‘Sons of Anarchy’ season 7, episode 12: Katey Sagal on Gemma’s fate via ‘Anarchy Afterword’

Katey Sagal was not revealed to be a guest on tonight’s new “Anarchy Afterword” until the very last minute, and we certainly understood why after watching Tuesday night’s “Sons of Anarchy” episode. Obviously, there are some MAJOR SPOILERS ahead.

The end of Gemma was not an easy thing to stomach, but it was also something that felt in many ways appropriate. She finally realized that there was no more turning back, and there was no other escape for her anymore. She summed up her feelings perfectly to Kevin Ryder:

“I thought it was beautiful, the way it all came to an end. It was amazing.”

Meanwhile, creator Kurt Sutter explained how he planned out this hugely important moment in the series:

“I knew when it was going to happen in terms of the season, I knew where it was going to happen … I liked the idea that Gemma was a strong enough character to be able to push past what she has been doing most of her life to a place of acceptance, and sort of honoring the life that she had … By knowing that it was her time. I knew I wanted to bring her down that road and have her go out that way.”

Here is one more quote from Sagal summing up this crazy experience before a roll of Gemma highlights played:

“I always thought that Gemma has been on this very spiritual quest these past seven years … For me, this was like this was her making peace with some sort of spiritual sense in the universe.”

Love her or hate her, Gemma is a classic TV character. She had an incredible run on the series, and given her secrets and her history, it is remarkable that she really made it all the way to episode 12 in the first place.

Are you going to miss Gemma in the series finale, or satisfied with the way that she went out? Share with a comment.