Sons of Anarchy saw many betrayals and the main characters hiding a bunch of dark secrets, and a theory suggests that one of the biggest and best-hidden secrets was that Clay Morrow (Ron Perlman) was Jax Teller’s (Charlie Hunnam) real father. Back in 2008, Kurt Sutter took the audience into the world of motorcycle clubs in the crime drama TV series Sons of Anarchy. The series was very well received from the beginning, with most praise going towards the performances of the main cast and the themes the show addressed (such as brotherhood, racism, and corruption), allowing Sons of Anarchy to live on for seven seasons, coming to an end in 2014.
Set in the fictional town of Charming, California, Sons of Anarchy followed Jackson “Jax” Teller, the club’s VP at the beginning of the series and the son of John 'JT' Teller, one of the club’s founding members. When Jax finds his father’s manifesto, in which he shared his ideas and views for the club, he realizes these are very different from those of the club’s current President (and Jax’s stepfather), Clay Morrow, and this sends Jax on a journey that makes him question his relationships, family, and role in the club, while also dealing with many issues with other clubs and gangs. Sons of Anarchy also followed the drama within the Teller family quite closely, as Clay and Jax’s mother, Gemma (Katey Sagal), had been hiding a dark secret for years, and once it came to light, it unleashed a series of tragic events.
Although SAMCRO was all about brotherhood and looking after one another and their families, there were a bunch of betrayals among the members of the club, even way before the events of Sons of Anarchy. One of those betrayals and lies has led to a theory that suggests Clay is Jax’s real father, and there are some details throughout Sons of Anarchy that could support this claim.
Sons of Anarchy: What Happened To Jax’s Father?
As mentioned above, John “JT” Teller was one of the founders of SAMCRO, alongside Piney Winston (Opie’s father) and Lenny Janowitz. After serving two years in Vietnam, Piney and JT returned home and saw the deterioration of the country, and they also faced discrimination and economic hardship, which was common to many returning Vietnam veterans. JT, Piney, and Kenny formed SAMCRO in order to rediscover the feeling of brotherhood they found in Vietnam, they settled the clubhouse, and JT took over the automotive repair and garage business with Clay. However, JT’s vision for the club wasn’t fulfilled, as in order to get money, they ended up getting involved in the black market, and to make it all worse, Gemma, JT’s wife, was cheating on him with Clay. JT died in 1993 when he was hit by a semi-truck while riding his bike, and he lived two days before dying from his injuries. There was speculation around JT’s mysterious death, but it was revealed in Sons of Anarchy that it was orchestrated by Clay and Gemma, and they sabotaged JT’s bike (and killed the man they paid to do it in order to better conceal the crime). It’s implied by Jury at one point that JT could have killed himself, as he would have known that something was wrong with his bike, yet he kept riding and was eventually killed.
Could Clay Be Jax’s Real Father?
Given the backstory of JT, Clay, and Gemma, a popular Sons of Anarchy theory claims that Clay is Jax’s real father. It’s unknown when exactly Clay and Gemma started their relationship, but by the time JT was killed, they were already dating behind JT’s back. Clay joined SAMCRO in 1968 and became one of the First 9, while Gemma met JT in 1978. Just two months after meeting JT, Gemma became pregnant with Jax, and she had a second son, Thomas Teller, in 1984. It’s possible, then, that Gemma was also seeing Clay when she started her relationship with JT, and so Jax was actually Clay’s son. Some of the details used to support this theory are the fact that only Thomas’ birth certificate is shown in Sons of Anarchy and Jax’s is nowhere to be seen, and some viewers have pointed out that Jax and Clay both had blonde hair and blue eyes, which are recessive genes.
Clay Being Jax’s Father Makes Sons of Anarchy More Tragic
Sons of Anarchy is already full of tragedies as it is, but Clay being Jax’s father adds even more to that. Jax being Clay’s biological son would make JT’s story even sadder, as everything he thought he knew was a complete lie, he was betrayed by his wife and his business partner and “brother”, and their motivations to get rid of him would also become clearer: after Thomas’ death, the only thing that stopped Clay and Gemma from being together and being the family they wanted to with their son Jax was JT. Of course, this would also mean that Jax’s whole life was a lie and he died without learning two major truths: that JT wasn’t his father and that Gemma was also involved in JT’s death. However, if Clay was Jax’s father, he could have told him when Jax was about to kill him in retaliation for JT’s death, as it’s unlikely that he wouldn’t have known Jax was his kid. Unless Kurt Sutter clears this up, it’s up to the audience to decide if Clay could have been Jax’s father in Sons of Anarchy or not.