Gemma Teller Morrow is probably the most complicated character on Sons of Anarchy. At times, she can be conniving and manipulative, enforcing her will onto those around her. Yet, that's not without reason, as Gemma truly believes what she's doing is the best for her husband, her son, and for SAMCRO as a whole.
It's this misguided, self-righteous sense of authority that makes Gemma a true love-to-hate character, as, even when she's at his most despicable and maddening, audiences understand her. They understand her motivation and are eagerly awaiting her next badass moment when she flexes her power. Here are five moments when we felt bad for Gemma, and five times when she was the absolute worst.
The Worst: Drove High With Her Grandchildren
Gemma has always offered Jax to help take care of his children, trying to be a good mother and a positive guiding influence on her grandkids. Yet, this is exactly what makes this moment all the more frustrating. When she's supposed to be taking care of Abel and Thomas, she chooses to get high with Unser and drive home with the boys in the back seat.
Sure enough, she crashes the car, and, while the boys ended up being okay, it's still a risk that was stupid and should never have happened.
Felt Bad: When Clay Beats Her
Whil,e for the most part, the two's relationship is strangely wholesome, things do come to a toxic head in this shocking moment. In a fit of rage which was fuelled by Clay's guilt over trying to have Tara murdered, anger over Gemma's meddling against him, and his dismissing Gemma as just "an old lady, and don't you forget it," Gemma pulls a gun on Clay, leading to him savagely beating her.
It's an uncharacteristically problematic moment between the King and Queen of the Sons of Anarchy, and one that reminded us of just the type of world the two live in.
The Worst: Hides The Truth About John From Jax
Jax lives almost his entire life blissfully unaware of many of the truths about his father. A recurring thread throughout the series is him slowly finding out more and more, first finding John's transcript about his original vision for SAMCRO and ending with the revelation that Gemma and Clay conspired to murder John, feeling his opinions would lead to the demise of the club.
This betrayal of trust changes Jax's life in unthinkable ways and shows how manipulative Gemma can truly be.
Felt Bad: Forced Into Sex With Clay
In a bizarre series of events, Gemma finds herself in a conjugal trailer with Clay and two prison guards. Although Gemma had paid the guards handsomely for the privilege of seeing her husband, things took a turn for the worst, with the guards demanding the two have sex for their own voyeuristic pleasure. This scene is heartbreaking, complicated, and truly makes us feel for both Gemma and Clay as they are objectified by the sadistic guards.
The Worst: Holds A Gun To A Baby's Head
Like... who does this? While desperately looking for the kidnapped Abel, the search takes the crew to an orphanage. When the nuns at the orphanage are unwilling to cooperate, Gemma grabs a nearby infant and puts a gun to their head, threatening to kill the innocent child if not given the information needed.
It's a shameless, horrible moment for Gemma. King Solomon would be proud.
Felt Bad: When Clay Dies
Despite their horrifically rocky relationship, Gemma was committed to Clay for better or worse. Gemma put Clay and the Sons over everything else, and it was her life to oversee things as best she could. So, when the rest of SAMCRO votes in secret to have Clay meet Mr. Mayhem, leading to Jax shooting Clay through the throat as Gemma watches, it's devastating, and seeing her lose the love of her life is definitely a rough moment.
The Worst: Blames An Innocent Man For Tara's Death
In her desperate attempts to cover her own tracks in the horrific murder of Tara, Gemma luckily finds herself with an opportunity to blame the murder on one of Henry Lin's men. Seizing the opportunity, Gemma claims that the innocent man is guilty. This leads to the understandably outraged and dangerous Jax torturing the poor man with pliers, knives, and some creative use of literally salting the wounds. Gemma watches this happen, knowing that she caused this and did nothing to stop it.
Felt Bad: THAT Scene With The Neo-Nazis
In one of the show's most shocking moments, Gemma is trapped, tied, threatened, and raped at the hands of a gang of neo-nazis as revenge for a conflict they have with SAMCRO. To make this grotesque and unforgivable act even harder to watch, the scene is juxtaposed with all of the male members of the Sons living life happily, blissfully unaware of the horrors Gemma is currently enduring.
No matter how frustrating or how maddening of a character Gemma is, this is too much to endure.
The Worst: Tara's Death
Tara deserved better. She truly did. All Tara wanted was to provide a good life for herself and for Jax, Abel, and Thomas. But, Gemma didn't see it that way. After years of on-and-off hatred and despite a consistent sense of respect for each other, the conflict comes to blows. By the end, Gemma murders the love of her son's life and the mother of his youngest son. This is the event that pushes Jax over the edge and putting the multiple tragedies of the final season into motion.
Felt Bad: Her Death
It had to happen. After all her meddling, all of her manipulation, it becomes clear to Jax that Gemma has to go. Despite everything that she's done, there's still a Shakespearean aspect to this scene that makes us feel for the bike gang queen, as her own son is forced to end her life.
Leading up to that moment, we see Gemma's sadness and pain, and the hardship she has accepting that she deserves the fate about to befall her. It's the end of a love-hate relationship between her and the audience, and the scene deeply affected all watching.