he's finally going to pay for his sins something ends up saving him. This eventually ends when he is framed and sent to prison for the murder of Damon Pope. When he's later broken out, SAMCRO kills him.
- Karmic Butt-Monkey: Becomes something of this status post-Season 4. He loses his presidency, can barely ride his own bike, is stripped of his patch and sent to jail for a crime he didn't commit, and finally is killed by his own stepson on behalf of his former club. Nevertheless, he really brought it upon himself.
- Karmic Death: Jax shoots him in the throat, causing him to choke on just some of the vast quantity of blood he is responsible for being spilled. Then he dies as he lived, in a hail of bullets.
- Kinslaying Is a Special Kind of Evil: It's quite hard to forgive him for ordering a hit on Tara - his own daughter-in-law - because She Knows Too Much about his past.
- Klingon Promotion: How he took over the club from John Teller.
- Lack of Empathy: Most prominent in Season 4 when he murders Piney in cold-blood and then attempts to have Tara, his own daughter-in-law, assassinated. All because of his secret in John Teller's murder.
- Laser-Guided Karma: He almost got killed when he was shot by Opie for killing his old man. He ends up in a hospital and when he gets out he is attached to an oxygen tank, just like Piney.
- The Leader: Type Mastermind. He is the President of the club at the start of the show, and holds this position until the end of Season 4, when Jax personally strips him of his President's patch and takes up the role himself.
- Manipulative Bastard: Takes it to new levels in Season 5, manipulating Juice and Gemma while playing the lion-in-winter but ends up getting out-played by Jax.
- Moral Myopia: Either this or a truly odd example of Even Evil Has Standards. While he has no problem running guns, or even drugs if it suits his agenda he objects to getting involved in the completely legal porn industry because it's "dirty".
- My God, What Have I Done?: Less often as the show progresses, but he's devastated when he accidentally got Donna killed. Comes full circle when he breaks down sobbing upon having his patch stripped and Jax beating the shit out of him.
- Obfuscating Disability: After he finally recovers from his lung damage, he keeps wearing the oxygen tank so no one knows he's actually okay.
- Outlaw Couple: With Gemma, for a very long time.
- Sickbed Slaying: Attempted by Jax but subverted in the Season 4 finale.
- Signature Move: Clay favors smashing through doors to get the jump on his opponents, using his sheer brute strength to knock them off their feet when they least suspect it.
- The Starscream: He was a successful Starscream to John Teller. He also pulls it off in Season 6 by killing Carson, head of the white prison gang of Stockton State Prison to save his own ass from the black prison gang.
- Took a Level in Jerkass: While Clay was always jerkish and bossy, In Season 4 when he graduates to a true antagonist and all his dirty dealings come to the forefront, his sins laid bare for the Club to see. He also ups his game by becoming a true Hero Killer, murdering Piney to keep his secret and attempts to have the same done to Tara.
- The Usurper: Clay murdered John Teller and took leadership of the club from him. It ties into his status as an Expy of Hamlet's Claudius.
- Would Hit a Girl: One of the signs that he's jumped off the slippery slope is his vicious, brutal beatdown of Gemma in Season 4.
- He also backhanded Polly Zobelle back in Season 2, though she had it coming as she aided in the kidnapping and rape of Gemma by AJ Weston.
Gemma Teller Morrow (née Madock)
"I believe in family."
Played By: Katey Sagal
"Nothing gets in the way of me protecting my family. Especially my conscience."
The queen of Charming under Clay's rule. A Machiavellian schemer and expert in psychological manipulation, Gemma is the wife of Clay Morrow and the widow of John Teller. Gemma is extremely protective of her son Jax and grandsons Abel and Thomas and longs for the day when Jax will, in her eyes, be ready to assume control of SAMCRO in order to ensure the organization's survival for another generation. She adores her husband, Clay, and does her best to make things work out his way.
- Alas, Poor Villain: When Jax finds her, knowing the truth about Tara's murder, she doesn't bother trying to talk her way out of what's coming to her. She takes a last walk in her father's garden, tells Jax that she loves him, and allows him to kill her.
- Big Bad Ensemble: In Season 7, while Henry Lin, August Marks, and Charles Barosky are all standing in Jax's way, it is Jax's internal conflict that is the biggest struggle, arguably instigated by her.
- Boom, Headshot!: Courtesy of her own son.
- Control Freak: If Gemma isn't in control, she isn't happy.
- Easy Evangelism: Averted and then subverted. She has been slowly reconsidering her life and lack of belief but it took a gang rape, the entire second season, talking things over with several people, a character that may or may not be an angel nudging her to do it and she's still not all the way. And then when she does get convinced God is pushing her she thinks he's telling her to kill Polly.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: She genuinely loves her son Jax, her grandsons, her father Nate and even Clay. But her love for other people (John and Tara for example) seems to be more self-centered than anything.
- Even Evil Has Standards: After Tara faked a miscarriage in an attempt to get a restraining order against Gemma, Gemma claims that she herself would never fake a baby's death, even if it was to protect her family.
- Though she was willing to hold a baby at gunpoint to track down the location of Abel back in Season 3.
- Evil Matriarch: She gave the go-ahead to have John Teller killed, and wants to raise her family in the criminal lifestyle.
- Expy: Of Gertrude from Hamlet. With a good deal of Lady Macbeth thrown in.
- Face Death with Dignity: She doesn't fight or argue with Jax, she goes out to the garden with him and tells him its okay for him to shoot her.
- Faux Affably Evil: She can put on the charm whenever she wants. If you've seen her treatment of Wendy in earlier seasons, that should prove enough.
- Though, she has the strange tendency to blur this in with Affably Evil.
- Female Misogynist: "This is why mothers should drown baby girls."
- Greater-Scope Villain: Her past manipulations instigate many conflicts which extend to the present day, arguably making her the Big Bad of the entire series.
- The Heavy: Many of her lies and schemes causes conflicts for the other main characters. Both directly and indirectly. She was apart in the murder of J.T and in Season 6 she kills Tara and blames it on the Chinese, causing the main conflict in Season 7.
- Hollywood Atheist: "Jesus is just the guy who mows my lawn."
- I Did What I Had to Do: How she views her orchestration of John Teller's death. She later says this after killing Tara.
- It's All About Me: A defining character trait. Gemma is so incredibly selfish that even her love for her family is more possessive than anything. Keeping them right there under her thumb, ruining their lives in the process, is worth more to her than doing what's best for them, as that would mean letting them go.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: She has no problem abusing or even taking someone's life, but she truly loves her son Jax, her ex-husband Clay and her grandchildren. She also seems to genuinely care for the other members of SAMCRO as well.
