Most often used phrases


What are they?

I notice Jax says "I promise you" a lot.

reply

"jesus Christ", first 9 places..

"...the RICO case goes away"

reply

I notice Jax says "I promise you" a lot.


Yeah, and, "trust me."

Also, "we'll protect you".


reply

Right. He says that stuff a lot. But he cannot control things to the extent he seems to believe he can.

reply

Right. And Jax said these things will all sincerity, fully intending to carry through. Jax was basically a good guy (though he went off the rails after Tara's death)and was himself struggling with reconciling his love of the club with the ugly darkness of revenge and betrayal that had crept into their world.

It strikes me as kind of a hidden message in the series somehow. John Teller wrote so much about how the club had spun out of control into something bad, other than what he had intended it to be in the beginning, something which would destroy itself and its members. The brotherhood and self governance elements remained but the criminal element was growing like a cancer that JT could see would threaten to kill the good parts. And of course this happened to him when Gemma and Clay conspired to murder him.

When I heard Jax promising protection, and good outcomes to people over and over, it struck me that his good intentions could not guarantee the outcomes he was promising, especially since the criminal life he was part of was rife with uncertainty, surprise attacks, violence, etc.
In normal life, we cannot guarantee the safety of others. In the violent reality of the criminal world, the dangers and threats are greater.

In the end he still loved the club, but he wanted his sons to never be a part of that life because of the criminal element.

reply

Jax was basically a good guy



Whoa! I don't believe that one bit. He may've originally, and time to time may still have had good intentions. But his Machiavellian methods, and justifications, based on his interpretations, of what's, "for the good of the club and our families", suggest otherwise.

He basically led the club to its own destruction, because he thought that he always knew what was best, for everyone.

reply

Oh he was a criminal and he learned through Clay and the club to solve problems violently, no doubt about that. And after Tara was killed, he abandoned his previous tendency to look for less violent means of resolving issues.
There were many times in the early part of the series when he was very reticent to do what Clay and Tig wanted him to do, as when Clay insisted he kill the Mayan at the warehouse where the club had gone to retrieve the guns the Mayans had stolen from them.
Jax reflexively shot a guy who had shot him in his vest. Clay then wanted Jax to administer a coup de gras to finish the guy. Jax clearly didn't want to do it. Luckily for him, the guy expired on his own so there was no need to shoot him again. Shooting defensively was one thing, but coldly shooting the guy to finish him off was beyond what he felt comfortable doing.

And when Tig was getting ready to kill the witness to a murder which Bobby and Opie took part in, Jax stopped them killing the girl and put the fear of God into her. He gave her a wad of money and told her to leave the state and never think about talking about them. He did not want to needlessly commit murder when the same end could be achieved otherwise.

He also wanted to move the club into legitimate ways of making money so club members would not wind up in jail so often.

But after Tara was killed and he was led to believe it was a gangland hit, he abandoned his reticence for killing. He began doing many of the things Clay had done, devising schemes to lay the blame for MC hits on other groups, setting other groups at each other's throats. He was seeing red and wanted revenge and it changed him; he began acting the way Clay and Tig had previously wanted him to act, killing without compunction. And this resulted in a lot of bloodshed.
So yeah, he did a LOT of really bad stuff during that period when he was trying to wipe out the people he believed had attacked his wife, and those who tried to stop him doing so. Jax really lost his way during that period. The club suffered, but Jax believed the club was under attack by ruthless killers. His intentions for the club were good, his information was bad, and innocents died.

But when I say he was a good guy, I mean it within the context of the gangland life they had all chosen. I am thinking only about certain character traits of his. He didn't try to run from his responsibilities like Gemma did. When he learned the truth, he admitted his guilt and insisted on receiving a just sentence of death. He didn't have to tell the truth to the other club chapter presidents, but he did. And he did so knowing that it meant he would have to die.
He made plenty of mistakes, but he admitted that he did.
He owned up to them and did his best to protect the club from blowback for his mistakes after he learned the truth. He gave up his life to protect his friends and the club as a whole, instead of lying and shifting blame.

