There's no denying that Janine Cody, aka Smurf (Ellen Barkin), is Animal Kingdom's glue. Smurf created a respected criminal empire in sunny Oceanside as the Cody family's no-nonsense, calculating matriarch. While the TNT series introduces Smurf in all her badass glory, Season 4 delves into her origin story as a young, impulsive criminal trying to earn respect as the only woman in her crew. In the process, Animal Kingdom fans also meet the younger counterparts of familiar faces and names: Collin, Jake, Lou and Manny. Although when learning about the group's dynamic, an easily overlooked Season 2 moment actually contradicts what audiences know about Smurf and Manny's complicated relationship.
Animal Kingdom Season 4 introduces a younger version of Smurf (Leila George), partaking in heists with her boyfriend Jake (later Craig's father) and his crew. The other three members, Lou, Manny and Colin, aren't thrilled by her presence and frequently worry having a woman around will slow them down or make them more identifiable. Manny is clearly her biggest critic and has no problem making that known. Even after more jobs and Smurf dumping Jake for Colin, Manny remains relatively unimpressed. Although Season 5 sees Smurf and Manny, along with Jake, reconnecting after Colin's death. While it's certainly a treat for Animal Kingdom fans to witness the old crew's dynamics first-hand, the flashbacks seem to contradict Smurf and Manny's previously established relationship.
Season 2 sees the arrival of Javi (the late Lou's son), who informs Smurf that Manny is dying. Javi also suspects Smurf of killing his father, Lou, and knows he can prove it with confessional tapes Manny recorded during his sickness. While Smurf doesn't make it for a final visit with Manny, she drives out to Mexico for his funeral, bringing J (Finn Cole) with her, which is where the contradiction occurs in Season 2, Episode 3, "Bleed For It."
While at the hotel, Smurf recounts her time with Manny and the crew to J. When J asks his grandmother if she and Manny ran the crew, she responds, "Manny ran it. Baby, I was only 16 years old when I met him." She explains that Manny "found her" after a five-day stint in county for shoplifting. She also praises Manny for mentoring her and fondly elaborates on the staged hostage cons they use to pull. She'd go into a store first, and Manny would come in behind her, pretending he didn't know her and putting a gun to her head. Then, they'd take everyone's wallets, using Smurf as leverage. Later, in the episode, J recreates Manny and Smurf's famed con at a local diner.
However, before that, J inquires about how Manny and Smurf went from being so close to never seeing each other again. Smurf dodges the questions, simply responding, "Sometimes things go wrong, J." While audiences -- and J -- later learn that their falling out involved Lou's murder, present-day Smurf's story still goes against the flashbacks.
For one, the flashbacks introduce Smurf in her twenties, not 16 years old and freshly out of jail. They also imply that she's been dating Jake and met Manny, Colin and Lou through him. That makes Jake Smurf's first point of contact, not Manny. Furthermore, Manny is not a big fan of Smurf's and certainly doesn't mentor her. That honor goes to Colin, who Smurf quickly falls in love with. In fact, it seems Smurf's story in Season 2 presents Manny as a combination of Jake and Colin. Jake took her in, and Colin taught her a thing or two about crime. Together, Colin and Smurf also perform the staged hostage con while she's pregnant, despite claiming she did that with Manny.
While this may be just another one of Smurf's lies, there's really no reason for it. How Manny and Smurf met doesn't change that they murdered Lou. In that regard, it seems the slip-up belongs to the writers, who likely hadn't planned for flashback recreations of a young Smurf and her crew. Other than the Javi storyline in Season 2, there's been little to no backstory from a present-day Smurf, offering the flashback moments some creative liberties. That said, while the flashback seemingly retcons Smurf and Manny's early days, there's still an opportunity to explore what happened the night Lou died and their relationship fell apart.
Now in Season 5, Animal Kingdom airs new episodes each Sunday at 9 p.m. ET on TNT.