Since its 2016 premiere,Animal Kingdomhas consistently told the twisted and exhilarating story of the Cody family’s inner workings. At the family’s helm is Janine “Smurf” Cody, who leads her children, Andrew “Pope” (Shawn Hatosy), Deran (Jake Weary), Craig (Ben Robson), and Barry “Baz” Blackwell (Scott Speedman), in a ring of crime in Oceanside, California. Her connections in the area allow the boys to get away with some high-level crimes, giving them the ability to live their exciting lives. The family grew with the addition of J (Finn Cole), who quickly became accustomed to their strange normalcy.
In the six yearsAnimal Kingdomhas been on the air, the crime thriller has seen a number of twists and detrimental outcomes. These shiftshave allowed each character to have their own journeys that have often come at the costs of others. Some of the Codys have remained rather stagnant, while others have become much better versions of themselves. Fora series likeAnimal Kingdom,this development could be a tactic to bring the show to a heartbreaking conclusion. Of all the characters, Deran and Pope have had the best development of the Cody clan that may leave a bitter taste in the mouths ofAnimal Kingdomviewers by the end of the final season.
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WhenAnimal Kingdombegan, Deran and Pope were two ofthe series' most sympathetic characters. After returning from his stint in prison, Pope wasn’t met with the warmest reception from his family. They tiptoe around him, afraid that the wrong word or act will set him off. They try to plan their next heist behind his back, which only makes everyone uneasy about Pope’s tendency to linger in the shadows. Smurf tries to keep him in check by crushing medication and sneaking it into his food, while Baz tries to throw Pope off of his own moral misdoings. Despite having fathered a child with Catherine, Pope’s former flame, he also has a relationship with another woman in Mexico.Baz expresses little remorseabout his relationship with Catherine, though he and Pope never have a clearly explicit conversation about it.
Season 4 gave some insight into Pope’s childhood, and the factors that have led him to develop some habits that so many have labeled to be strange. Smurf met Colin, Pope and Julia’s father, upon her own entry into the crime realm. Colin led a successful crime ring, but had a temper eerily similar to Pope’s. Colin is killed in a shootout with the police before Smurf gives birth, but she raises her children in the same ways of crime. As children, Julia and Pope are pickpockets, and Pope’s troublesome behavior already become evident.Season 6 ofAnimal Kingdomhas shown how far Smurf was willing to go to keep her family close. She lies to Julia about getting expelled, and discredits their interests outside their line of business. Anytime Pope mentions needing help with his behavior, Smurf is quick to say that the only people that can help him are his family.
Like Pope, Deran is under his own form of stress whenAnimal Kingdombegins. His close relationship with Craig often leaves most of their family to look at the two with distrustful eyes. Craig’s heavy partying doesn’t make him the most reliable ,and by association, Deran isseen just as untrustworthy. He is rarely given any task of significance by Smurf or Baz, which frustrates him. It also comes to light early in the series that Deran hasn’t told anyone in his family that he is attracted to men. J learns this by accidentally walking in on Deran, creating an odd rift in their budding relationship.
Since the beginning of the show, however, both Deran and Pope have become leaders in the Cody family. Even though he is still considered strange by most of his family, Pope has grown extensively in how he takes care of himself and those around him. Even as a child, Pope tried to take care of and protect his sister from the evil within his family. He now looks after his brothers and his nephew with far more compassion than he once did, and has become a vocal member ofthe family’s criminal operations. He looked after his niece following the deaths of her parents, and put his own wishes aside for her well-being, and placed her in foster care. Pope cared for Angela, a friend of Julia’s who becomes a hurricane of trouble, and was the only person Smurf told about her cancer diagnosis. While he may not be as reckless as he once was, Pope does struggle with keeping his violent outbursts in check from time to time. Nonetheless, Pope has become an irreplaceable part of the Cody family.
Between himself, Deran, Craig, and J, Pope iscapable of the most compassion, even if he has a strange way of showing it. The only other Cody that has exhibited empathy is Deran. Since the start ofAnimal Kingdom,Deran has completely transformed. In addition to coming out to his family, Deran has embraced his sexuality, beating those that make any crude comments toward him or his partners. He bought a bar that at first, was entirely legitimate. He, like Pope, knew how detrimental his family could be and couldn’t support where they were headed. Deran aimed to use the bar to get away from his family, but has since come around to takea leadership position. He works closely with J to keep the businesses and each of the Codys in line. Deran has finally assimilated into the leadership role he always knew he was capable of having.
J and Craig haven’t seen the same amount of growth as Pope and Deran. With his mother’s addiction, J has always been largely independent. That hasn’t changed since he wasbrought into the Cody fold, as he quickly became Smurf’s golden boy. She began to teach him the business, and even when the others were estranged from Smurf, J remained by her side. Meanwhile, Craig has always had issues with his family but remained close with Deran. Now it’s changing. Their once tight-knit bond has become strained because of Craig’s sobriety and the lack of support he feels his family has begun to show toward it. Deran’s leadership role doesn’t help, and Craig’s envy is clear. Where Craig and J have remained true to their roots throughthe entire six seasons, Pope and Deran have had a number of ups and downs that have allowed them to become two ofAnimal Kingdom’smost developed characters.
