Sons of Anarchy: 5 Times We Felt Bad For Wendy (& 5 Times We Hated Her)

There are multiple reasons why the FX series Sons Of Anarchy is brilliant and one of those is the character development. The screenwriters didn’t allow any of the characters to have a fairy tale life. Everyone found themselves in tough situations and Jax Teller’s on and off lover Wendy was no exception.

Wendy had to settle for being Jax’s second chance since he loved Tara more than anybody else. However, she was the one who ended up being with him until his death. And despite the fact that she never committed any heinous crimes like killing, she was a polarizing character that drew feelings of love and disdain from viewers. Here are the times she triggered sympathy, and the times she triggered hate.

10 Felt Bad: Watching Tara Kiss Jack

In the first season, Tig accidentally killed Donna Winston by firing a MAC-10 at a car when he thought Opie was the occupant. The incident which had been planned by Clay sent Opie on a downward spiral since Donna was the love of his life.

During the funeral, all the SAMCRO members attended. Wendy happened to see Jax kissing Tara and this really hurt her since she had made efforts to reconcile with Jax. Previously, Tara had also kissed Jax at Abel’s homecoming party.

9 Hated: Taking Methamphetamine While Pregnant

Wendy’s son Abel Teller was born with a heart condition as well as a tear in his abdomen. He ended up having to use an incubator for most of the first season. It was revealed that the reason Abel was born with birth defects was that Wendy had taken drugs while she was pregnant.

Wendy was shown taking the drug in the pilot episode before collapsing. Luckily, Gemma found her and took her to the hospital where she underwent an emergency caesarian section procedure. There was no justifiable reason for Wendy to take the drugs so she deserved all the hate that she got because of this.

8 Felt Bad: Getting Choked By Gemma In The Hospital

When Gemma found out why Abel had birth defects, she wasn’t too pleased. Consistent with her character, she choked Wendy on her hospital bed and threatened her a couple of times. She then put a syringe inside her bible and suggested that she should take her own life.

Gemma also made it clear that she will never let Wendy get anywhere near Abel. Luckily for Wendy, Gemma changed her stance after she started feuding with Tara. In order to drive Tara away, she attempted to reunite Jax with Wendy.

7 Hated: Threatening Tara Over Abel’s Custody

After disappearing in the second and third seasons, a recovered Wendy reappeared in the fourth season demanding to be in Abel’s life. Tara wasn’t entertaining the idea since she had literally become Abel’s mother now. The two thus began feuding.

A resilient Wendy threatened to use legal means to get custody. She argued that she was a responsible adult who had turned her life around and that the court would see it that way. This wasn’t fair to Tara given how much work she had put into raising Abel like her own son.

6 Felt Bad: Getting Injected With Heroin By Jax

Tired of the headaches that Wendy was giving him, Jax accosted Wendy at her house, pinned her down, and stabbed her shoulder with a syringe. He then injected her with heroin and warned her to never threaten his family again.

It was a sad scene to watch, given that Wendy had made great strides to recover from her addiction. Watching the heroin take effect on her body was a moment worth inducing tears in viewers. There should have been other ways that he could have dealt with her.

5 Hated: Sleeping With Jax When He Was Still With Tara

In the first season’s penultimate episode, Wendy finds out that Gemma is trying to sabotage Jax and Tara’s relationship. She initially comes off as a good person by notifying Tara about Gemma’s schemes. However, she later ends up sleeping with Jax.

After Donna gets shot, everyone at SAMCRO is devastated when they arrive at the crime scene. When they leave and head back home, Wendy consoles Jax and the two end up making love.

4 Felt Bad: Relapsing Again

In the sixth season, there was the likelihood of Tara going to prison so she conspired with Wendy to make her get full custody just in case that happened. The two agreed to provide Gemma with dirt and feed her lies so that she could help Wendy get custody.

Since Wendy was not cut out for these kinds of schemes, she began feeling guilty. She thus turned to heroin again. Nero and Unser found her unconscious in her house and took her to Gemma. She was later taken back to a rehab facility.

3 Hated: The Fake Bruises

In Season 6’s fourth episode, Wendy showed up with bruises claiming to have been attacked by a man. She thus asked Gemma to tell Jax to deal with the man. The bruises were fake and she had only made them look real using makeup.

This was all part of Wendy and Tara’s plan to play Gemma. Tara also had bigger plans for implicating Jack and freeing herself from him. In as much as Wendy’s “fake bruises” were creative, the whole plan didn’t sit well with audiences, given that assault is a serious societal issue and many women suffer from it daily.

2 Felt Bad: Jax’s Goodbye

Before Jax’s death, he made plans to guarantee that his family would be well taken care of. He sold his house and the garage then arranged for Wendy and the kids to stay with Nero. But there was no sadder moment than the final time Wendy and the kids met Jax.

She had no idea he was going to end his own life. Only Nero appeared to known. Jax told Abel that Wendy was in fact his true mum. He then told him to trust Nero since he was “daddy’s best friend.” Finally, he told Wendy that she was a good mother and that he loved her. She never saw him again.

1 Hated: Siding With Gemma

When Gemma found about Tara’s fake pregnancy, she went to confront Wendy. At that point, Wendy had no clue what to do. She figured that she always lost no matter which side she was on. She thus agreed to be on Gemma’s side going forward.

This is mostly because she was afraid that Gemma will keep her from the kids. She gave her back the gun and asked her to dispose of the drugs but then Gemma asked her to do it herself. Gemma also asked her to prove that she could be really trusted.

About The Author

Philip Etemesi
(1212 Articles Published)

Philip Etemesi is an author, journalist, screenwriter and film critic based in Nairobi. Kenya. As a child, he preferred watching movies like The Goodfellas instead of Home Alone. His girlfriend constantly has to pull him from the front of the TV but he just keeps returning. Stubborn dude! An animal lover, Philip also has a pet giraffe called Refu.

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