Animal Kingdom 4×1 Review: Janine

TNT’s Animal Kingdom is back. If the season 4 premiere is any indication of continuing quality, the latest season is set to be the best yet. ‘Janine’ helped us learn a bit more about Smurf. It also laid the groundwork for what to expect from upcoming episodes.

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

I’m a huge fan of Animal Kingdom. Along with Claws, it is one of the best TV shows out there (on TNT). Both have well-written characters, women in positions of power, and impressive queer representation. All of you need to be watching these shows.

Anyway, coming back to ‘Janine,’ the episode opened with a flashback where a young Smurf robs a bank. I liked seeing a younger version of Mother Cody. She has been hanging out with men all her life, and she has learned how to handle them. I’m looking forward to knowing more about her past, the things she changed, and how she managed to make a criminal empire for herself.

As for the present timeline, I think only a couple of weeks have passed since the season 3 finale. Pope is clearly dealing with issues. He seemed to be on edge throughout the episode. The scene where he decided to confront the police made it clear Pope doesn’t care about his life anymore. For him, ending it would be better than living under Smurf’s thumb.

Frankie returned and offered Craig a job. I like the two together. However, I’m not sure if the rest of the Codys are willing to welcome Frankie because she is more interested in doing her own thing.

The scenes between Joshua and Smurf continue to steal the show. J has been playing a very dangerous game and Smurf knows about it. They’re both involved in a ‘cat-and-mouse’ chase where each party thinks they’re the cat.

I have to be honest, I don’t care about Joshua anymore. I’m not even calling him J in my reviews. The moment he killed the lawyer in cold blood, I was done with him. Joshua is revealing himself to be a greedy psychopath and I’m not here for it. He and his murderous girlfriend Mia deserve any tragedy coming for them.

Saving the best for last, we have to talk about Deran and Adrian. I knew this show wasn’t going to give me a happy couple. Is having Deran and Adrian in a normal domestic setting too much to ask for? Of course, it is! The writers had to involve Adrian with the Feds. At least, the good news is he isn’t being used to spy on the Codys… yet. It’s going to be an emotional rollercoaster seeing what happens to these two.

‘Janine’ served as a powerful season 4 premiere. Every Cody has a personal arc to go through. A lot can happen. So, try and prepare yourselves as much as possible.

Are you a fan of Animal Kingdom? What did you think of ‘Janine’? Let us know.

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(Update: May 29, 2019)

Brought to my attention by Elana Murray, a promo video shared by Animal Kingdom Twitter shows Jake Weary (who plays Deran) wearing a wedding ring. Are Deran and Adrian going to get married? Let’s wait and see.

Season 4 of #AnimalKingdom has officially started, baby! 🙌 To celebrate the season premiere, we’ve got an exclusive BTS chat with the cast. pic.twitter.com/zzlQ7Fi6Hm

— Animal Kingdom (@AnimalKingdom) May 29, 2019

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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