To say Sons Of Anarchy was a violent show would be putting it mildly. As the show got more popular with each season, it seems the body count would rise too. Since we’re following a biker gang, it’s no secret that protagonist, Jax Teller, was kind of a bad dude. While Jax won the hearts of many throughout the show’s seven seasons, there’s no denying that he was a savage criminal capable of intense violence.
The entire cast was filled with savage individuals, and that’s not even counting the other gang members. Of course, some were worse than others, but even our main character didn’t shy away from committing some questionable actions. He may have been the most handsome antihero on television, but he wasn’t perfect. Here are the ten worst things that Jax Teller ever did. Warning, it’s about to get gritty and bleak.
10. Agreeing To Get Involved With The Cartel
Most of SAMCRO’s biggest issues in the show’s last few seasons stemmed from one bad decision: getting involved with the Galindo cartel. While Clay was the one who orchestrated the deal for his own selfish reasons, it was Jax who was there to back him up. Jax didn’t agree with it, but in order to get out of the club safely, he offered his support of the decision. This was pretty much the beginning of the end for the brotherhood, as evident by the many horrible things that happen to the club season 4 and onward. If Jax had not backed up Clay, the club may have not voted it in.
9. Not Immediately Telling Opie Who Killed Donna
Season one ended quite tragically, with Opie’s wife, Donna, being shot accidentally by Tig. The intended target was Opie, but a last-minute switch of the cars caused Tig to go for the wrong person. Jax ended up finding out quickly who was behind the attack. Tig was only the gunmen as Clay was the one who made the call. Throughout season 2, Jax keeps this secret from his best friend. Jax may have been wanting to protect Opie from the truth, but holding onto the secret only made things worse when Opie eventually finds out.
8. Killing Sergeant Mackey And His Wife
Fans badly wanted Jax to get revenge on his best friend’s brutal death. In a show revolving around violent gang members, Opie was probably the one with the most morals. Viewers were saddened and shocked by his demise in prison. However, they were not prepared by how disturbing said revenge was going to be.
Jax, Tig, and Bobby break into Sergeant Mackey’s house and end up killing his innocent wife, and then eventually, him. While Mackey was a cold person, his vicious beating was hard to watch at the hands of the show’s protagonist.
7. Ordering Chibbs To Kill T.O.’s Cousin
While not as disturbing as the killing of Sergeant Mackey, this revenge killing is bad for a different reason. After one of the prisoners who beat Opie to death, Randall, gets out of prison, SAMCRO makes it their mission to hunt him down. The only problem is that Randall happens to be cousins with T.O., the president of the Grim Bastards. Jax made a promise to T.O. that they would leave Randall be if they delivered him for questioning. Even after they have Randall begging for his life, Jax still orders Chibbs to execute him directly in front of T.O. This definitely puts a dent in their long relationship with the Grim Bastards.
6. Giving Tig To August Marks
It's fair to say that Tig made a mistake in accidentally killing Damon Pope’s daughter. Tig paid the price, unfortunately, with the death of his daughter. Due to this, it seems that Tig didn’t deserve any more punishment. Even after they kill Pope, August Marks, who is Pope’s successor, still tells Jax they need to kill Tig. Jax doesn’t hesitate to give up Tig. Luckily, Tig is not executed by August, as they made some sort of deal. Still, it’s a cold move from Jax to practically sign a fellow brother’s death warrant.
5. Shooting Wendy Up With Heroin
When the show first started, fans absolutely hated Wendy. For good reason, as she was a junkie who almost killed Abel before he was even born. After she comes back, she appears to be sober and just wants to be a mother to Abel. After she threatens to get custody of him, Jax is pissed. Instead of discussing it with her, Jax instead decides to hold her down and shoot her up with heroin to ensure she won’t pass any drug tests. Season 5 started to show Jax in a more antagonistic light, with this scene being a huge factor in it.
4. Ordering Juice To Kill Darvaney Jennings
Season 6 is when the disturbing and gruesome scenes started to pop up more often. It all began in the premiere, which ended in a school shooting, with the gun used being one that SAMCRO sold. The shooter’s mother, Darvaney Jennings, is obviously distressed over what her son did.
Everyone agrees it’s best to get them out of town for the time being. As they are in the cabin, for the time being, Jax makes the controversial call that Jennings needs to die. He orders Juice to do it silently. It’s a hard scene to watch, and it also leads to Juice becoming more and more unstable as the season progresses.
3. Killing Jury
This seemed to be the beginning of the end for Jax. After the club suspects one of their members to be a rat, they question Jury. It’s understandable since they unknowingly killed Jury’s son. After a heated argument ensues, Jax pulls out his gun and kills Jury but claims self-defense. Killing a member is a big no-no in the club. Jury was not someone who deserved to die, which makes it all the more tough to swallow knowing that it was the show’s main protagonist who did out of pure rage and selfishness.
2. Torturing A Man To Death For Something He Didn’t Do
Only Sons Of Anarchy would showcase a brutal torture sequence complemented by a haunting rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody. To be fair, Gemma is just as responsible for this scene since she framed one of Lin's guys, Chris, as the one who killed Tara. Since Jax is so depressed and vengeful over his wife’s death, he’s not going to question what his mom says. Still, the way Jax carries out this execution is hard to stomach. This poor guy may not have been a completely innocent person since he worked for Lin, but he definitely didn’t deserve what he got.
1. Killing Gemma And Unser
Sons Of Anarchy was always framed as a retelling of Hamlet, but this time with badass bikers. Due to this, we know Jax was going to be a tragic hero who would end up killing both his step-father and mother. It’s still heartbreaking to see the main protagonist shoot his own mother in the head, even if Gemma had it coming for killing Tara. What was not justified, however, was Jax shooting Unser as well. Unser was loyal to Gemma until the very end. No one imagined Jax would be the one who causes his demise.