‘Sons of Anarchy’ Creator Says Jax Might Not Have Killed Himself If This Character Survived

When it comes to Sons of Anarchy, no character captivated the audience more than the leading man, Jax Teller. Since the coronavirus pandemic began and quarantine was put in place across the country, the series’ creator Kurt Sutter has been an open book when it comes to his hit FX show.

In continuing his all-access open forums on Twitter, Sutter was asked a poignant question about Teller’s fate had his wife, Tara Knowles, not been killed off in the show by his mother. Sutter started by saying it was a “great question” before explaining how the show may have been entirely different had Tara remained alive. Sutter admitted there’s no correct answer, but had Tara not been murdered, “I don’t think he would have ended himself the way he did.” Teller rode off into the sunset, taking his life on the highway, in the series finale. Sutter went on to say that even though that may have been the case, “One could argue that Jax’s fate was sealed the minute he found John’s manuscript. That eventually ‘this life’ would have ‘his life.’”

This scenario has been a common thought among viewers of the show, a few of which responded to Sutter’s answer, sharing how this concept had crossed their minds, as well. “I always think about this when I rewatch the series, that moment, if someone told Gemma as soon as they found out, everything could’ve been prevented/ panned out different,” the user began. “No beef with the Chinese, Opie wouldn’t be dead, club may not have been introduced to Pope. So many things.”

Throughout his ongoing Q-and-A sessions, Sutter has frequently been asked about Teller and the way his story concluded. Earlier on the creator was asked what went into Teller deciding to go out the way he did, to which Sutter said it had a lot to do with his mother, his father, Tara’s death, but ultimately because of his sons and their future, “The mayhem had to end with him. He did not want his sons to follow in his path.” Along with that, Sutter also was asked about, arguably, the most significant scene in the show’s history that saw Jax take his mother’s life in revenge for Tara. One fan wondered why it took so long for him to do the act, leaving Sutter to say that it only was because it was his mother, and it took him a long time to get comfortable with the idea of doing what he did.