I loved Animal Kingdom from the start - sure, it was a big trashy at times, but it was compelling. Smurf in the early seasons was an ambiguous character - we knew she was manipulative and cruel, but saving the extent of her cruelty until after her death really robbed the climax of the its potential. Imagine J plotting an elaborate scheme to take it all and Smurf being the target, compared to three brothers who were just as much victims as anyone else. That would have been perfect.
Early on, Baz's theft from Smurf seemed possibly too harsh - we didn't know then what we know now. If they'd run the flashbacks parallel from early on, and kept Smurf around until the end, perhaps over fewer seasons, it would have perfect. It feels like they didn't really decide what exactly Smurf had done until she was already dead, and I wish we'd had the chance to learn all this about Smurf while she was still on screen in the present. It felt like far too harsh an ending for Deran and Craig, particularly Deran who'd been trying to get out from under Smurf's control throughout.
I honestly believed J was faking his feelings for Penny so his distress at her death made little sense when we've never seen him like that before - they barely knew each other.
While I enjoyed this series a lot, you can see how much better it could have been with a bit more planning starting earlier.
Early on, Baz's theft from Smurf seemed possibly too harsh - we didn't know then what we know now. If they'd run the flashbacks parallel from early on, and kept Smurf around until the end, perhaps over fewer seasons, it would have perfect. It feels like they didn't really decide what exactly Smurf had done until she was already dead, and I wish we'd had the chance to learn all this about Smurf while she was still on screen in the present. It felt like far too harsh an ending for Deran and Craig, particularly Deran who'd been trying to get out from under Smurf's control throughout.
I honestly believed J was faking his feelings for Penny so his distress at her death made little sense when we've never seen him like that before - they barely knew each other.
While I enjoyed this series a lot, you can see how much better it could have been with a bit more planning starting earlier.
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