It’s been a roller-coaster ride for the Teller-Morrow family, SAMCRO and fans of Sons of Anarchy, but as the hit FX drama returns next month, viewers will find just five days have passed since the Season 5 finale, with Ron Perlman’s Clay and Maggie Siff’s Tara both in prison.

Clay is behind bars after being betrayed by his family, something Perlman said has hit his character hard.

“He’s waiting, he’s waiting to die,” the actor told a gathering of reporters at Comic-Con International, where he was joined by series creator Kurt Sutter, executive producer/director Paris Barclay and his fellow cast members. Asked about the role wife Gemma played in Clay’s imprisonment, Perlman said, “He never could have conceived that.”

In contrast, Katey Sagal said Gemma “starts out in a pretty good place. She has a new guy in her life.” But the actress was quick to point out, “Very soon the shit will fly.”

The prodigal son, Charlie Hunnam’s Jax, is also in a good place as Season 6 opens, or at least a good place compared to past seasons. Asked if his character would be a good single father, the actor said, “I think Jax really struggles to balance the club and family life,” but, he continued, “I could never imagine Jax being able to walk away from the club.”

Theo Rossi, who plays Juice, discussed Jax’s impact and the respect the character garners, saying viewers will “find out what fulfilling Jax’s plan does to him psychologically.” The actor also shared, “Every script this year feels like a finale.”

Tig’s relationship with Jax is in a similar predicament, as after the events of last season, Kim Coates admits the two have a lot of issues to work out. However, he said, “Tig is on Jax’s leash,” as Jax saved Tig’s life and included him in the betrayal of Clay.

Mark Boone Junior joked, “If I was writing this show, Bobby Munson would take Jax over his knee and slap the crap out of him.” Instead, his character left the biker club at the end of last season, giving up his position as vice president.

Tommy Flanagan’s Chibs would disagree. “He’s fiercely loyal to Jax,” he said. When asked to confirm Chibs’ promotion to club vice president, the actor unintentionally revealed the answer, “Am I allowed to?”

Sagal is also an accomplished singer, and this season her character will again sing on the show. The actress also shared she has an album coming out in September that she is excited about. Junior has also been working on an album, but he’s uncertain about a release date. When asked what genre, he joked, “Good.”

Returning to the subject of the series, Sutter admitted it was hard to kill off fan-favorite character Opie. “It wasn’t a difficult creative choice,” he said, “but it was a difficult personal choice.”

For Season 6, the creator wants to focus on the impact of Clay in prison, and a lot of the relationships the club has broken over the previous five seasons will finally come back to haunt them in a big way.

Sons of Anarchy returns Sept. 10 on FX.