Animal Kingdom: New details reveal what will happen next
By Rachel Roth
New episode summaries for Animal Kingdom reveals the possibility of an unsurprising betrayal and Smurf’s struggle to keep a personal secret.
The TNT series, Animal Kingdom is only two episodes into its fourth season and already the Cody family has found themselves in deep water, though none of them know it yet. Smurf appears to be suffering from an unknown illness and now that I think about it, it’s possible that she’s been sick for a while.
As far back as Season 2, Smurf has been losing pieces of herself. Reaching a zombie arm out at 10 in the morning for a half-drunk cocktail beside her bed and forgetting the details for a job, a mistake that ultimately split the family up.
At the time, it didn’t feel important, just Smurf struggling with her son’s continuing disobedience. However, it’s possible the show had planted the disease seeds earlier than we thought.
None of the other Cody’s are doing well either; Pope is losing his mind, Deran has no clue that his boyfriend was arrested for drug smuggling and is now a DEA informant, J is trying to rule the whole city while being totally unaware of the fact that his girlfriend’s other boyfriend is lurking around his office, and Craig trusts anything with long hair and a pretty face.
Things are being set up for a massive explosion and since show creator, John Wells said that he hoped to keep the show running until at least Season 5 or 6, it’s likely that the end to Season 4 will be wild and depressing. Unresolved pain and death. They need at least one more death for motivational purposes before starting any massive conclusion. It’s how most crime shows work.
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Spoilers are hard to come by for this show, if it weren’t for the actors Instagramming their time on set the fandom would never know what was going on. However, some new details have emerged which possibly spoil several upcoming plots spanning throughout five episodes, including the storylines for Frankie, Adrian, Craig, and Smurf.
The multi-episode synopsis’s released by TNT gives many clues as to how the job with Frankie will go, how Smurf is dealing with whatever she has and gives the exact date of when Deran will finally be made aware of the DEA situation. Warning, spoilers.
"4×05 “Reap”- Pope learns disturbing details about where Smurf has been, and the revelation puts Angela’s spot in the house in jeopardy. Adrian’s return to Oceanside leads to a confrontation with Deran, as J lays the groundwork for a new job.4×06 “Into The Black”- Suspicion grows when Smurf learns of a new threat to the family. Craig tracks down Frankie in the wake of her betrayal, and Deran makes a dangerous decision to try and protect his relationship with Adrian.4×07 “Know Thy Enemy”- J gains favor with Smurf as he puts together the plan for a new job, while Angela learns more about what Smurf’s been hiding. Craig explores his new relationship with Renn, and Pope struggles with his changing role in the family.4×08 “Ambo”- The Codys head out for a big job, even though Smurf is nowhere to be found. All eyes are on J as he assumes a leadership position in a risky heist.4×09 “SHTF”- J faces the consequences of his missteps with Mia. Pope worries about Smurf’s disappearance, while Smurf visits someone from her past. Craig grows frustrated with Deran’s secrecy after Deran recruits him for a dangerous assignment.4×10 “Exit Strategy”- Smurf orders the Cody boys to plan a dangerous job while she orchestrates an elaborate party at the house. J tries to ally himself with Pope but learns he’s in way over his head. Craig responds to a challenge to his newly formed family with Renn."
Deran and Adrian
From what this says, Deran and Adrian will have their much-needed conversation in Episode 5, which will air June 25. It says, “Adrian’s return to Oceanside”, insinuating that he’s absent for the previous episode but Instagram photos posted by actor Spencer Treat Clark’s showed him with a script for Episode 4 so it’s possible he’s in part of the episode.
In typical macho Cody style, Deran is going to take care of business and get rid of the drug problem for his boyfriend. I can just see him saying, “stand aside honey, let me handle it.”
A logical assumption would be Deran breaks off their relationship or something bad might happen to Adrian, but that doesn’t appear to be the case here. The next few episodes detail Deran aiming to protect their relationship and then doing something inexplicably dangerous with Craig. Is Deran going to kill the dealers? That seems a bit extreme and even if he does, Adrian still has a drug charge in need of clearing.
Is Smurf sick?
Seeing someone like Smurf just fall to the ground like one of those inflatable Gumby men flailing outside car dealerships holds the same foreign shock as being slapped in the face with a hand made of ice. Even those who don’t like Smurf have to admire her iron will, and the significance of it being chipped away because of an unbiased illness (weak or strong, everyone gets sick).
I can’t see Animal Kingdom killing off its main protagonist/antagonist, before the final season, so there’s a chance that whatever Smurf is inflicted with isn’t too serious, or maybe Season 4 is the final season and we just don’t know it yet. The overall summary of Smurf’s plot for Season 4, based on the episode summaries, sounds like she’s trying to tie up loose ends. Eliminating family threats, visiting old friends, and planning one last party before it all ends.
Then she’ll probably learn she’s not going to die and whatever amends she made gets suddenly tossed out the window.
As I mentioned above, it’s possible that Smurf already knows something is wrong and has been slowly preparing for it. Upon her jail release, she had split up her properties and gave them to the boys, and she’s not as controlling towards Craig and Deran as she once was. Has she been preparing them for a life without her?
Baby J
J has been trying to rule the kingdom for a while now, even got a little taste of it while grandma was in jail, but now the baby lion might be regretting his former ambitions. J got lucky last season when Smurf was benched and Pope was busy with Lena, but this time around Pope has become a very heavy presence and Smurf has a tight grip on the steering wheel J’s hand is currently wrapped around.
Being given leadership is different from having it accidentally fall on your shoulders and J might not be prepared this time around. J may be a cold-blooded killer, and a smart one, but there’s a lot he doesn’t know how to do and managing Pope is one of them. There’s also promised drama for the romance department when J apparently makes a mistake regarding Mia. She’s a hard nut to crack so there’s really no telling where they’re relationship is going.
Craig/Renn/Frankie
Last season we found out that Renn, Craig’s ex-girlfriend, was pregnant and though she claimed he wasn’t the father, we all knew she was lying. Now, it sounds like they’re going to be starting a new family unit and an actual storyline for Craig that doesn’t involve random action scenes. Finally!
Before that happens, however, he has to deal with Frankie who apparently betrays them after the statue robbery job, which isn’t at all surprising. It’s unknown how she’ll betray them, either steal their winnings or rat them out, but it’s clear that it will lead to something bad. I can’t see them killing Frankie because she’s only ever dealt with Craig and has never stood as a true antagonist, but the episode summary for “Into the Black” says Craig will track Frankie down and confront her.
In one of the many promos for the season, there’s a shot of what looks to be Craig and Deran burying something in the desert. This could be something they stole or it could be a dead body but since they love burying bodies in the desert, I have my money on a dead body.
Don’t miss the next episode of Animal Kingdom on Tuesday at 9:00 p.m. EST on TNT.