History Series / SonsOfAnarchy

%% * [[IllGirl Ill Boy]]: Abel in the first season. Seems to be better later.

** Jax and Gemma, obviously.

** [[spoiler: AJ Weston simply sits down and accepts his defeat. In an apparent trade-off, he demands that his son be left out of the grudge and not see his corpse afterwards]].
** [[spoiler: Piney. He simply tries to plead for Tara's life without any regard for his own after being disarmed by Clay. Too bad Clay didn't listen.

** [[spoiler:Clay Morrow. Upon realizing that all the Sons voted to have him killed, he calmly walks into the room Jax intends to kill him in and calmly asks "This good?" before Jax shoots him in the neck]].

* FairCop: Deputy Hale.

** [[spoiler: Tig stages the murder of Opie to look like a Mayan retaliation, accidentally killing Donna.]]
** [[spoiler: After Opie takes vengeance on a Mayan biker, Jax (who knows it was Tig) stages the dead body to look like a One Niner killing.]]

* FamilyFriendlyStripper: Every worker of the porn industry is shown clothed during their shifts. Even the topless ones get pasties.
* FanDisservice: There are a few rape scenes here and there, most notably [[spoiler:Otto getting raped in prison in the Season 6 premiere]]. And on that note...

* {{Fanservice}}: There's at least one sex scene per season. "Faith and Despondency" ''starts'' with a montage of various Sons having sex.

** Likewise, Jax, Clay and Opie don't have their more muscular builds that they do later on in the show. Opie in particular (other than one scene which was shot after the original pilot) is much more hefty in the pilot than any of the following episodes.

** In the same season Unser is also allowed a seat at the table when Hale and Stahl conspire to keep him out of the loop on their investigation of SAMCRO and bar him from the station. At the time the situation is deemed serious enough that Unser seated with the club isn't commented on, but given how crazy the club's antics get later in the series, its odd seeing a supposed GodzillaThreshhold of allowing a cop in Church crossed this early in the show with how low-stakes the situation seems to the viewer.

** Likewise, Jax, Clay and Opie don't have their more muscular builds that they do later on in the show. Opie in particular is much more hefty in the pilot than any of the following episodes.
** Also, the earlier episodes followed the cliched formula of SAMCRO running around, solving problems and pissing off Hale with the way that they are always five steps ahead of the local cops due Unser being in bed with them. It would not be until closer to the end of the first season that a real over-arcing storyline would take hold.
** In Season 1 Half-Sack was seated at the table in "Giving back" (in Juice's seat) despite being only a prospect and would be seen multiple times sitting in the background of the room afterwards. Later seasons would have it that prospects were not even allowed in the room during Church unless specifically invited in and would show shock to be offered a seat.

* EasilyForgiven: Although Gemma had a part in the murder of John Teller, Jax doesn't seem to have any resentment towards her, instead towards Clay, since he pulled the strings. This is because Jax never learns about her involvement in the murder.

** Hilariously, in a deleted scene, Bobby scolds Half-Sack for beating up his competition as it will probably cost him any future gigs due to fear of reprisal and suggests his action may lead to him losing any chance of joining SAMCRO. This was cut, probably for not adding anything of real value to the storyline.

* SituationalSexuality: Alluded to after the Sons are released from prison when Gemma teases by implying that he engaged in sexual activity with Juice while inside.
-->'''Clay''': ''

* CharacterizationMarchesOn: Remember the pilot when Bobby used to be a bomb expert and apparently could barely count his own fingers? If not, its probably because it only lasted a few episodes before he became the clubs bookkeeper and left all the explosive stuff to Opie. His Elvis impersonation is also completely dropped after the first 2 seasons. Justified in that due to the club’s antics over the course of the show, he is either busy with club business or in prison. Not to mention, cocaine and guns likely make a hell of a larger profit than singing Elvis tunes in Lake Tahoe.

* KillEmAll: A huge number of characters, both major and minor, die over the course of the series. Only 2 main cast members from Season 1 are still alive by the end of Season 7. [[spoiler: And speaking of Season 7, about half of the main cast of that season are killed before the series ends.]]

* LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters: By the fifth season, the show has accumulated dozens of supporting and recurring characters, gangs, and criminal organizations.

* AdultFear: The little blonde boy in the first episode of the sixth season. First we see he's been cutting himself and drawing nightmarish illustrations, after which [[spoiler:he proceeds to commit a school shooting.]]
** [[spoiler: Gemma getting in a wreck while high with Jax's sons in the car.]]

* BluffingTheAuthorities: SAMCRO does this fairly often. Special mention goes to the Season 4 finale. With police arrival imminent, Clay spins a story of being shot by 2 black gangbangers in order to keep club business [[spoiler: namely, the fact that he was actually shot by one of his own brother]] out of the limelight.

''Sons of Anarchy'' is a television drama series from the Creator/{{FX network|s}}; it was created by former ''Series/TheShield'' writer Creator/KurtSutter. The series, which can be described as "''{{Theatre/Hamlet}}'' [[JustForFun/XMeetsY meets]] the [[AllBikersAreHellsAngels Hells Angels]]", focuses on the criminal exploits of the Sons of Anarchy motorcycle club in the northern Californian town of Charming.

* BluffingTheAuthorities: SAMCRO does this fairly often. Special mention goes to the Season 4 finale. With police arrival imminent, Clay spins a story of being shot by 2 black gangbangers in order to keep club business (namely, the fact that he was actually shot by one of his own brothers) out of the limelight.

** A subtle one in Seasons 1 and 5. Jax in his very first shot of the show is shown cruising along the highway enjoying life as a member of SAMCRO. That same shot is replicated in Season 5, complete with Jax smoking a cigarette as he cruises, yet you can see the strain that the events between then and now have laid on him. He visibly looks more world-weary and angry.

** Agent Stahl herself intends to do this to SAMCRO by turning them against each other and thus subverting the principles of loyalty and brotherhood the bikers are so proud of. This becomes the primary motive in seasons 2 and 3. [[spoiler: She fails and the Sons break her instead.]]

** Lincoln Potter, the Assistant U.S. Attorney who's investigating the Sons. He has a number of strange mannerisms (including standing on the main table of his task force’s office while either addressing them or simply looking at pictures) that get the Sheriff to call him "a weird dude." He says that his behavior does serve a purpose, but it's also because he doesn't like most people.

* ByTheBookCop: Hale and Roosevelt start out this way, although both move towards a more mixed approach due to the events of the series. Hale stops viewing the MC as the BigBad of his own personal PoliceProcedural story after first being entangled with the ATF and seeing the damage law enforcement will do to innocents for a perceived win, then trying to bend the law by allying with LOAN in Season 2, only to discover how truly monstrous they are and realizing that SAMCRO truly is trying to protect Charming in their own way. Roosevelt comes to an understanding with Jax [[spoiler:after working with him to get revenge on Clay for his wife's murder]]. [[spoiler:Unfortunately, both characters' journeys away from this trope end in their deaths.]]
* CaliforniaDoubling: An interesting variation, in that the show is set in California--but filmed in noticeably different bits of the state. So it's California doubling for... California.

** An unwitting version happens when Gemma finds the partially burned copy of John’s manuscript and takes it away; in the Season 1 finale, Piney gives Jax his copy.
* CarChase: The Sons chase someone on their motorcycles almost once an episode, often in a running gun battle.
* TheCartel: In season 4, Clay makes a deal with the Mexican Gallindo Cartel, ostensibly to sell them military-grade weaponry from their Northern Irish contacts, but a secret part of the agreement means that SAMCRO will transport their cocaine into northern California while the Mayans will distribute it. This causes an intra-club conflict since the Sons has traditionally been hard on drugs, but Jax chooses to support Clay for his own reasons. They also get involved in a major gang war when the rival Sonora Cartel shows up in the area. Additionally, the end of the season reveals that [[spoiler:the Gallindo Cartel has been infiltrated and "subsidized" (read: taken over) by the CIA to stabilize the drug trade]].