That is the character of a good guy.

his Machiavellian methods

He didn't do what he did to advance or protect his own career or position in the club. His schemes were intended to set up and wipe out those he perceived to be brutal enemies of the club. Of course he was mistaken; he never suspected that Gemma was lying to him. He truly believed the club was under ruthless attack by a group willing even to murder civilians to get to the club.
Jax cared about the club more than about himself. That is the opposite of Machiavellian behavior. He was not trying to advance his position or enrich himself above others by his schemes. Granted he became ruthlessly violent during that period.

I agree that he made errors, but many of them were made because Gemma lied to him. She indirectly caused the deaths of plenty of innocents because she could not admit what she had done wrong.
Jax gave himself up for death rather than lie about what he had done wrong.

Throughout the series Jax shows he has a good nature, despite his membership in a violent criminal organization. He forgave his first wife and tried to help her. And other times he showed compassion for people when he didn't have to, like Juice, and there were others.
That is what I mean by him being a good guy, not that he didn't make mistakes, because he made plenty. But those mistakes were honest mistakes. The club suffered under his presidency because of those mistakes, but they were made without malice toward the MC. And he admitted he made them and did all he could to make amends while accepting the blame.
I am thinking about those things when I say he is a good guy.

I admit there are other metrics by which he is anything but good. He steals from others for example. All the club members sin against others in that way too.
I should have made it clear what I meant by saying he is a good guy.

Agent Stahl on the other hand truly sued Machiavellian methods, scheming to protect herself and advance her own career. She was truly untrustworthy and self serving.


reply

Gemma: *shi--~*

In fact I think the reason I say it so much is from hearing her say it over and over again. Definitely overused, but a lot of fun at the same time.

reply

Yeah, they say sh*t, Goddamnit, shyte, and use a lot of rude expressions. But they never drop the f bomb. I guess that isn't allowed on primetime.

reply

Right. She does say it a bunch, and I think Clay said it a fair amount.

someone noticed that they never drop the f-bomb in this series. I guess it would have been too much for regular television to use that word. Funny how certain words are deemed that much more offensive than others. I imagine they use polling to determine which words to exclude.

They use other crudities, slang terms and euphemisms. For example they referred to the porn studio as the cun*t factory' sometimes. I guess poll audiences didn't react as negatively as for the f word.

reply

I heard "I need a minute." Or "Give him a minute." Quite a few times through the series. Usually Jax. Usually meant they needed "time", definitely longer than a minute.
My favorite line, always makes me laugh when I watch the series (yes, I have watch it a few times since it ended) was when Tig says "I hate it when mommy and daddy fight." After Clay and Gemma fought at the garage.

I don't know Butchie instead.

reply

when Tig says "I hate it when mommy and daddy fight."
Yeah I remember that and I grinned at that line too.

Another line that was used less often but with heavy meaning was "I got this". Opie said it before he was beaten to death. Jax said it when telling the club that he wouldn't make them kill him, that he would do it himself so they wouldn't have to.

It was used other times but the circumstances don't come to mind now.



reply

apparently it was also what Chibs said b4 he capped Randall in back of head in front of the "bastards"..

reply

Sorry, didn't see your reply when I posted mine.

I don't know Butchie instead.

reply

Another line that was used less often but with heavy meaning was "I got this". Opie said it before he was beaten to death. Jax said it when telling the club that he wouldn't make them kill him, that he would do it himself so they wouldn't have to.


Chibs said it too, when they cornered Randall in the warehouse when revenging Opie's. death. I took at is to be in memory of Ope.
Did you know that some of the club members wore In Memory patches for Opie on their cuts?

I don't know Butchie instead.

reply

Did you know that some of the club members wore In Memory patches for Opie on their cuts?
No, I missed that.

reply


Chibs said it too, when they cornered Randall in the warehouse when revenging Opie's death. I took at is to be in memory of Ope.

I just remembered another, the snow globe revenge scene. Jax said it.

I don't know Butchie instead.

reply

I have been rewatching the series. I didn't note the episodes or events but I noticed various Sons using the term in normal situations, like when somebody gets pissed and takes off and someone says to the others "I got this" before going after them to talk them down.

reply

Happy~ "Oh yes I will!"

reply

"Intel"

Couldn't count how many times I heard "While he gets us some intel"..."I got some intel".."We need to get some intel", etc 😀

reply