Tonight, it was the end of an era as Gemma Teller met her maker at the hands of her own son.
While most of the final season of Sons of Anarchy has revolved around Gemma and the aftermath of her killing Tara, tonight’s penultimate episode was truly shocking as many were expecting her fate to be decided in next week’s series finale.
Instead, the show’s creator, Kurt Sutter, decided to have Jax Teller kill his mother by shooting her in the head.
TVLine.com caught up with Katey Sagal to discuss her final episode of the show.
When asked if she was surprised that Gemma didn’t make it to the last episode, Sagal revealed that the show has always been Jax’s story and not her own.
“I’ve always seen it as ultimately Jax’s journey,” she said. It made sense to me that the finale would be about Jax and wherever he goes. So no, I wasn’t surprised. I was just glad I made it to Episode 12.”
When discussing if Jax shooting her was the only way to write off her character, the actress admitted she agreed with her husband’s decision.
“This was the best way to go,” she said. “At one point, I speculated where she was going before Kurt told me exactly where she was going, and I really thought a living hell would probably be more torturous. I don’t think she’s a person that could function outside of her little insular world. I just don’t see it. I don’t think she knows how to get a job or make money! [Laughs] All those things she has not done. This is actually the merciful way to go.”
When discussing the end of Gemma and a character that she will always be remembered for, Sagal said that she received the closure she was looking for.
“I will definitely miss her,” Sagal said. “I feel like the way it all ended is perfect. In some ways, having a character die is probably the best way to let go of a character because that character’s been put to rest. She can’t really hang around. I can’t really wonder what she’s going to do next. I can’t do all those things that you might do, especially with someone like her. She had closure, and I have closure playing her. That was a great way to do it.”
