Sons Of Anarchy’s penultimate episode “Red Rose” opens with Jax (Charlie Hunnam) in Alvarez’ (Emilio Rivera) office sliding his rings over his fingers and putting on a clean shirt that Chibs (Tommy Flanagan) gives him. When he stands up, Jax limps over to Alvarez, who knows the truth about Tara’s death. Soon, Nero (Jimmy Smits) and Tyler (Mo McRae) will be showing up to talk about the plan they’re going to take to the Irish. In addition to meeting with the other club leaders, Jax has to meet with the Sons of Anarchy forum, likely to talk about Jury’s death. As for Gemma (Katey Sagal), since she hasn’t been using her credit cards, they’re no closer to finding her.

‘Sons of Anarchy’ Recap

Meanwhile, Wendy (Drea DeMatteo) and Brooke (Hayley McFarland) are taking care of the boys at Jax’s place. Wendy confesses to Brooke that being at Jax’s – where she overdosed and Tara was murdered – feels like the closest thing to home. At Gemma’s, Unser (Dayton Callie)  is returning her spare key, while Gemma is catching some sleep in her car at a truck stop. When a trucker (Michael Chiklis) knocks on the door to tell her she’s in a rig zone, she moves her car only to fall back asleep.

During the meeting, it’s decided that the Niner’s will get more of Lin’s territory, as well as priority in buying Irish guns off the Mayans. Stockton Mayan president Oso (Ivo Nandi), who is wary about Barosky, wants to squash the Triple Twos and to have the Byz-Lats move Mayan drugs. Tyler chimes in to tell Jax that the Triads might be something to worry about. After the official business is over with, Nero takes Jax aside to ask about Gemma, who neither of them have heard from. Nero then tells Jax he’s heading out to the farm, which causes Jax to ask Nero if Wendy and the boys can go with him to the farm. “I appreciate you lookin’ out for my boys, Nero,” Jax says, hinting that he might not be planning on being around much longer. “It means a lot to me.”

Juice & Gemma

In prison, Juice (Theo Rossi) is laid up in the infirmary. One of the guards comes in and brings with him some Triads and Lin’s second in command. They know that Tully (Marilyn Manson) helped SAMCRO and Juice by setting up Lin’s murder and want to know why SAMCRO now wants the Aryan Brotherhood to kill him. Before cluing him in on their new plan for him, they let out some steam with a beating. When Juice gets his meeting with Tully, he offers himself up as a sacrifice for the good of SAMCRO’s relationship with the AB. “Just wait until I finish my pie,” he tells Tully after handing over a scalpel. In moments, Tully stabs Juice in the neck and watches as he falls to his knees in a pool of his own blood.

Out on the road, Gemma grabs a smoke next to a truck stop vending machine. Soon, the trucker, named Milo, sits down next to her. Introducing herself as Rose, Gemma spins a tale about having no children and wanting to pay a visit to her dad, who has advanced Alzheimers. In the end, Milo agrees to give her a ride, calling her Saint Rose. When she arrives at the nursing home, the administrator has to make some calls to confirm she is who she says she is since the last time she was there she was also on the run. The nursing home calls Jax’s home, where Wendy answers. Wendy shares the information with Jax – and tells Nero she told Jax where Gemma is.

Jax Meets With Unser, The Forum & The Irish

Jax ends up meeting with Unser and offering to tell him the truth about Gemma, and in exchange he wants his APB lifted. After letting Unser in on all the sordid details, the retired cop keeps his word and puts a call into Jarry about the APB. Unser wants to know what Jax’s plan is with Gemma, and Jax just tells him that he’ll deal with her when she returns. Once Jax leaves for the forum, Unser descends into tears.

At the forum at Red Woody, Jax gives the other charter members the truth. He confesses to lying about Jury admitting to being the rat, and that he recently learned it was Barosky. He offers that he very well may have killed Jury in self-defense, but that in retrospect he should have waited to see what Jury was going to do with the gun after reaching for it. There will be a vote to determine what’s done about Jax.

When SAMCRO meets up with Roarke (Bob McCracken), they learn that Connor (Scott Anderson) contacted Marks’ buyers and started selling to them directly, keeping the profits for himself. In order to keep the stability of the Irish gang, Roarke wants SAMCRO to take out Connor. In exchange, he’ll make sure that the Kings give the Mayans a fair shake at being their distributer.

After getting that phone call from Wendy, Nero headed to see Unser to tell him what he knows about Gemma killing Tara. However, Unser has already heard the news from Jax. He tells Unser that the only way to keep Gemma alive would be to arrest her. Nero then explains to Unser that it’s not to save Gemma, it’s to save Jax.

Gemma’s Last Walk In The Garden

Gemma, meanwhile, finally gets her moment with her father (Hal Holbrook). Once again, the Teller matriarch feels the need to give a confession, this time to her dad. She apologizes to him for all of the trouble and hurt she caused both him and her mother over the years, and for all of the bad things she’s done, despite how earnestly she loved her boys. “God forgives everyone, sweetheart,” says her father, a retired pastor. When he asks her for her name and she says Gemma, he says, “She was a sweet girl. She would play in the garden for hours.”

From the nursing home, Gemma goes to her family’s old home and looks over old photos and seems unsurprised when Unser walks through the door. Unser says he needs to arrest her before Jax arrives. Gemma refuses to go quietly, so Unser starts to walk outside to call for backup – but Jax has already arrived. Unser tries to convince Jax to just let him bring Gemma in. Jax, realizing Unser won’t leave him on his own, fires a single bullet into his chest.

Now, it’s just Jax and Gemma alone with the truth of Tara’s death. Gemma makes no attempt to defend herself or her actions, though she says she never saw the havoc coming that ensued after she lied about the Chinese being responsible for the murder. As Jax’s eyes well up, Gemma asks if she could go out into the garden. Jax starts to full out cry as Gemma smells the white roses. “It’s okay. My baby boy. It’s time,” she tells Jax, her back to him. “I’m ready.” Jax fires and Gemma falls.

The Aftermath

After killing his mother, Jax rides home in the rain on his motorcycle as Ed Sheeran sings “Make it Rain” in the background. In a montage, Happy, Rat and some others slaughter some of the Chinese. Wendy sees how the boys are. Juice’s dead body is covered up in the cafeteria. Tyler, Chibs, Tig, Montez, and Quinn add to the Chinese body count, leaving an innocent woman to live. Nero, at Gemma’s, looks at a photo of her and sobs.

When Jax gets back to his house, he calmly sits down and takes off his shoes. Wendy comes in wearing just a nightgown and asks Jax if he’s okay. He says he’s not and soon Wendy is leading him into the bedroom. Shots of Jax and Wendy in bed are interspersed with shots of the scene of Unser and Wendy’s murder.