Sons of Anarchy: A portrait of society turned up to 11

I started watching Sons of Anarchy, season one, episode one, because of a low-profile movie staring Elijah Wood.

True story.

It was a movie recommended to me by a then colleague at Blockbuster Video. The movie, Green Street Hooligans, quickly became one of my favorite films. I don’t know if I could ever put my finger on why, but something about the tale of the GSE enthralled me as a viewer. The lead character, Pete Dunham, was played by a guy I had never heard of named Charlie Hunnam. And he was fantastic in the role. He wasn’t ordinary at all.

Oh yeah, Elijah Wood was in the movie too.

So I looked up some of his work and the next thing I found was that he did a short-lived Judd Apatow television show called Undeclared with Seth Rogan and Jay Baruchel. I was intrigued. The show was good. But it wasn’t Pete Dunham, that is for sure. And then in 2008, I saw a trailer on FX for a show called Sons of Anarchy, and there was Pete Dunham, again a renegade, now on a Harley with long blonde hair.

Count me in.

And then I watched the first episode and looked across the room at my sister, equally a Green Street Hooligans fan. We were unconvinced. Sons of Anarchy, season one, episode one sure didn’t hit the spot for me. Yes it had Hunnam, the guy who played Hell Boy (Ron Perlman as Clay Morrow), Peggy Bundy (Katey Sagal at Gemma Teller Morrow) and the paralyzed guy from Remember the Titans (Ryan Hurst as Opie Winston), but it didn’t draw my interest initially.

But as time went on, it became what it is today: probably my favorite show on television. The tale of the Teller family is a deep, integrated web of emotion, pride, sadness and straight up crazy. As the final season wraps to its last two episodes, I can’t help but think, as I do with my of the “classic” shows I have watched (i.e. Lost), how can they ever top this? What will ever be better, in this same niche genre, as Sons?

Kurt Sutter, the show’s creator, is a genius. I mean, he’s sick in the head (trust me, just watch the show), but he’s a genius. The family portrayed in this show wouldn’t be allowed within ten feet of Jerry Springer’s stage, or Maury’s. They are delusional, depraved and semi-psychotic. But Sutter tells their tale, of betrayal and pillage and murder and he makes you love these characters. He also makes you hate them. I can honestly look at the main character, Jax Teller (portrayed by Hunnam) and say that throughout the run of this series, I have liked him, and I have hated him, been confused by him and been sad for him.

His run of an emotional gambit in this week’s episode was Hunnam’s acting, Sutter’s creation at it’s best.

The show has many things. The sadness and anger is counteracted by smiles and happiness. Jokes, in poor taste or not, lighten the mood enough. Maybe Sutter does that just to crash you down to reality.

Even Happy (the Sgt. at Arms of SAMCRO, not the emotion) is a picture of both bi-polar emotions of the show. Ok, Happy is especially the picture of the bi-polar emotions of the show.

The reality that is true today that probably was not true when the first episode of Sons aired is that you can never take a moment off. Not mentally, not emotionally. Sons is the ultimate, epic roller coaster. For every up, there are probably three downs and they all happen bang-bang in an episode. There is no break in Sons, even those so-called filler episode have a lot going on, even if it isn't high paced for the adrenaline junkies.

In a word, conflict is what has made Sons of Anarchy.

The conflict in the story, physically or emotionally manifested hints at the conflict in all of us. I may not hop on a Harley or shoot down a white supremacist because of my conflict, but it doesn’t mean we all as viewers don’t share in it all.

What would you do for your family? And what do you do when what you thought was right has unintended, perhaps devastating consequences?

Sons of Anarchy is a show about a train wreck of people, their thoughts, actions and instability. It is a portrait of society turned up to 11. And it is, perhaps, my favorite show on television today. At least for a couple more weeks.

Guess I have Elijah Wood to thank for that.