Check out our review of the seventh and final season of this engaging TV Drama. Reeling from the devastating events of last season's finale, Jax Teller steers SAMCRO full-throttle down the hell-bound road to revenge, allowing nothing to stand in his way. The streets of Charming run red with blood as shifting alliances and fatal mistakes lead to chaos, betrayal, and all-out murder. The body count soars, and dark secrets give way to darker truths, until the only question remaining is who will live...and who will die.

The Review at a Glance:
(max score: 5 )

Film:
Extras:
Audio/Video total rating:
( Max score: 100 )

89
Details:

Studio and Year: 20th Century Fox - 2014
MPAA Rating: TV-MA
Feature running time: 833 minutes
Genre: TV/Drama

Disc Format: BD-50
Encoding: AVC
Video Aspect: 1.78:1
Resolution: 1080p/24

Audio Format(s): English DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French
Starring: Katey Sagal, Charlie Hunnam, Kim Coates, Mark Boone Junior, Tommy Flanagan, Theo Rossi, Dayton Callie, Jimmy Smits, Annabeth Gish, CCH Pounder, David Labrava, Michael Beach, Malcom Jamal Warner, Niko Nicotera, Drea de Matteo, Billy Brown
Directed by: Various
Music by: Bob Thiele Jr.
Written by: Kurt Sutter, Liz Sagal, Chris Collins, Regino Corrado, Marco Ramirez, Brady Dahl
Region Code: A

Blu-ray Disc release Date: February 24, 2015
"The road to vengeance is paved in blood"
My Take:

An FX original TV series, Sons of Anarchy, is an adrenalized drama with thematically dark undertones that explores a notorious outlaw motorcycle club’s (Son of Anarchy or SAMCRO) desire to protect its livelihood while ensuring that their simple, sheltered town of Charming, California remains, just that, Charming. The MC must confront threats from drug dealers, corporate developers and overzealous law enforcement officers. Behind the MC’s familial lifestyle and legally thriving automotive shop is a ruthless and illegally thriving arms business. Their outlaw style subculture manages the seduction of money, power, and the daily threat of bloodshed.

In season six, Jackson ‘Jax’ Teller (Charlie Hunnam) has finally solidified his leadership of Sons of Anarchy by murdering Clay Morrow, his stepfather, for past sins. Season Six ends with his formidable mother, Gemma, committing an unpardonable sin. Unbeknownst to Jax, she brutally murders his wife, Dr. Tara Knowles, thinking she’s protecting the club. Juice Ortiz kills Sheriff Eli Roosevelt to protect Gemma. Season Seven begins ten days later with Jax in jail on a parole violation, grappling with the loss of the woman he loved. With the club’s full support, he sets in motion the brutal machinations that will lead to complete and merciless retribution.

This final season of Son of Anarchy is among the show’s
best. We watched it during prime time and each episode seemed to get better as it gathered momentum hurtling toward the only way it could all come to end. After the devastating conflagration that ended season 6 and the announcement that season 7 would be the show’s final season I figured that the series would bring everything to a close via fire and brimstone. That is exactly what we got as loose ends were tied, debts were paid in full and the streets ran red with blood. Watching as old alliances broke down, new ones were formed and Jax methodically steered SAMCRO toward a means to an end it wasn’t always obvious where things were going.

We could only hope to see Gemma get her comeuppance and watching as several of our favorite characters paid the price for her selfishness only fueled that farther. Over the last few seasons the show took a decidedly darker turn. Characters that were once easy to like despite their criminality were now harder to accept as dictated by their actions. This especially became the case with Gemma and more so this season with Jax. Based upon what happened it’s easy to understand his need for redemption however his almost wanton thirst for violence seemed overtly out of character given his earlier approach to running the club. The series finale needed to close the chapter on Jax Teller in the spirit of how the show began. I think that Kurt Sutter and company handled it nicely, it in with a somewhat emotional air that felt just a little campy.

I have been a fan of this show since day one and we never missed it. Throughout I enjoyed the development of the storyline, depth of the characters, and the grounded manner in which they went about their business. The show was always well written which established a viable connection to the characters and various plotlines. This allowed us to look beyond their criminality creating an understanding of the definitive and structured subculture where without rules survival would be impossible. Creator/writer Kurt Sutter did his homework and came up with a superb balance of good and bad that allowed acceptance, forgiveness and a bond that ultimately allowed us to root for them. The cast (both regulars and guests) have contributed greatly to the success of the series adding a genuine and complimentary element that mated perfectly with the show’s essence.

Season Seven’s 13 episodes are spread over four BD-50 Blu-ray discs with the bulk of the bonus features contained on disc three. This final season offers plenty of ass kicking, gunplay, inner conflict, several truly satisfying moments and some shocking/heartbreaking twists that you may or not see coming. Sons of Anarchy is a well-written and compelling TV drama that has run its course and will be missed by its legions of fans. Farewell!

