Animal Kingdom 5×2 Review: What Remains

‘What Remains’ showed Pope and Deran trying to deal with their emotions now that they don’t have to worry about Pope’s cousins trying to kill them. Joshua gets his uncles a new job. And, of course, everyone is still thinking of a way to handle Pamela.

As stated in the title, ‘What Remains’ was about making the Cody men look at what they have left to work with now that Smurf’s gone. Her death, understandably, hit Pope the worst. He just doesn’t know how to function without her being around. Over the course of this series, we have seen a lot of their toxic relationship. While I did appreciate Pope realizing how manipulative Smurf was, he has been incapable of pushing Smurf out of his life. He can’t let go of her even after her death.

Seeing Pope carry around her ashes to give her (somewhat of) a proper burial was heartbreaking. His brothers couldn’t care less because of everything else they have going on and because they weren’t as close to Smurf as Pope was. With how the episode ended with Pope scattering her ashes in the swimming pool, I have a feeling such an act is going to motivate Pope to stand against Pamela and try his hardest to not let her get the house because it was important to Smurf. I could be wrong. But let’s see what happens.

We also got to learn more about Angela. Turns out, she’s been missing for two weeks now. Her parole officer came looking for her at the Cody residence and Joshua told him Angela didn’t live there anymore. I mean, I shouldn’t be surprised about learning about Angela’s fate. Joshua knew Angela was going to start using drugs again and leave them. It was Pope who thought otherwise. With Pope telling Joshua he will take care of changing the locks, will he go through with it? Part of me thinks he lied to Joshua and won’t be changing the locks because he wants Angela to come back to him. Sigh! Someone give Pope a hug. He just wants a person to cry his heart out to.

While Craig isn’t moping around by remembering Smurf, he’s clearly very interested in being a good father. I liked how he put his foot down and told Renn not to deal drugs from inside the house. However, she did give him the idea to rob a yacht belonging to some rich Silicon Valley kids. So, their argument didn’t last long.

I like Renn as a character and I want her to stick around. But I’m inclined to side with Craig when it comes to how she shouldn’t deal drugs around their baby son. Kids and harmful substances should be kept apart. They need to have a conversation about their parenting styles. Also, with Renn asking about Smurf’s will, I wouldn’t be surprised if she tries to help Craig figure out the situation with Pamela.

With Craig wanting to be a good father to Nick and a dependable provider for Renn, similar to how he came up with a nice little plan in the premiere episode, I liked seeing Craig come up with another one to rob the yacht with Deran’s help. It didn’t get him the money he was hoping for, but at least he got two jet skis that can be sold off.

Coming to Deran, I wasn’t expecting the writers to focus so much on his relationship with Adrian now that Adrian’s flown off to Indonesia. Deran just can’t seem to forget him. Even other people ask him about Adrian because everyone knew they were boyfriends and living together. Heck! Even one of the Feds decided to meet Deran to talk about Adrian.

I mean, what did Deran think was going to happen after sending Adrian away? The Feds were using Adrian to bust drug deals in Oceanside. He was also being used to get dirt on the Cody family. With Adrian now gone from right under their noses, the Feds were disappointed and made the Cody family their next target.

With the authorities after them, you know Joshua’s going to have some stern words for Deran about how he let his love for Adrian (a weakness) cause more trouble for the family. Deran and Joshua have always been at odds. They have even fought before. So, I guess we should get ready for another physical altercation between them.

‘What Remains’ showed Deran trying really hard and failing to move on from Adrian. We found out Deran’s not been back to the house he shared with Adrian and has been sleeping in his office. He’s also been watching video footage, from 2019, of Adrian qualifying for Surfing Tournaments and winning some of them. Deran’s a mess and I’m here for it. Kudos to Jake Weary for doing those scenes justice.

The latest episode showed Deran finally deciding to go back to the house to Adrian’s belongings. The scene where Deran sniffed one of Adrian’s shirts took me out. Poor guy. I’m not sure if burning Adrian’s stuff will help Deran love him less, but he has to do something. I was even expecting Deran to cut his hair. Ha!

