‘Sons of Anarchy’ Season 5 Details Ride Out from PaleyFest

With 'Sons of Anarchy' season 4 providing FX with some of its highest ratings to date, it's no wonder the network jumped on the possibility of locking series creator Kurt Sutter down for an additional two-season order, and it wouldn't be much of a surprise for a seventh to be in the cards.

That said, season 4 finale 'To Be, Part 2" left 'Sons of Anarchy' fans in quite a huff, finally placing Jax Teller at the head of the SAMCRO table with wife Tara firmly at his side, the group still in turmoil, and the promise of new conflicts on the horizon.  So where do the 'Sons of Anarchy' ride next?

At the 'Sons of Anarchy' PaleyFest panel, series creator Kurt Sutter and a handful of cast members from the show were on hand to answer questions about the upcoming fifth season, as well as a few lingering oddities from the season finale.  Here's what we learned:

According to Sutter, 'Sons of Anarchy' season 5 will open near of a month after the events of 'To Be, Part 2," allowing Tara (Maggie Siff) some time to adjust to her new role at the head of the SAMCRO table beside Jax.  Says Sutter of the character's transformation, "Tara’s clearly in, and [Season 5] really will be her trying to figure out, ‘Who am I in this world? Can I still be Dr. Tara Knowles and be this Queen?"

Season 5 will also explore the fallout of Tig (Kim Coates) accidentally killing rival gang lord Damon Pope's daughter, but heavily focus on Jax as a character adjusting to his new role as "King".  On the character, Sutter elaborates, "I’ve always wanted to play this idea of putting Jax at the head of the table, and the ripples of that and where people land...how can you be the leader of an organized crime syndicate and not become Clay? And if you choose not to become Clay, are you forced to become John Teller (Jax's father)?"

Sutter also indicated that we wouldn't see much of his own character Otto over the course of the fifth season, particularly given the role he played in the club's downfall this past year.  As for Opie (Ryan Hurst), who conspicuously didn't join his brothers at the meeting that closed out the season finale?  "I felt that it wasn’t true to his character to have him come in the room and sit at that table. He’s a soulful, deep-thinking kind of guy. For him to get all of that information from Jax, it didn’t make sense that he would be able to rectify that within a couple hours and sit at that table. This season we’ll get to see how [their] relationship has changed and if he can come back from that."

And for a bit of fun, could there be love in the air for Tig and Gemma now that Clay has completely alienated himself from his wife?  "There’s always been an attraction between Tig and Gemma. I don’t know where that’s going to go.”

Not bad, eh, SAMCRO fans?  'Sons of Anarchy's fifth season will likely debut on FX in the fall, so how are you getting yourself revved up in the meantime?  Will we see more of Danny Trejo and the Galindo Cartel?  Who would you like to see guest on the biker drama?  Write your charter in the comments below!