Animal Kingdom: 5 theories after the events of Season 4, Episode 2

Animal Kingdom Season 4 is making the rounds into the past with an old friend coming to visit and more flashbacks revealing the identity of the man who fathered the Cody twins.

In the second episode of Animal Kingdom‘s fourth season, the Cody boys are all dealing with their own domestic dramas while Craig scopes out a potential high pay-off job with Frankie. Sneak peeks into the past of the infamous Cody family reveal a young Smurf turning into the psycho momma we all love to hate, and the woman who lives on solely in memory, Julia, is getting a voice through newcomer Angela (Emily Deschanel).

In the meantime, Deran is worried about his boyfriend, his mind presumably coming to horrible conclusions such as an affair or drug addiction, not knowing Adrian is a drug mule rat. J thinks the cops are on his trail, Pope continues his destructive behavior and Smurf is literally knocked down by a mysterious illness. This is getting crazy and it’s only the second episode.

Deran and Adrian

Every season of Animal Kingdom has at least three problems going on at once with usually two of them getting resolved midway through the season. I don’t think this DEA/Adrian situation is a major one and it’ll resolve somewhere at the midseason point. Looking past the obvious risk it brings, the whole thing doesn’t feel that formidable, more like a sigh-worthy circumstance.

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DEA agent: “What’s your roommate’s name?”

Adrian: sweating, trying to play it cool, “Uh…Deran…Cody?”

Cue all of us sighing in dramatic irritation and anxiety because really? You couldn’t think of at least one fake name in the 20-second pause you had between saying “Deran” and “Cody”? How about Deran Williams? Or Deran Saylor? Or if you couldn’t think outside the “C” then how about Collins? Cage? Or just be generic, Deran Smith?

Now getting to Deran and Adrian as a couple, there’s trouble in paradise because as we all know, lying to your boyfriend/domestic partner never leads to anything good. Deran knows something is wrong because as we’ve seen earlier, Adrian is the worst liar in Oceanside.

What this could mean?

This storyline could cause a temporary rift between the couple then ultimately bring them closer together. An ice breaker for the one topic of discussion that settled uneasily between them.

Deran and Adrian, however understanding of each other, have never really ever been on the same page. Adrian may not be an innocent saint the way his sweet baby face suggests, but he’s far from living the crime life the way Deran does. Living separately in such a way never works, no matter how much two people love each other. Adrian needs to either be involved with the crime life, or Deran needs to be uninvolved.

This drug thing will be the final push in bringing them to equal status. According to the IMDB cast list, which I know isn’t always 100% accurate, the DEA agents are only in a few more episodes, meaning Adrian is going to tell Deran soon and they’ll deal with it together.