As I have mentioned in my previous reviews of Animal Kingdom, there’s no place for Adrian in the Cody lifestyle. It’s just too dangerous for someone like him. I highly doubt Deran’s going to be able to move on from Adrian so easily. I can see Deran hooking up with other dudes to ease his emotional pain, but finding someone to properly commit himself to is going to be tough. Again, I’m hoping for Deran to go to Adrian in the series finale. If he survives the upcoming events, of course.

With Pope, Craig, and Deran dealing with a lot of emotional stuff, Joshua’s all about the business side of things. He’s just… different.

‘What Remains’ showed Joshua, Craig, and Deran meeting Smurf’s real estate attorney. It’s clear that Smurf’s will can’t be changed because there’s no proof she wrote it while not being of sane mind. I really liked the scene where Joshua insinuated killing Pamela so the Codys could keep everything and the attorney shut that down quickly by stating Pamela’s kids would be next in line to inherit what Smurf left her. As I said, Joshua’s just different and quite possibly the most dangerous Cody right now.

It’s a good thing the rest of the Codys are suspicious of him, especially Deran. Joshua’s revelation of knowing about secret assets that Smurf didn’t mention in her will and kept off the books didn’t go down well with Deran. Joshua needs his uncles to stick with him, but he isn’t making things easy for them. Again, I feel a brutal confrontation between Deran and Joshua incoming.

While we wait for their fight to occur, at least, Joshua got his uncles a new job thanks to Pete. Involving a crashed plane, the Cody men will need to act fast because other people were going to learn about such an opportunity soon. According to Pete, the Codys will need to rock climb to get to the stash. I’m excited to see them do it!

As for the flashbacks featured in ‘What Remains’, a young Smurf had decided to go to Pamela. I liked seeing Pamela growing tired of Smurf’s shenanigans. Being a good friend, Pamela wanted Smurf to figure out a new purpose in her life that would include looking after Pope and Julia. Pamela’s been to prison and she wasn’t interested in leaving her kids again because of the trouble Smurf could put her in. Smurf’s carefree nature wasn’t gelling well with her responsibilities as a mother. No wonder the Cody men grew up with a lot of emotional baggage.

I can’t wait for the Codys to finally meet Pamela in the present. Also, it’s kind of weird that Pope hasn’t told his brothers and Joshua a lot about Pamela. She clearly looked out for him when he was a kid. Pamela gave him the type of structure and routine he craved as a neurodivergent child. But then again, decades have passed. Perhaps Pope’s keeping quiet about his past with Pamela because he thinks she’s turned into a different person now?

The stuff between Marcus and Smurf at the party was interesting. The entire scene showed how Smurf’s a good judge of character and can notice egotistical men. Marcus was all bark and no bite. Smurf’s all about using such men to get what she wants. While I get some fans still are’t into the flashbacks, I’m really enjoying them. They are showing Smurf turning into the older and ruthless version we know from the present as well as fleshing out her dynamic with Pamela. This is information that will come in handy when trying to form an opinion about the older Pamela. 

Other thoughts and questions:

• While the two haven’t talked about it, I appreciate Craig being there for Deran as he tries to get over Adrian.
• Deran burning Adrian’s stuff inside the house was a… choice. I wonder if he also burned the whole house down while he was at it.
• Craig and Deran finding out that the young men on the yacht, with the word “Byte” in its name, dealt in cryptocurrency and didn’t have actual cash in hand was funny.
• Yay! Frankie’s back! I want to see more of her.
• You would think Craig and Deran’s fathers would be more involved in the story now that Smurf’s dead. It’s kind of weird not seeing Craig’s father popping up.
• The funeral director handled Pope quite well. You need a lot of guts to say “No” to Pope when he really wants to do something. Good for her!

What did you think of ‘What Remains’?

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.

Twitter

Help support independent journalism. Subscribe to our Patreon.

Copyright © The Geekiary