Jax Killing Gemma in 'Sons of Anarchy' Couldn't Have Been More Justified

The final season of Sons of Anarchy delivered plenty of brutal moments. Jax (Charlie Hunnam) was reaching the end of his journey, and Gemma (Katey Sagal) wasn't looking forward to facing the consequences of her actions. The mother and son were both set on a collision course that would define the conclusion of the story.

The relationship between Gemma and Jax came to a bitter end when the protagonist of the series put a bullet through his mother's head. Why did Jax kill Gemma in Sons of Anarchy? It all comes down to the crime Katey's character failed to cover up. A murder so despicable it set the stage for the end of the show.

In a world of criminals, people often care about money and power. Despite plenty of setbacks that affected his marriage, Jax proved time and time again that he deeply cared about his wife, Tara (Maggie Siff). The romance between the two wasn't perfect. Nevertheless, Gemma's intentions proved to be worse than anything Jax and Tara ever faced.

Gemma, always needing to be in control, often tried to get between the couple. When Gemma came to believe that Tara was going to turn in the Club to the authorities in order to save her kids and start a better life, she knew she had to take action.

Gemma murdered Tara in her own house. Jax's wife didn't know that her mother-in-law was in the building, with Katey's character taking Tara by surprise with her attack. Gemma quickly fled the scene. When the protagonist of Sons of Anarchy came back home, he was horrified to realize that his wife was gone in such a brutal way.

It would take Jax almost an entire season of the show to learn the truth about what happened. Jax's son, Abel, heard his grandmother talking about killing Tara, and told Jax. At first, it was hard for Jax to believe his son's accusations. But after it all started to make sense, Juice (Theo Rossi) confirmed what Abel had teased.

Gemma couldn't keep the crime hidden forever. When Jax found out about what his mother had done, he quickly took matters into his hands. Jax looked for Gemma and killed her by shooting her in the head, avenging the death of his wife and consolidating his role in the narrative of the Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club, Redwood Original.

By killing his mother, Jax accomplished the biggest goal Sons of Anarchy had set out for him. Gemma's influence was gone, and that meant that the protagonist of the series was now free to choose his own destiny. Jax made a mission out of repairing the damage his mother had done to the Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club.

However, Jax was never to have a happy ending. After killing Gemma, Jax was expelled from the club and sentenced to execution. Chibs (Tommy Flanagan) staged an escape for Jax, allowing the lead of the series to be chased by law enforcement. Jax purposely crashed his motorcycle against a truck. The character chose to die in the exact same way his father did before him. The story of Sons of Anarchy was never going to end well for everyone involved.

According to TV by the Numbers, the final episode of Sons of Anarchy was viewed by 6 million people. The episode was aired in 2014, right before Netflix became the face of the television industry thanks to its streaming model. Mediaweek states that the first episode of Sons of Anarchy was viewed by around 2 million people. There's no denying that the show's audience grew over time, allowing more people to tune in to Jax's honorable sacrifice.