Harold Perrineau Was One of Sons of Anarchys Best Villains
When it comes to Sons of Anarchy, the FX series knew how to establish conflict over its seven seasons. With its entire show following “protagonists” who do bad things, it really places a heavy emphasis on the writers to create antagonists and villains that truly make us look past the illegal stuff that guys we’re supposed to be rooting for like Jax Teller (Charlie Hunnam) are doing each episode. Sons of Anarchy was able to last as long as it did because of the quality of its antagonists. From guys like August Marks (Billy Brown) to Gaalen O’Shay (Timothy V. Murphy), there was no shortage of bad guys opposing SAMCRO. Yet, with such a deep pool of antagonists, the one who truly set the bar was Damon Pope, played by Harold Perrineau, who currently stars in FROM. In a world filled with twisted and demented antagonists, Pope takes the prize for the worst (best?) person to grace the Sons of Anarchy universe.
Damon Pope Made the Sons of Anarchy Pay For Over Eight Episodes
His run was limited, most of which occurred in Season 5, but boy, did Pope leave a lasting impact on not just the club but the Sons of Anarchy series. A drug kingpin and an overly-powerful leader based in Oakland, Pope had a lot in his arsenal. He fully utilized his power both financially and in his protection with the One-Niners to reign terror on the Sons. Pope’s entry comes after Tig (Kim Coates) accidentally murders his daughter while attempting to take out the leader of the One-Niners, Laroy Wayne (Tory Kittles). This sets off Pope's tumultuous debut as he seeks retaliation and won't stop until he gets his revenge on the Sons. One of his first acts is ordering Laroy's dismemberment as he begins his reign. It's in this moment that Perrineau is able to show how dialed in he is with this role.
What makes Pope so imposing is his calm and collected nature. He rarely shows any wavering emotion despite the rage inside him. As fans of Perrineau know, there's a certain coolness in him and level-headedness that he's exhibited in both From and Lost. Perrineau is able to tap into this, which only heightens the level of threat he brings into this world. He ends up kidnapping Tig’s daughter, throwing her in a pit at the rail yard that he ordered Tig to meet him at, and has a tied-up Tig watch in horror as he flicks his cigar into the gasoline-laced pit that engulfs his daughter. It's a menacing scene and one that stands among the most gruesome acts across the seven seasons.
Damon Pope Called For the Worst Death in ‘Sons of Anarchy’
While killing Tig’s daughter truly was horrible, Pope wasn't done just yet. When it comes to Sons of Anarchy, happy endings aren't to be expected. It's a dark world when it comes to the M.C. life. Perrineau exudes a certain bravado in this performance that allows him to convince us just how evil Pope really is. There's no better example of this than one of his final acts, one that resulted in the most heartbreaking death in the series. Using his power, Pope framed Tig, Jax, and Chibs (Tommy Flanagan) for the murder of his daughter, resulting in their imprisonment while a lost Opie (Ryan Hurst) decides to punch an officer so that he can accompany his brothers into the dangerous prison. Any Sons of Anarchy fan reading this knows what happens next as Pope makes an offer to a powerless Jax, one that would get the Sons of out of jail in exchange for one member dying. It's a cruel offer that depicts just how dangerous Pope is.
Jax attempts to quell the situation before eventually realizing there's no good option. He is about to volunteer himself as the sacrifice before Opie steps in and assaults a guard knowing that this will lead to him being the one to die. Pope knew his offer wouldn't be as simple as one of the Sons being voted in as the sacrifice, so seeing this play out in this manner stings even more because it's exactly how Pope thought it would play. This sets up the worst death in Sons of Anarchy as a helpless Opie is beaten to death while being outnumbered as his friends are forced to watch on in agony. Pope gets his wish for revenge in a horrifyingly savage way.
Seeing Damon Pope Meet His Maker in 'Sons of Anarchy' Is Rewarding
With fans' hearts crushed following Pope’s heinous deal, the writers took Pope’s eighth and final episode — which also happens to be the Season 5 finale — as an opportunity to give one last payoff for all of the pain the Sons endured. Being the one who was responsible for all of this, Tig is set up by Jax to be a final sacrifice to Pope, so this war can end. It reaches the point where Jax hands Tig over. It's shortly after when the two are alone that Jax and Tig disarm Pope, and Tig fires a bullet into him, getting revenge for him burning his daughter alive. Pope's reign of terror ends there, but it's not before the actor was able to leave a lasting imprint on the show.
It was an absolute wild and brief ride for Pope, but one that changed the landscape of the Sons. His arrival resulted in the death of one of the most beloved characters and destroyed everything Tig had going for him with his daughter. Perrineau’s menacing time as the antagonist takes the prize for the best villain in the Sons of Anarchy franchise. To this day, including the five seasons of Mayans M.C., there hasn't been a villain that has been able to live up to the one set forth by Perrineau. This proved to be a much darker and sinister role than fans of his are accustomed to seeing, but he tackled it in a way that only he could. Perrineau's calmness and aura was perfectly suited for this menacing character, who ultimately acted selfishly to appease his own self while doing so in a way that made those he hurt unaware of how conniving he really was.
All seven seasons of Sons of Anarchy are available to stream on Hulu.
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