'Sons of Anarchy' Creator Kurt Sutter Weighs in on Confusion About Final Quote

When Sons of Anarchy ended in 2014, creator Kurt Sutter included a quote from William [...]

By Daniel S. Levine

When Sons of Anarchy ended in 2014, creator Kurt Sutter included a quote from William Shakespeare's Hamlet to really drive his point that the whole series was inspired by the play. During a recent question and answer session with fans, Sutter explained why he went with the particular quote, "Doubt thou the stars are fire. Doubt that the sun doth move. Doubt truth to be a liar, but never doubt I love."

The Sons of Anarchy fan who brought up the quote asked if it meant Charlie Hunnam's Jax Teller really loved Maggie Siff's Tara Knowles. In his response, Sutter explained why he picked a quote he felt "summed up" Hamlet. He called it "a statement that at face value means one thing, but in its declaration, manifests only more questions."

"I wanted to use it at the end because I felt it allowed people to have their own take away about Jax's life and fate," Sutter continued. "Was it noble? Was it evil? Was he tortured? Or the torturer? For me, the very fact that you're asking the questions you are asking was the point."

Sutter has been spending his quarantine during the coronavirus pandemic answering questions from fans on social media. One person simply asked him what inspired him to write Sons of Anarchy in the first place. The series, which ran on FX from 2008 to 2014, followed Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club, Redwood Original (SAMCRO) and the life of Jax Teller. It has since inspired a follow-up series, Mayans M.C., which will return for a third season later this year.

Sutter explained that SOA was born while he was researching motorcycle clubs, specifically looked at the time between the Hollister Riots in 1947 and the early 1960s. He became fascinated with the evolution of motorcycle clubs, which began as gatherings of motorcycle fans and developed into criminal enterprises. He wanted to write about someone who was caught between these changes and how disillusioned he might be. That character turned out to be Jax's father, John Teller.

"Because I wanted to set it present day, I knew [John Teller] would have to be represented by memories. A ghost of things past," Sutter wrote. "That's when the Hamlet archetype fell into place. Jax was the Prince. John Teller, the ghost of Hamlet's father (also named Hamlet). Clay was Hamlet's uncle/step father, the murderous Claudius. And Gemma, Hamlet's mother, the complicit Gertrude."

Aside from Hunnam and Siff, the series also starred Katey Sagal, Mark Boone Junior, Kim Coates, Tommy Flanagan, Johnny Lewis, Ron Perlman, Ryan Hurst, William Lucking, Theo Rossi, Dayon Callie and Jimmy Smitts. Fans of the show and newcomers can check out all 92 episodes on Hulu.

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