Posted in: Preview, Review, TNT, Trailer, TV | Tagged: action, adrian, angela, animal kingdom, bleeding cool, cable, codys, craig, crime, deran, drama, ellen barkin, episode 6, frankie, into the black, J, pope, renn, Review, season 4, Smurf, streaming, surfing, television, thriller, tv

"Animal Kingdom" Season 4 Episode 6 "Into the Black": Deran's Decision Caps Strong Outing [SPOILER REVIEW]

Before we go diving into the newst season four episode of TNT's Animal Kingdom, "Into the Black" – where do things stand ? We know that Smurf has cancer, and Pope knows; Frankie is trying to manipulate the Cody boys into being her new crew (which will not happen); Adrian is in serious hot water with a jerkface fed who wants his boyfriend, Deran and his entire family; and J is getting it on with his study partner and has plans to work for her mom.

Now that we're all caught up? Time to jump right into the black. (Get it? Ha…??? Okay, no jokes ahead – but there will be major spoilers).

In this week's chapter of Animal Kingdom, Adrian's in some serious hot water with the Feds – who made it very, very clear they want to take down his boyfriend and the entire Cody family as well as toss him in jail…even though he's "not a bad guy". UGH. And if that's not bad enough, Jack (the dealer he's running coke for) gets taken down…leaving Adrian as the only known associate who wasn't taken down with him. Suspicious!

Smurf finds out somebody is talking to the cops, but she's not sure who or what or why. Hmm…could be Frankie, could be Angela, could be any number of people or reasons. All she knows is that her family's name is in the mouths of cops and detectives, and she's pissed.

J's pulling the whole "teen angst" card again to his advantage…maybe he is a worthy successor to Smurf's kingdom. My money is on him taking down Angela by the end of the season. Anywho, he GPS-tags Smurf's car and follows her…to chemo. Looks like Smurf's secret is anything but.

Smurf sends J to chat up his uncles and try to find out who's talking to the cops – they more or less blow him off and chalk it all up to old lady paranoia, or rage for the job they pulled without her.

In other news, beefy men being domestic is my favorite, and this episode does not disappoint. We get Craig in the kitchen, Deran cleaning up the bar, and Pope….well, he has an intense and heartfelt discussion with Angela? Honestly, Craig in the kitchen is just adorable and it makes you want the best for him in life, even though you know it's all likely to end poorly.

After whipping up a balanced breakfast, Craig confronts Frankie, who is righteously pissed at him for the stunt he pulled with her client last episode. Remember, they tracked down the guy who shorted him, broke his leg and stole his watch and bike. And now she's absolutely livid at Craig that she burned one of her very lucrative clients, and by association an entire network. It was not a happy meeting, and there was no gift wrapped cash this time.

Speaking of unhappy conversations, Adrian has a few of those with Deran, who is eaten up by guilt and totally wants to come clean to Deran, but still won't, because he's terrified of this situation he sees no escape from without absolutely destroying everyone he cares about.

Pope is back on his MMA shit with cheerleader Angela this time (oh, he also told her Smurf has cancer. Worst secret keeper ever), present post-chemo Smurf is cranky, and past Smurf, Janine, gets her groovy 70s crew to rip off some hippies…one of which she has a personal vendetta against. She would never set a mark just for revenge…right?

Ren is completely unapologetic about the fact she's a coke dealer and will not change her profession, despite having a baby on the way and the DEA looming with Jack's bust.

Deran gets a mysterious knock at his door: it's his old associate…who's pointing a finger at Adrian and blackmailing Deran for hush money. He reaches in the safe and pulls out… a &@!#^%* gun and shoots him, point-blank!

I'm going to be real, I did not see that coming. Like… at all. So, who you gonna call when you've got a dead body in your bar? Pope-busters! He tells Pope that he shot him because he was the one talking to the cops.

Craig buys all of Ren's stash in an attempt to get her away from dealing and out of this life for the sake of her baby, the dead body gets all taken care of and wrapped up, and Janine learns a lesson in threat vs success when her job results in her boyfriend gets grazed on the job, but they make off with like 3 times their usual take.

I just want the best for sweet Adrian and Deran – how will this change things? Guess we have to wait for the next week's episode of TNT's Animal Kingdom to find out:

Animal Kingdom season 4, episode 7 "Know Thy Enemy": J (Finn Cole) gains favor with Smurf (Ellen Barkin) as he puts together the plan for a new job, while Angela (Emily Deschanel) learns more about what Smurf's been hiding. Craig (Ben Robson) explores his new relationship with Renn (Christina Ochoa) and Pope (Shawn Hatosy) struggles with his changing role in the family. Directed by Laura Belsey, written by Vanessa Baden Kelly.

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!