- Jerk with a Heart of Jerk: Mostly towards Tara. She claims to love her since she is the mother of her grandkids, but because she tried to distance herself and the kids from Gemma and the destructive life of crime, Gemma completely antagonizes her and even threatens to kill her. Which she eventually does.
- Towards Wendy too. Especially in the first half of the series.
- Karma Houdini: She's just as evil and cowardly as Clay, and much more manipulative, not to mention being personally responsible for a lot of the shit that goes wrong in the series, but she never gets any real comeuppance for it. Even at the end, when Jax kills her for killing Tara, she goes out on her own terms.
- Karma Houdini Warranty: It finally catches up on her in the next-to-last episode when Jax, knowing the truth about Tara's murder, tracks Gemma down and kills her. But it's subverted since, as pointed out above, she knew what was coming and pretty much let it happen.
- Knight Templar Parent & Knight Templar Grandparent: Gemma believes fully in the value of SAMCRO and has raised her children and grandchildren to believe in it and join it.
- Kick the Dog: Something she does on a regular basis. In the pilot, she threatens to kill Wendy if she comes near her and Jax's newborn baby. Then, before leaving, she sneaks a syringe of crack into Wendy's Bible, not so subtly telling her to kill herself. Even worse, Wendy tries.
- Mama Bear: Or Grandma Bear in the case of her grandson.
- Manipulative Bitch: On any given day she could plot to kill you, declaring you an enemy to the club and her family, and that you are dead to her... and then shortly after give you a hug and a reassuring speech about how you're family to her.
- My God, What Have I Done?: She kills Tara, thinking that she ratted Jax out. But breaks down in tears when Eli tells her that it was Jax who gave himself up to protect Tara.
- Outlaw Couple: With Clay.
- Pet the Dog: From time to time, she has her moments of kindness such as comforting Tristan Oswald.
- Platonic Life-Partners: She and Unser move towards this during the second season. By the end when she's on the run from the law this has pretty much become fact. After Unser's season five call out of Gemma's habitual manipulation of everyone around her... not so much.
- Princess in Rags: Season 5 seems to largely be about Gemma struggling to find what to do with herself now that she lost her crown as the biker queen to Tara, and no longer having pull with the club.
- Rape as Drama: She's gang-raped by Zobelle's men, sending her into a spiral of post-traumatic shock, shame, fear, vulnerability and eventually recovery.
- Sanity Slippage: In season seven she starts holding conversations with Tara, who she killed last season. There's no ghost or hallucination; just Gemma having one side of a conversation with a dead woman.
- Smug Snake: Gemma really isnt as subtle as an manipulator or schemer as she thinks she is. Most of the time she just uses her position in the club to bully people into doing what she wants.
- The Sociopath: Zig-Zagged. She displays all of the telltale signs of being one, as even her love for her family is largely centered around herself. However, at times she expresses genuine remorse for her crimes. In the end, it is largely left up to the viewer to decide whether or not she truly is sociopathic. Her unhesitating abusive treatment of Wendy back in Season 1, anyhow, proves something.
- Spanner in the Works: Pretty much every major problem that happens to SAMCRO can be traced back to her as the cause. From John Teller's possible murder or suicide, to her killing Tara and blaming the Chinese, which causes a ripple effect that almost destroys SAMCRO and everyone associated with them. Lampshaded by Juice in Season 7, when he said Gemma is the gatekeeper to the truth, behind the lies, behind the secrets.
- Team Mom: For SAMCRO. But it's left up to the viewer to decide if she really cares about SAMCRO or is just being manipulative.
- Woman Scorned: Clay made a suicidal mistake when he beat her up.
Dr. Tara Grace Knowles
"I have created this very serious life for myself. And when I'm inside it, I barely know myself."
Played By: Maggie Siff
"You know why I run away from shit all the time? Cause I don't trust anyone. If I'm gonna stay, I need to know the truth."
The childhood sweetheart of Jax Teller, Tara left Charming to escape the criminal lifestyle and became a successful surgeon. However, she ends up returning to the town and falling deeper in than ever before. She eventually marries Jax Teller, and tries to get him and their children out of Charming. Every time it seems like she'll finally get them out, something else pops up to keep it from happening.
- All Girls Want Bad Boys: Largely deconstructed. Tara was Jax's sweetheart, and eventually marries him, but Jax's lifestyle gradually destroys and corrupts the good person she once was.
- Berserk Button: In the earlier seasons. Whenever Tara faced the possibility of losing Jax, she starts screaming and breaking everything around her.
- Beware the Nice Ones: Few could really expect the sweet and scared doctor in season one would transform into a tiny Gemma, complete with the hair.
- Brainy Brunette: Under that fine dark hair is the brain of an intelligent woman and a very skilled doctor.
- Break the Cutie: When the Galindo cartel breaks her hand, effectively ruining her medical career since she seemingly won't be able to operate anymore. Borders on Despair Event Horizon.
- Broken Bird: Even before the start of the show, she fled back to Charming because she was scared for her safety by an abusive ex who was stalking her.
- Butt-Monkey: Anytime something might go right for her, the club's sins slam the door on it. Sometimes literally.
- Corrupt the Cutie: Started the show as the moral center and the Only Sane Man to Jax. By Season 5, while not entirely corrupted, she definitely has her share of blood on her hands. This all culminates in season 6, when she sees how far she has gone and is scared by it.
- Cruel and Unusual Death: She gets her head dunked into a sink full of dirty dish water and is then repeatedly stabbed in the back of the head with a carving fork! One of the most brutal deaths in this series, for sure.
- Didn't See That Coming: It really was surprising to see her killed, rather brutally, by Gemma with a carving fork.
- Expy: The second half of Season 6 sees her become one of Ophelia from Hamlet. Gemma dunking her in the sink evokes the original Ophelia drowning.
- Heroic BSoD: When she's arrested for her role in the death of Pamela Toric in Season 5, and in Season 6 when her last ditch attempt to get her sons away from the club fails. Her face as she leaves the DA's office in Episode 10 says it all.
- Hospital Hottie: As noticed by Jax and Kohn.
- Important Haircut: Two, one in Season 5, which copies Gemma's and signifies her accepting her role as the biker queen, and then in Season 6, where she cuts her hair short, copying her other mentor, Margaret Murphy, and wants nothing but to get her family out of the biker-life.
- Mama Bear: Becomes especially evident in season 3 when she wants to accompany Jax to find Abel.
