Sons of Anarchy’s Most Tragic Scene Sealed Tara’s Fate

The biker drama Sons of Anarchy features several harrowing scenes, but one is overshadowed by the show’s many murders. Sons of Anarchy is loosely based on Shakespeare’s Hamlet, and it follows the lives of the members of an outlaw motorcycle club as their command hierarchy shifts. As the young Jax Teller takes over command, the club is plunged into chaos.

Jax means well, but he is betrayed at every turn, and his complex relationship adds to the drama. Jax and Tara are painful to watch as a couple, but many viewers end up rooting for them. Unfortunately, Sons of Anarchy sets up Tara’s downfall in season 1, and the most tragic scene in the show seals her fate for good.

Tara Destroying Her Hand Is The Most Tragic Sons Of Anarchy Scene

Tara standing behind Jax, with her hand injury visible

Tara and Jax have a contentious relationship in Sons of Anarchy, with Tara’s surprising return in season 1 sparking a chain of events that brings the teenage sweethearts back together. While Tara loves Jax, she is torn between staying in Charming with him and tying her life to the motorcycle club, and using her skills to get out and pursue a new life.

Tara was a skilled neonatal surgeon and medic. This makes her a useful person for SAMCRO to know, but it also strains her relationship. Jax feels that the only thing he is good at is being a club member, while Tara’s expertise could take her anywhere, and her role in saving Jax’s infant son puts the Teller-Morrow family in her debt.

In the episode “Hands,” an attempt to kidnap Tara goes wrong, and her hand is slammed in the van door, giving her broken bones and nerve damage. She is inconsolable. Howeer, she tells Jax he can’t leave Charming, and that “the only way I can be with you is if I lose my way out.” This refers to her hand, foreshadowing her tragic scene.

Tara acts as the mother to Jax’s first son as well as their own, but in the next episode, this role is threatened. When Wendy returns from rehab, firmly insisting that she see her son, Tara repeatedly slams her damaged hand into a vase of flowers on the table. While some Sons of Anarchy scenes made viewers quit the show, this disturbing moment was overlooked.

Tara is an unusual character in Sons of Anarchy, as she has no ties to the club outside Jax and never wanted to be part of a criminal organization. Her potential as a surgeon is noted, and she’s offered opportunities to leave, but in the 16-second-long scene, she destroys her way out, metaphorically trapping herself inside Charming.

It Is Not Clear How Deliberate Tara’s Action Was

Tara smiling at Jax as he leans toward her in the park

Some Sons of Anarchy viewers have noted Tara’s frequent injuries to her “unlucky hand.” The initial injury might be the worst, but she prolongs the pain and damage by hurting herself further after speaking with Wendy. She then spends a brief period of time in prison, where she fights with another inmate, using the same hand.

Still, it has been debated how deliberate her second injury was, and this has divided fans. With Tara fearing for her life, her livelihood, and then her sons on the same day, some feel that she’s not thinking at that moment. The explosive action is first directed at the vase of flowers, knocking them off the table, before she continues hitting her arm.

That said, her words in the previous episode appear to point to the act being deliberate. Tara tells Jax, “I have a dead hand, no one will want me now,” but tells him that it’s okay because they can be together. She says that she should smash her other hand too, so that she can stay home, which points to this being intentional.

Tara is torn between leaving Charming for a new job and staying. With Wendy back, Tara removes what she sees as her only way out. Unable to perform surgery, Tara can now give everything to Jax and their sons, committing to life with SAMCRO. While her arm recovers, her sacrifice is one of the most tragic and shocking moments in Sons of Anarchy.

Tara Deserved Better In Sons Of Anarchy

Tara and Jax at the table, looking tense with guns strewn over the table

Tara is one of the most polarizing characters in the show, and she’s not always popular with viewers for her indecision. Tara constantly shifts between full allegiance to Jax and the club and trying to leave Charming with the entire family. Tara often manipulates and betrays the people around her, but a harsh reality of watching Sons of Anarchy is how trapped she is.

Tara’s relationship with Jax turns extremely toxic throughout the series, and the two continually cause each other so much pain. In many ways, breaking up might have been better. That said, the two appear to be codependent, which explains the moment in which Tara smashes her damaged hand. This is a desperate action that, at the time, ends her attempts to leave.

Tara’s injury slowly heals, but by that time, she’s already entrenched in the criminal dealings of the club, which even land her in prison. Having a criminal record likely took away many of the career options that she could have pursued if she had not damaged her hand, leaving her still trapped by Jax and the club.

Sons of Anarchy is a show about antiheroes, so despite understanding that the club members are not good people, Tara’s betraying them feels like a betrayal of the audience, too. However, this take is not really fair to Tara, as many of her earlier scenes show her trying to find her place in a world where she doesn’t fit, even sacrificing her vocation.

Tara’s intelligence, problem-solving skills, and loyalty to her children and husband are weaponized against her by Gemma, and Tara’s refusal to sink to Gemma’s level until it was too late led to her downfall. The scene in which she destroys her hand and potential is heartbreaking on a Sons of Anarchy rewatch, as it is clear that her loyalty to Jax took away her future.