Although Sons of Anarchy focused on the motorcycle club of the same name, it also included others that were either allies or enemies of SAMCRO (Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club Redwood Original), and here’s every one of them, what they did, and their role in the series. Created by Kurt Sutter, Sons of Anarchy premiered on FX in 2008 and came to an end in 2014 after seven seasons full of tension, drama, and betrayal. The series was very well received throughout its whole run, with praise going mostly towards its story, themes, and the performances of the main cast.
Sons of Anarchy tells the story of Jackson “Jax” Teller (Charlie Hunnam), VP of the motorcycle club Sons of Anarchy in the fictional town of Charming in California. The events of the series begin when Jax finds a manifesto written by his late father, John Teller, one of the founding members of the MC, in which he shared his plans and vision for the club. These clashed with those of the current President and Jax’s stepfather, Clay Morrow (Ron Perlman), sending Jax on a personal journey that makes him question his path, role in the club, relationships, family, and more, all while he uncovers the truth about his family. Throughout the series, other MCs were introduced, with most serving as enemies/antagonists though some of them became allies of Jax and company at some point.
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Although there are some well-established general rules for MCs (such as being loyal to your brothers and not admitting women as patched members),in the end, each one creates its own based on what they believe in, their goals as a club, what they do for a living, and more. With that in mind, it’s not surprising that many of them clashed with SAMCRO at some point, but when it came to saving the club or protecting the town, they joined forces withoutmuch problem. Here’s every major motorcycle club in Sons of Anarchy besides the title club and their role in the show.
Mayans
Perhaps the most important club aside from SAMCRO, the Mayans had a huge impact on Jax’s club, to the point where the spinoff series is focused on them. The Mayans MC controls northern California and Nevada besides Las Vegas, and Sons of Anarchy introduced the audience to the President of the Oakland chapter, Marcus Alvarez (Emilio Rivero), who fluctuated between rival and ally of SAMCRO. The Mayans run two heroin factories near Oakland and are involved in prostitution, and throughout the series, they got into a lot of trouble with SAMCRO over weapons, but by the end of the show, Jax got them a deal with Connor Malone to distribute weapons on their area. The Mayans became the protagonists of the only Sons of Anarchy spinoff so far, which follows closely their activities and conflicts both inside and outside the club.
Nordics
The Nordics was a white supremacist gang led by Ernest Darby (Mitch Pileggi), and their main businesses were meth dealing and prostitution. Some of its members had ties to the Aryan Brotherhood (a prison gang and crime syndicate), but they were more tolerant than them. The gang’s main issue with SAMCRO was all about drugs, as Clay and Jax wanted to keep drugs out of Charming, and the problem only grew after a Nord sold meth to Wendy (Drea de Matteo), Jax’s wife at the time who was pregnant with Abel. In season 2, Darby was betrayed by Ethan Zobelle (Adam Arkin), member of the Aryan Brotherhood and leader of the League of American Nationalists, who tried to kill him, and so by the end of the season, the Nordics disbanded and Darby sought to build a life far from crime.
One-Niners
The One-Niners (or 9’ers), are a street gang based in Oakland and perhaps other cities as well, as many clubs have done through the years. All their members are African American and the club’s main business is dealing heroin and buying weapons from SAMCRO and the Russian mafia, though they were under the control of drug kingpin Damon Pope (Harold Perrineau), their true leader until his death (after which August Marks took over). The gang was used as Clay’s scapegoat after his plan to kill Opie (Ryan Hurst) went wrong and he killed his wife instead, creating conflict between the two clubs. Once that was cleared up, the Niners offered SAMCRO their help to bring Zobelle down, and they even showed up at Opie’s wedding in season 4, but that peace between clubs didn’t last long. Another major conflict began when SAMCRO started muling drugs for the Galindo Cartel while the Niners bought and sold with Galindo’s rival cartel, the Lobos Sonora.
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Shortly after, Clay used them as scapegoats once more when Opie shot him in retaliation for his father’s murder, and as Clay didn’t want the rest to know he was shot by a fellow member, he blamed the Niners. This led Tig Trager (Kim Coates) to go after the Niners and their leader Laroy, and tried to run him over but instead killed his girlfriend, who turned out to be Pope’s girlfriend, making way for a series of events from which SAMCRO never fully recovered, most notably Opie’s death.
Grim Bastards
The Grim Bastards Motorcycle Club (GBMC) is based in Lodi, California, and most of their members are African American, but they are allied with SAMCRO (further proving that the racism rule that brought Juice so many problems in the final seasons of the show was outdated and he was just manipulated into believing it was still active). The Grim Bastards had minor appearances in seasons 3, 4, and 5, with their leader T. O Cross (Michael Beach) aiding Jax in season 5 to get revenge on the man who killed Opie, who turned out to be his cousin. This wasn’t the end of their alliance, and they worked togetheragain in season 7, as they helped SAMCROgo after those in the Lin Triad as Jax believed they were responsible for the murder of his wife, Tara Knowles (Maggie Siff). By the end of Sons of Anarchy, T.O joined SAMCRO and became a patched member, and as seen in Mayans MC, the Grim Bastards are still active.
Next: Sons of Anarchy True Story: How Accurate Its Portrayal of MCs Is
