TNT's Animal Kingdom follows the Codys, a criminal family headed by the no-nonsense matriarch Smurf (Ellen Barkin). While each member of the Cody clan is far from innocent, Smurf's oldest son, Pope (Shawn Hatosy), has quite the reputation as frequently unstable, strange and utterly terrifying. However, Pope has more caring traits than he lets on, making him a prime target for Smurf's nefarious influence. As such, he has one of the most complicated relationships with his mother. However, Season 3 may hint that their relationship strain isn't just from Smurf's manipulations but something far darker and disturbing.
Smurf's desire to control the Cody boys results in her trying to appeal to them on multiple levels: domestically, materialistically and even sexually. The too-long lip kisses and strange shower interruptions are off-putting, but Smurf never crosses the line. Ultimately, Smurf uses sex appeal to manipulate her boys, keeping them submissive and eager to please her. The Cody boys have grown up to recognize Smurf's manipulative behavior, and later seasons see most of them trying to push away from her strangulating hold. However, Pope never quite escapes, and Animal Kingdom seems to hint he may even sexually desire her.
Season 1 features Pope's unexpected return from a three-year prison stint. Smurf isn't exactly thrilled to see him back (perhaps even slightly scared) and has already given his old room to J (Finn Cole). Right off the bat, Pope appears jealous of Smurf's motherly relationship with J and doesn't trust their newest family member. Episode 3 sees Pope snuggled up in bed with Smurf, an action Smurf seemingly initiates again in Season 2, Episode 8. This time, she appears naked underneath the covers, and Pope walks off with a strange expression on his face.
When he's not watching her sleep at night, Pope's interactions with a stripper may also point to him possibly desiring Smurf. In Season 1, Episode 4, the Cody boys take Pope to a strip club for his birthday. They pay a stripper to "put a smile on his face," but Pope can't go through with the act without her saying, "We can't, Andrew." When she says it once, Pope demands she repeat the phrase, only this time like she "loves him." While many Animal Kingdom fans believe this was him recreating his one-time affair with Baz's wife (and Pope's great love), it's also notable that Smurf is one of the few people to frequently use his real name of Andrew.
However, the most damning evidence occurs in Season 3's finale. With Smurf and Pope's relationship rocky, Smurf sends a sex worker to the house to help Pope "relax." Not only is it a strange thing for a mother to do, but Pope takes the situation to a new disturbing level by leading the woman to his mother's bedroom. Given the house is empty and filled with bedrooms, including his own, it seems like a symbolic decision. He proceeds to do the deed, similarly tormented as he was with the stripper in Season 1. After, he mentally breaks down, taking to the streets shirtless and destroying a woman's car with a crowbar.
Later, he returns home with a bloody hand, and Smurf approaches him in the bathroom. Although she never says it out loud, she knows the encounter with the sex worker got under his skin and tells him that "she'll always be there with him." While the comment is open for interpretation, it could imply she knows Pope's inappropriate feelings for her will continue to haunt him. And given Smurf's cold, calculating and manipulative tendencies, she plans to use the weakness to her advantage.
As such, Pope's complicated relationship with his mother has sent him down a path similar to Psycho's Norman Bates. Although he resents Smurf, he's oddly infatuated with her and fiercely protective. As revealed in Season 5, this extends back into his childhood, where he watched Smurf and Jake have sex unbeknownst to them. As for whether he actually sexually desires her -- Animal Kingdom leaves that open for discussion. However, some of these subtle moments seem too telling to ignore. And at the end of the day, Pope even killed Cath -- the love of his life -- because his mother wanted him to.
Season 5 of Animal Kingdom conjures up more Cody family drama. New episodes drop each Sunday at 9 p.m. ET on TNT.
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