With the premiere of Sons of Anarchy season 6 rapidly approaching, Comic Con 2013 wound up serving as a timely platform on which series creator Kurt Sutter and the rest of the cast could whet fan appetites for the furthering adventures of Jax Teller and the rest of SAMCRO, offering a sneak peek at some new footage and a chance for everyone to talk about where their character is headed in the series' penultimate season.

To that end, the notion of the series reaching its conclusion was an early topic of discussion, and one that Sutter reportedly addressed by stating it was his desire that he and the show not overstay their welcome. So, with Sons of Anarchy tentatively scheduled to complete its run with a seventh and final season, and with the approach to the finale ostensibly starting in season 5 (as Sutter has previously mentioned that it was the beginning of the storyline's third act), the primary objective for season 6 is to allow the story and the characters to become properly aligned, so that Sutter can begin to orchestrate his "endgame."

Sutter had this to say about the conclusion of the series and how he envisions it all ending in a "pool of blood" - which seems obvious looking at the season's poster:

"I think we've really created these characters and narratives that have been very organic to this world and I feel like we're running towards the finish…ultimately it has to find its endgame…I have a sense of what I want the last scene of the show to be. How we're going to get there and what that looks like, I'm not really sure."

Sons of Anarchy Season 6 poster

(Click to enlarge)

Of course, the start of what will be the final season is still 13 episodes away – which will actually work out to be longer, as FX just announced the season premiere (and likely other episodes) will run for 90-minutes – so while Sutter was able to address the possibility of wrapping up his saga of motorcycles, murder and mayhem in the fictional town of Charming, California, he was more focused on discussing where season 6 will be starting - and what big questions about Jax and his future the storyline will be focusing on.

"We begin season 6 a few days after season 5 and I think obviously there's a lot of big events that happen at the end of season 5 and they will carry us through the season. Can [Jax] be the leader of this outlaw organization and still be a loving father and devoted father? In essence, can he have everything he wants and remain true to who he is? Is he destined to become Clay or is he destined to become JT?"

In that regard, Charlie Hunnam (Jax Teller) was able to comment on how much of a strain taking over as president of the Sons has been for Jax – not to mention the other difficulties in his barely-removed personal life, stemming from his ongoing battle with his stepfather, his tumultuous relationship with his mother and, as was seen late last season, the arrest of his wife Tara (Maggie Siff). Thankfully, Jax has his new VP, Chibs (Tommy Flanagan) onboard to help him through this difficult time, and, according to Flanagan, to stand in for the things Jax's recent endeavors have left him lacking like, "maybe some conscience?"

Tommy Flanagan in Sons of Anarchy Crucifixed

At any rate, Hunnam had this to say about his character:

"I think that he hadn't anticipated quite how difficult it was going to be to lead. Much like many presidents who follow from their predecessor, it's a difficult transition. I think that there's shades of gray...There's a lot on his agenda, I think."

But following the events of the season 5 finale, 'J'ai Obtenu Cette,' no character likely has more on his agenda than Clay Morrow – who wound up not only being arrested, but realizing he'd been completely outplayed by an increasingly cunning and vicious opponent in his stepson Jax.

For Perlman, Clay's journey this season will be one of starting over, as his character finds himself in a position of weakness and subjection that is unlike anything he's ever tackled before. And should he find himself able to withstand the likely onslaught of Damon Pope's men, he'll still have Jax's need for vengeance to look forward to.

Ron Perlman in Sons of Anarchy Darthy

Perlman stated:

"Season 6 is him knowing that there's no more leveraging. There's no more maneuvering. There's no more choices. There's just this bounty on his head and he's no longer in control of how many minutes he's got left. It's the first time in his life when he's not in the position to have any fight left in him. He's worn out all his choices and he's completely at the mercy of other forces."

It sounds as though season 6 will begin with several characters operating from incredibly difficult positions, which seems like everyone is exactly where Sutter wants them to be. At any rate, the wait is almost over and fans can see for themselves what the beginning of the end has in store for all of SAMCRO.

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Sons of Anarchy season 6 premieres Tuesday, September 10 on FX.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter, Hitfix