Kurt Sutter claims the brutal death in the latest episode doesn't happen in vain and 'will color the rest of the episodes for the rest of the series.'
- Sep 27, 2012
AceShowbiz - One of SAMCRO members met his demise in the Tuesday, September 25 episode of "Sons of Anarchy". Weighing in on the death, creator Kurt Sutter says the moment will bring a big impact on Jax and other characters of the series.
"I knew this would be a gut-wrenching episode and difficult for people to wrap their brains around, but... [SPOILER ALERT!] the death of Opie will color the rest of the episodes for the rest of the series," he says, before stressing, "It's not a death that will happen in vain."
Explaining how the death will influence the other SAMCRO guys, Sutter explains, "Jax will be greatly influenced by the death of Opie, and perhaps that loss, that emptiness, will color him throughout the rest of the season." He adds, "Of course there'll be a sense of vengeance, something that drives out guys to retaliate, but also the emotional impact that his death will have on the rest of the characters will always be there."
To reporters, Sutter reveals he began thinking about Opie's fate at the end of season 3. "I got to the end of that season and realized there is this circular dynamic happening with Jax and Opie that I felt was very difficult to get out of," he shares.
"This is the first [season] I've had to think about the end game, and knowing where I wanted to get my hero and knowing how I wanted to get there, the road I wanted him to travel," he adds. "And Jax needed that emotional upheaval, that one event that happens in a man's life that can change the course of his destiny - the death of his best friend was [that]."
Though many saw Opie's death gruesome and brutal, Sutter says he "wanted Opie to go out a warrior." He continues, "I really wanted him to go out with nobility and a sense of feeling like, 'I may not have a lot to live for, but at the very least, I'm going to go out doing something noble and protecting the people I still love.' "
On Ryan Hurst's reaction to learning that his character would be killed off, Sutter shares, "It's a difficult thing. He is very plugged into the show and loves the character, and Ryan is a super-sensitive dude, so it was difficult for both of us to figure out how to do this."
However, "in the end, when [Hurst] read the script and saw the episodes that follow, he understood the nature of it and the importance of it in the mythology of the show," the showrunner says.