- The Medic: Eventually, she becomes 'mob doctor' for the Sons.
- Mirror Character: From Gemma. Lampshaded in the Season 5 finale with a fade from Tara to Gemma, with the same hairdo, and a similar expression on their faces and faking Gemma attacking her in "Sweet and Vaded"... straight from Gemma's Manipulative Bitch book.
- Nice Girl: Most prominently back in Season 1.
- Sanity Slippage: Happens in Season 4 after her hand is injured during her attempted abduction.
- Took a Level in Badass: Because of her time with Jax and SAMCRO, she becomes more and more tough as the show progresses and is even shown to be a capable fighter at several points.
- Took a Level in Jerkass: Moving more and more into a more jerkassy attitude as the series progresses, but not too much.
- Trauma Conga Line: Especially in Season 4, it continues at the end of Season 5, and then again toward the end of Season 6. Culminating in her death in the Season 6 finale, by the hands of a drunk Gemma.
Alex "Tig" Trager
Alex 'Tig' Trager
"Oh come on, there's nothing wrong with the occasional skank."
Played By: Kim Coates
Rank: Vice President (formerly Sergeant-at-Arms and soldier)
Years Active: ? - Present
A member of SAMCRO, a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps and was previously Sergeant-at-Arms under Clay's presidency. While he is one of the club's more violent members and one of the designated hitmen, discussion of Tig's penchant for bizarre and disturbing activities is often played for comic effect. While initially very loyal to Clay, Tig's loyalties have shifted toward the greater club's interests, and he has apparently acclimated himself to Jax's new role as leader after initially questioning his ferocity.
- Animal Motifs: Dogs. His role in the club is basically being their attack dog. He is also extremely loyal, first with Clay, then later with Jax. Tigg also has an affinity for dogs, being the first to call out the cruelty of a dog-fighting ring.
- Badass Biker: Minimum requirement to be Sergeant-at-Arms.
- Blood Knight: Tig is always eager to fight and loves the route that leads into the thick of battle.
- The Brute: To Jax in Season 5, after Opie's death.
- Butt-Monkey: In a very literal way. He keeps getting injured near the buttocks area.
- Chivalrous Pervert: Tig is a lecherous sexual deviant in every sense of the word, but he's surprisingly kind and gentle towards women in his on-screen interactions with them.
- Comedic Sociopathy: In a resigned sigh after dealing with Gemma's temper, "This is why I beat hookers."
- Cool Shades: Seen wearing these half the time.
- Creepy Blue Eyes: Has a very disconcerting set of pale blue ones.
- Deadpan Snarker: If he isn't the snarkiest member of SAMCRO, he's in the top three at least.
- The Dragon: To Clay. Until Season 4's end, in which he's no longer Sgt-at-Arms.
- Even Evil Has Standards: See how he reacts to the dog fights in the Season 5 finale. He's also disgusted by the torture porn studio in the Season 6 premier. Seeing how badly Gemma was beaten was enough to make him forget his loyalty to Clay.
- In season 2, when the Sons are threatening a judge's son so he'll drop a case, the judge coldly refuses and flatly tells them to kill his own son, all while the poor kid begs for his dad's help. Tig is so horrified by this that he is actually freaking out and having a breakdown. Granted, all the Sons were disturbed by this, but Tig's reaction was probably the most extreme.
- Extreme Omnisexual. Has shown or expressed interest in drag queens, transgender people, sex dolls, horses and the dead.
- Freudian Excuse: "My old man used to rape me. Just sayin'."
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: Arguably, the whole club can be seen as this to each other to varying degrees but Tig and Clay are the best example other than perhaps Jax and Opie.
- If It's You, It's Okay: Enters into a loving relationship with transgender prostitute Venus in season 7.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Tig may be a remorseless and pervert but he is also a caring, helpful and an on occasion down to earth person towards people, even if he's not perfect.
- Kick the Dog: He has frequent Kick the Dog moments, such as his remorseless murder of Macky's wife.
- Murder by Mistake: While intending to kill Opie, he kills Donna by mistake.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Frequently, but the biggest mistake he's made is his killing of Veronica Pope, thus causing her not-to-be-fucked-with father to tear the sons (and Charming) apart in Season 5.
- Number Two: Promoted to Vice-President by Chibs in the series finale.
- Papa Wolf: In Season 5 Tig is forced to watch as his daughter is burned alive on the orders of Damon Pope. Shortly afterward he escapes and kills one of Pope's henchman as well as the "cleaner" they sent to remove the evidence of the murder. Tig also vowed that he's going to cut Pope's head off... and then lives up to his word in the season finale, if by blowing Pope's brains out instead.
- Pet the Dog: His adoration of Gemma and saving Chucky. Also, despite his alleged sexual deviancy, most of his on-screen treatment of women is surprisingly gentle. There's also his rescuing and healing of a dog from the dog-fights ring operated by Dante.
- His crush on Venus Van Damme, while initially played for laughs, showed a surprisingly tender and sweet side of Tig in later episodes.
- Plucky Comic Relief: Most of the time, due to Comedic Sociopathy.
- Politically Incorrect Villain: After Pope murdered his daughter he makes liberal use of the word "nigger" in a hostile manner.
- Averted in a later season when an Aryan Brotherhood member calls Tig a "tranny-banger" and Venus Van Damme a "freak". Tig's response is to shoot him in the crotch, wait a few very very long seconds and then put a bullet through his head.
- Promiscuity After Rape: Never confirmed, but in Season 6, Tig jokes that his father used to rape him. Given Tig's sexual behavior throughout the series, this might be Refuge in Audacity. In season 1, even Clay comments:Clay: What kind of nasty shit did your mama do to you?
- Revenge Before Reason: When he thinks that the Niners shot Clay he rushes to exact revenge with no consideration of innocent bystanders, witnesses, how he is going to get away or whether the Niners are actually guilty.
- Sarcastic Confession: Inverted. When asked why he wants to join the Aryan Brotherhood (it's a ruse), he answers "because a nigger killed my daughter". The confession is true, and the guy who asked buys it. It's just that Tig doesn't actually want to join the AB.
- Semper Fi: According to a behind-the-scenes video, Tig was a US Marine.
- Sole Survivor: He and Chibs are the only original club members who survive the entire series.
- Tears of Remorse: In "Balm". It's clear the guilt of killing Donna is eating him alive.
- Too Kinky to Torture: He actually seemed to enjoy being beat up by those bounty hunters.
