The following contains spoilers for Animal Kingdom Season 6, Episode 12, "Exodus," which aired Sunday on TNT.
TNT's Animal Kingdom begins with high schooler J (Finn Cole) moving in with his estranged criminal family after his mother, Julia (Jasper Polish), overdoses. While Julia's death isn't a mystery, the circumstances around her fractured relationship with her family, and more specifically Smurf (Ellen Barkin/Leila George), are more puzzling. Julia never liked Smurf, and Animal Kingdom's Season 6 flashbacks continue to show audiences why. Episode 12, "Exodus," sees the pair come to blows after Smurf discovers Julia has been skimming off her jobs. Although Julia learns the ruthless extent of Smurf's rage, Baz also becomes privy to that lesson -- only, in his case, it seems the teaching moment never took hold.
Animal Kingdom's Flashbacks Show Why Julia and Smurf's Relationship Fractured
With Julia searching to better her life and escape Smurf's grasp, she begins skimming off her mother's jobs. Upon discovery, Smurf sees this as the ultimate betrayal and violently throws Julia out of the house with nothing but the clothes on her back. It's an especially brutal punishment, but one that is expected of Smurf. Smurf doesn't tolerate any double-crossing, even if it involves her own children. Plus, Smurf's inability to control Julia made the teenager expendable in her mother's eyes.
With nowhere to go, Julia heads to Baz's (Darren Mann/Scott Speedman), not knowing that Smurf got to him first. Despite Julia's pleas and her once-romantic connection with Baz, he turns her away. She's shocked by his rejection, but as Baz says to Julia, "If [Smurf] kicked you out, imagine what she is going to do to me." It's clear teenage Baz fears crossing onto Smurf's bad side, and as Season 2 confirmed, he has every right to be.
Baz Betrayed Smurf Despite Her Treatment of Julia
Like Julia, Baz also stole from Smurf, only his take was much bigger. After discovering Smurf's storage unit filled with millions of dollars in jewelry and cash, Baz declared his adoptive mother greedy for skimming off their jobs. Smurf, on the other hand, claimed the money was for all of them, functioning as a family nest egg of sorts. Regardless of who was right, Smurf saw his actions as a major betrayal and hired the Trujillo gang to kill Baz and get her money back.
What's funny (and not in the ha-ha way) is that Baz should have known better than to steal from Smurf based on her treatment of Julia in Season 6's flashbacks. Baz was certainly aware of Smurf's capabilities to a point. He framed her for murder, hoping to lock her away in prison for life. Still, Baz should have known bars couldn't keep Smurf from her revenge, especially after her total disregard for Julia's health and safety. That said, Baz was known for intelligence and greed and likely thought he could outsmart her. It's a shame because if Baz had followed his teenage self's cautionary advice, he may have had a different outcome in the Codys' animal kingdom.
To see how the Codys' story plays out, new episodes of Animal Kingdom Season 6 air each Sunday at 9 p.m. ET on TNT.