Sons of Anarchy: The Final Season

This drama revolving around family ties, loyalty, betrayal, and bad-ass violence in an outlaw motorcycle gang in a small Southern California town grew from being a cult show to a surprise hit for the FX network over its seven season run. What began as Hamlet on Harleys evolved into a leather jacket soap opera and idealized portrait of underworld brotherhood under fire, with intense club president Jax (Charlie Hunnam) making plans to get the band out of criminal activities but getting pulled back in by blowback from his allies and by the death of his wife—killed by his own mother, Gemma (Katey Sagal). With another gang war underway, Jax attempts to sever ties with the gun-running business and protect his men from powerful Oakland operations through new affiliations, betrayals of old partners, and another round of killings. Creator Kurt Sutter shaped romanticized criminality into a brutal, blood-soaked melodrama of retribution and redemption, and here delivers an operatic finish to the show, while also providing happy endings for a few deserving characters. Compiling all 13 episodes from the 2014 seventh season, extras include behind-the-scenes featurettes, deleted scenes, and a gag reel. Recommended. (S. Axmaker)