Charlie Hunnam (l.), who plays Jax on "Sons of Anarchy," with Mark Boone Junior
(Spoiler alert: Anyone who didn’t watch “Sons of Anarchy” on Tuesday but plans to view the episode later should stop reading now.)
To anyone who was stunned Tuesday night when FX’s “Sons of Anarchy” ended with a school shooting massacre, the show’s creator and the president of FX say they only went ahead after they were convinced it would not feel exploitative.
It was just last December when a gunman killed 26 students and teachers at a school in Newtown, Conn.
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“I knew it would be controversial, but I’m not doing something just because it’s controversial.” said Kurt Sutter, creator of “Sons.” “I’ve wanted to do that story for three years.”
The incident, he said, sets up the final and defining dilemma for the main character, Jax Teller (Charlie Hunnam).
Jax is trying to raise his young son outside the violence that has marked his own life in a motorcycle gang. But his gang very likely was involved in selling the gun used in the massacre.
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“It’s a powerful story because it shows how actions have consequences,” said John Landgraf, president of FX. “You can’t just sell guns and ignore what happens after that.”
Landgraf said he had discussed the storyline with Sutter, and they agreed that even though “Sons” doesn’t shrink from darkness and violence, this scene would be filmed with restraint.
“We don’t go inside the school,” said Landgraf. “You hear the shots from outside. You know what’s happening, but it’s not needlessly graphic.”
“There’s a lot of blood and guts in my show,” said Sutter. “But nothing is done gratuitously. These events are the catalyst for the third act in our morality play.”
“Sons” is entering its sixth season. Sutter says it will conclude with its seventh.
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