“Covet” is the first episode of Animal Kingdom’s sixth and final season that aired solo. After returning to TNT’s weekly lineup for its final season, Animal Kingdom has aired two back-to-back episodes to establish the Codys’ new threats. As Animal Kingdom season six’s first episode to air as its own, “Covet” makes a strong showing, boding well for the season’s remaining episodes. “Covet” is a fairly well-rounded episode that uses a mix of the old and new.
Animal Kingdom continues to provide an example of what an action-filled thriller can do. Though heavily reliant on the heists the Cody family is able to pull off, much of Animal Kingdom’s excitement comes from its family drama. Its final season has already done a meaningful job of introducing new problems within the Cody dynamic, particularly amongst Deran (Jake Weary) and Craig (Ben Robson). “Covet” continues to build the suspense of this subplot, as well as the upcoming heist the boys plan on pulling. Its flashback sequences offer some explanation of the background of Animal Kingdom’s original cast of characters while personifying the eerie trend of one Cody straying from the pack either by force or choice.
One of the subtle aspects of “Covet” includes the origins of Pope’s nickname. His interest in religion was heavily mocked by Smurf and Baz, who failed in their attempts to steer him from it. Pope has always been the odd one out in the Cody family, and the flashbacks have reinforced that. When Julia invites Pope to drink and attend a bonfire with herself and Baz, Baz remarks that they’re living with “Pope Andrew now,” teasing that Pope is uninterested in their teenage sins. The aftermath of the tiny heist with Pope’s newfound religious freedom that Baz lures Pope and Julia to take part in, does a great job of painting the difficult relationship between Pope and Baz.
This religious exploration of Pope’s character has provided the perfect opportunity for Amy to return to Animal Kingdom’s fold. Amy was first met in season 2 when Pope began attending church again. The two began a romantic relationship that nearly came to a lethal end after Pope confessed to Amy that he killed Catherine. With the investigation into Catherine’s death pointing directly at Pope, and his old cellmate making his obsession with his former flame clear, the circumstances of Amy’s return to Animal Kingdom should cast a small shadow of a doubt. Pope is already being deceived by a teenage plant from Pope’s skate park, who is feeding intel to the detective leading an in-depth investigation into Catherine’s death.
Where “Covet” is its strongest, is in the recurring realization that it’s not foreign for the Codys to stray from one another. One of Animal Kingdom’s recent explorations in season 6, involves the inevitable distance Julia puts between herself and the rest of her family. Prior to J (Finn Cole) joining the family’s sinful way of life, Animal Kingdom made it abundantly clear that his mother never wanted him to be a part of her family’s immoral life. The only person that seemed remotely affected by Julia’s death in season 1 was Pope, who had only recently returned from a stint in prison. Animal Kingdom’s flashbacks have done a great job in saying why that is, as the twins grew up trying to get one another through Smurf’s deceit.
From the very first episode of Animal Kingdom, Pope has always been treated as a problem the others must constantly monitor and eventually, help to solve. His distrustful and quiet nature only makes his relationship with his family worse. Season 6 of Animal Kingdom has continued to explore Pope’s peculiar relationship with his family, but he isn’t the only one pulling away. The repeated pattern of a Cody straying from the pack might have begun with Pope and Julia’s childhood, but the most recent Cody to put distance between themselves and their family is Craig. He’s begun to find a new sense of well-fueled purpose in Vince, his sponsor. Vince’s influence has been largely positive for Craig and his morale, though they do share a few crippling vices, including the adrenaline rush of committing crimes.
Craig’s allegiance has slowly begun to shift from his brothers and his nephew to the friends he’s made on his own. Craig isn’t the first Cody to begin pulling jobs with those outside the family, as Deran previously had a band of friends he’d pull off-the-wall jobs with. Going behind the back of the family never went well, only causing more problems for the Codys down the line. While Craig has begun to pull jobs with those outside the family, he is still actively trying to help the Codys pull off a tricky heist. His growing animosity and discomfort with Deran are causing several problems for the Codys and if they implode before they can pull off the heist, it’ll be the entire family paying the price.
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