Sons of Anarchy Round Table: Season 5 Finale

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Jax got this on the Sons of Anarchy Season 5 finale... or so he thought, at least, as the SAMCRO President put his plan for Pope's demise and Clay's incarceration into motion.

But the final scene of "J'ai Obtenu Cette" didn't exactly go as this biker planned.

In the latest edition of the TV Fanatic Round Table, staffers Carla Day, Chris O'Hara and Christine Orlando are joined by Lisa Warren of Sons-of-Anarchy.net to break down the most disgusting and most shocking scenes of a stellar episode...

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What was your favorite scene from the episode?

Carla: When Eli came to arrest Clay, the look of resignation on Clay's face when he realized that he was played by Gemma and set up by Jax. He didn't fight it or run, he just accepted that it was his fate.

Chris: I loved the whole scene when Jax and the Sons helped Nero take out the rival crew at the dog fights. Chibs has been there for Jax all season long, so it was great to see him return the favor and "nail" that guy. The best moment though was Nero running down Dante. He was grinning and laughing like a kid let out of school for recess. Then he just let the dog take care of business while he held the door closed and mused with the guys about how it must really hurt.

Christine: The dog fighting scenes. I used to run an animal shelter and as horrible as this was to watch, it wasn't nearly as bad as what happens in reality. I liked that the show spotlighted something that happens all too frequently around the country. More should be done to stop it.

Lisa: Jax giving Tig some retribution against Pope. I wiped away a few tears when the gun was handed over. It was a moving brotherly gesture on one hand. Like Pope taught Jax recently, different players but the same outcome. 

Grossest scene: the dog fight, the nails to the face or Otto's tongue-gnawing?

Carla: Since Otto's tongue-gnawing invoked my stomach to rebel literally, I have to go with that. It was not only grotesque, but unexpected and that combination did me in.

Chris: The dog fight was the hardest for me to take. I also thought it reminded Tig of watching Opie fight to the death in prison so I had all kinds of emotions running through me.

Christine: Got to go with Otto here. Like the man said, Way to commit.

Lisa: Definitely poor Otto. Once again losing more for the good of the club. I think he had an epiphany, followed through with it and will hopefully have some compassion for Tara as she did for him. This was the most gruesome thing to date on the series, but also among the most noble. FREE OTTO!

Biggest surprise: Tara going to jail, Juice and Gemma helping to set up Clay or Bobby resigning as VP?

Carla: Tara going to jail and how that played out was tragic, but I was more surprised with how Clay's arrest was set up. There were so many moving pieces that had to fall into place for it to work, but it did. Juice cracked at the end, but by then it was too late to save Clay. Gemma's involvement was payback for all that Clay did to her, so her help was not a surprise, but how it happened was.

Chris: Tara going to jail for me was the most disturbing of the three, so I guess it had the highest shock value for me. Clay got what he deserved and Bobby needs to check the whole high and mighty routine. Gemma is evil, perhaps the most morally depraved person on the show. She conspired to kill her husband, then put the man she once loved in jail. She nearly killed her grandkids and then rats out their mother. How can she contend she is nothing without her boys yet have so little concern about what is best for them? She is selfish to no end.

Christine: Tara going to jail, although it shouldn' t have been. Tara was an idiot to tell Gemma she was going to Portland anyway.  It was like waving a red flag in front of a bull.  It wasn't going to end well.

Lisa: Juice and Gemma for sure. At least the former tried to warn Clay at the last moment. Jax used them both as pawns in his quest to take down Clay and I doubt he's done doing so. Like Bobby said: Once you start, it is hard to quit.

Can Jax redeem himself as President?

Carla: Does he need redemption? He did what needed to be done for the club and cleaned up the mess left by Clay. From a club perspective, he should be golden. It's from a personal standpoint that he has issues. His brutality during his quest for revenge may not be easily turned off as shown by his poor judgment regarding Wendy. Can Jax now become the man of his journals? That would be his personal redemption.

Chris: I don’t think there is any redeeming needed. Jax took over the gavel in the middle of a crisis. He did admirably to get the club clear of everything he did and steered them into some new and promising business. The gavel corrupts but the difference is Jax is aware of it. He knows what decisions he makes toe the line of credibility, but they are necessary evils.

Christine: As President, yes. Bobby may not be happy with him but in the end he did what he thought was best for the club and proved himself to be a masterful strategist in the process.  As a person...that's another story. Whatever his motives, he's become as much of a savage as Clay ever was. Turning in the gavel and walking away may be the only way to soul but his almost non-reaction to Tara's arrest makes me wonder if it's already too late.

Lisa: I think not, unless he were to somehow resign. He has shown that almost everyone in the club is expendable. I see him only worrying about saving one relationship and that is the one with his wife. He will do everything in his power to give Tara the fairy tale she asked for, but I don't think he even sees himself in it anymore. The club is his life.

Give Season 5 a grade.

Carla: A. This season transformed SAMCRO through tragedy and Jax's strategic plotting in a brilliant way. Each of the 13 episodes was unexpected and full of intense emotion and turmoil. They came together to show the growth of the characters and the club. It's yet to be determined if the sacrifices will be worth it.

Chris: I give the season an A+. It was a time where the club was threatened and members were turning on one another, but that is nothing new to the Sons. Though it all though, I still felt some of the strongest moments of brotherhood in the show’s history as Jax learned who he could count on.

* On a side note. We saw the homeless woman again, petting the dog in the dumpster. That makes five times throughout the show’s history. What is your take on her? Sutter has never really given a clear answer.

Christine: A+. This season went in directions I never saw coming. It was insane and raw and brutal and yet I couldn't stop watching. Season two had always been my favorite but this season may have topped it.

Lisa: A+. Not only for the cast, crew and efforts, but for Kurt Sutter knowing how to grab us and take us on a journey we shall not soon forget. Amazing stuff all around.

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