'Sons of Anarchy's' Maggie Siff on 'Horrifying,' 'Tragic' End to Season 5

James Minchin III / FX

If Tuesday's season-five finale of Sons of Anarchy proved anything, it was that it might not be possible to get out of Charming alive.

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[Warning: Spoilers from the season five-finale of Sons of Anarchy ahead.]

In the finale episode, Tara (Maggie Siff) was determined to finally get the hell out of Charming and move her family to Oregon. However, her mother-in-law, Gemma (Katey Sagal), wasn’t about to let her grandchildren be taken away from her.

She threatens to tell the police that Tara was involved in Otto’s (Kurt Sutter) plan to kill a nurse at the prison.

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In the final moments of the episode, Tara finally tells Jax (Charlie Hunnam) that she’s moving to Oregon with the kids -- with or without him.

“There’s really no turning back from that. She’s not asking him a question -- she’s telling him the way it is,” Siff tells The Hollywood Reporter.

However, right after that moment, the police arrive to arrest Tara on conspiracy to commit murder.

“It was really horrifying and tragic for the character. I root for her so much,” Siff tells THR about that final scene. “I always feel conflicted when I read scenes like that because it’s so upsetting for Tara, and yet as an actor, I’m always excited for that kind of a challenge.”

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Siff tells THR that she had not discussed with creator Sutter where Tara could go from here.

“It’s a big mystery,” she says. “I have many questions. How long is she going to be in prison for? Is my next season going to be inside a cell or are the Sons going to do some fancy footwork and get me out? I have no idea.”

But many fans’ questions probably will be about the fate of Tara’s relationship with Jax. While their relationship seemed solid at the beginning of the season -- with the two exchanging marriage vows early on -- it’s been strained as Jax dealt with the burdens of leading the California motorcycle club.

“I guess that I do believe that their love is an enduring one. I don’t feel that it’s broken yet, but I feel like the end of this season leaves them in a more tenuous place than we’ve seen them before,” says Siff. "And a much, much less innocent place, which is very scary.”

Siff adds that one of the most interesting aspects about season five has been Jax’s descent into darkness. Once just a member of the club, Jax has had to make some hard decisions as its leader, including creating a scheme that framed Clay for murder, and could very well lead to his death.

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“That’s been sort of the slow progression of the character, but it felt -- and I attribute it a lot to the writing and to Charlie’s beautiful performance -- it’s kind of heartbreaking, and there’s no going back from it,” she says.

The dark place that Jax is heading toward could very well have to do with the fact that Sutter has mentioned that he intends to finish the show after season seven. While nothing is set in stone with regard to an end date, the entire season has felt like it's heading toward a goal.

When THR asks what Siff thinks will be the fate of Tara by the end of the show, she says she doesn’t know but adds that one of her biggest questions is how strictly Sutter will follow the story that was his inspiration for the series -- Hamlet.

“So if that were true, then things don’t end well for old Tara,” she says. “But I don’t know if he knows that he’s going to adhere that strictly to the story.” (For those who aren’t exactly up on their Shakespeare, Hamlet’s love interest, Ophelia, ends up killing herself.)

After all the death -- including the shocking, brutal murder of Opie -- and destruction that took place during season five, Siff says: “I think the next couple of seasons are going to be very bloody.”

Email: Rebecca.Ford@thr.com; Twitter: @Beccamford