To be honest, I don't know why I watched Sons of Anarchy for so long. 7 seasons of rather extreme violence, some poor acting, weird camera angles, fore-shadowing that would have gone down nicely in a year 11 media studies class and everything else that falls between. It was definitely not one of the best TV shows I've ever seen, probably not even top 5 but here I was tuning in each week to see whether Jax would be able to lead his gang of bikies to glory.

He didn't. The finale of SoA saw Jax ride in to a truck and kill himself, leaving the club to fend for itself. Leaving his club to fend for itself was probably more difficult than leaving his family, mainly his two sons to go on without their father. It was clear that Jax simply couldn't go on trying to be the father he wanted to be, while trying to do the job as president of the Redwood Originals chapter.

That job involved destroying the lives of far too many people. Some deserved it, some didn't but it didn't matter. In trying to lead his gang and his family in to a a greener field of grass, Jax lead is gang in to the Australian outback. His decision to depart with death was a last choice, but a necessary choice as there was simply no real outcome that could see the Sons move on. 

The finale saw Jax go about writing his wrongs, well not really, more like doing more wrongs to leave the Sons with no worries. There was something weird about Jax popping up from under a blanket and popping August Marks outside of the local courtroom. Marks had become his arch enemy following that Pope guy's death, someone with immense power who had gone from ally to enemy pretty quickly. The man who ruled Oakland, was killed in broad day light with no real master plan - just hide under a blanket. It was too easy, as were the rest of the murders at the hands of dear Jax in the finale. 

That's how I feel about Sons of Anarchy now that it's all done and dusted. It ended all to easily. I would have loved to have seen Jax battle on after killing his mother and the constant thorn in his side Unser. There was so much more that could have been fleshed out, sure Jax's love for everyone led him down this track to ensure that the club was in a good position and that his sons never had to witness this life ever again. But he could have been equally as loving and made better decisions. Even if Jax still died, I would tune in every episode to see how Chibs would lead the Sons. 

You could go in to great depth about the symbolism, the other characters, the politics of gangs and the po-po, but Sons of Anarchy was only ever about Jax. About the battle within the leader of the Sons, a good man who committed terrible acts of violence. Or was he a very bad man who still loved those around him? That's the story and we're led down the track of believing the latter - Jax was purely a thug, apparently. But we know he was a good dude, but just slightly dumb. His acts were never rooted in a deep pool of evil, they just weren't very well thought out. 

Which is all good for me to say, I saw Gemma shank Tara (Jax's wife). I saw all the lies that were being fed to Jax, so they way he acted was understandable. Perhaps that's why I tuned in every time, to see how this guy with so much on his plate would deal with that plate. Every situation was as outlandish as the last, yet somehow Jax would deal with each one appropriately, or as appropriate as possible at that time. It was all about Jax, which I realised late in the piece as the series drew to a close. I had high hopes for other characters and their stories, which is probably why I'm slightly disappointed. But the battle within Jax, the contradictions, the emotions, the leadership, the decision making under pressure and still somehow being some sort of father, kept me watching.

Will I miss Sons of Anarchy? No, there's other shows that will now get my attention and entertain me for a while. But it was definitely a fun ride for a few years and it filled the void of some west coast gangsta antics that exists.