Half-Sack's Forgotten Skill In Sons Of Anarchy

Though FX's biker drama "Sons of Anarchy" may seem like an exciting, nonstop thrill ride, getting into the M.C. at the heart of the series is no easy task. Prospects must endure a year of rigorous testing before they can be officially patched into the club. While all potential members endure a heavy dose of hazing, no one goes through as much during this process as the series' first prospect, Kip "Half-Sack" Epps (Johnny Lewis). Aptly nicknamed because of a certain injury he sustained while serving in the military, Half-Sack does anything and everything asked of him in order to become a proper member down the line, including chainsawing a deer out of a windshield in the first episode of the series (via YouTube).

Sadly, Half-Sack never officially becomes a full member of the club in life. In fact, he is only patched in after he sacrifices himself defending Jax's (Charlie Hunnam) old lady, Tara (Maggie Siff). Half-Sack is buried in his vest, finally an official member of the club, if only in death. Because of the actor's desire to leave "Sons of Anarchy" (via Los Angeles Magazine), his character was not fully explored. Had he not left so soon, maybe one of his skills would have been used in more than one episode.

In one get-rich-quick scheme in Season 1, Episode 7 ("Old Bones"), SAMCRO attempts to put Half-Sack's history of boxing in the military to good use. After setting up a bare-knuckle boxing match, Tig (Kim Coates) and Chibs (Tommy Flanagan) tell him to throw the fight. Because the club has bet against him, Tig and Chibs want to reap the profits from Half-Sack's loss. However, this plan fails pretty specularly when Half-Sack opts not to take the dive (via YouTube). 

Unfortunately, Half-Sack is distracted during his fight at the exact inopportune moment, when he notices Clay Morrow (Ron Perlman) share an affectionate moment with Cherry (Taryn Manning). Flying into a jealous rage, Half-Sack does the opposite of what is intended and almost kills his opponent. In the grand scheme of things, this plotline results in relatively low stakes. Even though he doesn't throw the fight, the club still makes off with a decent amount of cash. This may point to the reason why his skills as a boxer are never brought up again. Although the scheme is profitable, the amount of effort involved in the operation may not have been worth it to the club. Of course, the other reason this skill was likely never revisited is that the focus wasn't ever really about boxing. It was about Half-Sack and Cherry.

Half-Sack's jealousy proves that he is serious about making Cherry his old lady, despite her previous dalliance with Clay. This ultimately proves to be a defining moment for the relationship, proving Half-Sack's feelings are genuine. If not for Half-Sack's death and the tragic, real-life death of actor Johnny Lewis (via The Hollywood Reporter), it is at least possible that this relationship and Half-Sack's boxing career could have returned.