TNT’s Animal Kingdom
5×06: “Home Sweet Home”
Directed by Nick Copus
Written by Matt Kester

* For a recap & review of 5×05, click here.
* For a recap & review of 5×07, click here.
Craig’s gearing up for their latest job while preparing Renn, though she’s used to things; except this time she’s helping out with things. Perfect time to flashback to young Janine in Oceanside, moving her family into a new place all her own. She was dividing up the spoils of their last score. She was also preparing for a new life, “putting down roots” somewhere instead of roaming all over the place. Of course we know it was the beginning of a criminal empire. In current day, Craig and Deran are getting all the necessary tools together. Craig’s pissed off about Deran pulling Renn into their shit, he doesn’t like that his brother didn’t ask. J soon shows up with a work van they’ll use to get the job done.

And Pope, he’s headed into the desert trying to figure himself out.
He puts a gun under his chin, screaming at his dead mother. He nearly goes off the road, then parks. He sees a big sign reading WHO ARE YOU? FIND THE TRUTH. So he gets back into his truck and heads through a gate by the sign. Another flashback to Jake getting punched brutally with brass knuckles by a guy called Max Cross (Jamie McShane), who evidently had the run of the place in Oceanside and didn’t want a new crew stepping on his turf. All the while little Pope watches the carnage with a blank-eyed stare. In present day, Pope pulls up to a farm and meets Mickey (Taylor Nichols), an ordained minister. The place is like a spiritual commune, kind of a church. Mickey asks why Pope’s there, though the latter doesn’t know. He tells Pope: “That‘s the first step.”
The Cody brothers and nephew meet with Pam and Phoenix, getting more instructions of where to drop the package. Phoenix warns the guy they’re pulling the job on isn’t a joke. But the Codys have certainly faced their fair share of wild folks. At the skate shopt/park, people are piling inside for the big event; Renn’s amongst the crowd. Around back, the Codys are dressed as construction workers and they’re breaking into the building. J gets interrupted by a guy who says they can’t work there today. Not good. They’ve got to work fast. Inside, Renn gets the music turned up so it gives the boys more cover. She also catches the interest of Marion (Derek Webster), the man who runs the place. It’s only moments later that Marion has the music shut off, and the Codys’ construction work is heard, sending Marion out to talk with the crew. J heads off Marion, attempting to keep him out of there. Tense stuff. Leaves the boys with just ten minutes.
Deran says “the job is not burnt,” he wants to keep going, while J and Craig think they need to leave. Everything’s turning to shit quick. Worse when the boys realise they’ve gone into a supply room, not Marion’s office. Deran’s insisting on getting to the office, right next to the supply room. He won’t be stopped. At the same time, Marion receives a call from the guy who owns the building next door, finding out there’s no construction crew meant to be there. Oh, man. Craig rushes for the truck outside as Marion and his crew head up to the office while Deran and J are inside, working to get the safe. In the chaos, Renn’s found out by Marion, as well. The safe gets out the window and the Codys make it to the van, but they’re barely out of there when Marion’s crew find them. Thankfully Renn’s able to get free, stabbing a man to make it out. What a fucking MESS! In the aftermath, Craig and J aren’t happy with Deran. Craig also can’t reach Renn. He and Deran nearly come to blows over things; he says his brother reminds him of Smurf. The Cody crew’s crumbling to bits. Not to mention they’ve still got to keep dealing with Pam.

At the churchy farm, Pope has a look at some of the artwork people do. He meets Cassandra (Shakira Barrera), one of the farm’s lost souls. Then everybody’s gathering for a drink of drugs, their version of the Sacrament. Pope doesn’t initially want to drink it, but he’s soon convinced, wondering exactly what that place will have to offer him. He drinks the stuff back, ready to go on a spiritual journey. Another flashback to Janine arriving home to find Jake, beaten bloody. Julia was scared, and little Pope told his mom about what happened, along with the attacker’s name. Janine made sure to tell Julia not to say anything about the fight. No reassuring words about violence; just, be quiet. No wonder poor Pope’s at a spiritual farm sipping down psychedelics, incapable of discovering himself after all the years of psychological wreckage in Smurf’s wake. But the drugs are starting to work on Pope, and maybe it might help him figure a few things out. He’s already beginning to confront the past. One guy there doesn’t like Pope, calling him “nothing but darkness” and asking Mickey to kick him out. So Cassandra and Pope leave together.
Deran meets with Pam and Phoenix again. He doesn’t have the package with him, either. He’s trying to assure Pam holds up her end of the bargain. The Cody family are going to give Pam a “memorandum of understanding” to sign to be positive the house will get returned to them. Well played. Pam says she believes Smurf did all this in order to make sure her boys met her old friend, so that the Cody brothers and nephew had someone to turn to when things get bad. Is that really it? More like Smurf wanted to make sure she was still running the boys’ lives after she was gone. At home, Craig and Renn talk about the messy job. She enjoys the chaos and the thrill. It turned her on.

We see J receive a visit from the cop who told him about Pope a while back. The cop asks about Pope, then he brings up a potential working relationship between him and the family. He’s looking for “a new era” to begin, since Smurf’s gone. If J doesn’t accept the deal, could that mean problems? Surely. Another worry for J to have on his mind with everything else going on around him. Well, it seems J’s ready to work with the cop. First thing is he wants to see the file on Smurf and his family.
A flashback shows us Janine going to a bar so she can talk with Max. She tells Manny to stay in the car, going inside by herself. She heads to the back where Max is sitting in his office. She immediately pulls her gun, laying it on the table. She wants to make a deal. Max lays it out: 30% on every job, and he’s made aware of what Janine’s stealing, and all the other details. They strike an agreement. But Max wants $2K as payment for what Janine’s pulled so far. She refuses to pay. She further threatens Max that if he comes near her children “I‘ll kill you.”

In a drug-induced haze, Pope lies in the middle of the highway, nearly getting ran over. Life-affirming stuff.
Meanwhile, Deran returns to an empty house. He’s able to breathe, at least for a minute.

“Everybody’s got a boss, Janine. It’s about time you figured out who yours is.”