* VillainDecay: In the early seasons, the Sons are little more than a brutal criminal organization, and Jax is conflicted about whether the club is corrupting his soul. As the seasons progress and Jax gains more control over the club, the Sons becomes more noble. By season six, the Sons are doing favors for a battered transexual and calling her "darlin'."

* AbortedArc: Season two was supposed to feature the introduction of the Tacoma Washington branch of SAMCRO after Happy's appearances in Season 1. Their criminal specialty would be established as robbing banks along the west coast, resulting in an episode where they would team-up with Opie and several other SAMCRO members in robbing a bank, in order to obtain the money needed to bail out Jax and the other incarcerated members of SAMCRO. As it stands, the plotline got dropped save for the introduction of the Tacoma's Sgt. At Arms Herman Kozik. The storyline was eventually reworked for Season 4, only now its the Tucson, Arizona chapter and they're involved in the crystal meth trade.

* AbortedArc: Season two was supposed to feature the introduction of the Tacoma Washington branch of SAMCRO after Happy's appearances in Season 1. Their criminal specialty would be established as robbing banks along the west coast, resulting in an episode where they would team-up with Opie and several other SAMCRO members in robbing a bank, in order to obtain the money needed to bail Jax/Clay/Juice/Bobby/Tig from jail after their arrest. As it stands, the plotline got dropped save for the introduction of the Tacoma Branch's Sgt. At Arms Herman Kozik. The storyline was eventually reworked for Season 4, only now its the Tucson, Arizona chapter and they're involved in the crystal meth trade.

** [[spoiler: Juice. He knew that killing Tully for the Chinese wouldn't save his life, and it would hurt the club. So he hands the blade to Tully and calmly lets him do his thing. Tully, who had up till that point treated Juice like a joke, actually gains a great deal of respect for him.]]

** [[spoiler: The Galindo Cartel is actually a CIA front using the Sons to take control of the Mexican drug trade. Jax is forced into staying a Son and becoming President, and in turn forced to keep Clay alive as the Irish will only deal with him.]]

* FeelingTheirAge: This is a major issue for Piney and Clay who as founding members of the club are getting on in years. Piney is forced to carry an oxygen tank with him but can still ride a motorcycle so he is still considered a full member with voting rights. Clay has arthritis in his hands which makes riding a motorcycle difficult for him. If Clay can no longer ride a motorcycle, he will lose full member status and will not be eligible for his share of the profits from their criminal operations. While Piney is content to be a RetiredBadass, Clay gets progressively more desperate and reckless as he tries to make enough money to afford retirement.

* NamedAfterTheInjury: SAMCRO Prospect Kip Epps is nicknamed "Half-Sack" due to [[GroinAttack losing a testicle]] in an IED explosion while serving in the Army during the Iraq War.

While the show borrows heavily from ''Hamlet'', much of the drama comes from the gang's criminal exploits and the Faustian implications of SAMCRO's presence within Charming. This has led to both the wealthier elements of the town to make their own (even worse) Faustian pacts, such as bringing in white supremacists into Charming (see Season Two) to destroy SAMCRO by any means necessary, and the club in turn making more and more desperate decisions to survive, getting in bed with groups they would never have dreamed of.

The Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club, Redwood Original ([[FunWithAcronyms SAMCRO, Sam Crow, the Sons, or just Sons of Anarchy]]) is a motorcycle club that sells guns to various gangs, all the while [[DealWithTheDevil protecting]] the town, in order to preserve Charming as a small town unmolested by big corporations, chain stores, and other corrupt aspects of upper-class suburbia. The main character/Hamlet analogue is [[AntiHero Jackson "Jax" Teller]], son of deceased founder [[PosthumousCharacter John Teller]] and step-son of the current leader of the group, [[TheLeader Clay Morrow]]. The series begins with Jax entering fatherhood as his ex-wife gives birth to their first-born son, while at the same time discovering a manifesto his father wrote prior to his death in which he decries how his anarchist biker club became an organized crime syndicate that was the very thing that he was rebelling against when he conceived of the club, (effectively serving as the Ghost of Hamlet's Father).

