Sons of Anarchy, created by Kurt Sutter, is an action crime drama about an outlaw motorcycle club, SAMCRO, that is operating out of Charming, California. SAMCRO operates both illegal and legal businesses and combines arms dealing with an automotive garage.
Charlie Hunnam stars as Jackson Teller "Jax" who is initially the vice president and next in line to be president after Clay Morrow (Ron Perlman). Jax discovers his late father, John's (Nicholas Guest) manuscript that he left behind before he died. After reading the manuscript, Jax begins to question himself, his club, and his relationships. SAMCRO acts as the protector of its small town and attempts to hold the respect of the people of Charming.
In a series full of intense moments, here are the most intense moments of Sons of Anarchy, ranked.
15 Clay Attacks Gemma (Season 4, Episode 10)
Gemma (Katey Sagal) confronts Clay after he puts a hit on Tara (Maggie Siff) and fails to have her killed. Clay is not happy about Gemma's interference and questions, believing that she should know her place since she is “just an old lady.” Furious that Gemma is questioning him, he brutally beats her up and leaves her covered in bruises.
14 Jax Injects Wendy with Heroin (Season 5, Episode 12)
Wendy tells Tara that she is going after Abel for custody after learning about Abel (Ryder Londo) being kidnapped to Belfast. Jax assures Tara there's no record of Abel ever being in Belfast and the Marshal looking into Otto won't be able to send her to jail.
Jax goes to Wendy's apartment, making sure she's alone and throws her against the wall. Jax tells Wendy that he's going to report her for babbling crazy talk about Abel being kidnapped and demanding a drug test. Jax then jabs a needle into her upper arm, as the heroin takes effect, Wendy crumbles to the floor. Jax tells Wendy, "You don't ever threaten my family again."
13 Clay Castrates a Rapist (Season 1, Episode 3)
SAMCRO hunts down a carnival clown man who raped a local rancher, Elliot Oswald’s (Patrick St. Esprit) 13-year-old daughter. When SAMCRO finds the perpetrator, Clay orders Oswald to cut off the rapist’s testicles. When Oswald is unable to do the task, Clay does it himself and keeps Elliot's fingerprints on the knife for future blackmail purposes.
12 Jax Kills Clay (Season 6, Episode 11)
Clay is being transported during his arrest and Galen O'Shay (Timothy V. Murphy) enlists SAMCRO to assist in attacking Clay's transport truck to free Clay. During the attack, Bobby (Mark Boone Junior) is shot and Juice (Theo Rossi) kills a guard.
After meeting up with the Irish, Jax kills Galen and his men and explains the situation to Clay, stating that the club made a unanimous vote on how to handle the situation. Clay accepts his fate and Jax then executes Clay by shooting him in the neck and then five times in the chest. Jax arranges the bodies to make it look like Clay had a falling out with the Irish, and that they all died in a shootout, allowing him to finally get revenge against Clay as well as Galen.
11 Kyle Picks Fire (Season 1, Episode 5)
When disgraced former SAMCRO member, Kyle Hobart (Brian Van Holt) returns to Charming, the club finds out that Kyle didn’t follow the custom and black out the SOA ink on his back. They gave him a choice of “fire or knife.” Kyle picks fire and Tig (Kim Coates) points a blowtorch to Kyle’s back, burning his tattoo off.
10 Bobby's Mutilation (Season 7, Episode 7)
Jax’s plan to take down August Marks (Billy Brown) doesn't go as planned. Marks kidnaps Bobby (Mark Boone Junior) and proceeds to torture him. Cutting off his fingers, breaking his jaw, and gouging his eye out. Marks sends Bobby's eye to the club along with the torture video.
Later, Jax negotiates for Bobby's release, but the exchange doesn’t go as planned either. Marks hides a gun behind Bobby’s belt, pulls it out, and shoots him.
9 Jax’s Final Ride (Season 7, Episode 13)
For the safety and well-being of his family and friends, Jax decides to take himself out of the equation. After some solemn goodbyes to his children and the members of SAMCRO, he sets off for one final ride. The scene is a tribute to his father, John, and allows viewers to take in what’s about to happen. As swarms of cops surround him, we get one final, peaceful look at Jax before a semi crushes him.
8 Gemma Is Raped (Season 2, Episode 1)
A group of white supremacists, including AJ Weston (Henry Rollins) come to Charming and attempt to force the SAMCRO out of business. When their attempt fails, the white supremacists try another tactic by kidnapping and repeatedly raping Clay’s wife and Jax’s mother, Gemma.
They tell Gemma to let SAMCRO know that if SAMCRO doesn't accept their demands they will do it again. Gemma lies bloody and broken in the warehouse after the vicious gang rape and Chief Unser (Dayton Callie) finds her.
7 Donna Is Killed (Season 1, Episode 12)
At the last minute, Donna (Sprague Grayden) and Opie (Ryan Hurst) switch cars and Donna drives Opie's truck instead. Tig doesn't see the exchange happen and follows Donna by mistake. Clay tries to call Tig to call off the hit on Opie but is unable to reach him.
When Donna stops at a red light, Tig pulls up behind her and fires shots at her through the back of the window. Before Tig drives off, he realizes he killed Donna instead of Opie.
6 Otto Bites Off His Tongue (Season 5, Episode 13)
Otto (Kurt Sutter) is chained up in an interrogation room and is questioned while Lee Toric (Donal Logue) a disgraced U.S. marshal watches. Toric is the brother of the nurse Otto killed and promises to force Otto to testify. Otto defies him by slamming his chin on the table and biting his tongue off, throwing it at the one-way glass.
5 Opie Kills Stahl (Season 3, Episode 13)
Opie forces a terrified Agent Stahl (Ally Walker) to get in the front seat of the cop car. Stahl breaks down crying and begs Opie for her life, to which Opie responds, "This is what she felt." Opie then shoots Stahl in the back of the head, instantly killing her, and avenging the death of his wife Donna.
4 Jax Kills Gemma (Season 7, Episode 12)
Wishing to cover up her involvement and guilt in Tara’s death, Gemma lies to Jax, who proceeds to wage war against Henry Lin (Kenneth Choi) and the Chinese. Juice reveals the truth to Jax and Jax learns what his mother has done. Jax tracks down Gemma and confronts her about killing his wife. Gemma asks Jax to kill her in the garden and Jax attempts to hold back his tears as he pulls the trigger on his mother.
3 Tig’s Daughter Is Burned Alive (Season 5, Episode 1)
Alexander “Tig” Trager accidentally ran over the daughter of powerful Oakland mob boss Damon Pope (Harold Perrineau) in Season 4. To retaliate, Pope chains Tig up in a rail yard, forcing Tig to watch as Pope sets his daughter on fire.
2 Gemma Kills Tara (Season 6, Episode 13)
Gemma assumes Tara was about to spill secrets to the feds and goes over to Tara's house driving Unser's truck. Gemma attacks Tara, bashing her head with an iron and then forcing Tara's head into the sink full of water. Tara tries to fight back, however, Gemma stabs Tara in the head repeatedly with a carving fork.
1 Opie Is Killed (Season 5, Episode 3)
When Jax, Opie, and Tig end up in prison together, they struggle to stay alive during their time in county. Mob boss, Damon Pope demands that one of them fight to the death against his men. Jax refuses to choose and is about to offer himself.
Instead, Opie steps in and hits one of the guards. As Opie is about to sacrifice himself, he headbutts the prison guard, putting up a good fight. Eventually, Opie is overpowered and takes a lead pipe to the back of his skull.