Animal Kingdom’s latest episode, “Diamonds Are Forever,” spotlights the Cody family’s innovative heists and its new system of operations. As always, each of the boys have a role to play in order to pull off the heist successfully, and despite the issues amongst the brothers, it nearly goes perfect. However, “Diamonds Are Forever” also proposes that issues for the Codys have just begun. As Smurf has instilled upon them from a young age, family are the only people they can trust. If there’s anything that will force the Codys to put their problems aside, it’s trouble.
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The jewelry heist gives Animal Kingdom’s sixth season a jolt of action that has been largely absent thus far. Previous seasons of Animal Kingdom have revolved around one or two massive heists and this one may be the final season’s. With five previous episodes of planning, this heist showcases the skills Smurf has instilled within each of the boys, and how they have continued to adapt their skills following her death. J and Deran laid a lot of the groundwork, while Pope (Shawn Hatosy) handled most of the grunt work. Craig’s largely adaptable and often obnoxious personality assisted with scouting the job. Unfortunately, the boys are unable to recover the high ticket item safely, which Craig deems a failure on Deran’s part. Deran’s unwillingness to sacrifice the integrity of the job to swap the last piece of jewelry is growth on his part, as his persistence has nearly gotten them caught several times in the past.
Deran and Craig’s tension is one of the focal components of “Diamonds Are Forever.” Prior to the job, the two antagonize each other about pulling their weight and instead of celebrating the impressive haul the boys made, Craig chastises the plan that involved only Deran swapping the diamond-studded jewelry with fakes, arguing that another body would have given them everything. Craig and Deran come to explosive blows before the episode ends, but this isn’t the first time. In a flashback, teenage Baz notes that he had trouble getting Deran and Craig to sleep because they were too busy fighting one another. The question Deran proposed to J a few weeks ago on whether a brother would easily turn on another continues to echo throughout the series where each of them may be faced with a difficult choice to make.
“Diamonds Are Forever” has several callbacks to Animal Kingdom’s early seasons. Taylor, who has been informing on Pope to the detective investigating Catherine’s death, expresses concerns about his role, having discovered who Pope and his family are. Taylor’s appreciation for all Pope has done for him despite his less than holy reputation may set up a potential ending to this subplot that’s just as twisted as Animal Kingdom’s first season. Then, J was asked to inform on his newfound family, but ends up turning on the police. While Taylor isn’t a blood member of the Cody family, should he demonstrate any loyalty to Pope, he may become the latest person Pope develops a permanent soft spot for. Now that Taylor has fallen off the grid and the careless clues the detective has left behind, Pope will begin to showcase his skeptical and equally troubling behavior in the episodes to come.
Another facet of “Diamonds Are Forever” is the flashbacks that have grown increasingly significant throughout Animal Kingdom’s final season. The pacing of these flashbacks have been well-timed thus far, and “Diamonds Are Forever” shines a spotlight on Baz and Julia’s relationship, and the rift their teen romance begins to cause with Smurf. The odd twinge of jealousy Smurf harbors toward her teenage daughter has already been established, and now that Baz and Julia’s romantic entanglement has begun to interfere with her business, the tension within the Cody house has only just begun. Julia’s inevitable pregnancy won’t help to ease the tension in the house, and should Smurf task Baz with choosing between the business and a life with Julia, even without the start of Animal Kingdom, it’s not hard to imagine where his priorities lie. Unfortunately, Pope will be the one caught in the crosshairs of whatever conspires between his family members.
To say that “Diamonds Are Forever” doesn’t prioritize the action would be wrong, but that isn’t what Animal Kingdom makes count. In an interesting twist, it isn’t the Cody heist that raises the most uncertainty. Instead, it is found in the relationship between Deran and Craig, as well as the foreboding that Pope knows that something is amiss. The suspense gifted to the screen through Hatosy’s performance is one of the redeeming components of Animal Kingdom’s latest episode. Within the final five minutes of “Diamonds Are Forever,” Hatosy is able to pull the attention back to the concerns that always fill Pope’s head. The blinking microwave light in addition to Taylor’s sudden disappearance has gained Pope’s attention, and not in a good way. Whether viewers are concerned for Pope’s future or what his next course of action will be, the final moments of “Diamonds Are Forever” leaves the hairs standing on the back of everyone’s neck.
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