One of the enduring questions hanging around the hit series Sons of Anarchy is who -- or possibly what -- the mysterious Homeless Woman represents. As such, the show's creator has tried to give answers about her identity. However, instead of satisfying people's curiosity, it may have only amplified the confusion.
Chaos was the by-product of the turbulent, crime-filled lives of SAMCRO members. The biker gang was always getting robbed, beat-up, shot or muscled on their own turf. Despite this, they somehow managed to endure all the mayhem and, at least a handful, managed to survive to Sons of Anarchy's conclusion. However, during some of the most critical points in the series, the Homeless Woman was there.
A fixture throughout the fictional town of Charming, California, the character played by Olivia Burnette pops up 11 times during Sons of Anarchy's run, usually right before or around violent incidents involving death. Her number of appearances may be no accident either. The number 11 can sometimes have religious connotations, particularly as it relates to angels or spirit guides.
In that regard, some fans have argued that she may have been a guardian angel for the show's main protagonist, Jackson "Jax" Teller. After several encounters in their hometown, she seems far more transient than at first glance. However, when she suddenly appears on the streets of Belfast, Ireland, instead of her normal California dwelling, her presence makes no sense. It seems to reinforce that she is a spiritual entity, perhaps taking a form only Jax can see, rather than a homeless person who has cornered the trans-Atlantic pan-handing market.
Sons of Anarchy creator Kurt Sutter has addressed the issue before, albeit with just slightly more clarity than the show ultimately provided. On Twitter, he referred to her as “the magic that anarchy summons and the mortality it extinguishes. She's the bringer of eternal light and the harbinger of all things dark.” This comment makes her sound a lot like a guardian angel tied to the chaos that surrounds SAMCRO. However, he also adds, “She is the chicken and the squirrel and all their broken eggs and rotting acorns… She is you, me and your Uncle Murray,” which only makes things more confusing.
However, Sutter later added a more definitive explanation during an online Q&A with fans, saying, “She’s Jesus Christ." In the context of her role in the show and Sutter’s previous comments, the character being Jesus makes a lot more sense than any other theory.
The Homeless Woman never reveals her identity to the townsfolk, including Jax Teller. Jax even confronts her at Sons of Anarchy's end, interrupting her Biblical meal of bread and wine, wanting to know who she is. She simply replies, “It’s time,” and hands him a blanket, seemingly the same one he gave her when they met as the series began. It was an ominous final moment between them, considering not long after, Jax was dead, and the series concludes on a bloody frame of bread and wine, cementing the woman's religious symbolism.