Why did Jax kill Gemma on Sons of Anarchy? All you need to know

Running from 2008 until 2014, across the seven seasons of Sons of Anarchy, viewers saw many dramatic deaths. In particular, Jax lost many people in the series, including his mother Gemma (Katey Sagal), whom he ultimately killed. Tara (Jax’s wife) was stabbed and killed by Gemma, who thought she had turned on Jax and the club.

In reality, however, Tara was merely looking out for the safety of her kids and had never betrayed the group or her husband.

This resulted in a host of lies told by Gemma, which caused the deaths of numerous individuals who had no involvement in the crime, including Bobby Munson, a member of SAMCRO (Mark Boone Junior). After discovering the truth, Jax knew his mother had to die and he pulled the trigger.

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Sons Of Anarchy: Understanding the tragedy behind Jax killing Gemma

In 2008, Kurt Sutter's action crime drama television series, Sons of Anarchy, transported viewers to California to delve into the world of motorcycle clubs. Jackson "Jax" Teller (Charlie Hunnam), vice president of the titular motorcycle club is the subject of the series.

Throughout the entire run of Sons of Anarchy, there were a few subtle hints that seemingly suggested Jax might kill his mother Gemma.

The show starts when Jax discovers a manifesto that his late father, John Teller, one of the motorcycle club's original members, wrote. In it, he outlined his goals and intentions for the organisation, which differed greatly from those of Clay Morrow (Ron Perlman), the club's current President.

Jax then embarks on a personal journey as a result, questioning his path, his place in the club, his relationships, his family, and many other things. While he witnesses numerous deaths throughout the season, there are two specific deaths, Opie’s death and Tara’s murder, that act as a turning point for his character.

Sons of Anarchy's first season saw Jax get back together with Tara Knowles, his high school sweetheart played by Maggie Siff. They were married and had a family by season 6. In A Mother's Work, the 13th episode of season 6 of Sons of Anarchy, Tara was murdered by Gemma, Jax's mother.

While their shared lifestyle as "old ladies" and their passion for Jax occasionally brought them together, Gemma and Tara never really trusted one another. When Gemma discovered that Tara had tried to turn on SAMCRO to save her family, their argument reached a breaking point.

Tara desired to shield her sons from the violent life that Jax had taken up. Previously, she had thought that the love she had for Jax and his love for her in return would be stronger than SAMCRO's destructive nature of the club.

By Season 6, she came to see the foolishness of that notion and decided to search for an alternative. Tara was free to leave their town with Abel and Thomas, while Jax decided to own up to the fact that he made a deal with police authorities that could have cost him up to 25 years in prison.

After learning of Jax's scheme, Gemma intervened to stop this from happening. Sons of Anarchy exposed Gemma's protective relationship with her son and her readiness to intervene in his life if necessary.

Gemma proceeded to go to Tara's residence and repeatedly stabbed her in the head with a carving fork. Before Jax got home to find his wife dead, Juice Ortiz (Theo Rossi) assisted her in covering up the crime and getting rid of the evidence.

Jax eventually learnt the truth and tracked Gemma down. He went to Juice and got the full truth about what happened. Meanwhile, Gemma had gone to her family home in Oregon. Wayne went to Oregon to bring her back, but Jax arrived and after hearing the truth from Gemma, who was guilty at that point, he pulled the trigger,

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Losing Tara at the hands of his mother and also losing Opie, the two people he loved the most, brought a shift and development in Jax's character and made him resentful towards his mother.

Fans can watch Sons Of Anarchy on Netflix, Disney+ and Prime Video.