The Hit Crime Drama That Should Have Been Canceled Sooner Is Now On Hulu
For every show canceled too soon, from Firefly to Jericho, there’s another half a dozen that held on for far too long. While this is a common sitcom problem, looking at you How I Met Your Mother, other genres aren’t safe from it either, as proven by The Blacklist and, most infamously, Dexter. One of the best examples of this is the fantastic motorcycle crime drama Sons of Anarchy, which had an amazing first few seasons but ended up becoming a parody of itself by the end.
Shares DNA With The Shield
Created by Kurt Sutter, who worked on The Shield alongside Shawn Ryan, Sons of Anarchy tapped into the same dramatic vein of framing the villains of any other series as the heroes. The Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club, Redwood Original (SAMCRO), operates out of rural Charming, California, primarily as gun-runners, but there’s no illegal activity they won’t dip into.
That’s the main point of conflict between Club President Clay Morrow (Ron Perlman) and the son of the deceased founder, Jax Teller (Charlie Hunnam), as the two men never see eye-to-eye on what John Teller wanted his legacy to be.
Warring Idealogies
The finer points of a club charter may not sound exciting, but the early seasons of Sons of Anarchy keep the plot moving, with different factions within the club taking shape. On one side is Clay, his new wife and Jax’s mother, Gemma (Katey Sagal, in what might be her best performance), and most of the club’s members, while on the other is Jax and, more or less, his buddy Opie.
Caught in the middle is everyone else, including the citizens of Charming, some of whom support the club, and others consider them a menace.
Shades Of A Very Dark Grey
The first season shows this dichotomy when a local businessman gets SAMCRO to help get justice for his daughter after she was violated at the town carnival. Sons of Anarchy loves to show that the club isn’t entirely evil, more of a force for self-interest, and it’s here, in “FunTown,” Episode 3, that viewers see this laid out in stark terms. After the club finds the clown who committed the crime, they end up blackmailing the businessman who hired them.
It’s the shade of grey one would expect from someone involved with The Shield, but it’s darker this time.
What If Hamlet Had Two More Acts?
I loved the first two seasons of Sons of Anarchy until, and this is a common refrain on social media, the gang goes to Ireland. The Irish excursion kills Season 3’s momentum, and while yes, some parts of it were very important moving forward (Jax’s letter might as well have been a bomb considering the impact it had), for the most part, it’s the line that divides the series between “great” and “good but starting to go off the road.”
Season 4 ends up being the best of the series, setting up the climatic events of Season 5, which is…ok….but that’s where Sons of Anarchy should have ended. There are still two more seasons to go, and while I remember a few events, for the most part, those seasons were a blur of boring episodes going over the same plot points as previous seasons.
Tons Of Guest Stars Rode Into Town
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the amazing parade of guest stars that rode through Sons of Anarchy as it aired, with some famous names playing villains against SAMCRO. Some were allies, but all of them were caught up in the nihilistic wake of the motorcycle club no matter how they got there.
Keep your eyes peeled for Stephen King, Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan (in a recurring role, no less), Henry Rollins, Danny Trejo, The X-Files Mitch Pileggi, Marilyn Manson, Malcolm Jamal-Warner, and some of The Shield stars, including Walton Goggins and Benito Martinez.
Streaming On Hulu And Disney+
REVIEW SCORE
Sons of Anarchy is a wild ride, but if you don’t feel like finishing the journey, it’s alright to bail, and you’ll know the exact moment when it happens. Kurt Sutter kept the world he built going with a spin-off, Mayans M.C., which is most notable for including Battlestar Galactica’s Edward James Olmos in the main cast as it explores SAMCRO’s rival Mexican club.
Sons of Anarchy is currently streaming on Hulu, or, if you have both services, it’s also on Disney+.
