Animal Kingdom Season 4 premiere: The retrogression of Pope Cody

In the Animal Kingdom Season 4 premiere, Pope starts the race to insanity while under Smurf’s ruling thumb and Adrian finds himself at the mercy of the DEA all while the Codys pull off a job.

It’s time for summer, which means it’s time for the Codys from Animal Kingdom to return for their fourth season, and it’s already better than anything Season 3 delivered. Before we get into it, here’s a brief recap of what happened last season.

Pope gave up Lena so she could have a normal life and in doing so, exchanges himself as payment. Smurf agrees to leave Lena alone if Pope comes home and becomes her little Norman Bates again. Deran bought a house for Adrian, who has taken up a career in drug smuggling that ended him in police custody. J became Scarface and murdered Smurf’s lawyer, Morgan in order to steal his grandmother’s properties, and Craig did more Craig nonsense.

More from Drama

• The Serpent Queen season 2 release updates and everything we know
• Is Quantum Leap on tonight? (November 22, 2023)
• Is Magnum P.I. on tonight? (Nov. 22, 2023)
• Miss Scarlet and the Duke returns for season 4 at the top of 2024
• The Way Home season 2 trailer reveals 1800s storyline and release date!

Now, let’s get started on the explosive Season 4 premiere. The first thing we see is a bank robbery where a group of masked assailants efficiently carry out a job until a hostage pulls out a handgun and gets killed in the process. Blood splatters over one of the robbers in a very Heath Ledger’s Joker moment where they cock their head and stare at the dead body in silent wonder as if the bloody corpse is a math equation unworthy of their incomprehension.

When the robbers leave, the staring assailant is revealed to be a young 20-something-year-old Smurf played by Leila George. Finally! I’ve been waiting for a flashback.

Pope’s misplaced his sanity

This episode was very Pope-centric, diving into the illness that has controlled him his entire life. Since the very beginning of the show, Pope has been portrayed as an unstable individual with a habit of disappearing into areas of his mind where all thoughts and actions fall victim to uncontrollable rages, to “wipe out” as he says.

By the way, what is Pope’s illness? It’s never said, but if I had to guess I’d say a cranked up version of Borderline Personality Disorder. His unpredictability is pretty much the defining trait of his character, and the man’s been down-spiraling for a while now. Without his twin sister or best friend or Lena there to ground him, he’s floating aimlessly through open waters without an anchor to keep the world steady.

In response to this reckless free-floating, Smurf enrolls Pope in MIA cage fighting to outlet his aggression, but it does more harm than good. Craig and momma Smurf watch the fight like proud parents at a Little League game, but Craig sends a worried glance to his mother when he realizes how deadly Pope has become.

Who would have thought that putting a mentally ill man, fresh from losing his adoptive daughter, in a fighting ring would make him worse? Poor Craig seems to be the only one really concerned about it though. Deran is a little, but he brushes it off as Pope being Pope. Smurf, on the other hand, couldn’t be happier.

Who is Pope’s father?

I get the feeling that Animal Kingdom Season 4 will be Pope’s season or it’ll be the season that dives into the history of Smurf’s relationship with him. Throughout the episode, we get multiple glimpses of Smurf’s past as she takes her first steps into the criminal world. In these short flashbacks, we’re given an insider’s look at the creation of Smurf, including how she got her trademark sneer and bob cut. Actress Leila George does a fantastic job imitating Ellen Barkin; her evil glare is spot on.

Alongside her is a young man referred to as her boyfriend, who loosely resembles Pope in both looks and temper. Smurf had the twins when she was in her early 20s, so this boyfriend could very well have been their father and it looks as if they’re slowly unveiling him bit by bit for suspense reasons.

The other fathers of Smurf’s children were colorless without much personality, but this unknown guy comes off as someone who definitely could have shaped Smurf into the woman she is today. Also, I’m pretty sure a young version of Craig’s father, Jake, is on the same crew. There are at least four men on this crew, I wonder if she dated all of them.

Adrian has a double life and J is your friendly neighborhood criminal

There’s a reason why Deran doesn’t have time to worry about Pope’s mental state, and that’s Adrian. The last functioning couple on the series has finally moved past their destructive friend-with-benefits, secret couple phase and are now living like cute domestics in their own house.

Adrian hasn’t told Deran about his drug smuggling mishap or that he got caught, but Deran can feel the unease in the air. Adrian has quit the surfing circuit, claiming he got tired of losing but the two Codys who care, Deran and Craig, know he’s lying. Craig, bless his heart, tries a hand at relationship counseling, but come on, what sane person would ever take his advice?

The DEA wants Adrian to play snitch for the dealers that gave him the drugs and are pushing him to complete the circuit, or they’ll give him 25 years in federal prison. Poor Adrian is trying to forcibly lose competitions so he can’t get back on the circuit, therefore forcing the DEA to disregard him as an informant. Unfortunately, they’re as convinced at his poor surfing attempts as Deran is.

Meanwhile, J has enrolled in college and has a girl in one of his classes making goo-goo eyes at him. Apparently, J is a brat magnet because this girl is basically a more mature version of Nicky. Her brat pack of friends are no different, I can only imagine what murderous thoughts are going through J’s mind as they blab on and on about nothing.

However, J is later shown to be researching the family of one of the snobby college kids in the brat pack. A future victim maybe?

The next job

It wouldn’t be Animal Kingdom without a robbery or the planning of one. You have to applaud this series for keeping their crime episodes well-thought out, not like in action films where bigger and louder is better. Every committed crime feels real.

Everyone has a part in this job, including Adrian, who is Deran’s alibi, and Mia who is J’s personal scouter. The target location is a bank where modern security makes a robbery almost too great a risk, and the family is worried Pope won’t be able to pull it off.

The day before the robbery at a very uncomfortable family dinner, the boys all voice their oppositions to Pope being on the job. He’s not taking his meds, sleeping or eating (even though he ate about 50 ribs at dinner), returning to the way he was in Season 1, but Smurf shuts them down without any room for argument.

Against all odds, the job goes smoothly until the police arrive unexpectedly and the boys are forced to flee earlier than anticipated. There’s a moment where you think Pope might kill the frightened bank-teller, channeling a tense panther prowling towards a helpless mouse, but he manages to keep his cool long enough to get out the building in one piece.

However, as the boys flee the scene, Pope gets the sudden urge to face off against the police car alone, armed only with a handgun, later explaining that he “wiped out”. They drag him back in time, but whatever victory celebration they would have had has already gone down the toilet. The next family dinner is going to be so awkward.

Oh, and Frankie is back with another job for Craig. I love this show but their wasting Ben Robson in pointless Frankie storylines that serve as nothing but plot filler. She’s not nearly as interesting as she thinks she is.

All in all, this is a good start for Season 4. Four years later and Animal Kingdom is as thrilling as ever.

Don’t miss the next episode of Animal Kingdom next Tuesday at 9p/8c. on TNT.