- Troll: He really enjoys fucking with Juice in the earlier seasons, and later with Ratboy.
- Undying Loyalty: He may be a total psychopath, but he's loyal to the club almost to a fault. Letting himself get chased by police as a distraction while the others go to Ireland is a big example.
- Villainous BSoD: His guilt over accidentally killing Donna leads him to confess to Opie, his intended murder victim.
- Villainous Breakdown: After killing Pope, and realizing he has done it with Clay's gun.
- Vitriolic Best Buds: Soooorta with Kozik. Although there was definitely some manner of friendly ribbing between them, he still refused to vote Kozik in, and wasn't particularly upset when he stepped on a landmine.
- Played totally straight with Rat, though.
- Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: It's never specifically explained, but it's shown frequently that he has a phobia of dolls. Seeing a sexdoll caused him extremely torn emotions.
- Yes-Man: To Jax post Season 5; after Jax saves him from Pope's reprisal, Jax tells him plainly that he can never go against Jax on any vote or action as payment.
Filip "Chibs" Telford
"We can't allow our hearts to be louder than our reason."
Played By: Tommy Flanagan
Rank: President (formerly Sergeant-at-Arms and Vice President)
Years Active: 1989 - Present
SAMCRO's vice president. Chibs is extremely loyal to Jax. Originally from Glasgow, Scotland, he grew up in Belfast, Northern Ireland. He served as a medic with the British Army, but only lasted five months before he was expelled after a court martial. His battlefield experience makes him the club's medic for backroom emergency surgery. The word "chib" is Scottish street slang for a blade, a slash or a cut.
- Arch-Enemy: He has a bitter and mutual hatred for Jimmy O'Phelan. He can barely stand to be in the same room with him, since Jimmy stole his family, gave him his scars and exiled him from his home.
- Badass Biker: As expected of an SOA member.
- The Consigliere: By Season 6 he's the new Vice President of SAMCRO. He's much more proactive about it than Bobby was, up to the point of physically putting his hands on Jax and throwing him against the wall when Jax made a particularly stupid move without consulting him first.
- Cool Shades: Wears them most of the time.
- The Dragon: To Jax, since Chibs is a more stable and trustworthy ally than the guilt-ridden Tig or disillusioned Bobby.
- Dragon Ascendant: After Jax's ex-communication and subsequent death in the Grand Finale, Chibs becomes president of the club.
- Dual Wielding: Has been seen wielding two scalpels and wears a holster with two guns. Later, in Season 5 when the club is trying to convince a councilman's stepson to have sex with a transvestite, the club claim to have all engaged in homosexual activity occasionally, with each member talking about how they've all had "dicks". Chibs, hilariously, is the one to yell "Two dicks!", while making the universal gesture for oral sex... with each hand.
- Expy: Of Horatio from Hamlet, as he is Jax's closet ally in the club and survives the entire series.
- Glasgow Smile: Bonus points for real-life authenticity.
- Honest Advisor: To Jax; he's unafraid to tell him when he's making a bad decision and doesn't mince words.
- The Lancer: Becomes this to Jax.
- The Medic: When Tara doesn't fulfill this role, Chibs does.
- Papa Wolf: Jimmy really gets under Chibs' skin by talking about his daughter; Chibs can barely contain his rage.
- Only Sane Man: In Season 4 he emerges as the most grounded and no-nonsense member of the club.
- Scars Are Forever: The Glasgow Smile courtesy of Jimmy O.
- Scot Ireland: An in-universe example: Chibs is Scottish by birth, but he grew up in Belfast and is a former member of the IRA.
- Sole Survivor: He and Tig are the only original club members who survive the entire series.
- Violent Glaswegian: He's a Scot in an outlaw MC. What else would you expect?
- Warrior Poet: By the final season, especially in the finale.
- Working with the Ex: Briefly with Fiona when SAMCRO travels to Ireland.
- You Are in Command Now: He becomes president of the Redwood charter, and by extension the Sons of Anarchy as a whole, in the series finale.
Bobby "Elvis" Munson
"When you want blind action, you go to Tig. When you want the truth, you come to me."
Played By: Mark Boone Junior
Rank: Soldier (formerly Secretary & Vice President)
Years Active: ? - 2014
The even-tempered treasury secretary of SAMCRO, and remains in the position after Clay is voted out. The son of a Jewish accountant who worked with the Mafia, Munson brings a level of practicality to the group, offering advice to the younger Jax on a frequent basis. Munson is also known as "Bobby Elvis" for his infrequent dressing up as an Elvis Presley impersonator at toy rallies and other events where children are present. Though he frequently maintains calm among the group, Bobby is more than capable of doing violence.
- Affably Evil: While being involved in the crime of SAMCRO, he's really kind, humorous and open.
- Badass Biker: More than capable of hold his own in a fight.
- Boom, Headshot!: Courtesy of August Marks.
- The Consigliere: To Clay and later to Jax in Season 5. Returns to it in mid-Season 6, with Jax even referring to him as such.
- Cool Old Guy: The most affable of the old guys in SAMCRO along with Piney.
- Cool Shades: Always, but he takes to wearing them more than usual in Season 6.
- Deadpan Snarker: No kidding,
- Elvis Impersonator: How he makes his money on the side.
- Evil Genius: Bobby tends to be the brains of SAMCRO.
- Eye Scream: Marks has his eye carved out to send a message to Jax.
- Genius Bruiser: In addition to being a badass who can hold his own in a fight, Bobby also has enough business know-how to manage Cara Cara.
- Honest Advisor: To Clay and Jax. He'll always tell them how he sees things, even if they don't want to hear it.
- Hidden Depths: He's the club's book keeper, and has a real head for numbers.
- Informed Judaism: Apart from his appearances as fat Elvis on Bar Mitzvah parties, there's literally nothing that points at Bobby being from a Jewish background.
- Kavorka Man: Likely due to his power and position within the club.
- Knight in Sour Armour: He becomes increasingly disillusioned with the often senseless violence of club life.
- Number Two: To Jax in Season 5 when he serves as SAMCRO's VP. Until the season finale in which he resigns to the position.
- Only Sane Man: From Season 2 onward; he councils restraint and level headed action over overt violence.
- Real Men Wear Pink: Do not let the pompadour, the detailing on his jacket or the organic cooking fool you. Really. Don't.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: After the events of Season 5, Bobby apparently leaves SAMCRO and begins trying to rebuild the Nomad charter.Subverted: Bobby was really trying to recruit for SAMCRO to get some level headed thinkers into the charter. He rejoins part way through Season 6.
