"Laying Pipe"
The brutal death of Opie (Ryan Hurst) shocked the fanbase. Creator Kurt Sutter promises Jax's (Charlie Hunnam) best friend's death would "not be in vain" and "will color the rest of the episodes for the rest of the series."
"Authority Vested"
In a season filled with brutality and death, SOA found time for a sweet moment when Jax and Tara (Maggie Siff) abruptly got married. In a brothel. Awww!
"Sovereign"
Season five started off on fire...literally, as new big bad Damon Pope (Harold Perrineau) exacts revenge on Tig (Kim Coates) by lighting his daughter on fire.
"With an X"
Juice (Theo Rossi) kills a Son, Miles (Frank Potter), in self-defense and to keep his big secret: He's being forced to work with rival RICO. Wracked with guilt, he then unsuccessfully tries to commit suicide by hanging himself from a tree, but the rope breaks.
"Family Recipe"
Chucky (Michael Marisi Opstein) shows his loyalty to SAMCRO by hiding a severed head in a vat of chili, which he later serves to some cops. Yeah, we haven't eaten chili since.
"Family Recipe"
Aside from head-filled chili, this season-four episode featured the show's first true death for storytelling purposes: Clay (Ron Perlman) kills Piney (William Lucking), the co-founder of SAMCRO and Opie's father.
"Na Trioblóidí"
Prospective SAMCRO member Half-Sack (Johnny Lewis) was stabbed in the stomach and killed while trying to protect Tara and Abel in the season-two finale. Sutter later revealed that Lewis asked to be written off the show, a strange prelude to the actor's own horrific death scene.
"Na Trioblóidí"
Jax's son Abel is kidnapped by Cameron Hayes (Jamie McShane), a Real IRA member, who mistakenly thinks Gemma killed his own son.
"Albification"
In arguably the show's most horrific scene ever, Gemma (Katey Sagal) is raped by the White Supremacist AJ Weston (Henry Rollins).
"The Sleep of Babies"
Tig mistakenly murders Donna (Sprague Grayden), Opie's wife, thinking she was Opie, in this season one episode.
"The Pull"
Jax murders Agent Josh Kohn (Jay Karnes) after he stalks and attempts to rape Tara, his ex. Jax and Tara then had sex next to his dead body, as you do in these situations.