Bobby is often the even-tempered voice of reason among the club members in Sons of Anarchy. He’s not afraid to use force when necessary, but he avoids it if possible. He’s always there for an assist, no matter how grisly the task, and his loyalty knows no bounds. He is SAMCRO through and through, even when it comes back to bite him in the behind.
Bobby wants what’s best for the club first and foremost. He starts out as completely loyal to the club, sometimes to a fault, but as the series progresses, he becomes reckless and his loyalty wavers.
His Contributions Led To Violence
One way Bobby contributes to the club is by performing as an Elvis impersonator. In the first episode, there’s an Asian impersonator that drew a big crowd of Korean tourists and the venue wanted to book him instead of Bobby.
Right before he went on stage, he’s taken aside and beaten up so that Bobby can take his place. This is his biggest contribution and he has to have other impersonators beat up because he's not as good as they are.
Treatment Of Women
Bobby has a carefree attitude and that goes along with the way he approaches relationships. In the Sons of Anarchy world, women are part of the hierarchy and most of them are treated like servants, who are better seen than heard unless they’re the “old ladies” that have earned respect.
Bobby upholds this dynamic more than most and is often seen with paid hookers that he dismisses as soon as he’s done with them. The scenes are played off as fun and games, but looked at objectively, the treatment is pretty abhorrent.
No Sense Of Self Preservation
Bobby does what he’s told, whether it’s disposing of bodies, instigating fights, or even taking the fall for a murder charge. When he takes the shot after Opie freezes up on a job, the witness involved identifies him the easiest and he goes along with whatever he’s accused of after he’s picked up.
Even when presented with the death penalty, Bobby ignores all sense of self-preservation and is ready to take the fall.
Helped Luanna Cook The Books At CaraCara
Luanne was SAMCRO member Otto’s wife and she ran a legitimate pornography business after her husband went to prison. A rival pornography director ruined Luanne’s business and she partnered with SAMCRO to create CaraCara. But that didn’t stop her rivals from coming after her. Bobby took over the books for CaraCara and found out that Luanne was skimming.
He let her get away with it and they started a sexual relationship, the justification being that the “prison clause” means a club member’s wife is technically single when her husband is in jail. Luanne eventually ends up dead and Bobby’s DNA is on her when her body is found. Although he didn’t kill her, this fact is used against him with Otto in prison to try and get him to turn on the club.
Used His Ex-Wife To Get Info For The Club
It takes some time into the series before the fans are surprised by the fact that Bobby has an ex-wife named Precious and two children he neglects. One of them has issues with asthma and needs very expensive inhalers. Precious shows up in one episode of Season 3 and Bobby tells her “the check is in the mail” when she inquires about the child support payments he’s behind on.
Later, he asks her for help when Jax’s son is kidnapped. The club needs help with authorities at the docks and Precious’s new husband can help. Despite neglecting his children, he goes to her. Again, his loyalty to the club becomes a fault, and going to Precious was a decision made on a whim.
Wouldn't Let The Jax/Clay Argument Go
Although Bobby appears to be steady, that also translates to stubbornness in the face of some problems. When he sees people he loves in distress, especially when club members are fighting with each other, he hates taking sides, even if it messes with club votes.
He constantly pushes for Jax and Clay to stop their ongoing feud because "it's not good for the club." They urge him to let it go and he behaves like he's the only peacekeeper that can make it happen.
Went Against Jax and Clay
Season 4 brought a deal with the drug cartel to SAMCRO. Both Clay and Jax agree to the deal because they both want to leave the club and they need a lot of money to live a good a life when they’re out. Bobby wasn’t happy with the deal from the very beginning and he urges Clay to reconsider. Clay is the President and Jax is VP. Within the club, it is never a good idea to go against the top leadership.
By the end of the season, he’s ready to oust Clay as president and even gets everyone else to hold a vote to make it happen. Bobby is so sure that drugs are the wrong thing for the club that he’s willing to force others to take sides in a vote. Previously, he wouldn't take sides, but he turned reckless when it was something he didn't like.
He Went Nomad
Jax became the new president of SAMCRO and when Opie needed some time away from the club, he picked Bobby as his VP. Together, they got the club out of guns and drugs but Jax, Opie, and others still end up in prison. While on the inside, Opie is killed by Damon Pope’s people and Jax went out for brutal revenge. When they find out that The Grim Bastards’ President T.O. is involved, Bobby urges him not to rock the boat on a 20-year relationship. Jax gets his revenge anyway and Bobby sees this as the last straw for his loyalty to Jax.
By the end of the season, he cuts off his VP patch and turns his back on SAMCRO to ride with the nomads. For Jax especially, this action was beyond reproach.
Made Plans Behind The Club’s Back
While riding with the nomads, Bobby’s actions made it seem like he as attempting to reform the branch and go against SAMCRO. It is later revealed that Bobby was recruiting for the club instead of going against them. After he comes back, he flips his previous position against killing Clay and votes to let it happen.
After all that loyalty and morality, it turns out that he was making plans of his own behind everyone’s back, all because he believed it’s what was best for the club. In the end, he acts like he was with Jax all along.
The Actions That Led To His Death
After Tara’s death, Jax is determined to get back at Lin and his gang, no matter what it takes. Bobby is on board and backs up Jax about taking down August Marx. But Marx turned out to be more brutal than they could ever have known and Bobby’s departure from his regular logical thinking character cost him his life.
He knew Jax's plan was reckless and not what was best for the club but he did it anyway. He goes along with Jax's plans and ends up kidnapped and tortured by Marx. After the loss of several fingers, his eye, and a broken jaw, Marx shot Bobby in the head in front of Jax to teach him a lesson.