Animal Kingdom 6×5 Review: “Covet”

Animal Kingdom season 6 episode 5, ‘Covet’, decided to focus on a lot of relationships while the Cody men planned their next big heist.

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

I get that this is the sixth and final season and there need to be some action-heavy robberies. However, I also want to spend as much as possible with the main cast outside job-specific situations. I want to see them dealing with relationship drama and undergoing character growth, with the writers giving me hints about where each main player will find themselves at the end (if they survive). That’s why I liked how relationship-heavy ‘Covet’ was. I want more of that!

With the previous episode having Deran reveal his violent side to his recent love interest (whom I refuse to remember the name of), I think that particular relationship is over. I would be very surprised if Deran goes to apologize to his ex-lover and ask him to give their relationship another go. Everyone knows that the only person Deran can have somewhat of a healthy relationship with is Adrian. That’s why I still have my fingers crossed that the sixth season concludes with Deran finding a way to leave the country to be with Adrian.

Deran was basically married to Adrian and the two even bought a house together. In Deran’s mind, that was the life he was going to live until death. Even if Deran’s not into adopting kids, he still had his own two-person family with Adrian. But all of that came crumbling down when Adrian had to flee the country back in season 4. I think having his dream family be taken away from him is one of the reasons Deran’s annoyed with Craig wanting to play house with Renn and their baby son Nick. In Deran’s mind, if he couldn’t have his own family, neither could Craig.

The tension between Deran and Craig is sure to explode sooner or later. The two brothers need to talk (or fight) things out because Deran not being supportive of Craig wanting to be sober to be able to get Nick back isn’t doing Deran’s character any favors.

At least Craig found some much-needed support from Vince. I liked how Craig put his foot down after the risk he took by being part of Vince’s plan to steal from a random truck driver. Compared to Vince, Craig’s extremely experienced when it comes to robbing people. If he says something wasn’t worth the risk, you listen.

I have to say that Craig asking Vince to stop stealing while Craig and the rest of the Cody men were planning another robbery did make me chuckle. Talk about being a hypocrite. But I guess Craig cares for Vince and doesn’t want his friend to go to jail. Vince gifting Craig his very own custom bike, after Craig put him on the straight path, was a very sweet gesture.

Kudos to the Animal Kingdom writers for showing a supportive friendship between two cishet adult men without any queer subtext. It can be done. However, certain shows are unfortunately adamant about using queer subtext to queerbait particular sections of the fandom for online engagement. Sigh!

Still talking about relationships (as I have mentioned, ‘Covet’ gave me a lot of that!), Joshua hooking up with Penny grew quite messy. The fact that he went to be with Penny even though her husband’s back is going to come and bite him down the line. Even Andrew warned Joshua about it.

I found myself agreeing with Andrew. There were other women Joshua could be with. But I think Joshua’s into the thrill of sneaking around with Penny. The way the two hooked up right outside Penny’s house, while Penny’s husband was asleep inside, was bold.

A Joshua-centric scene that disappointed me was Lark showing up to confront him over not answering her calls. I liked Lark when she was introduced in the previous season, even if the writers didn’t do much with her. Lark seemed like a smart and confident young woman. That’s why seeing her be quite emotional in front of Joshua after realizing he’s with someone else didn’t sit well with me. Lark needed to have more self-respect. It’s not as if she and Joshua were in an actual relationship and Joshua cheated.

But then again, I guess such a scene was needed. Lark asking Joshua which side of his personality he was showing Penny were some fighting words. Her comment forced Joshua’s darker side to emerge, even if for just a second. Lark’s far safer without having someone like Joshua in her life. And I think Penny will learn that the hard way soon enough.

A big portion of ‘Covet’ jumped between Andrew’s relationship with Janine in the past and where he’s at in the present as an adult man. It was obvious that Janine was going to rob the church Andrew was visiting with or without him. Seeing a young Andrew not being able to say no to his mother was sad to watch. Janine’s got a very tight grip on her son. The moment he tries to distance himself from her influence, the firmer her hold becomes.

In my opinion, the final moments of the episode showed Andrew finally breaking under all of the pressure. Janine manipulated Andrew into thinking his feeling guilty was the church’s fault. In contrast, there’s no need for Andrew to ever feel guilty about anything as long as he’s with her. The actor playing young Andrew continues to do a phenomenal job in such an intense role.

In the present, Andrew had a chance encounter with his old flame Amy at the hospital. With how the two talked to each other, I think this isn’t the last we have seen of Amy. Andrew’s still got feelings for her. All I can say is, “Run, Amy! Run!”

Detective Louise Thompson’s closing in on Andrew and Amy should stay away from the upcoming mess.

I continue to like Thompson as a detective. It’s fun to see her putting pieces of information together to build her case while the Cody men, and especially Andrew, have no idea that she’s after them. I can’t wait to see when and how she finally reveals herself to Andrew. And with Andrew not being one to go down without a fight, I think he will put his life on the line to avoid going to jail while also trying to protect what’s left of his family.

What did you think of ‘Covet’?

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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