Animal Kingdom 6×7 Review: “Incognito”

Animal Kingdom season 6 episode 7, titled ‘Incognito’, was about Deran and Craig mending their relationship while Detective Thompson tried to get closer to Andrew.

I was provided with a free screener of ‘Incognito’ for review. The opinions I have shared are my own.

While I knew that Detective Thompson was serious about finding a way to put Andrew behind bars, I wasn’t expecting her to take such a direct approach. I was very surprised when she introduced herself to Andrew while posing as Taylor’s mother. The story she shared about spending days searching for Taylor and needing Andrew’s help to locate him made sense. Of course, Andrew would help her. However, I also liked how Andrew found himself falling back into his dangerous ways when helping Detective Thompson led to disrupting his so-called date with Amy.

Thompson reappearing to corner Andrew and Amy as the two walked out of the restaurant after dinner was a very bold move. Couple that with Andrew finally noticing a specific cereal box not being in the correct position made the eldest Cody very suspicious. It will be interesting to see if Andrew figures out what Thompson’s up to before she can find enough evidence to take him into police custody.

As for Andrew’s relationship with Amy, the fact that Amy decided to forgive Andrew is likely going to come back to bite her down the line. With Thompson after Andrew, I don’t think Amy will be comfortable being involved in such a dangerous situation. The scene where Thompson noticed the number plate on Amy’s car is surely going to come into play later on, right? Will Thompson use Amy to manipulate Andrew? Hmm.

A good chunk of ‘Incognito’ also focused on finding a way to mend Craig and Deran’s relationship after they got in a physical fight in the previous episode. I liked how Deran didn’t hesitate to help Craig rescue Nick from Cole. Even though Deran’s not shown a lot of interest in Nick, he isn’t heartless enough to ignore his baby nephew being kidnapped. The scene involving Deran and Craig breaking into Cole’s building to get Nick back made for an enjoyable action sequence. However, a particular decision left me worried about Deran’s fate in the future.

Deran put his life on the line to distract Cole and allow Craig the opportunity to knock him down. Seeing Deran get shot multiple times during the process was concerning. Yes, he was wearing a bulletproof vest but it was still a very risky move. He’s lucky Cole didn’t aim for his head. I just hope that particular moment wasn’t some kind of foreshadowing from the writing team. I don’t want Deran to willingly risk his life like that again to protect his family. Once is enough. 

With Craig being able to rescue his son and getting back with Renn, let’s see if he’s able to have the type of family he’s been wishing for. Maybe the recent trauma will deter Renn from dealing drugs? We should know soon enough.

Joshua’s relationship with Penny also developed further. We got to meet Penny’s sister who was revealed to be a drug addict. I don’t know about you, but I feel having Penny’s sister be an addict felt like an excuse from the writing team to give Penny something in common with Joshua. While I do like the actress playing Penny, I’m unable to make myself feel invested in her romance with Joshua. It’s clear the relationship won’t last long. So why bother? I mean, I highly doubt Joshua will tell Penny the Cody family secrets and she will be willing to leave her husband to be with Joshua.

‘Incognito’ made me think about a point I mentioned in my review of the previous episode. Andrew, Craig, and Joshua have been given subplots involving romantic interests during the final season. Deran’s the only one who doesn’t have all of that going on for him. And it just feels weird seeing the sole queer lead be singled out like that.

Coming to the flashbacks, Janine continued to find ways to get under Julia’s skin. Smurf went ahead and planted a seed in Andrew’s mind about how it seemed Baz and Julia were spending too much time together and how Smurf didn’t want Andrew to be left out. It’s quite obvious that Andrew’s going to learn about Julia and Baz hooking up right under his nose. Andrew vs Julia and Baz is going to be quite interesting.

Smurf’s also been working on Baz to get him to stop giving Julia too much attention. Giving Baz the responsibility to lead the upcoming robbery was a nice move. Not only that, but Smurf kept reminding Julia that Baz was basically her “brother” even if they weren’t biologically related. From what I can tell, Smurf’s trying to pit Andrew and Baz against Julia and I don’t think Julia’s got it in her to fight her entire family on her own. Having Julia’s bond with Andrew break would be enough to defeat her.

Some other thoughts and questions:

• The entire sequence where Renn got attached by Cole’s group was well acted. Kudos to Christina Ochoa for showcasing the sense of danger, fright, and urgency as Cole’s people drove Nick away. Renn wasn’t strong enough to fight them, but she still gave it her all to try and protect her kid.
• I loved seeing Andrew take up a threatening posture when Thompson got on his nerves after his dinner with Amy. Andrew had a very animalistic expression on his face as he observed Thompson trying to find her “lost” smartphone in Andrew’s car. I get that she wants him behind bars, but she needs to be more careful about how she goes about the entire thing. But then again, it could be that Thompson wants Andrew to hurt her as an excuse to arrest him?
• Joshua breaking the nose of the new restaurant’s co-owner was an interesting move. For some reason, Joshua’s really into Penny. I don’t get it.
• Andrew asking the waiter to find a more secluded table for his and Amy’s “date” was simultaneously cute and creepy.
• Of course, Craig wasn’t going to let Cole live. Let’s see if Cole’s group comes after Craig for revenge.
• The scene at the end where Craig broke down in tears!

What did you think of ‘Incognito’? Do you think Andrew will be able to catch Detective Thompson?

Let us know.

Author: Farid-ul-Haq

Farid has a Double Masters in Psychology and Biotechnology as well as an M.Phil in Molecular Genetics. He is the author of numerous books including Missing in Somerville, and The Game Master of Somerville. He gives us insight into comics, books, TV shows, anime/manga, video games, and movies.

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