- Team Chef: Bobby is a legendary cook.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Comes down pretty hard with this on Jax towards the end of season 5 for his actions towards Clay.
Wayne Unser
"I'm not sure which cancer is worse: the one in me or the one in Charming."
Played By: Dayton Callie
"This life, it ain't romantic or free. There's no path to anything that makes any sense. It's just dirty and sad."
The former Chief of the Charming Police Department, he is corrupt in that he deals with the Sons of Anarchy whom he sees as a benefit to the town, because the Sons successfully keep drugs and violence out of Charming, and protect the population from many other unwanted things like ruthless developers, such as Jacob Hale Jr.
- Convenient Terminal Illness: He's been dying of cancer for years now.
- Corrupt Cop: He has been covering for the Sons for decades and is almost a honorary member of the club. Unlike most examples of this trope, though, he still has a strong moral compass and assists the Sons not out of greed, but because he honestly believes that the police working with the Sons is what's best for Charming.
- Deal with the Devil: With Jacob Hale in season 3.
- Despair Event Horizon: Between the end of Season 3 and the beginning of Season 4 when he loses his job. Gemma and Clay drag him back from it.
- Hazy-Feel Turn: Somewhat in season 3. He briefly stops working with SAMCRO after the attack at Half-Sack's wake, disillusioned with their inability to protect the town.
- Heroic Sacrifice: It ultimately proves worthless but he dies trying to keep Jax from killing Gemma.
- Just Friends: It's implied a few times in the series that Wayne has a crush on Gemma. Gemma is aware of this as well, and occasionally uses it to manipulate Wayne into doing her bidding.
- The Last Dance: He is dying of cancer and is spending what time he has left trying to protect Gemma and Tara.
- Platonic Life-Partners: See Gemma. By Season 6 however, Unser admits he's doesn't just love Gemma, he's in love with her, upgrading him to Dogged Nice Guy.
- Promotion to Opening Titles: In Season 3.
- Senseless Sacrifice: He dies trying to stop Jax from killing Gemma. It accomplishes absolutely nothing.
- Wild Card: He becomes one for Clay. He will help Clay one moment and then sabotage him the next. He is no longer afraid of Clay and his real loyalties lie with Gemma and Tara.
Harry "Opie" Winston
"Feel like I'm missin' on every front."
Played By: Ryan Hurst
Rank: Soldier
Years Active: 1995 - 2012
The club's Demolitions Expert, the son of SAMCRO co-founder Piney, and best friend of Jax since childhood. Opie's mother took him away from Piney and Charming when he was 16, but he left her and returned to his father and the club.
- Affably Evil: He's the best friend a man could ever have, and wanted to leave SAMCRO for good, with his family, and Jax.
- Badass Biker: Obviously, though, as he's a son of anarchy.
- Beard of Sorrow: He was never clean shaven, but he really started growing it out after his wife died.
- Death Seeker: Becomes this after Donna's death. He gets better eventually, but his father's death at Clay's hands, and being stopped from killing him by Jax himself gets him back to this territory, leading to... (see just below)
- Demolitions Expert: His specialty.
- Due to the Dead: The "In memory of "OPIE"" patch Jax wears on his cut.
- Expy: Started off as the Horatio to Jax's Hamlet, but sliding more into a Laertes sort of relationship with Clay/Claudius. By the end of Season 3 he reconciles with Jax.
- Heroic Sacrifice: In Season 5 when he volunteers to be the club member to die at the hands of Damon Pope.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Jax. When Jax talks to Opie about leaving the club, Opie tells Jax that he needs him.
- It's Not You, It's My Enemies: During an attempt to intimidate a judge into giving a favorable verdict in a case by threatening the judge's son, Opie suffers a Heroic BSoD that hints this may be why he's been distancing himself from his own kids when it becomes clear how little the judge cares for his own son.
- The Lancer: To Jax.
- Promotion to Opening Titles: In Season 2.
- Trauma Conga Line: If spending five years in prison for somebody else's rap wasn't enough, then his wife Donna gets murdered by Tig, because he'd been framed as a rat. Jump to season 4 and his dad gets murdered by Clay for threatening to expose him, and then Jax shoots him before he can avenge Piney's death. Topped off by going to prison again and being brutally beaten to death by the enemies of the club.
- He just wanted to move out of SAMCRO, to get a better life, with his wife and children, and to take Jax with him. Unfortunately, nothing went well for him, and after his wife's death, he changes his goal into doing suicide.
Piermont "Piney" Winston
"Your father saw this coming. He saw the feds, the Irish, guys like Zobelle. And he knew we were going to die bloody."
Played By: William Lucking
Rank: First 9 (Former Vice President)
Years Active: 1967 - 2011
A co-founder of SAMCRO and father of Opie Winston. He was a veteran of the Vietnam War and must carry an oxygen tank with him at all times due to emphysema.
- The Alcoholic: Is seen with a drink more often than not. Gemma at one point calls him out for getting started at 9 in the morning.
- Badass Biker: Pine runs the old fashion biker style, opting for Ozzy-style sunglasses and a denim kutte; justified as he came up in the life during the Vietnam War.
- Beware the Quiet Ones / Beware the Nice Ones: He usually doesn't say anything, but he is never afraid to speak his mind when it's extremely important, and messing with his his son's loved ones will literally get you killed.
- Cool Old Guy: What Piney lacks in stamina, he more than makes up for with his experience and bravado. The man isn't afraid of ANYTHING.
- When word reached him that the Niners may be responsible for his daughter-in-law Donna's death, he raced off by himself and held members of the street gang hostage in their own bar, demanding a sit down with Laroy and the head of whoever responsible.
- Cool Shades: Sports some Ozzy-style teashades. William Lucking joked in the Season 2 finale commentary that next season he hoped he would get some sunglasses that actually fit his head but the character had them throughout the show.
- Drowning My Sorrows: Prone to bouts of depression in which he does this.
- Expy: Of Polonius from Hamlet.
- Fatal Flaw: His near suicidal level of impulsiveness. Piney refuses to let sleeping dogs lie, give him enough reason and he'll ride off on his own with a gun and oxygen tank in hand, determined to right whatever wrongs he feels have been left unfinished.
- It's what eventually gets him killed at the hands of Clay. Piney stubbornly refused to go along with the new Cartel deal, and blackmails Clay with JT's letters to back down, forcing Clay's hand.
- Grumpy Old Man: Not above this, though Opie usually remarks that he's just pissed at himself.
- Improbable Weapon User: His oxygen tank for his emphysema.
