How Sons of Anarchy Spoiled Its Own Finale Before It Even Released

The series finale of Sons of Anarchy was full of action and emotion as the main characters’ arcs came to an end, but not all fans of the series had the same viewing experience, as the finale was spoiled before it aired – here’s what happened. Sons of Anarchy took the audience into the world of motorcycle clubs in 2008, and it was so well-received from the beginning that it lived on for a total of seven seasons, coming to an end in 2014. Sons of Anarchy was praised for its tone, the performances of the main cast, and for the themes it addressed, such as brotherhood, racism, corruption, loyalty, and betrayal.

Sons of Anarchy tells the story of Jackson “Jax” Teller (Charlie Hunnam), VP of the motorcycle club Sons of Anarchy in the fictional town of Charming, California. It all begins when Jax finds a manifesto written by his late father, John “JT” Teller, one of the founding members of the MC, in which he shared his plans and vision for the club, which were very different from those of the current President and Jax’s stepfather, Clay Morrow (Ron Perlman). Comparing his father’s ideas to how the club was, among other events, sends Jax on a personal journey that leads him to question his path, role in the club, relationships, family, and more. Every season of Sons of Anarchy was packed with action and drama, and it saw a lot of betrayal between clubs and among their members, but perhaps the biggest betrayal happened behind the scenes.

Jax and viewers witnessed many deaths throughout Sons of Anarchy – some that seemed necessary, like those of AJ Weston (Henry Rollins) and Damon Pope (Harold Perrineau), and others that were truly shocking and heartbreaking, such as the deaths of Opie Winston (Ryan Hurst) and Tara Knowles (Maggie Siff), but they all led to one major death. The series finale of Sons of Anarchy saw Jax’s past coming to get him and leaving him no choice but to meet Mr. Mayhem, though his SAMCRO brothers let him go so he could handle his own demise. Jax killed himself on the road, similar to his father’s death, and the final shot of the series shows two crows feeding on a wine-stained crust of bread on the side of the road where Jax died. This was a very powerful and emotional ending for Jax and Sons of Anarchy, but not all viewers got to enjoy it as they should have, as a collector’s book spoiled it for them.

A book titled Sons of Anarchy: The Official Collector’s Edition was published back in 2014 and included interviews with series creator Kurt Sutter and the cast, set tours, and an in-depth look at the final season of the series as well as the finale – the problem was that the publisher sent out a limited number of the book days before the finale aired, and those who got it and read it learned all about the events of the finale beforehand. The book was actually supposed to be released the day after the finale aired, and of course, Sutter had a couple of words to say about it, warning fans of Sons of Anarchy about the spoilers in the book and saying this was “a storyteller’s worst nightmare” before assuring fans that he would take care of the situation (but with stronger words, that is).

Even with Sutter’s warning, many Sons of Anarchy fans who got the book before the finale aired had the finale spoiled for them, even if some events, such as Jax’s death, were expected to happen. Surely, the publisher learned a big lesson from this major mistake, and on the brighter side of this experience, fans of Sons of Anarchy got to see some exclusive photos and learned more about the characters and episodes before anyone else.