‘Sons of Anarchy’ Fans Still Can’t Get Over Opie’s Death Scene

Sons of Anarchy wrapped up in December 2014, but fans still haven’t gotten over one of the show’s biggest deaths. In Season 5, Episode 3, titled “Laying Pipe,” one of the series’ main characters, Opie Winston (Ryan Hurst), dies. And he doesn’t just pass away, he suffers one of the show’s most brutal fates (which is saying something).

After several SAMCRO members get locked up in prison, antagonist Damon Pope (Harold Perrineau) orchestrates a scenario where one of the members will have to fight to the death against fellow prisoners. When Jax Teller (Charlie Hunnam) refuses to name a sacrifice, Opie takes matters into his own hands and volunteers. He faces off against fellow prisoners, who — despite his best efforts — demolish him quickly. The killing blow comes in the form of a lead pipe strike to the back of Opie’s head. Jax is forced to watch all of this, in total agony as he sees his friend sacrifice himself.

This brutal, bloody scene recently resurfaced in the Sons of Anarchy subreddit, where a user shared a meme about how the scene in question was sadder than 1997’s Titanic. SoA fans agreed and shared their memories of the devastating episode. Scroll through to read some of their reactions.

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“F—, it’s so true. This and [Tara] They were both just such raw, brutal deaths,” one person replied.

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“Actually his death didn’t hit me that hard at the moment. The moment i really broke down was during his wake scène. That was gutwrenching,” another person wrote. A second person replied, “Same for me honestly, and then rewatching the show the second time his death actually hit me harder than the first time,” he said.

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“This death caused me to stop watching for a while. It was so brutal,” a heartbroken fan wrote. Another upset replied added, “f— you why would you ruin my day with this.”

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“I paused the show for like 20 mins to comprehend what happened after this scene,” an Opie fan wrote. “And then when the funeral came around man I’ve never felt such pain over something that isn’t real.”

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Another fan had actually just revisited the episode in question. They wrote, “Just watched this episode for the second time yesterday. It hit me so hard.”
 

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“I cried when Tigg’s daughter was thrown in a pit and lit on fire. Then I just never, ever watched SoA again. From the sounds of things, this show just gets harder, doesn’t it?” another viewer wrote.

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All episodes of Sons of Anarchy are currently streaming on Hulu. Its spinoff series, Mayans M.C., is currently in the midst of its third season, airing Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET. You can watch live each week using FuboTV, or stream it after the fact using Hulu.

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