While the show borrows heavily from ''Hamlet'', much of the drama comes from the gang's criminal exploits and the Faustian implications of SAMCRO's presence within Charming. This has led to the wealthier elements of the town to make their own (even worse) Faustian pacts, such as bringing in white supremacists into Charming (see Season Two) to destroy SAMCRO by any means necessary.

The Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club, Redwood Original ([[FunWithAcronyms SAMCRO, Sam Crow, the Sons, or just Sons of Anarchy]]) is a motorcycle club that sells guns to various gangs, all the while [[DealWithTheDevil protecting]] the town, in order to preserve Charming as a small town unmolested by big corporations, chain stores, and other corrupt aspects of upper-class suburbia. The main character/Hamlet analogue is [[AntiHero Jackson "Jax" Teller]], son of deceased founder [[PosthumousCharacter John Teller]] and step-son of the current leader of the group, [[TheLeader Clay Morrow]]. The series begins with Jax entering fatherhood as his ex-wife gives birth to their first-born son, while at the same time discovering a manifesto his father wrote prior to his death in which he decries how his anarchist biker club became an organized crime syndicate that was the very thing that he was rebelling against when he conceived of the club.

* ManlyFacialHair: The Sons all qualify, being members of an outlaw motorcycle club who specialize in violence and mayhem. Most of them end up rocking significant amounts of facial hair for most of the show's run. Notable exceptions are Juice [[spoiler: which ends up foreshadowing his betrayal and exile from the club]] and in Season 4 where the first few episodes see Tig clean shaven sans a goatee, and Season 5-6 where Clay wears a permanent five'o'clock shadow due to his health problems and loss of status.

* ManlyFacialHair: The Sons all qualify, being members of an outlaw motorcycle club who specialize in violence and mayhem. Most of them end up rocking significant amounts of facial hair for most of the show's run. Notable exceptions are Juice [[spoiler: Which ends up foreshadowing his betrayal and exile from the club]]and in Season 4 where the first few episodes see Tig clean shaven sans a goatee, and Season 5-6 where Clay wears a permanent five'o'clock shadow due to his health problems and loss of status.

* ManlyFacialHair: The Sons all qualify, being members of an outlaw motorcycle club, rocking significant amounts of facial hair for most of the show's run. Notable exceptions in the Sons are Juice [[spoiler: Which ends up [[Foreshadowing]] his betrayal and exile from the club]]and in Season 4 where the first few episodes see Tig clean shaven sans a goatee, and Season 5-6 where Clay wears a permanent five'o'clock shadow due to his health problems and loss of status.

%%* ManlyFacialHair: Barring Juice, the Sons all rock significant amounts of facial hair for most of the show's run, especially when compared to other criminal elements on the show who tend to have very trim or nonexistent mustaches/goatees. Notable exceptions are Season 4 where the first few episodes see Tig clean shaven sans a goatee, and Season 5-6 where Clay wears a permanent five'o'clock shadow due to his health problems and loss of status.

* ManlyFacialHair: Barring Juice, the Sons all rock significant amounts of facial hair for most of the show's run, especially when compared to other criminal elements on the show who tend to have very trim or nonexistent mustaches/goatees. Notable exceptions are Season 4 where the first few episodes see Tig clean shaven sans a goatee, and Season 5-6 where Clay wears a permanent five'o'clock shadow due to his health problems and loss of status.

* Loophole Abuse: Before Jax was patched in, Piney had lost all interest in the club and rode the bare minimum each month in order to retain his patched status.

* ManlyFacialHair: Barring Juice, the Sons all rock significant amounts of facial hair for most of the show's run, especially when compared to other criminal elements on the show who tend to have very trim or nonexistent mustaches/goatees. Notable exceptions are Season 4 where the first few episodes see Tig clean shaven sans a goatee, and Season 5-6 where Clay wears a permanent five'o'clock shadow due to his health problems and loss of status.