The following contains spoilers for Animal Kingdom Season 6, Episode 10, "Clink," which aired Sunday on TNT.
Animal Kingdom has a reputation for its high-octane action and dark plotlines. As such, fans expected these things to get kicked into high-gear come the TNT series' sixth and final season. And Season 6, Episode 10, "Clink," finally gets the ball rolling by foreshadowing a potentially deadly feud between two fan-favorite Codys: J (Finn Cole) and Pope (Shawn Hatosy).
Since Season 1, J -- in many ways -- has been Animal Kingdom's point of view character. Through him, audiences got to know Smurf (Ellen Barkin) and her career criminal sons. He quickly became Smurf's prodigy and tries filling her role after her Season 4 death. While he butted heads with his uncle Pope in Animal Kingdom's earlier seasons, the two have since mended fences. J earned Pope's respect on jobs, and Pope bonded with J over his late mother Julia. Despite this, Season 6 seems to suggest the two will clash after J puts plans in place for a hit on Pope.
Animal Kingdom Sets Pope Up to Take Revenge on J
Pope is now in prison for confessing to the murder of Catherine Belen (Daniella Alonso). The murder and ensuing guilt felt by Pope has been a plot thread that has carried through from Season 1. While Pope made some peace with himself after Smurf's death, the murder investigation and prison stint have him back on edge. As a result, J worries that Pope will start talking about his family's criminal activity, endangering them all. Deran (Jake Weary) and Craig (Ben Robson) are willing to leave Oceanside and their way of life behind, but J, who came from nothing, is not quite as eager to abandon Smurf's empire.
Without Smurf to control Pope, J tries and fails to do the same. The Codys also face pressure from external sources, with outsiders threatening their turf without the fear of repercussion from Smurf or Pope. Desperate to ensure their safety, J reaches out to the man he's been paying to keep Pope safe on the inside, only this time, he inquires about carrying out a hit on his uncle.
While the episode ends with Deran and Craig seemingly convincing J to break Pope out of prison and flee, the hit seems like too juicy of a plot point to leave hanging. As such, it could act as a bit of foreshadowing, and there are a couple of ways it could play out. Either J will give the go-ahead on the hit, killing Pope and perhaps facing retaliation from Deran and Craig, or -- perhaps more likely-- Pope will discover J's intentions and seek revenge against his nephew himself.
Animal Kingdom's Source Material Makes Pope and J's Clash a Likely Scenario
As many Animal Kingdom fans know, the TNT series is based on the Australian crime film of the same name. While the series has significantly deviated from the source material, it occasionally returns. For example, executive producer John Wells confirmed in an interview with Entertainment Weekly that Baz (Scott Speedman) was killed off because that's what happens in the movie. Therefore, it's not improbable that TNT's Animal Kingdom could look to the film for its ending.
The film's climax involves a cat-and-mouse scenario between J (James Frecheville) and Pope (Ben Mendelsohn). While the cause for their feud is different in the movie, the result could be the same. The film ends with J shooting Pope in the head. It's a brutal and shocking end that makes for great drama. While Animal Kingdom fans certainly don't want to see Shawn Hatosy's Pope meet a grisly end, they may have to brace themselves for the possibility. Season 6 promises big twists, so it's also possible Pope could take out J or that the hit foreshadowing has a different outcome altogether. One thing is for certain, though. J is shaping up to be as ruthless as his grandmother, and Smurf didn't hesitate to kill Baz when her empire was threatened.
To see J and Pope's stories play out, new episodes of Animal Kingdom Season 6 air each Sunday at 9 p.m. ET on TNT.