Mentions of sexual assault, suicide, and murder.
Sons of Anarchy has various heartbreaking stories, but the saddest one from within the club isn’t Jax’s (Charlie Hunnam) or Opie’s (Ryan Hurst). In 2008, Sons of Anarchy took the audience to the fictional town of Charming, in California, to meet the title motorcycle club. Initially led by President Clay Morrow (Ron Perlman) and VP Jackson “Jax” Teller, SAMCRO was involved in some shady businesses that inevitably caused them trouble with other clubs, gangs, associations, and, of course, with the law.
Throughout seven seasons, Sons of Anarchy saw Jax and the club in trouble with police officers, politicians, lawyers, and more, and some of them went as far as trying to destroy the club from within. One of the most notable villains in Sons of Anarchy (and, at the same time, one of the weirdest) is Lincoln Potter (Ray McKinnon), who arrived to mess with SAMCRO in season 4. Potter didn’t stay for long, but his actions had a major impact on the rest of the show, as he was the starting point for the tragic downfall of one SAMCRO member: Juice Ortiz (Theo Rossi).
Juice Has The Most Tragic Story Of All SAMCRO Members In The Show
Juice’s Story Is Chaotic & Tragic
Juan Carlos “Juice” Ortiz was SAMCRO’s hacker and intelligence officer. Despite his skills and talents, he was looked down upon by some members of the club, mostly Clay, who saw him as unreliable and often gave him minor tasks. Juice was a minor character throughout the first three seasons of Sons of Anarchy, but, despite Clay’s distrust, Jax seemed to trust Juice. However, Juice’s life took a horrible turn in season 4 with the arrival of Potter. Potter saw SAMCRO as a menace to Charming, and he arrived ready to take the club down.
Potter learned that Juice was Puerto Rican, which the club knew, but what they weren’t aware of was that Juice’s father was African American.
Potter arrived with a task force of FBI, ICE, and ATF agents, and he first tried to use Otto Delaney (Kurt Sutter) to destroy SAMCRO from the inside – however, he found it easier to target Juice. Potter learned that Juice was Puerto Rican, which the club knew, but what they weren’t aware of was that Juice’s father was African American. Per old MC’s rules, black people can’t join, and Juice had lied about being 100% Puerto Rican. Potter used this to blackmail and manipulate Juice, leading the latter to betray the club more than once.
Juice went through so much stress and anxiety that he tried to kill himself, but even after coming clean with Jax, he continued to be manipulated, now by his former friend and now SAMCRO President. Juice also made some terrible decisions all by himself, such as when he killed Roosevelt to cover Gemma when she killed Jax’s wife, Tara. Every single decision and action by Juice since season 4 took a toll on him, so much so that he agreed to let himself be imprisoned to continue serving the club in prison.
With no club, family, or reason to live, he dropped out of his final assignment and, instead of killing Ron Tully, he asked him to kill him.
Juice’s final days were an absolute nightmare, as he was constantly raped by other prisoners and lost all his will to live. With no club, family, or reason to live, he dropped out of his final assignment and, instead of killing Ron Tully, he asked him to kill him, which he did. Juice was constantly manipulated by many, both outsiders and insiders, and could never escape the destructive spiral Potter started for him, and it’s even sadder when realizing he could have avoided his tragic fate.
Related
Sons of Anarchy: Why Lincoln Potter Stopped His SAMCRO Investigation
Lincoln Potter spent his time in Sons of Anarchy trying to take down the club, and after all his hard work, he simply abandoned his plans.
Juice Had 1 Chance To Make Things Right With SAMCRO, But Let It Pass
Juice Let Himself Be Intimidated By Others
In Sons of Anarchy season 4, Juice had a chance to end this situation before it got worse, but he let it pass. After his failed suicide attempt, Juice confessed his heritage to Chibs (Tommy Flanagan), one of the members he trusted the most. Chibs told him it didn’t matter as long as his birth certificate said he was Puerto Rican, and later Jax, when learning about all Juice, Potter, and the RICO case, said he would change that rule. Jax didn’t consider that rule a real and active one, so Juice would have been saved, but he didn’t know that.
However, instead of letting it go and moving on, Juice confessed to Clay and Jax, and both ended up using him to their benefit and holding his involvement in the RICO case against him. Jax might still have found a way to make Juice “pay” for that even if he hadn’t come clean to him, but it might not have led to so much chaos and tragedy for Juice in the rest of Sons of Anarchy.
