The Cody boys were never going to ride off into a peaceful sunset. Honestly, if you expected J, Pope, Craig, and Deran to just open a surf shop and call it a day, you haven't been paying attention for the last five years. Animal Kingdom season 6 episodes represent a slow-motion car crash that started the moment Smurf took a bullet in season 4. It's brutal. It's messy. It’s also probably the most honest ending a show about generational trauma could have possibly delivered.
Smurf was the sun. Everything orbited her. Once she was gone, the gravity holding the brothers together started failing. Season 6 is just the final, violent impact of those pieces hitting the ground.
The Dual Timeline Strategy Actually Worked
Most shows fail when they try to do the "then and now" thing. It usually feels like filler. But in the final stretch of the series, the 1992 flashbacks featuring Leila George as a younger, increasingly ruthless Janine "Smurf" Cody weren't just background noise. They were the key to understanding why Pope’s mind was fracturing in the present day.
Watching a young Julia and Andrew (Pope) navigate their mother's manipulation while Baz groomed his own place in the family explained the rot. You see the exact moment Smurf decided that Julia was a threat and Andrew was a tool. It makes the events of the present-day Animal Kingdom season 6 episodes feel inevitable rather than just tragic. It's about a mother who devoured her children to stay powerful.
Pope’s Reckoning and the Ghost of Catherine Belen
For years, the murder of Catherine Belen hung over the show like a shroud. We all knew it would come back. In "1992" and "Gala," the pressure cooker finally blows. Seeing Shawn Hatosy portray Pope’s mental decline is a masterclass in physical acting. He doesn't just look tired; he looks haunted.
The investigation into Thompson—the cold case detective who gets uncomfortably close to Pope—is the engine for the first half of the season. It’s a cat-and-mouse game where the cat is a grieving, determined cop and the mouse is a man who arguably wants to be caught. Pope's guilt is his own worst enemy. He spends a lot of the season trying to find some version of redemption, whether it's through the skate park or protecting the memory of the sister he couldn't save.
🔗 Read more: Bad For Me Lyrics Kevin Gates: The Messy Truth Behind the Song
J’s Long Game: The Ultimate Betrayal
Let's talk about J. Finn Cole has played Joshua "J" Cody with a terrifying blankness since the pilot. In the early Animal Kingdom season 6 episodes, he’s the one keeping the books, organizing the heists, and acting as the "new Smurf." But the twist in the finale, "FUBAR," wasn't really a twist if you were looking at his eyes the whole time.
J never forgave his uncles for letting his mother, Julia, die in a shooting gallery. He didn't come to Oceanside to be part of a family. He came to burn it down.
When he finally pulls the trigger on his plan to steal the family’s liquid assets and leave his uncles to the wolves (or the cops), it feels earned. It's cold. It's calculated. It’s exactly what Smurf taught him to be, which is the ultimate irony. He became her to destroy her legacy.
The Heists: Higher Stakes, Less Control
The jobs in season 6 felt different. In earlier seasons, there was a sense of adrenaline and professional pride. By the time they get to the jewelry store heist and the final prison break attempt, everything feels desperate.
- The Diamonds: The precision is gone.
- The Logistics: Deran and Craig are constantly at each other’s throats.
- The Outcome: Someone always gets hurt.
The technical execution of the heists remained a highlight for fans of the genre. The show always excelled at showing the "how" of a crime—the casing, the tech, the physical entry. But in these final episodes, the "why" was crumbling. They weren't stealing for a lifestyle anymore; they were stealing to survive a situation that was already over.
💡 You might also like: Ashley Johnson: The Last of Us Voice Actress Who Changed Everything
Why the Finale "FUBAR" Still Divides Fans
The series finale didn't give everyone a happy ending. It shouldn't have.
Craig’s death was a gut punch. Seeing him go out in a low-rent robbery after survived so many high-stakes jobs felt realistic for a guy who struggled with addiction and impulsivity. His death in Deran’s arms on the side of a road is perhaps the most emotional moment in the entire series. It stripped away the "cool criminal" aesthetic and showed the lonely reality of their lives.
Then there’s the fire.
The burning of the Cody house was symbolic. That house was a character itself—the pool, the kitchen where Smurf ruled, the backyard where so many deals were made. Seeing J watch it burn from a distance while lounging by a pool in a different country was the final nail in the coffin. He won. But he’s completely alone.
The Tragedy of Julia Cody
One of the most impactful elements of the final season was the retroactive depth given to Julia. For five seasons, she was just the "junkie sister" who died off-screen. Season 6 forces the audience to see her as a brilliant, discarded girl who was systematically destroyed by Smurf’s jealousy.
📖 Related: Archie Bunker's Place Season 1: Why the All in the Family Spin-off Was Weirder Than You Remember
When Pope finally remembers the truth—how Smurf kicked a pregnant, struggling Julia out on the street while the brothers watched—it breaks him. This realization is what leads to his final sacrifice. He stays behind to ensure J's plan (which he knows is a betrayal) at least results in the end of the cycle.
What to do next if you've finished the series:
If you’re reeling from the end of the Cody saga, the best way to process it is to go back and watch the pilot episode again. Knowing how J ends up, his behavior in the very first scene—watching his mother overdose while a game show blares in the background—takes on a much more sinister, premeditated tone.
You should also check out the original 2010 Australian film starring Jacki Weaver and Ben Mendelsohn. It’s a much grittier, condensed version of the story that highlights just how much the TNT series expanded on the psychological warfare within the family. For those looking for a similar vibe, "Snowfall" or "Ray Donovan" offer that same mix of family loyalty and criminal enterprise that made Animal Kingdom so addictive.