This has been a tough season for Sons of Anarchy fans. The episodes drag on, the writing is careless, and the SAMCRO boys have become villains. (Hands up if you were glad Bobby died.) It’s actually been so bad, >even Kurt Sutter’s appendix jumped ship ; while he was filming last month. Actually, that’s quite painful, and thankfully he recovered quickly, and even Instagrammed his offending appendix. (Watch out prop department, he might try to use it in the show.)
We finally saw some action in episode nine, “What a Piece of Work is Man and the plot lurched forward. Bobby is dead, Marks is in jail, and Unser is cracking the case on Tara’s murder. We also witnessed the start of a charter civil war. That’s a lot of action to cover in four more episodes, and after this season’s sluggish pace, I worry all our questions won’t get answered. So here are my top five predictions for the final four episodes of Sons of Anarchy.
1. Rat is the rat.
Well, truthfully I’m torn between Rat and Charlie Barosky as the rat. Barosky knew where the guns were located, and he was awfully quick to kill that security guard who showed Lin the guns. Maybe Barosky was afraid the guy would slip up and mention Barosky’s name? Hm. I have my doubts about it being Barosky though, because we haven’t seen him in quite a few episodes. I feel like he’d still be in the mix if he were a suspect.
And that leaves Rat. He’s been getting a lot of screen time lately, and it’s always when the rat topic comes up. So here’s my theory: Rat is really the rat, and his girlfriend Brooke is in on it. In fact, she could have been the one who killed Gemma’s birds.
Remember when SAMCRO visited Gib’s mother, and Rat said he and Gib were in boot camp together? Jax praised Rat’s quick thinking, but I think Rat was telling the truth. If that’s the case, he’s turning on the club in retaliation for Gib’s pointless death. OR, Rat could have been an ATF agent this entire time, and that’s the “double life” Brooke was complaining about in the last episode.
Speaking of Brooke, her mother died because of JT’s accident, so she certainly has a bone to pick with the club. Sure, they’ve given her a babysitting job and some stability, but then again, she is “seriously crazy” and I believe she’d turn on the club for the love of Rat. Also, his name is Rat — I could totally see Kurt Sutter rubbing our noses in that (“Come on guys, I’ve been telling you the entire time!”—KS). So I’m not 100% certain Rat is the rat, but he’s the most likely candidate we’ve seen yet.
2. Gemma kills Unser.
We just watched Wayne get tantalizingly close to piecing together Tara’s murder. He knows Dunne is not the murderer, and he’s got a big ol’ cork board leading him to the truth. I’m sure he’ll figure it out by next week’s episode, and confront Gemma about it. Of course, Gemma will attack him, and most likely kill him to keep the truth from spreading. At the very least, Unser will be severely injured.
It won’t matter though, because the truth is out and it’s only a matter of time before Jax hears it. Then we should worry for Juice, whose only line of defense in prison is a lubed-up pocket shank. (Hey—maybe Juice will finally kill Lin, then Jax will have Tully kill Juice!)
3. Abel kills Thomas.
We all know Abel is going to seriously harm someone, and I’m torn between Gemma or Thomas. All signs point to Gemma, since Abel knows she killed Tara, and he keeps creeping up on her midnight mea culpas. However, I don’t know if Abel could physically kill her (although I do see him doing some sort of maiming).
No, I think Gemma is going to be one of the last people standing, and if anyone is going to kill her, it’ll be Jax. Besides, it would be far more tragic if Abel killed Thomas. Imagine everything Tara, Jax, Gemma, and even Wendy, have sacrificed “for the boys.” The scheming, plotting, murdering—imagine all of that was for nothing. It would be a perfectly tragic Sutter ending if the entire cast of Sons of Anarchy imploded and the only one left standing was a four-year-old murderer. Hide your metal lunch boxes.
4. Nero heads off to the ranch with Wendy and Lucius.
I’ve been predicting this since episode six, and I’m more sure about this than anything else. Plus, I really want it to be true because then Nero makes it out alive, and I like the guy.
Wendy and Nero have good chemistry; some of the most charming scenes this season have been between the two of them. I’d like to see them heading off to greener pastures and happier futures. Plus, if I’m wrong about #3, and either Abel or Thomas survive the season, they’ll go with Nero and Wendy too. It’ll be like a modern-day Brady Bunch. Sort of.
5. Jax kills himself.
What?! Yes. I’ve saved this for last because I think it’s the craziest prediction. I’m only bringing it up because we just watched Jury tell Jax that JT kinda killed himself. Jury believed JT knew something was wrong with his bike, and he rode it anyway. This is the first time suicide has ever been mentioned in regards to JT’s death, and we’re just a handful of episodes away from wrapping the entire series. So why would Sutter bring this up if it wouldn’t have significance later on?
Consider the facts—Jax already feels out of control. He hasn’t properly mourned Tara. He is reeling from Bobby’s death. He started a gang war he can’t finish. Now he’s facing a charter civil war. When he finds out Gemma murdered Tara, that’ll be the last straw. Jax will think about Diosa, Collette, West, Bobby, Jury, Marks, the Chinese, and realize it wasn’t worth it. Plus, when they discover the real rat and the club realizes Jax lied about Jury being the rat, they might turn on him too. Never mind the other charters knocking down Jax’s door about Jury’s death. Yes, I think Jax will turn around and see the path of destruction in his wake and just ride off the road like JT did. And Gemma will be the one left standing to mourn over his body, and deal with the consequences of her deception.
Now, I really hope I’m incorrect about that last one. Yes, Jax has become vile this season (I kicked him off Team Antihero a few weeks ago), and at this point, he’s even worse than Clay. But, try to remember Jax from the last six seasons—the guy who steered the club towards legit businesses, and negotiated deals that would make Winston Churchill blush. I mean, he got the Irish to work with August Marks, and the Aryan Brotherhood to deal with the Mayans— doesn’t that count for something? Try to remember Jax before Tara’s death —the one who journaled, and cuddled his boys. Wouldn’t you feel a little sad watching that guy drive off the road? I know I would. Despite every awful thing Jax has done this season, I’d take no joy in watching him die.
Gemma, however, is a completely different story. Her lies started this whole mess and I’d gladly see her go the same way as the Diosa staff. Sadly, I think she’s around until the bitter end, and her punishment will be watching everyone she loves leave town, or die.
Kurt Sutter said only two Sons will die in the final season. We know Bobby is dead, and if you count West (the guy in the warehouse protecting the Chinese guns), that’s two. I don’t count West though, because he’s such a peripheral character most of us don’t even know his name (I had to look it up). So, which other Son is it going to be?
There’s a lot of business to settle in four episodes, and this season has been notoriously slow to progress. Whether these predictions are right or wrong, I just hope the last four episodes are focused, deliberate, and wrap up the series with a nice leather bow.
Emily Worden is a Boston-based freelance writer and author of Make. Sell. Repeat. The Ultimate Business Guide for Artists, Crafters, and Makers. You can follow her on Twitter.