Sons of Anarchy’s Final Episode Teases Jax Teller’s Ending Way Before the Scene Actually Happens

One of the more controversial television endings of all time remains the final moments of Sons of Anarchy. Jax Teller captured the hearts of audiences everywhere when he first rode down a California street on his slick motorcycle. The charming biker from Charming was introduced as a new father with strong commitments to his family and his club who would do anything to protect both. As the series went on, tragedy continued to strike the Teller family until eventually, a climactic final season brought the series to an end. Creator Kurt Sutter knew exactly how to ingrain his series with a ton of thematic relevance that he touched on in various ways throughout the series.

One of the key themes is the consistent father/son element of Sons of Anarchy, and this quality came to define Jax Teller in a big way. From the very beginning of the series, Jax was portrayed as a son trying to get close to a father he had lost early on in his life. By being a member of his father’s club, he follows in the footsteps of John Teller and literally goes down a very similar path. This is touched on time and time again and eventually parallels Jax’s ultimate “circle of being” moment with his ultimate fate. While the ending of Sons of Anarchy is controversial, it is also incredibly nuanced. In fact, Kurt Sutter foreshadowed the final moments of the series in one other way that fans might have missed.

The Opening Of the Final Episode Foreshadowed the Ending

There Is a “Blink, and You’ll Miss It” Moment to Start the Episode
While there have been many different parallels in Sons of Anarchy, the metaphors, symbolism and representations have always been intentionally foreshadowing the ending of Jax Teller’s journey. Whether these examples are big aspects of the show, like John Teller’s fate being expanded on, or small elements like a line of dialogue, Kurt Sutter always knew which buttons to press in order to give extra meaning to Jax’s arc. With the way the final season was playing out, it wasn’t difficult to see what direction Jax was going in. Some fans might have figured out that Sutter was going to parallel John and Jax’s arcs to the point where they completely mirror one another. John Teller was slowly losing his faith in the club and struggling to maintain a sense of purpose for himself and those around him. Feeling lost definitely derived from changes that were happening all around him. Between Gemma drifting away from him, Clay taking the club in different directions and feeling obligated to leave something better behind for his son, John ultimately welcomed an end.

Jax Teller endures similar trials to his father that force him to lose faith in the club and his place in it. With a ton of loss happening all around him, Jax finds a way to overcome any obstacles he has left in order to save his club and family, even if he can’t save himself. In the end, Jax ends up dying on the same Cali freeway his father did, and the moment shook audiences to their core. Kurt Sutter always pushed things in this direction and spread a ton of breadcrumbs to imply it. He never stopped foreshadowing the ending, even in the final episode the ending was in.

All the way at the very beginning of the episode, Kurt Sutter made sure the opening logo that starts every episode had a different element to it than before. If fans listen closely, a breath can be heard being exhaled when the logo comes up on the screen. This is not something that happened in previous Sons of Anarchy episodes and was probably done intentionally to add an extra layer of foreshadowing to the end of the series. Fans will have to listen closely, but the exhalation is there and could imply a couple of different things for the finale.

The Breath That Is Heard Is Jax Teller’s Last Breath

It Could Also Symbolize Other Thematic Meanings

Unless otherwise confirmed by Kurt Sutter himself, fans can speculate on what the addition of an exhaled breath can mean for the episode or the series as a whole. On the one hand, there is an easy explanation that implies this breath that fans hear Jax Teller’s last breath before he dies. While this is believable and works well, adding one more foreshadowing to Jax’s fate before it happens, there are other possible reasons for the breath. If fans think about what happens in the final season and the final episode, it’s also likely Kurt Sutter is commenting on the fact that SAMCRO has been under a lot of pressure and has been dealing with a lot of conflicts throughout the season or even the entire series for that matter. The various biker gang wars, losses and uncertainties have made SAMCRO’s existence a stressful one. While Jax Teller’s story comes to an end, it’s also a very purposeful ending.

Between making sure his children are safe, settling all debts and tying up all loose ends, Jax effectively honors his father’s legacy, saves the club and pushes things in a better direction. For the first time in years, SAMCRO and the Teller family feel like they don’t have to look over their shoulder and worry about the next crisis on its way. Jax brought an end to the most violent, painful and unsettling years of SAMCRO’s existence, and until Kurt Sutter says otherwise, Jax also distanced his children from that brutal lifestyle entirely. In every way, shape and form, Jax Teller brought peace and relief to any remaining survivors of the series. That exhaled breath could just as easily be a symbolic element representing the relief (with a literal sigh of relief) that SAMCRO and the Tellers finally have.It was a long and tumultuous journey for the characters in Sons of Anarchy, and they can finally breathe again.