"Sons of Anarchy" kicked off its sixth season with all the sex and violence that fans have come to expect from SAMCRO. The fallout of the incarcerations of both Clay and Tara continue to reverberate in the club, while the return of Juice created some discord. But the most uncomfortable moment came virtually out of nowhere.
Throughout the episode, there was this young boy. He was seen several times in the background as SAMCRO and the other players in this drama were going about their business. But their business was not his business. He was on his way to school.
In a silent scene, he was seen showing up at school moments before the bell rang. He stopped at a bench outside and calmly took off his bookbag and his jacket. He then pulled a notebook out of his bookbag and made a few last minute notes. Then, setting the notebook on the bench, he pulled an automatic weapon from the bookbag and headed for the school.
While the camera stayed outside the building, the rapid-fire gunshots and splatters of blood that hit the window made the carnage inside all too clear. But there were no answers given for this event yet. There was one more scene, showing the horrific aftermath of the shooting, but its impact had not yet reached SAMCRO. Surely, it will, as the gun used in the shooting will inevitably reveal its connection to the motorcycle club's gun-running business.
Series creator Kurt Sutter spoke with Entertainment Weekly about his justification for the controversial plot development. He said it all goes back to how Jax struggles with fear that the violence in his life will impact his children. "It just seemed like a very organic story to tell. And I waited because I knew that ultimately the emotional and social impact would be great," Sutter said. "It’s not being done arbitrarily. It ultimately becomes the final straw in their relationship with the gun business and the domino that takes us to a fairly tragic and epic conclusion.”
HuffPost's Mo Ryan said that the scene, while horrifying, was not "exploitative or cynically rendered." She went on to say that "if anything, the shooting, committed by a middle schooler from the small California town the Sons of Anarchy motorcycle club calls home, is a grim but relevant reminder that the club's lucrative gun-running business has consequences for its community.”
Season 6 of "Sons of Anarchy" continues every Tuesday night at 10 p.m. ET on FX.
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