On The Devil’s Bed Until You Die: 10 Open Questions Entering The Sixth Season Of ‘Sons Of Anarchy’

Season six, the penultimate season of Sons of Anarchy, begins tonight with a 90-minute premiere. Before you jump back in, however, it may be useful to look where last season left off, and the questions that need to be answered this season. Where are we when season five ends? With an assist from both Juice and Gemma, Jax framed Clay for the murder of Damon Pope, which tied up several loose ends. 1) Jax got revenge on Pope for the death of Opie, as well as the violent death of Tig’s daughter. 2) He put Clay in prison, where August Marks — the new leader of the One-Niners — will have him killed for the murder of Pope. Finally, 3) in killing Pope, Jax spared Tig his life. However, tying up those loose ends also created reverberating complications.

1. How will Clay survive in prison? Clay has no allies remaining within SAMCRO. He doesn’t appear to have any connections in prison. How will he save himself from August Marks and the One Niners, determined to kill him in prison? How many lives does this guy have?

2. Is Tig Safe? By killing Damon Pope, Jax spared Tig his life. But will the promise Jax made to Damon Pope to turn Tig over to the One-Niners extend to Pope’s successor, August Marks? Moreover, will August Marks find out that Jax was really behind the death of Damon Pope, igniting another war between SAMCRO and the rival gang?

Meanwhile, with the unwitting assistance of Tara, Otto killed Lee Toric’s sister, Pamela, then bit off his tongue to avoid testifying against SAMCRO on RICO charges and, presumably, spare Tara’s implication. It backfired. At the end of season five, Tara was arrested for conspiring with Otto to murder Toric’s sister.

3. How Will Tara cope with prison life? Tara is not exactly Piper Kerman — she’s had some tussles in five seasons as the old lady of SAMCRO’s president — but she’s still a relatively soft medical doctor. Can she survive prison? Will she make bail? If she is locked away in prison for a long period and/or Jax is killed/imprisoned, will guardianship of Thomas and Abel pass to Jax’s ex-wife, Wendy, through Tara’s living will, which Tara set up against the wishes of Jax (who had beaten the hell out of Wendy at the end of season five)? Why else have that living will, unless there is purpose behind it? Will Kurt Sutter tease Tara’s death all season again, as he did in season four?

4. Can Otto suffer anymore degradation? Otto only has 10 percent of his vision remaining due to an attack by the Aryans in the second season. He slashed his wrists to get into the infirmary in season four. He is on death row, and he has bitten off his tongue. Is there anything horrible left that could possibly befall Otto now? Lee Toric knows that Otto killed his sister. Will Toric have Otto killed? Or worse?

5. What Will Lee Toric’s Role Be in Season 6? We know from casting announcements that Donal Logue’s character has been beefed up for season six. To what end? We’ve seen from previews that he’s had conversations with both Tara and Clay inside prison. Will he form an alliance with either one or both? Is there anything else he could want from the situation besides revenge for the death of his sister?