Animal Kingdom season 4 episode 7 review: Is Adrian leaving? Angela’s truth
Just think in terms of how emotionally conflicted the character has to be. We do think he loves Adrian, there are more then enough signs that he does. He’s also a reasonable enough guy to understand that Adrian talking to the cops doesn’t equal a betrayal. He’s trying to protect his own hide while also protecting his boyfriend. He also understands the dangers that come with living with him and that’s one of the reasons why he wanted to bolt. He made the decision to go to his sister’s in this episode, thinking that this was the best path forward in the midst of his concern that Deran may want him six feet under.
Plot twist — Deran doesn’t want that. He’s willing to protect Adrian at the risk of himself and his family. He encouraged him to come back home and we think that he will take him up on the offer. Is there still a tinge of selfishness here? Absolutely, since we would not be surprised in the slightest to learn that Deran does have another ulterior motive here. He may be thinking that keeping Adrian close is the way to ensure he knows what’s going on … and to put him down if the situation calls for it. For now, his warning to Adrian was simple: Pope can’t know everything in terms of what Adrian did. If he does, that could be the end of everything.
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Everything bleeds over
The stress of the Adrian situation is taking its toll on other characters, and that includes Pope having to wrestle both with that and also Smurf’s cancer battle. Angela said it perhaps the best — it’s okay to hate her and still be upset that she’s dying. Pope’s desperately seeking something and Angela is it, given that Angela is right in front of him. The relationship between the two continues to blossom and that leads to a discussion of Angela’s own emotions.
Like with Deran, there is a bit of selfishness that is here for Angela. We learned tonight that she was in prison on a gun charge and is more involved in robberies than she’s let on. Therefore, she’s very much dangerous and could eventually rob the Cody family out of everything that they have. Yet, she doesn’t hate Pope. She sees that there is some light there in the darkness.
Given that Angela didn’t take Smurf up on her offer to leave for $15,000 and never return, it’s obvious that she has some bigger plans in mind.
The jobs ahead
While in the past we seem to be building towards Smurf becoming a mother, in the present she’s not letting a little cancer stop her from getting some guns together and taking an impromptu trip. She also is helping J in order to ensure that he pulls off his new job — he’s using his new girlfriend from school to exploit a big rock concert, and hoping at every step of the way that he can snatch up all of the expensive equipment and behind-the-scenes stuff for top dollar. He’s immersed in a lot of the planning for the event and because of his girlfriend and his mother’s trust level in who they believe to be “Josh,” he’s got unlimited access to the entire process.
CarterMatt Verdict – Animal Kingdom season 4 episode 7
If you were looking for this episode to turn the show on its head, maybe you’ll end up feeling disappointed. This was not about changing the game, but more setting the stakes for what’s coming — J has a new job to pull off while Smurf’s in flight and Deran’s going to need to walk a tightrope to keep Adrian from being killed off. Suddenly, him not being a mole to the cops and going to prison is the least of his worries.
For more news on what’s next on Animal Kingdom season 4…
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