- Non-Standard Character Design: He's the only member of the Redwood charter to spring for a more old fashioned denim cut, instead of the usual black leather. It also makes for a more striking image when it's covered in his blood.
- Old Retainer: Being old and battling emphysema doesn't mean he's not a man of action. In fact, it doesn't stop him from being one of the most fearless.
- Papa Wolf: To Opie and Jax, but he knows how tough they are so he mostly directs his protection toward his grandchildren, Donna and Lyla.
- Politically Incorrect Villain: He expresses animosity towards black people throughout the series. He uses the word "nigger" in-front the the clubs own black allies, and states with pride to Roosevelt that the club does not have black members.
- Promotion to Opening Titles: In Season 2.
- Sacrificial Lion: In Season 4. His death lets the audience know about Clay's Face–Heel Turn.
- Shotguns Are Just Better: When instances of heavy combat are called for, Piney is most often seen with his sawn off shotgun in hand.
- Team Dad: Being the more genial and affable senior member, he arguably fits this role better than Clay or Bobby can.
- Tough Love: Calls Opie out for not making a choice on doing work for the MC after getting out of prison in order to support his family."I don't know what the hell's wrong with you. Why don't you quit whining, grow a dick, and take care of your business?"Drives off
- He also slugs Opie in the face for cheating on Lyla in Season 4.
- Use Their Own Weapon Against Them: Clay kills Piney with his own shotgun.
Juan-Carlos "Juice" Ortiz
"I don't like bein' alone. I'm not good on my own. My head gets so loud. And shit doesn't make... Nothing syncs up. I start thinking about my thinking. And getting lost in the details of nothing. Nothing can pull me out of it."
Played By: Theo Rossi
Rank: Soldier
Years Active: 2003 - 2014
The club's hacker and intelligence officer. He has proven to be somewhat simple-minded when it comes to other tasks, which often prompts hazing from the other members. He is in charge of club surveillance and manages some of the club's intelligence and communication.
Clay considers him unreliable, and he is often given menial tasks, such as driving the transport truck. He sports a short Mohawk and has tribal designs tattooed on each side of his head.
- All for Nothing: Juice's fate in season 7. Despite enduring so much suffering and commiting murder to earn his way back into the club, he ultimately meets the fate he had spent 3 seasons trying to avoid: Excommunicated from the club, assassinated and unmourned by the very people he had considered his family.
- Badass Adorable: He has his moments.
- Break the Cutie: More like completely shattered. Juice started off the series as the most naive, soft-hearted member of SAMCRO. Then after Season 4, when he was blackmailed into acting as The Mole by Potter, it started off his Trauma Conga Line that continues for the rest of the series. After 4 seasons of constant manipulation, betrayal, and abuse inflicted on him, he was left as a depressed, broken shell of the man he used to be.
- Butt-Monkey: He cannot catch a break.
- The Cracker: Played fairly realistically; wasn't any Hollywood Hacking involved. Though as the series went on this aspect of his character was downplayed.
- Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: It's almost hard to believe that the guy strolling through a minefield is the same one who woke up in a diaper in Season 1.
- Clark Kent Outfit: Juice tends to wear baggy hoodies or his leather vest, coupled with how lean his body is and he looks positively scrawny. Its only when he's shirtless or naked does the audience see that Juice has a body thats as toned as Jax is.
- Deadpan Snarker: Occasionally; it's rather rare since most of Juice's scenes involve him interacting with the club who hes an absolute Extreme Doormat towards or when he's extremely mentally distressed but he can be rather quick-witted at times. Such as when Tara is being followed by Juice under Jax's order; she tries to lose him by ramming his bike with her car, only to find that he's already waiting for her at the hospital.
- Death Seeker: Becomes this in Season 4 after being forced to become The Mole. Again in Season six, after tasks him with Darvany's murder. He very nearly becomes roadkill on two occasions.
- Despair Event Horizon:
- After Clay gives him his Men of Mayhem patch for having the stones to kill Miles. This leads to his first suicide attempt.
- Later in season 7 when he comes begging to Chibs for one last chance to make ammends with the club, he’s informed that there’s nohing he can do and that he should commit suicide.
- Driven to Suicide: He makes several failed attempts to kill himself to the point where he becomes a Death Seeker.
- At the end of "Fruit for the Crows". Becomes a Bungled Suicide when the tree branch he is trying to hang himself from snaps.
- His hopscotching through the cartel's minefield in Season 4, episode twelve was almost definitely another suicide attempt.
- Repeated in Season 6, Episode 12, via a handful of oxy, after Bobby waxes rhapsodic about why Clay had to die.
- Desperately Craves Affection: A big part of Juices character, verging on a Fatal Flaw. Juice, due to his loneliness, is very easily manipulated by people showing him any sign of care or kindness. Throughout the series Gemma, Clay and Jax all manipulate him by feigning respect or concern for him, or just by giving him physical affection.
- Disappeared Dad: Probably why he tailed Clay around like a puppy in Season 5.
- The Ditz: Seemed to be under the impression that giving crystal meth to a Doberman would help him and Tig steal a truck unnoticed. This goes exactly as it sounds.
- Extreme Doormat: Towards the club, he tolerates a lot of abuse from them.
- Face Death with Dignity: He knows that Jax has tasked Tully with his murder. Instead of killing him and undermining SAMCRO in the process, he tells Tully about the Triad plot to murder him and gives him his shiv. Tully—who up to this point had considered Juice to be a complete joke—actually gains a bit of respect for him in the process. Not that he really needed his rapist's respect. This is a rather tragic example, as he really has no reason to go through with it other than that he's suicidal. He knows that his former "brothers" want him dead, and just doesn't have it in him anymore to fight back. He's just done. It just shows how broken Juice is that he would allow himself to be murdered by his rapist, all for Jax.
- Genius Ditz: Juice is quite simple-minded and bad at thinking on the fly. But he is quite skilled at IT, namely computer hacking.
- Hair-Trigger Temper: As a result of his Break the Cutie, he's developed this by the later seasons.
- I Just Want to Be Loved: The Club is his only family, and he would do anything for them. So when they muster him out after the Darvany thing...? Hoooo boy.
- Love Martyr: Towards the club, he adores them and no matter how poorly they treat him, he'll continue to be willing to do and endure anything for them. This can be seen in the final season, where he lets Ron Tully abuse and eventually kill him to further their interests. The rest of the club is so indifferent to him, that no one even mentions his death in the next episode.
