Top 10 Most Heartbreaking Sons of Anarchy Scenes

“Service”

To close out the first season, Opie and the crew are forced to mourn the loss of his wife, Donna. As if her tragic death weren’t bad enough, one member is carrying the guilt of sending her to an early grave. Throughout the beginning of Season 2, we see Tig grappling with his need to confess. Unable to watch his friend suffer any longer, he tearfully admits to mistakenly killing Donna. Between the pains of admission and the pains of realization, this scene is wrought with raw emotion. When Opie processes what happened, he starts pounding on his wife’s killer. Tig takes the beating while repeatedly apologizing. His look of defeat leads the viewer to believe he was ready to die to even the score.

“Darthy”

Jax and Wendy’s relationship has always been pretty tumultuous, with a lot of that tension stemming from her illicit drug use. When Wendy wants to become a part of her boy’s life, she gets clean. Wendy foolishly decides to threaten the family with talking to the cops to ensure her custody over her son. While it isn’t her best decision, she definitely didn’t deserve Jax’s reaction. Under the guise of apologies, Jax comes over only to derail Wendy’s sobriety. Her pleas for him to not stick the needle in her arm are helpless and heart wrenching. The scene is a devastating nod to, and escalation of, the club’s matriarch’s push to put Wendy back on drugs in the beginning of the series.

“Family Recipe”

As the club’s oldest member, there’s something about Piney that everyone seems to look up to. Serving as Devil’s Advocate to Clay, it’s no surprise the two First 9 members butt heads. Tensions reach their peak as Clay tries to take the club into Cartel territory and generally seems to steer the members in the wrong direction. He even begins to think Piney is plotting against him by showing JT’s letters to Jax, proving he killed his father. Riddled with suspicion and paranoia, Clay kills Piney in cold blood and leaves him to rot. No stranger to tragedy, his son Opie is the one who finds the body. This shows just how unhinged the club president has become.

“Sovereign”

If not the most heartbreaking, this has to be the most savage scene in the series. In an act of blind loyalty, Tig seeks revenge after Clay is shot. Believing the One-Niners are responsible, he runs over and kills a woman believed to be associated…but, as it turns out, she’s much more important than that. When Damon Pope finds out what happened to his baby girl, he seeks brutal revenge. Truly an eye-for-an-eye situation, Pope makes Tig watch as his daughter dies in front of him - by burning alive. Tig is helpless and visibly defeated, then left to grovel in the charred aftermath. To think, this was all a vicious cycle that began with Opie seeking his own vengeance against Clay for killing his father.

“Albification”

Spawned by hatred of non-white clubs, the League of American Nationalists and the Aryan Brotherhood devise a wicked plan to get SAMCRO to cut business ties with the Niners and Mayans by kidnapping Gemma. Masked men try to get her to persuade the club to change their mind, and assault her with hopes that she’ll run back to her boys for help. While the scene is painful to watch, Gemma’s decision to hide the assault strikes a massive, melancholy chord. Perhaps with a more dramatized reason, like many victims, she feels that it’s more unsafe to tell the truth. As the powerful matriarch of the group, it’s crushing to see her so scared and fragile following the attack.

“Red Rose”

Juice’s steady downfall has to be the saddest character arc in the club. Since mistakenly cooperating with the feds, he experiences a snowball effect of bad decisions. Juice’s final days are spent in prison where Jax has instructed his inside connections to use the former SAMCRO member for whatever they please. In one final attempt to get back in Jax’s good graces, Juice sacrifices himself for their security. He seems at peace with the fact that his life is about to come to an end, and welcomes a break from the torture as he approaches Tully with a shiv to stick him with. We can’t help but be reminded of his innocence as he mutters his final words: “Just let me finish my pie.”

“The Sleep of Babies”

In SAMCRO, club secrets must be kept at all costs, even if that means having to kill one of your own. Clay becomes suspicious after Opie’s held in police custody for questioning. Fearing Opie may have made a deal, he concocts a plan with his Sergeant-at-Arms to take him out. Clay gives Tig the signal as Opie and Donna leave Abel’s homecoming party. The two switch cars before leaving so Donna can come back to the party. Thinking Opie’s behind the wheel, Tig follows the truck and shoots Donna in the head. Realizing his dreadful mistake, he takes off. Opie is later inconsolable as he lies by his wife’s body at the crime scene moments after putting the kids to bed.

“A Mother’s Work”

Just when you think the club is doomed, it’s the old lady that bails them out. Seeing the death and destruction that follows this lifestyle, Tara decides she wants out…the only problem is that she’s bound to Jax through their children. She makes it clear that she’s willing to do anything to protect herself and her children, which raises a red flag for the original mama bear of the crew. Gemma sticks a fork in those threats by killing Tara and covering up her own trail. Unfortunately, that leaves Jax to find his wife’s body. A brief moment of shock is met with absolute heartbreak. Though his mourning quickly turns to a savage lust for revenge. This moment is undoubtedly the catalyst for his downfall.

“Papa’s Goods”

Goodbyes are never easy. After seven seasons of knowing and loving Jax Teller, he knows his time is up. For the safety and well-being of his family and friends, he decides to take himself out of the equation. It’s one of those moments that the characters and the viewer all know it’s for the best, but still hope for a way out. After some solemn goodbyes to his boys and his brothers in bikes, he sets off for one final ride. The scene is a slow burn tribute to his father, JT, and allows the viewer to truly take in what’s about to happen. As the swarms of cop cars and crows swell, we get one final, peaceful look at Jax before he dies.

“Laying Pipe”

We don’t even want to talk about this one…it still hurts. During the series run, Opie was definitely a fan favorite. Even through his pain and suffering, he still somehow managed to be a good guy. His selflessness reaches its peak when members of the club are imprisoned. Pope wants blood and asks the club to decide who dies. Before Jax has a chance to speak, Opie makes the difficult decision for them. As he’s ripped away, we get to watch through the glass along with the others. Just when we think Opie is holding his own against the other inmates, they brutally beat him to death. The desperation from the other side of the glass is haunting. The moment somehow passes quickly, but lasts forever.