Ron Perlman is likely the most versatile actor of our time – known for such roles as Vincent on TV’s Beauty and the Beast, Hellboy, and One in City of Lost Children. Perhaps his most iconic and memorable role was Clay Morrow on the popular FX series Sons of Anarchy.
Sons of Anarchy ran from September 3, 2008 to December 9, 2014 and featured a motorcycle club in fictional Charming, California. A slice-of-life drama, SOA took on the subject matter much like a low-rent Sopranos, like Ozark, with a lower body count, like Mad Men, minus the mid-century architecture and decor (ok, I’ll stop). The point is, we tuned in week after week to keep up with SAMCRO, the guys, their wives, and their crimes.
A particular intense turning point in the series’ timeline was the hiatus between the fourth and fifth seasons. That’s not to say that every season didn’t end with a cliff-hanger, but the way season 4 ended was such a banger that series creator and executive producer Kurt Sutter suggested that the finale “may feel like a series-ender.” So it’s safe to say that it is worth recalling at this time, when we have Transformers: Rise of the Beasts premiering today, starring the eloquent, statuesque, infinitely quotable Ron Perlman as Optimus Primal, leader of the Maximals. Let’s revisit this interview with TVGuide from 2011 when Perlman had a 20-minute gap in an otherwise illustrious career.
When asked about the state of SAMCRO and Clay’s relationship with Piney, Perlman did not mince words.
“Clay is the president. What he says ultimately goes…. If some guy tells me I’m taking you out, how does he expect me to let him live? He’s got to know that there’s going to be some pushback.
Is Clay happy that Piney has put him in this situation? No. These are two guys who have a real history together, but they parted ways philosophically long ago. And it just gets to the point of: Clay can’t afford to have him around. He’s backed into a corner, and he’s at his most dangerous. You back a big cat into a corner and somebody is going to get bloody.”
One of the big plot points of season 4 was to expose just how far Clay was willing to go to avoid having Jax (Charlie Hunnam) find out that Clay had killed his father, John. Understandably, as this would wedge an even bigger gap in an already tenuous relationship. They also have Potter and Roosevelt closing in on them, which doesn’t bode well with Clay and the guys in the club.
Jax’s experience in prison has him ready to settle down and leave this lifestyle of uncertainty and danger, while Tara (Maggie Siff) grapples over what to do with the explosive information she’s sitting on and Gemma (Katey Sagal) learns that John knew of her and Clay’s plans to kill him.
Going into season 5, powerful Oakland kingpin Damon Pope (Harold Perrineau) has a score to settle with the club after the death of his daughter, Veronica Pope (Natascha Hopkins) – a very real threat the extent of which only becomes clear when the Sons find themselves imprisoned once again.
During the third season of SOA, some 4.9 million viewers were tuning in weekly to the series. The season 4 and 5 premieres were the two highest-rated episodes of any show in FX’s history.
The murder of Clay in season 6 didn’t ultimately solve any problems, and Jax followed in his footsteps in spite of himself.
One of the grittier dramas to ever grace television, the series finale wrapped everything up nicely, and we can only hope the rehabilitated Wendy gets far enough away and that Abel and Thomas can have a fresh start and a hope for a life lived outside of organized crime.
Perlman’s Clay was caring and loving with his “brothers” and loved ones by fits and starts, and his contribution to the series set the tone for a disconcerting and foreboding story, played out with the brutality of a biblical parable. Perlman brought honesty to the character and believability, a level of finesse only possible when an actor completely commits. Clay saw himself as a leader, but also a victim of circumstance. He ended at the right time, moving forward with his character after all the destruction he’d caused would have been misery porn, a confection for masochists.
You can watch Sons of Anarchy in its entirety right now on Hulu, and Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is in theaters as of today.