- Manchild: He's rather sensitive and naive for an outlaw biker. He's also very trusting and deferential to father figures like Chibs and Clay despite being an adult in his thirties. Unser even comments to Althea that Juice is like a child.
- Manly Tears: He sheds quite a few in Season 4,5 and 6 while alienated from the club. By 7, though, they're all gone.
- Mr. Fanservice: He's an attractive man with a lean, muscular physique. Which is showed off quite a bit throughout the series. Particularly in Season 7 where nearly every episode features him shirtless, in a tight tank top or completely naked.
- No-Respect Guy: Even in the first 3 seasons before he was manipulated into becoming The Mole by the police Juice was still treated contemptuously by the club. Despite being a fully patched in member and the clubs intelligence officer Juice was still treated like a prospect and forced to do the clubs menial jobs. He was also subjected to hazing and humilations unlike other club members, such as when Clay had Juice stripped and left outside in public wearing a diaper.
- Older Than They Look: True of the actors, anyway - would you believe Theo Rossi is actually six years older than Charlie Hunnam and two years older than Ryan Hurst?
- Only Known by Their Nickname: It was exceedingly rare for him to be called by his actual legal name. The only character who did so regularly was Lincoln Potter. In the final episode when Jax is giving Patterson his confession he actually seems to forgot Juice wasn't his real name and has to backtrack and refer to him as Juan-Carlos Ortiz.
- Plucky Comic Relief: In earlier seasons. However, time has turned him into a more serious character.
- Puppy-Dog Eyes: Has incredibily expressive,adorable, big brown eyes.
- The Quisling: He offers to be this to the Mayans in exchange for safe passage into Mexico. Alvarez doesn't go for it, however, and he tells Jax that he wanted no part of making a deal with a rat.
- Sanity Slippage: In Season seven he becomes increasingly paranoid to the point of killing an innocent man who he thought was an assassin.
- Sex Slave: As Tully's "prison bitch", this was essentially Juices fate in the final episodes of season 7.
- Tattooed Crook: Most notable being the ones on the side of his head. He also gets 2 skulls on his chest at some point as seen
in between Season 5 and 6. - Techno Wizard: Capable of hacking into many local sources as well as being the man to upgrade any computer interests.
- Token Good Teammate: Kinda, at least pre-Break the Cutie. By the end of Season 6, he definitely jumped off the slippery slope.
- Token Minority: The only club member who isn't white or Ambiguously Brown.
- Took a Level in Badass: While he was always pretty badass, he's stepped it up a notch in season 6, rivaling Chibs, Tig, and Happy.
- Trauma Conga Line: From Season 4 onward, life just seems to shit on him, and he constantly buckles under the pressure to the point that he becomes a suicidal wreck by the end.
- Those Two Guys: With Half-Sack and to an extent Tig in Season 1.Tig: "I'm gonna dunk my balls in your mouth. You're gonna gag, I'm gonna laugh, we'll be best friends forever."Juice: "Why you gotta be that way?"
- Wide-Eyed Idealist: Realtively, for an outlaw. Juice, particulairly in the first 3 seasons, had a rather innocent and naive attitude towards the outlaw life. Unfortunaetly, this marks him out as an easy target for manipulation throughout the series.
Kip "Half-Sack" Epps
Played By: Johnny Lewis
Rank: Prospect (patched-in posthumously)
Years Active: 2008 - 2009
An Army veteran of the Iraq War and prospective member.
- Badass Biker: Despite being a prospect with a ButtMonkey status, his competence and motorcycle riding skills make up for it.
- Boxing Battler: He was a junior lightweight boxing champion during his time in the Army. These skills come in handy in "Old Bones" when the club enters him into a bare-knuckle boxing competition for a chance at the winnings.
- Butt-Monkey: He's caught in a cycle where the club makes fun of him for being stupid, so he does something really stupid to try and impress them, and thus they mock him even more.
- Chew Toy: Being a prospect means it's his job to be belittled by the club and given all the horrible jobs nobody else wants to do.
- Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: He may be constantly mocked by full patched members, but he's a former soldier and boxing champion and will kick ass if it's neccesary.
- Dropped a Bridge on Him: The actor left because he was dissatisfied with how the character was being treated, leading to a sudden death in the Season 2 finale at the hands of a relatively minor character.
- Named After the Injury: Is nicknamed "Half-Sack" due to losing a testicle in an IED explosion while serving in the Army during the Iraq War.
- Nice Guy: He's one of the most likable and understanding members of the group.
- No-Respect Guy: Though they trust him enough to patch him in, he is always looked down on by other club members and forced to do all the hardest, crappiest work.
- Perma-Stubble: Unlike the other regular cast members, he never changes his physical appearance.
- Scars Are Forever: His nickname refers to a war wound. A really nasty one. This trope hits even harder on the nail later on after he tries to get an artificial testicle put in, but his body rejects it and it has to be removed.
- Those Two Guys: With Juice in Season 1.
Nero Padilla
"I'm a companionator. I bring folks together. I'm all about the love."
Played By: Jimmy Smits
A Mexican-American pimp (who refers to himself as a "companionator") and the head of a gang of Mexicans known as the Byz Lats.
- Affably Evil: Very much so. Nero is a pimp and a killer, but he's an extremely charming pimp and killer who is genuine in his good intentions and wants to leave the criminal life.
- Earn Your Happy Ending: Ends up leaving Charming with Wendy, making them the only two major characters that are able to do so.
- Foil: For Clay. He steps in and more or less fills his primary roles by becoming a mentor and alternative father figure to Jax and Gemma's lover. His more gentle ways and desire to step away from the criminal lifestyle directly contrast Clay. It is also worth noting that he slips back into his old gangster ways almost at exactly the same time that Clay is booted out of the club.
- Honor Before Reason: His loyalty to SAMCRO, especially Jax and Gemma, is the reason he never truly gives up his life of crime.
- I Did What I Had to Do: His killing of Arcadio is justified in this way.
- Latin Lover: To Gemma from Season 5 onward.
- Maybe Ever After: How some interpret things between him and Wendy in the finale.
- The Mentor: He swiftly becomes one for Jax.
- Neighbourhood-Friendly Gangsters: He tries!
- Nice Guy: Subverted. While he is probably one of the nicest and most likable characters in the show (polite to everyone, trying to re-conciliate people with each other and avoiding bad blood, bonding with her lover's son Jax and her friend Unser etc.), he lacks the throwaway characteristics of the nice guy.
- Papa Wolf: To his son, Lucius.
- Pimp Duds: Averted. Nero doesn't dress poorly, but he doesn't dress garishly or draw attention to himself.
