FX hosted a conference call with the hit series’ creator and executive producer Kurt Sutter to discuss his decision to kill fan favorite Opie Winston (Ryan Hurst).  Sons of Anarchy fans are still recovering from the violent manner in which Opie met his demise in this week’s episode, “Laying Pipe.”

Due to a malfunction, the call wasn’t recorded so I’ll do my best to give you the highlights of what Sutter had to say.

Opie’s Death – Why and how long has it been on the works?

•        “It’s not a death that happens in vain,” he said as if reaffirming his commitment to the fans that Opie’s fate wasn’t an arbitrary death. He wanted it to happen “organically” as he felt Jax needed the emotional upheaval.

•        Sutter started thinking about the character’s demise by the end of season three and solidified the idea with Piney Winston’s (William Lucking) death in season four.

•        Hurst was informed about the fate of his character before Sutter sent him the script and he understood the reasoning behind it.

•        Since deaths like Opie’s are common in prison, Sutter said he wanted Opie to go out a warrior, knowing his death would have a large emotional impact on the rest of show.

During the FX call, Kurt Sutter shared great insight on the rest of the Sons of Anarchy season.

Jax – Where does he go after Opie’s death? What is his mind set?

•        Sutter wanted Opie’s death to be early in season five to have room to explore how Jax’s character will be affected by it. So season five is where Jax figures out what kind of man he is going to become, along with other emotional decisions.

Tara – Is she really becoming Gemma version 2.0?

•        When asked if Tara was becoming more like Gemma, Sutter dismissed the idea. As an example, he explained when Gemma (Katey Sagal) threatened Tara (Maggie Siff) about the kids, Tara’s reaction had more to do with her motherly nature kicking in and tapping into an instinctual ‘you-ain’t-fucking-with-my-kids’ attitude instead of her exhibiting behaviors that emulate or copy Gemma.

Damon Pope – What is the deal with him?

•        Sutter says Damon Pope (Harold Perrineau) “has risen through the streets” and is still very connected to them.  He says Pope’s approach to ruling others is similar to a pimp in which he makes people feel safe and loved but ultimately leads them with sheer brutality. This is evidenced when Pope adopts almost a mentor role for Jax but it’s not because he wants to help him. Sutter explained it’s more related to how Pope “assumes everyone wants to be like him.”  In spite of the character’s ego, the series’ creator considers Pope to be the perfect model for Jax in terms of where to lead his life.

What else we should look forward to in season five?

•        We’ll learn who Pope is and why he’s made certain decisions. This will play a big factor in the character’s makeup.

•        Juice’s (Theo Rossi) secret from season four will come into play during the last half of the season.

Sutter says Damon Pope (Harold Perrineau) has a street mentality and remains very connected to them.

Will there be more than seven seasons for Sons of Anarchy?

•        Sutter said the network could accommodate an eighth season but stressed the model for the show is seven, at least for now.

SAMCRO – Odds & Ends

•        When casting guest stars, Sutter doesn’t want to bring prima donnas to the set and also focuses on the actor’s body of work to make a decision.

•        “I just don’t leave story arcs hanging,” Sutter says when asked about other open storylines from past seasons. I took this to mean that we can expect him to circle back to these arcs before the series ends.

•        “Tig is a great complicated character,” Sutter says, making it clear he enjoys the versatility of Kim Coates’ acting. For now, Tig isn’t fully aware of Jax’s deal with Pope.

•        The emotionality of the characters isn’t going to be linear this season. We should expect the characters to be all over the place emotionally, experiencing ups and downs.

In an unfortunate series of events, the Sons’ cast and crew had to deal with the untimely death of former cast member Johnny Lewis this week.

Sutter issued the following statement via Twitter:  “not sure if folks know this yet, but johnny lewis (halfsack) died last night. the sad irony of it happening two days after opie’s death is not lost on me. it was a tragic end for an extremely talented guy, who unfortunately had lost his way. i wish i could say that i was shocked by the events last night, but i was not. i am deeply sorry that an innocent life had to be thrown into his destructive path. yes, it’s day or mourning, but it’s also a day of awareness and gratitude. sadly, some of us carry the message by dying.”

Last but not least, I want to thank the fans who sent me questions via social media prior to the call.

Tune in to Sons of Anarchy Tuesdays at 10pm ET/PT, only on FX. For more on the show, visit http://www.fxnetworks.com/shows/originals/soa/.

Follow the show on Twitter using the hashtag #SOAFX, and follow @FXNetworks, @sutterink and @sonsofanarchy

Photos © 2012 FX Networks, LLC. All Rights Reserved.