Sons Of Anarchy: 10 Ways That Gemma & Unser Aren’t Real Friends

Sons Of Anarchy is a show with many complicated friendships and relationships. Instances of characters using each for selfish reasons can sum to the hundreds. There are few genuine friendships too, like that of Jax and Opie. However, Gemma and Unser’s friendship cant be counted among the decent ones.

While there is some chemistry between the former police chief and the SAMCRO Old Lady, their actions are more detrimental than empowering to each other. Their friendship tends to be rather one-sided too, leaning in Gemma’s favor. There are plenty of facts that highlight the red flags. Here are the many reasons why their friendship is bad for both of them.

10 They Hide Things From Each Other

When Unser finds out about the letters detailing John Teller’s fears and concerns, he keeps some information away from Gemma when she comes to see him. This proves a lack of trust on his side.

It turns out the lack of trust cuts both ways. After Gemma murders Tara in Season 7, she keeps it a secret from Unser too, yet he’s the only person who has always gotten her out of sticky situations. There’s no doubt that Unser would have come up with a way to save Gemma from Jax if she told him about it earlier.

9 Unser Helps Gemma Cover Up A Sexual Assault Incident

Early in the second season, Gemma gets sexually assaulted by Ethan Zobelle’s henchmen. Their aim is to stir up the Sons and cause a bigger war. When Unser finds a badly bruised Gemma, she requests him to not tell any SAMCRO member, including her own son.

Surprisingly, Unser complies. He helps her crash a car in order to make it seem like injuries had resulted from an accident. The incident traumatizes Gemma and even puts a dent in her relationship with Clay. If Unser really valued his relationship with Gemma, he should have done something. As the police chief, Unser could have simply arrested Zobelle’s entire crew over the incident.

8 They Don’t Have Similar Traits

Gemma is confrontational and violent. She is a bully too. She assaults a number crow eaters during the series run. Unser, on the other hand, is peaceful. He prefers to talk things out instead of having to use force. Gemma also enjoys partying and fornicating while Unser is more reserved.

Most importantly, Gemma has a history of killing people, while Unser only kills two people in the entire series. On those two occasions, he does so out of self-defense. And despite serving as a cop for a long time in a region filled with gangsters, he doesn’t kill anyone on the job until the Season 7 episode titled “Faith And Despondency.” After committing the murder, Unser isn’t happy about it.

7 Gemma Keeps Leading Him On

Unser spends the entire series crushing on Gemma. He is secretly in love with her and that’s why he does all kinds of favors for her, no matter how absurd and dangerous they are.

Gemma is aware of the fact that Unser loves her. Even when he confesses his love for her in Season 6, she still doesn’t make the boundaries of their friendship clear. She never tells Unser that they are just friends and that’s all they’ll ever be. Instead, she leads him on, making him hope that one day they’ll become a couple. This never happens.

6 Unser Doesn’t Do Anything To Clay After The Domestic Violence Incident

When Gemma confronts Clay after an attempted kidnapping involving Tara, he beats her up badly. Unser soon finds out about the incident but he doesn’t handle it in the manner that a friend would.

He goes to talk to Clay about it but backs off when Clay gives him a death stare, coupled with a few words of honor. If he really liked Gemma, he could have at least arrested him or fought it out with him. Instead, he tells Opie about Clay’s involvement in Piney’s death so that Opie can kill him. Why not do it himself?

5 Unser Sets Gemma Down A Dangerous Path

Despite knowing how violent and unpredictable Gemma can be, Unser doesn’t do what a good friend would do by protecting her from a vital piece of information in Season 6. Instead, he tells her that Jax is going to get arrested and that Tara made a deal. This makes Gemma believe that Tara ratted out on Jax and the club.

This results in Gemma going down a violent route where she confronts Tara and brutally murders her. Given how good Unser was at withholding information, it’s surprising that he doesn’t do that on this occasion, for Gemma’s own good.

4 Gemma Prefers To Do Things Her Way

In their friendship, Gemma often feels that her way is better than Unser’s way. For example, when Unser tells Opie about Clay’s involvement in his father Piney’s death in order to get Opie to kill him, Gemma tries to make Unser stop Opie.

Her reason? She prefers a scenario where Jax kills Clay. Again, Unser agrees to this, yet all that really matters is that Clay gets killed. It would make more sense for Opie to kill Clay, considering the fact that Clay has just killed his father. However, Gemma just overrides Unser’s plan for no good reason at all.

3 Unser Doesn’t Endear Himself To Gemma’s Son (Jax)

Logically, A true friend would want to be loved by their friend’s family as well. However, Unser never makes an effort to be on good terms with Jax. This how Nero beats him to Gemma’s heart.

Nero avoids being discarded by Gemma or being taken for granted because he quickly forms a strong bond with Jax. Gemma likes the fact that her lover is friends with her son. But Unser keeps fighting Jax. He even calls Jax out for being a bad father. This is part of the reason why Jax doesn’t spare his life when he tries to protect Gemma.

2 Unser Puts Gemma At Risk By Telling Jax About The Chinese Suspect

As soon as Unser finds out that the Chinese gang member who Gemma blamed for Tara’s murder wasn’t even in the state when it happened, he rushes to tell Jax about it. His cop instincts ought to have told him that Gemma framed the man because she was involved in the murder.

And if he really liked her, no matter what she did, he shouldn’t have let Jax know about his findings. He should have done more investigations first, and after finding out that Gemma really killed Tara, he should have protected her like he had done so many times before. Instead, his decision to talk, set off a chain of events that ended with both him and Gemma dead.

1 Gemma Lets Unser Die For Her

When Jax finally locates Gemma after learning that she killed Tara, Unser tries to stop him from killing her. He says the now infamous words: “She’s all I have left.” As expected, Jax doesn’t hesitate to shoot him dead.

This is heartbreaking because Gemma could have actually asked Unser to leave. She has always been good at persuading people. A simple “This is between me and my son” kind of speech could have sent Unser away. Instead, Gemma took the selfish route by expecting Unser to save her once again, yet she knew Jax was more likely to get the upper hand.