Animal Kingdom 3×13 Review: The Hyenas

The finale of Animal Kingdom season 3 was everything I expected and more. ‘The Hyenas’ featured backstabbing, crimes, murder, and game-changing events that will affect the fourth season.

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

Even though Joshua has been trying to branch out on his own, the fact he has been stealing from Smurf to get what he wants is a huge mistake. Smurf is someone who has probably done everything and even more than what Joshua is just beginning to do. That’s why she, because of her experience, realized Joshua’s betrayal.

Smurf still cares for Joshua in her own way and I credit her (so-called) affection for him still being alive. I can’t wait for the fourth season to see if the two continue to battle it out for power or Smurf decides to teach her grandson another lesson to make him stop going against her.

I don’t understand where all of Joshua’s hate is coming from. Smurf isn’t the best maternal grandmother out there, but she has been taking care of Joshua. Is he angry because she had Baz killed? It’s not like Joshua was close to Baz. Maybe he still blames her for his mother’s death? He might just be power hungry and wants everything for himself. Who knows at this point.

With Andrew now siding with Smurf, Joshua needs to be extremely careful about what he decides to do next. There is a limit to how many times Smurf can forgive him.

Also, while I appreciate Smurf giving her kids the money she owes them, I can understand why she has kept the cash a secret for years. If she hadn’t kept the money safe, the Cody men would have spent it in a matter of months or even sooner. Smurf still gave them a very comfortable life. Seeing them demanding more from her even though they aren’t capable of handling finances makes them come across as the entitled brats they are.

‘The Hyenas’ also gave a lot of screentime to Deran and Adrian. We already knew something bad was going to happen to the two and it finally did. Seeing them searching for a new house was fun, but there was a cloud of dread over everything they did because again, we knew it wouldn’t be a finale if some misfortune didn’t occur.

With Adrian now facing jail time due to him trying to smuggle drugs across the border, what do you think he will do? Is Deran going to come and save him? There is a chance Deran might work with Adrian and the authorities to capture Adrian’s dealer and the entire network.

Even though I don’t want Adrian to snitch on the Cody family, it is also likely Adrian might end up cutting a deal and give some damaging proof against the Codys to the police. Sigh! Season 4 is going to be a relationship rollercoaster for Deran and Adrian.

And yes, I do agree with certain fans who say the way the writers decided to handle Adrian this season made it obvious they were doing it all for the sake of drama in Deran’s life. Adrian just began smuggling drugs out of nowhere and watching it occur onscreen felt out-of-character to me. Making Adrian snitch in the upcoming season would continue with the show’s trend of changing his character for the worse.

There is already a lot of drama. The writers don’t need to drag Adrian into it. Seeing Deran and Adrian trying to make their relationship work, with Deran being part of a family of criminals, would have made for better viewing as far as my opinion goes.

Anyway, it’ll be interesting to see what the writers decide to do with him in the show’s fourth outing.

Talking about relationships, Mia’s previous boyfriend came back into her life. So, Joshua has another person to deal with now.

Some thoughts and questions

• Do you think Frankie will return with Craig’s cut of the job they pulled?
• I want Deran’s father to come back for a few episodes.
• With Adrian gone, will Deran hookup with Clark?
• Mia is so dangerous! I was not expecting her to kill Lucy like that!
• Seeing Andrew’s old girlfriend (from the second season) was a surprise.
• I couldn’t help but laugh at the scene where Joshua went to whisper threats in Smurf’s ear. As if Smurf was actually asleep. Ha!

What did you think of ‘The Hyenas’ as the finale? 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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