Animal Kingdom 6×8 Review: “Revelation”

Animal Kingdom season 6 episode 8, ‘Revelation’, had a lot of secrets come to the forefront as danger came for Andrew Cody.

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

The way the writers have been handling the cat and mouse chase between Detective Thompson and Andrew has definitely been a highlight of the final season. I really enjoyed what happened during their inevitable confrontation in ‘Revelation’ and what it all meant for Andrew down the line.

After realizing that someone had indeed broken into the Cody house, Andrew spent the first few minutes of ‘Revelation’ trying to find the culprit. It wasn’t tough because he’s had his suspicions ever since Detective Thompson came into his life while pretending to be Taylor’s mother. Of course, Andrew was going to threaten Taylor to tell him the truth. That poor kid didn’t stand a chance. The good thing is that Andrew didn’t beat him up too much and he actually gave Taylor the opportunity to make up for his betrayal.

I don’t know about you, but I think that Andrew’s plan was quite good. He knew whom to target and how to go about the entire thing. Thompson basically fell for every trap Andrew prepared for her. In a sense, if Thompson was a greedy cop, Andrew would have come out of the entire situation victorious. But not knowing Thompson’s intentions was a mistake that cost Andrew in the end.

I really liked how the writers handled the intense scene between Thompson and Andrew in the motel room Thompson was staying in. Andrew had done everything right. He snuck into her room and took away her gun while she was showering. Andrew even had Thompson in a vulnerable position (with her wearing only a towel and being weaponless), while he tried to intimidate her and offer to pay her off.

But it was all for naught because Thompson knew how to handle men like Andrew. I smiled when she scoffed at Andrew’s offer and turned the tables on him. She flat out told Andrew that she knew about Catherine’s murder and Andrew was in no position to harm her. I enjoyed seeing all of that.

The eldest Cody had a look of utter defeat when he told Joshua and Deran about Thompson and how she wouldn’t rest until he was behind bars. Thompson is yet another example of a female character that means business in Animal Kingdom. Due to this being a male-heavy show, it’s always great to see the writers develop such female characters to counter the Cody men.

My only gripe would be the writers not really explaining why Thompson’s so determined to take down Andrew. Is she related to Catherine somehow? Does she want to solve the mystery behind Catherine’s murder to make up for certain cold case-related mistakes in her past as a detective? I would like to know.

Coming back to Andrew revealing the truth about murdering Catherine to Joshua and Deran, I have a feeling that Joshua’s not going to be too keen about helping his uncle, especially when there’s a detective coming after him. Joshua’s someone who will always look out for himself. That’s why I wouldn’t be surprised if he considers getting rid of Andrew to protect himself and the business he’s been trying to build.

Deran, on the other hand, is definitely going to support Andrew. And so is Craig. So, it will be interesting to see if Joshua’s got it in himself to frame his three uncles if doing so meant he’ll be able to remain unharmed in the end.

‘Revelation’ also had Tommy bring a job to Deran. I’ve been waiting for Tommy to level up and he did that in this episode. Deran agreed to do the job (stealing collectible silver coins from a local dentist clinic) with Tommy but only if Joshua was also involved. I liked Deran’s explanation about how they needed to develop a network of loyal people. Smurf had been able to control Oceanside because she surrounded herself with people she could trust. The Cody men needed to do the same, and Tommy was definitely someone they could trust.

While the job, which should have been easy, did take a wrong turn, I think Tommy needed to go through such an experience to better prepare himself for future heists. When veteran thieves like the Codys told you to run, you run. No questions asked.

As for Craig, the writers had him trying to comfort Renn after going through a traumatic event in the previous episode. Even though I didn’t like seeing it, Renn and Craig finding solace in drugs made sense for their characters. I just hope Craig’s able to see sense in the remaining batch of episodes and he’s able to get on the right path for the sake of Nick. Seeing Renn and Craig be so reckless around Nick was disappointing.

Also, what about Deran? He got shot to rescue Nick and create a diversion for Craig to attack the kidnapper. And yet the writers didn’t show Deran trying to cope with said trauma. Deran’s out there supporting his brothers and Joshua. But no one’s really supporting Deran. And I don’t like that. The writers should have figured out a way to bring Adrian back into Deran’s life during the final season even if via conversations over an untraceable phone connection. Let’s see if Adrian comes back for the finale or not.

A huge secret was revealed during the flashback sequences. Andrew finally got to learn that Baz and Julia had been hooking up right under his nose. I don’t know about you, but I think Smurf played a role in Andrew finding out. I think she deliberately asked Andrew to help her in the garage to make untraceable bullets because she knew Baz and Julia were going to be on top of each other the moment they were left alone.

In a sense, I can kind of see where Smurf’s coming from. In her eyes, Julia, Baz, and Andrew were basically siblings. But Baz and Julia messed that dynamic up. Now there was unnecessary drama between the three young characters. And with Baz deciding to leave the house, he had distanced himself from Smurf. The entire thing was an act of rebellion and we all know how much Smurf likes to remain in control. I’m looking forward to seeing if Julia will be able to mend her relationship with Andrew and how she will interact with Baz after Smurf told her that a teenage boy like Baz didn’t really love Julia.

What did you think of ‘Revelation’? Do you think Joshua will be willing to risk his life to protect Andrew?

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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