Parental Guide:

This show contains strong violence, thematic material and language that would not be suitable for younger viewers.

AUDIO/VIDEO - By The Numbers:REFERENCE= 92-100/EXCELLENT= 83-91/GOOD= 74-82/AVERAGE= 65-73/BELOW AVERAGE= under 65

**My audio/video ratings are based upon a comparative made against other high definition media
/blu-ray disc.**

Audio: 88
(Each rating is worth 4 points with a max of 5 per category)
  • Dynamics:
  • Low frequency effects:
  • Surround Sound presentation:
  • Clarity/Detail:
  • Dialogue Reproduction:
  • Low frequency extension * (non-rated element): NA
  • DSU Rating * (non-rated element):
Video: 90
(Each rating is worth 4 points with a max of 5 per category)
  • Resolution/Clarity:
  • Black Level/Shadow Detail:
  • Color Reproduction:
  • Fleshtones:
  • Compression:
Sons of Anarchy: The Final Season comes to Blu-ray Disc from 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment featuring 1080p AVC encoded video that has an average bitrate of 35 Mbps and lossless DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio sound that has an average bitrate of 3.6 Mbps.

The final season of Sons of Anarchy positively translates to video on Blu-ray Disc and features excellent high definition quality that boasts warm, inviting colors with deeply saturated primaries and vivid hues. Fleshtones are naturally delineated with warm tonal highlights and discernible complexional variety among the cast. Detail is abundant as images look crisp with clearly resolvable texture, and dimensionality that on occasion offer a near infinite visual perspective. Blacks are rich with excellent dynamic range and appreciable gradational stages. Contrast is strong which provides plenty of pop to colors and whites without overemphasis or loss of detail. The video has a punchy, pleasing, and pristine quality that looks great throughout.

The DTS-HD MA soundtrack features crystal clear dialogue, robust dynamics and an enriching surround sound mix. I was impressed with its use of spacial dimension and directional cues to create a realistic and occasionally immersive sound field. This worked hand in hand with shows excellent music score, and action based sequences to build suspense/tension and drive its thematic elements. This appears to be a faithful and high quality audio/video presentation that looks and sounds great on Blu-ray from Fox.

Bonus Features:
  • (HD) Deleted scenes
  • (HD) Gag reel – 3 minutes
  • (HD) Carpe Diem: The final season of SOA 2 part documentary – 72 minutes
  • (HD) Anarchy legacy – 5 minute featurette
  • (HD) Motorcycles of mayhem – 5 minute featurette
  • (HD) Guests of Anarchy: Season 7 – 7 minute featurette
  • (HD) Promotional shorts: Tattoo stories (Jax, Gemma, Juice, Nero, Tig)
Final Thoughts:

Sons of Anarchy is a compelling TV drama that features strong, well-written characters that are capably brought to life by the show’s superb cast. Creator Kurt Sutter did an excellent job with the show’s continuing contemporary storylines which over the past seven seasons kept interest high, engaging with ample amounts of action, drama, and suspense. The final season comes to high definition from 20th Century Fox Blu-ray in a well-rounded package that looks and sounds great and offers fans insights from the perspectives of the cast/crew. If you are a fan Sons of Anarchy holds up well under repeat viewings and now at its conclusion is worth owning on Blu-ray .

Ralph Potts
AVS Forum Blu-ray Reviews


Reference Review System:
JVC DLA-RS4910 3D Ready 1080p High Definition Front Projector
(Calibrated with Calman 5 & C6 Meter from Spectracal )
Stewart Filmscreen - Studiotek 130 G3 100” 16x9 Screen
Carada Masquerade Horizontal Masking System
Marantz AV7702 11.2 Channel Audio/Video Processor
Sherbourn Technologies - 7/200 Seven Channel Amplifier
B&K Reference 200.7 Series 2 Seven Channel Amplifier
Oppo BDP-103D Universal Disc/3D capable Blu-ray Player (With Darbee video processing)
Panasonic DMP-BDT310 3D capable Blu-ray Player (HDMI Audio/Video)
Toshiba HD-XA2 HD DVD Player (HDMI Audio/Video)
Sony Playstation 3 Blu-ray disc Player (HDMI Audio/Video)
System Controller: Apple iPad/iRule Pro HD Universal Remote Control
Canton "Ergo" and In-Ceiling series speakers
Axiom Audio QS8 Quadpolar speakers
SVS PB-13 Ultra (Rosenut finish)
SVS PC12-NSD
Panamax M5400-PM Power Conditioner/Surge Protector
Wireworld, Better Cables (Silver Serpent) - Audio/Video/Speaker Cabling
Cool Components - CP-CP102 cooling package