Animal Kingdom
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Buckle up folks, we are in for a wild ride. Last Tuesday, Animal Kingdom returned to television with the start of season two. That means the Cody family is back in action, and we have a Summer of heists and scheming ahead of us. The first picture also helped paint some pictures in regards to where each character stands going into the show’s second season.

Baz is set to be a loose cannon. He is going out drinking and hooking up with women while completely ignoring his fatherly duties to Lena. Craig is still sleeping around and doing drugs, but may have some issues with Nicky on the horizon. J is still trying to figure out where he stands within the family. Deran wants to be his own man, and is looking into buying a bar. Smurf’s drinking is becoming an issue as she looses control of her boys.

Then there is Pope. Pope was in an interesting spot to open this season. Some things were still the same. For example, he is still very much a lone wolf who will do what he wants, when he wants. He is not afraid to challenge Smurf when he feels it is needed. But we also got a glimpse of Pope’s heart in the first episode of the season.

Specifically, Pope was showing some serious remorse. It is clear that killing Catherine is weighing heavily on his mind.

First, Pope went out on his own. He needed some time to himself and to clear his head. So where does he go? To the place where he buried Catherine of course. As he sat there, with dirt running through his fingers, there was a sad look on the eldest Cody brother’s face. The guilt was very real.

Later in the episode, when Baz is not pleased with Lena, who only wanted to go out an play, Pope offered up his uncle services. He said he could take Lena out for a good time. And that she did, as she got to play on the swings and even got ice cream.

Last season’s version of Pope would not have cared that Baz was not being a good father to his daughter. But Pope felt he needed to step up in this situation, as he was the one who took Lena’s mother away from her. Anytime Lena and her uncle are on screen at the same time this season, it will certainly be worth paying attention to.

To help figure out if this guilt will eventually be Pope’s downfall, we need to dig into why the feeling is overcoming the Cody brother.

For starters, he killed a woman that he had loved at a point in time. It was a feeling that he never truly got over. I do not think we have heard the full story about what exactly happened with the two. But it is clear that Pope really wanted to be with her.

But then Smurf got in his ear. She told him that she would only become a problem. Smurf convinced him that she was not going anywhere, as Baz was not going to do anything. But she was going to talk with the police. Something had to be done.

So now, as he has had time to reflect on the entire ordeal, it is very likely that he will begin to shift his blame to Smurf. That guilt will never disappear completely. But it certainly makes sense to have him confront Smurf at some point in time about how she manipulated him.

As a result, she will very well threaten him revealing the truth to Baz. At this point, she has nothing to lose. By throwing Pope under the bus, she may be able to get the rest of her boys back.

So back to the question. Pope’s remorse will be the likely be the downfall of the Cody family as a whole. Once Pope is overcome with the feeling, the truth will ultimately come out. Likely via Smurf. And when that happens, there is going to be a divide. Unfortunately, it could also lead to the death of either Baz or Pope.

What do you think? Will Pope’s emotions get the best of him? Will he eventually confront Smurf? Will someone die as a result? Tell us what you think in the comements!

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