Airs on TNT

I was turned on to Animal Kingdom a year or so ago by a friend. It was a little bit before season 4 aired and I liked the show so much I ran through the first three episodes fast enough to catch season 4 as it aired.

In short, Animal Kingdom is about the Cody crime family that lives in Oceanside, California. Janine “Smurf” Cody runs the enterprise with ruthless efficiency. She’s a career criminal, starting in the late 70s, raising her two kids while running from the law as she does multiple heists with her crew.

Starting with season 4, the show gives a glimpse of those early days with flashbacks that weave in and out of the present day story with her adult children and teenage grandson.

This show hooked me because it’s about a messed up crime family pulling heists. I’m a sucker for a well-told story in this genre and the show consistently delivers. Smurf steers this family around, her three kids, one adopted son, and her orphaned grandson toeing the line. Of course, questions are asked, deals go bad, the cops (and the feds) come sniffing around, threatening the Cody family’s way of life.

Season 5 is different because the order of the family changes. With Smurf no longer calling the shots, the boys are forced to communicate more and work together differently. A lot of family secrets are floating around and without the threat of the almighty Smurf around, competition and allies look at the Cody’s differently.

This was probably the worst season as the pacing feels slower. More time is given over to late 70s-early 80s Smurf to show how she started her criminal empire…and did no favors to her son and daughter. The present day story focuses more on the internal strife of the boys than ever. Pope has to go find himself so his journey leaves his family behind for about a quarter of the season. There’s a challenge of changing leadership and a ton of resentment of how Smurf seemed to favor J, her grandson, over any of her kids that have been her tools their entire lives. Plus, she screwed them all on the way out so the pressure for them to keep their heads above water never lets up. That leads to a lot of risk taking (a hallmark of the show) with interesting heists and two rouge cops strutting around.

While I say it’s the worst season, it’s still a great show and there are plenty of great moments in this season. It took a long time for the boys to come together, but that isn’t surprising. If they only spent 2-3 episodes on such heavy material, it would’ve felt rushed and unsatisfying. Each man is coming from a different angle and they all have their own problems to deal with (which come back to the family). I was expecting a messier season finale, but the set ups for the final season are massive. There are a ton of plot lines in the air and the challenge will be to address them all. Thirteen episodes do give a lot of room and I’m wondering how much more flashbacks we’re in store for. I’m looking forward to watching next year. The identity of the show and characters are well established, it’s just a question of who is going to survive and what condition they will be in at the end. Can any of the Codys be happy?