Jimmy Smits is not pleased.
And neither is the rest of the cast and crew of noted F/X drama Sons of Anarchy, whose final episode airs on Tuesday, December 9th.
Key elements of that episode’s plot have leaked online in advance of the finale, thanks to some good old-fashioned technology and an errant shipping date.
Here’s the rub: Since it’s the end of the series’ run, the show’s creators are putting out an official, behind-the-scenes, documentary-type coffee table book: the kind most big shows tend to get when they’re concluding their time on air.
Entitled Sons of Anarchy: The Official Collector’s Edition, the book has wicked heaps of information about the show–stuff on every episode. Including the finale. And, since the book’s ship date is Wednesday, December 10, everything should be hunky dory. (Biker-style.)
Except, as is the case with the many bullet-ridden bodies the show has depicted during its tenure on the air, what was meant to be airtight didn’t get kept that way.
Some of the book’s distributors shipped the thing early: fans who were dedicated enough to the show to purchase a copy had the finale ruined for themselves instead.
Creator Kurt Sutter, despite having nothing to do with the book’s publication or shipping or distribution, took full responsibility for the slight error in a NSFW letter to fans.
“It has been brought to my attention,” Sutter wrote,
that our SOA Collector’s Edition Book has been sent out a week early by some distributors and book outlets. This book contains details about the final episode of the series. This, my friends is a storyteller’s worst nightmare. I wanted this book to be a compliment to the show. It contains personal messages and photos from the cast, in-depth behind the scenes information and detailed breakdown of episodes. It’s a smart, well-conceived book that I was very excited for the fans to have. AFTER the motherf*cking finale. There are a thousand f*cking people I can blame. And I assure you, by the time I am done, my f*cking basket will be filled with heads of incompetent c*nts. But as far as the fans go, the burden is on me. I f*cked up. It was my idea for the book, so ultimately, I am to blame. So if you received a book, I apologize. I ask that you not share your wrath or pain or opinion in social media so as to not spoil the experience of others. There is no excuse for utter ineptitude. It pains me that this will be the parting memory of some fans. I hope you all tune in for the finale. It plays much better than it reads.
“Papa’s Goods,” the series finale, will air Tuesday night at 10 PM.
