Animal Kingdom 3×3 Review: The Center Will Hold

This week’s episode of Animal Kingdom season 3 revealed who killed Baz during the first couple of minutes, which led to ‘The Center Will Hold’ feeling quite tense whenever the murderer appeared onscreen because, unlike the Cody boys, we know the murderer’s identity. Well done, writers. Well done!

I was provided a screener of ‘The Centre Will Hold’ for review. The opinions are my own.

We have been trying to figure out who shot Baz ever since the season 2 finale. ‘The Centre Will Hold’ didn’t waste time answering the question. Turns out it was Mia. She didn’t even let the incident faze her when she sat beside the older Trujillo in the getaway car after the deed was done. Mia is a dangerous character, and her getting closer to the Cody boys (especially J) during the end of this episode is probably not going to end well for them.

Now that we know Mia killed Baz, it could very well be Smurf who ordered the hit. However, the show has surprised me before. So, I wouldn’t be shocked if someone else had Baz killed. Also, if Smurf did kill her adopted son, why hasn’t she gone after Lucy, who stole all of the money? How did Smurf even know where Baz was hiding the money? I have so many questions and I can’t wait for this show to answer them.

‘The Centre Will Hold’ dealt with Smurf finding a new job (robbing a pill mill) for J and his uncles. The moment she started negotiations about her cut from the job with fellow inmate Alvarez, you could tell Mama Cody was planning something. Framing Alvarez for drug possession so her family could keep all of the money from the pill mill was amazing. You can put Smurf behind bars, but that doesn’t mean she won’t find a way to continue stealing a lot of cash.

While I am enjoying the personal arcs Pope, J, and Deran are going through during the third season, I am still unsure about what the writers plan to do with Craig. The scenes involving Craig trying to find money and even chasing someone he knew over rooftops felt like filler. Here’s to hoping the writers give him something better to do.

The same goes for Nicky. She is clearly not finding a place for herself in the Cody residence with Smurf gone. J is also keeping his distance because of his affair with Mia. However, even if J calls it quits with Mia in the upcoming episodes, I still don’t think it will fix the problem with Nicky’s character right now. She is coming across as annoying. Anyway, fingers crossed whatever she’s going through has a reason that will do wonders for her growth as the season progresses.

Some thoughts and questions:

• I am a fan of Deran being so chill while interacting with Craig.
• Turns out the Cody brothers do not like the area being gentrified.
• Are we supposed to remember the nurse who treated Craig? Giving him so much screentime felt weird to me. Maybe this new nurse will play a role in the story.
• I can’t wait to see what Pope will do to Mia (and even Smurf) once he finds out what she did.

What did you think of ‘The Center Will Hold’? 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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