It isn't easy being a Cody.

There are choices to make, but they might not always be the right ones as Pope discovered on Animal Kingdom Season 2 Episode 11.

Pope bared his soul to Amy but didn't get the forgiveness he was seeking. It's not that I thought Amy would be understanding, but there was a part of me that hoped she wouldn't be as horrified as she was.

The look on Pope's face as she retreated from him was twenty levels of heartbreaking, and the silence of that scene made it even more so.

As much as we love him, Pope is a monster. He knows it and now Amy does too. Still, it's hard not to feel sorry for the guy. As crazy as it sounds — and not to take away the severity of what he did to Catherine or to Lena for that matter — he's a victim too.

He's been manipulated by Smurf his entire life. She made him kill Catherine, and he did it based on a lie.

If he would have known the truth that she wasn't working with the cops, he never would have killed her; never would have left Lena without her mother. But Smurf lied to get what she wanted like Smurf always does.

You always need to have cash on hand. Keeps you mobile. Adaptable. Without cash you're vulnerable.
Smurf

Permalink: You always need to have cash on hand. Keeps you mobile. Adaptable. Without cash you're...

When Pope found out the truth, he didn't hesitate to confront his mother. He was beyond angry and rightly so. The woman he trusted had betrayed him. He was angry, but he wasn't going to kill her even though he wanted to. Or maybe he was going to go down a different path.

There was a sexual nature to that confrontation, and for a fleeting moment, I really thought they were going to kiss. Thankfully, we were spared that grossness, but it doesn't take away from the fact there's something extra going on between those two.

Killing Catherine has been tearing Pope apart which is why he finally felt the need to confess.

Unfortunately, his messed up mind never even thought of the possibility that Amy would reject him. She's been so accepting of everything else about him, why wouldn't she be accepting of this too? He really believed she would forgive him for what he did.

Now the question becomes what will Pope do about Amy? And what will Amy do about Pope?

Pope has no one to turn to right now and it could be a dangerous thing. He can't talk to Baz and he won't talk to Smurf, so where does he go from here? He's either going to kill Amy or he's going to kill himself. Or maybe he'll do both.

Amy is a liability right now. If she goes to the cops, Baz will find out the truth, and Pope won't allow that to happen. And there's no way she's going to let Pope back into her life. It's too bad. They made a great couple, but family comes first and Pope will do, once again, what is necessary to protect his family.

As hard as it is to believe, Baz might be doing the same. Him turning Smurf over to the cops might be his way of protecting the family. He knows what she's been doing and he's had enough. It wasn't easy for him to make the phone call. His hesitation said plenty, but once he made the decision, it was all over for Smurf.

She knew Baz was serious when he confronted her at the house. That's why she brought the jewels from the yacht heist to the lady earlier than she wanted to. She needed the money. She was either going to try to bribe Baz (which is doubtful) or she was going to run away and never look back.

My guess is she was planning to run away and never look back. She certainly had enough passports in the glove box to give her that opportunity. And making J her new power of attorney was a calculated move.

But all that is mute now that Smurf is headed to jail for whatever Baz called the cops on her for. It could be for the murder of Javi or it could be for something else. There are so many infractions to choose from, I bet Baz had a hard time picking just one.

Smurf didn't save me. The damage was done.
Baz

Permalink: Smurf didn't save me. The damage was done.

Baz needs to be careful with pointing the finger, though. Someone might take a deeper look into what Baz is doing. Lena knew about Baz's desire to leave with Lucy, and who's to say she won't share that information with a teacher?

How horrible for a child to feel abandoned by her father after losing her mother. Baz might be trying to protect his family, but he's doing a piss poor job of being a father. When will he realize he needs to put his daughter first?

Baz might have the upper hand right now, but something will break his bubble and my guess is it's going to be Lena.

Craig almost brought the whole family down with his insane indiscretions. When is this guy going to grow up? He is incapable of being an adult and is always going to be dependent on someone. Somehow Renn is going to screw him over for what he did to her.

She couldn't have forgiven him that easily. She's playing him and for all we know, she could be working with the cops. And if she is, Deran can say goodbye to his wish to break free of crime and live a normal life.

Families are complicated, right?
Smurf

Permalink: Families are complicated, right?

I don't think we've seen the end of Marco either even if Lucy read him the riot act. Marco is going to come back to haunt Deran and Craig in some way. Who knows what else Craig did when he was on his binge. He could've bragged about the yacht heist or bragged about his other crimes. The door is wide open in that regard.

J remained quiet again this hour, but something's brewing. He told Nicky he was always angry, and he wasn't talking about life with his mother. He's got something up his sleeve and he's going to show his hand sooner rather than later. Codys beware!