On September 2008, The Sons of Anarchy exploded on our television screens in Kurt Sutter’s vision of a riveting story of an outlaw motorcycle gang. For seven seasons, viewers bear witness to some of the most violent storylines, insane characters, and plot betrayals in modern American television broadcasting history. The integral part of all the mayhem was the matriarch, Gemma Teller Morrow.
Katey Sagal is best known for Peggy, the loud-mouth, obnoxious, criticizing wife of Al Bundy, in the hit show, Married with Children. Her role as Gemma is just as iconic but opposite of her beloved 1990’s character. Gemma was the fierce, tattooed, manipulative unapologetic Queen of SAMCRO. Unfortunately, her strength was also her weakness. She would do anything for her family that often led to substantial irrevocable miscalculations. Here are ten big mistakes made by Gemma that we can all learn from (tongue and cheek, of course).
Never Have Sex After Consuming A Plethora Of Alcohol And Drugs
In Season 4, “Sovereign,” Gemma (Katey Sagal) has sex with Nero (Jimmy Smits), in a drunk drug-induced haze and does not remember a thing. She wakes up, discovering a stranger in her bed, pulls a gun on him, and tries to shoot him.
Waking up and not remembering a thing from the previous night. Or vaguely remembering who is asleep in the bed next to you because of a night full of alcohol and drugs is never good. Nothing ever comes well out of drinking while playing in the sandbox.
Never Drive Drunk, Especially With Children In The Backseat
Jax (Charlie Hunnam) convinces Tara (Maggie Stiff) to let Gemma watch the kids as they try to rekindle their romance at a weekend cabin getaway in Season 5, “Toad’s Wild Ride.” After getting high with her best friend Unser (Dayton Callie), Gemma drives home. She smashes into a tree with her grandson, Abel (Tyler Sylvia/Ryder London), who is lying unconscious the backseat.
Most people are disillusioned that they are okay with driving impaired because they have difficulty in forming evaluative opinions or reaching conclusions concerning available evidence, often about people and courses of action.
Never Threaten To Harm One Child To Save Another
In Season 3, “Baine,” Gemma goes to the orphanage in Belfast with Jax to get Abel. Once they get there and ask the nuns about Abel’s location, they tell them they have no knowledge concerning his whereabouts. Gemma believes that they are lying, so she threatens to kill one of the babies in the orphanage.
Should a person use one child as a chess piece against another? Children are not pawns in the game of life that can be sacrificed for one another to capture the King, although the Queen mother of SAMCRO may view differently.
Never Cheat On Your Husband With His Co-Worker (Club Brother)
A well-known fact of Sons of Anarchy is that Gemma and Clay were having an affair while Gemma was married to the founder of SAMCRO, John Teller (Nicholas Guest) that caused a lot of headaches within the organization. The betrayal led Teller to write a SAMCRO manuscript and subsequently caused him to lose his life.
Infidelity always causes problems, especially when you cheat with one of your spouse’s club brothers. There is an old saying. “Never Crap where you eat.” It usually makes you deathly ill.
Never Pull A Gun On Someone. And If You Pull The Trigger, Make Sure You Don’t Miss (Especially When It’s Your Sociopath Husband)
After Gemma finds money missing from the safe in her house in Season 3, “Hands,” she confronts Clay (Ron Perlman) about putting a hit on Tara. She begins yelling at him, throwing anything she can get her hands on continuously pushing his buttons. Emphatically, Clay tells her to stop. But Emma pulls out a gun shoots at him and misses. This enrages Clay, and he begins to beat her relentlessly.
A well-established rule of thumb is if someone pulls out a gun, then that person better be prepared to use it. And if the trigger is pulled, then you better not miss. The best option is to leave with pride and body parts intact.
Never Tie Up Anyone In Your Father’s Basement
In Season 3, “Caregiver,” Gemma is on the run from ATF and goes to her father’s (Hal Holbrook) house and runs into his caretaker, Amelia (Monique Gabriela Cunen). Believing that she is going to turn her in, Gemma takes Amelia, hostage in the basement. Amelia tries to escape and runs upstairs with a knife in her hand. Surprising Gemma, they fight and Amelia accidentally stabs herself in the chest.
RELATED: Sons of Anarchy: 10 Couples That Would Have Made A Lot Of Sense (But Never Got Together)
If you are ever on the run from law enforcement, it is not a good idea to tie up a hostage in the basement. What good is going to come from it (bathroom breaks, feedings, etc..)? It is 24- hours, seven days a week commitment. Questioning, who is the captor, and who is captured?
Never Conspire With Your Lover To Kill His Buddy Who Happens to Be Your Husband
In seasons 3 and 4, the true intentions of Gemma’s Ex-husband, John Teller, and SAMCRO come to fruition. Jax reads his father’s letters that hinted that Gemma and Clay might have behind his death. Teller writes that if something happens to him, he is sure that Gemma and Clay will be responsible. Teller died in a suspicious traffic accident where it seems that someone tampered with his motorcycle causing him to collide with a semi-truck.
Nothing ever comes good from killing your spouse. News magazines have made their stamp in journalistic television broadcasting the misfortunes of this heinous act. Inevitably, someone goes to jail or has someone crying over them as they lie in a peaceful state forever.
Never Cover Up Killing Your Son’s Fiancée And Blaming Her Death On A Rival Gang.
After Emma kills Tara by repeatedly stabbing her in the back of her head with a carving fork, Jax finds her lying dead on the kitchen floor. Gemma blames Tara’s death on a rival gang that causes chaos in the SAMCRO organization. When the truth is revealed in Season 7, “Black Widow,” it ultimately leads to Gemma’s demise.
We all have little discrepancies that we keep locked away. But killing the love of your son’s life and then blaming it on someone else is entirely different. When the truth is finally revealed, your son may be so mad that he will see red and want to kill you, literally.
Never Kill Your Soon To Be Daughter-In-Law
In Season 6, “A Mother’s Work,” Gemma thinks that Tara (Maggie Stiff) is going to turn on Jax (Charlie Hunnam) and send everyone to jail. In a fit of rage, she grabs her by the hair, repeatedly stabbing her in the back of her head, killing her.
It is never a good idea to kill your soon to be daughter-in-law. Do what future daughter and mothers-in-law have done in the past, yell out expletives, wave fingers in faces, and slam the doors as they storm off. Maybe even throw in an occasional slap, but never kill your son’s, true love.
Never Volunteer To Be Killed By Your Son
Jax finds out the Gemma killed Tara and lied that created turmoil and destruction between SAMCRO and rival gangs. There is a lot of pressure for Jax to have his mother killed, but he cannot find a way to kill her. Gemma eases his pain by telling him that everything is going to be okay.
As she walks past the red roses, Jax raises the gun, shaking, crying, and sobbing that he cannot pull the trigger, but his mother tells him that she loves him from the deepest “purest part of her heart.” Reassuring him, that is time, and she is ready. In one of the most heart-wrenching scenes in Season 7, “Red Rose,” Jax pulls the trigger ending the matriarch’s reign on Sons of Anarchy. Go away for a while, miss some Thanksgivings, Christmases, and birthdays. But never volunteer to get killed by anyone. Especially by your son.