- Promotion to Opening Titles: Sort of. He's now listed under "Starring" after the opening credits, so he is main cast now, but he's not in the opening titles.
- Retired Badass: At first, but his involvement with the club draws him out of retirement.
- Sleeping with the Boss: Averted; Nero refuses to sleep with his brothel employees who are mostly half his age. In his words, "I like a little patina on my precious metals."
- Taking the Heat: He blames himself for the guns issue, telling Patterson he bought the gun and gave it to Darvany.
Happy Lowman
"I know a thousand places to bury bodies."
Played By: David Labrava
Rank: Sergeant-at-Arms
Years Active: ? - Present
SAMCRO's Sergeant-at-Arms. Formerly part of the Tacoma and Nomad charters, Happy is a ruthless killer and sports a happy face tattoo for each one of his assassinations. Like Tig, he is often asked to take on jobs for which no one else has the stomach.
- Affably Evil: Despite being a coldblooded sociopath, Happy is very likable and friendly.
- Ambiguously Brown: Just what race is Happy? There was a reference to "his people" once, and they apparently live on a reserve, but he's never been officially identified as Native American. Whatever he is, he clearly isn't Caucasian.
- Ascended Extra: Shows up long before his official introduction as the hitman who kills Alvarez's son.
- Ax-Crazy: He just loves violence, he doesn't care about collateral.
- Badass Biker: what more would you expect from a character played by a real-life Hells Angel? * The Big Guy: In Season 6 he's the new Sgt-at-Arms for SAMCRO.
- Bunny-Ears Lawyer: And how. He is perfectly entertained by Tom and Jerry cartoons, but also will watch a man get tortured to death like a student taking notes.
- Blood Knight: By far the most blood-thirsty of the team, and he revels in every second of it.
- Combat Sadomasochist: A bullet scrapes his head... his response: "I am rapturous!"
- Comedic Sociopathy: Probably the most prominent example in the series.
- Comically Serious: Happy has his moments.
- Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas: He visits his mom and aunt from time to time.
- Evil Sounds Raspy: Raspy voice, that says it all.
- Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique: Happy is the club's go-to guy when they need to wring information out of somebody.
- Manly Tears: When Jax turns himself in the Season 6 finale.
- Meaningful Name: Implicitly, his name refers to his custom of getting a smiley face tattoo for every hit he carries out for the club. It's eventually subverted when it's revealed that Happy is his real name.
- Only Known By Their Nick Name: Subverted. One assumes Happy isn't his real name. Turns out, Happy is his real name - according to the rap sheets released on the official SOA app, anyway. Every other character is referred to as Firstname "Nickname" Lastname, even when it's barely a nickname like Clay or Bobby, but Happy's just Happy Lowman.
- Confirmed in the show. During season four, when Lincoln Potter is showing Eli Roosevelt the "war room" during the RICO case, Happy's mugshot on the wall of members is simply labeled "Happy Lowman." Later it was confirmed by Kurt Sutter via a tweet.
- Professional Killer: Of the hitman type.
- Promotion to Opening Titles: For the final season.
- The Sociopath: Easily the most clear-cut example in the Sons, being an admitted Serial Killer completely devoid of empathy. His only moral standards are not betraying his gang, and providing for his family. That's it. It's even worse in Mayans, where his sociopathy isn't played for laughs anymore, and he's an outright Hate Sink.
- Tattooed Crook: Most notably, though rarely seen, are the twenty or so smiley face tattoos he has; one for every official hit he's carried out for the club.
- Torture Technician: Happy has both experience and a fascination with torture. He avidly watches Sean Casey tear apart O'Neill for a confession on Jimmy O in Belfast and marvels at the tools Luis brings in to use on a Lobo Sonora soldier.
George "Ratboy" Skogstrom
Played By: Niko Nicotera
Rank: Soldier
Years Active: 2011 - Present
A young, competent and quiet prospect who is eventually patched in.
- Ascended Prospect: Rat was a prospect for many seasons before finally being patched in.
- Butt-Monkey: Like most Prospects, he's given all the dirty jobs that nobody else wants to do.
- Deadpan Snarker: Since graduating to full member, Rat is a little snarkier. He kinda has to be, given his relationship with Tig.
- Lean and Mean: He's one of the thinner SAMCRO members.
- Promotion to Opening Titles: For the final season.
- The Quiet One: Rat isn't exactly The Voiceless, but he tends to speak only when spoken to.
- Took a Level in Badass: Following Phil's death, Ratboy has picked up the slack, becoming competent and reliable. He's a quick-thinker and doesn't hesitate to take action when it's needed, as seen when Juice and Darby are held at gunpoint by Neo-Nazis. Rat instantly takes a hostage, allowing everyone to escape unharmed.
- Undying Loyalty: When listing off his positive traits, Jax notes that he's both loyal to the club and knows how to keep his mouth shut.
- Vitriolic Best Buds: With Tig, after he get's patched in.
Wendy Case
"Abel's my son. I gave up the right to raise him, but I did not give up the right to know him."
Played By: Drea de Matteo
Jax Teller's ex-wife and the biological mother of Abel Teller. Wendy intentionally became pregnant in hopes that it would keep Jax with her. She is a drug addict who used methamphetamine during her pregnancy, which nearly killed Abel, who was born 10 weeks premature with a hereditary heart malfunction and a hole in his stomach.
- Amicable Exes: It's a LONG road to get there but they are firmly this by Season 7.
- Butt-Monkey: Her life is a series of tragic mistakes. While she has cleaned her life together very well and found a good place for herself, living healthy and sober, the club members forever insist that she is the same reckless junkie she once was.
- The Bus Came Back: In Season 4, clean and sober, and a lesbian. Though it's not until Season 5 that she really comes back to stay.
- Driven to Suicide: Wendy very nearly succeeds in killing herself with an overdose, but her doctors manage to save her.
- Earn Your Happy Ending: Not only is she one of the few characters to survive the series, she also gets custody of Abel and Thomas in the end.
- Genre Blind: Telling Jax to his face that she'll get Abel from him.
- The Mole: For Tara in Season 6.dd
- Promotion to Opening Titles: For the final season.
- Put on a Bus: To rehab, in Season 1. Where she was promptly never heard from again for two seasons.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: She gets a few of these thrown toward her, but also gives out a very accurate one to Jax and Tara.
- Took a Level in Kindness: When she returns from rehab, she's a much more selfless person who feels remorse for her old days. It's implied this is what she was like pre-drug abuse.
