S01.E09: Judas Kiss

[formerlyfreedom]

While the Codys go after the biggest score of their lives, the cops put J in an impossible position. Catherine triggers Smurf's suspicions when she comes over to make amends. Smurf sends Pope to investigate.

 

[Laurie4H]

That fake out where we thought Pope killed the child as well was crazy.  

On a side shallow note....the teacher is hot?  I'm a straight female but I don't think she is attractive at all.  

[topanga]

Poor Catherine. She had to suspect that Pope was coming to kill her. I don't know how she could've defended herself against a smothering pillow, but damn. I didn't think Pope would actually do it. But his mother knew exactly what to do to manipulate his mind and emotions. 

--Catherine was stupid to steal from Smurf while Smurf was in the house--doing laundry. I don't know when would've been a better time, though. 

--What are Pope and Smurf going to tell Baz? He'll suspect the two of them, I'm sure. Although Pope staged the scene to make it look like Cath simply took off. And Poor Lena. Does that mean she's going to join the family's crime legacy, too?

I'm sorry, but J has sex like a 17-year old boy. All bounce and absolutely no rhythm. I know the teacher was struggling emotionally, but she didn't look like she was enjoying herself physically, either. And no, I don't think she's all that attractive, but that's okay with me. She looks like a real person and not a supermodel. 

--The guy playing the second detective also plays a cop on the J. Lo cop show--I'm blanking on the show's name. 

Edited August 3, 2016 by topanga

[missbonnie]

These people are beyond f'd up. The teacher is in no way shape or form attractive enough for J to risk getting killed over. I could see it if he was a stupid person, but he's not. I will watch next week but I don't know if I will be back next season. This is a little bit too depressing for my tastes. 

[Chaos Theory]

Well shit got really pretty quick.

Was actually kinda shocked that Pope killed Catherine and after she didn't rat them out.  I guess it doesn't really matter.  Smurf hated her and was looking for an excuse and finally found one.

Since when is statutory rape the better of two evils?  Don't get me wrong I like the pairing.  J's teacher has more chemistry with J then his girlfriend but when the cop outright told her to seduce the boy...I took pause. 

[Valmarmar]

Why is there no other way to convict this family than to use teacher to force J to wear a wire on them???  Police seem so desperate to make this happen.

[NorthstarATL]

The teacher looks a lot to me like a young Linda Ronstadt, which is pretty attractive. I was really annoyed with the cop's assessment of teen boys, and then I remembered that I had dated my math teacher in high school (we met outside of school, though, and didn't know that there was an age disparity!) and was pretty much easily led astray. Just when I was siding against the cops, though, Pope (and Smurf really) pulled what he did! Is it wrong that I noticed in those scenes that Pope and J both have really weak chins? I may be back to my earlier assumption about their relatedness.

   Poor Lena. What were/are they planning to tell her? Looking forward to next week. I hate almost everyone, but I look forward to this show more than almost any other at the moment.

[sjohnson]

It seems very strange to me two detectives didn't pick up on the opportunity to take down Craig for statutory rape of Nikky. That seems like real leverage to me.

Leaving Lena alive was the worst possible move. If both disappeared it's Cath leaving, and Pope didn't even have to stage anything. She'd already gotten the passports together, a cash stake, packed the bags. Now Baz knows something happened to Cath. Worse, in the end Baz will know it's Smurf. Civil war in the family is inevitable.

Smurf's belief in her own competence is wholly unfounded if she thought sending Pope to kill Cath would solve all the problems. She needed to know if she'd ever worn a wire, if nothing else. Plus disappearing witnesses has the problem of demanding there be no evidence of foul play. The cops will be looking specifically at the Codys. 

Don't see any plausible way to walk this back for a second season.  

[MrWhyt]

29 minutes ago, sjohnson said:

It seems very strange to me two detectives didn't pick up on the opportunity to take down Craig for statutory rape of Nikky. That seems like real leverage to me.

what evidence do they have? they pick him up and start accusing him he's going to know someone talked to them and shut down.

[lazylou]

But there is another statutory rape, actually.  J is only 16.  (See pilot episode.). The teacher is in her mid twenties.  Smurf could go storming to the school with her evidence of his whereabouts on the phone and accuse the teacher of seducing her grandson.

[Racj82]

I'm not sure I understand all the focus on whether or not the teacher is hot. It's not always about looks. 

She's in his life at the right time. She's offering him an out when he needs it. She reminds him of his mother with the abuse issues. That and she's older than him. 

Well we saw sex being used to manipulate males this week. One time it worked out!

[Artsda]

Wow that quite an episode. Very intense from the job heist to the drama with Catherine and J.

I hated J this episode. He's so stupid falling for everything cops and teacher play him with. I hated the woman detective even more. She comes off so desperate to get the family, like she has a personal stake in it somehow.

The Pope and Catherine scenes were so intense. He's so unhinged and she was so desperate. She was just dumb though, stealing in broad daylight from Smurf? While Smurf was doing laundry and not even covering the tracks right. 

I wasn't expecting Catherine to die this season, so good twist to have her be the one Pope kills. And wow Smurf knew all the buttons to push in Pope to get him to flip the killer switch. 

I liked the boys all working together and pulling the job off, the paint ball match was smart and good way to get in. 

[lazylou]

J is virtually a prisoner.  He has not really told the cops anything.  Yet.  But we see the clip of the upcoming episode with the swat team swarming Smurf's place, so maybe he will crack.  But there will be nothing to find.

[Dowel Jones]

3 hours ago, Valmarmar said:

Why is there no other way to convict this family than to use teacher to force J to wear a wire on them???  Police seem so desperate to make this happen.

I can see the defense attorney right now.  "Alexa, did you have sex with Josh? Did you know he was a minor? Did the police tell you to have sex with him or you would go to jail? Did they tell you to get him to wear a wire?"  And there goes the prosecution's case.

The caper part of the episode was quite interesting.  I had this vision of them loading the real money back into the pallet by mistake, and making off with the fakes.  I'd love to hear that discussion afterward.  Thinking about it, did they stash the money in waste oil barrels that were transferred out to a dumpsite?  I wasn't paying complete attention there. 

I hope Smurf goes down in a ball of flames.  Literally, if possible.

Note to Production Staff:  If you are going to be using rental aircraft to simulate actual DoD aircraft, you should erase the tail number. N166OU is registered to Unical Defense Inc., an aircraft parts supplier in the LA area.  Of course, maybe it was an easter egg product placement favor for letting them use the aircraft in the episode. 

[Cranky One]

We see Catherine grab a pair of scissors in the bathroom. I kept waiting for her to stab Pope during the sex scene. Then I was waiting for her to stab him as he was burying her. Baz is going to know something is up. I'm sure he knows that there is no way she'd leave Lena. I wonder if Pope didn't kill Lena because we still don't know who her actual father is (I think?). I've never seen any other roles that the actor who plays Pope has done, but man, he does intense and creepy very well!

Did the oil drums have oil or human waste in them? I thought it was human waste. So, I guess the plan is that they are going to wait until the base disposes of them, probably by an outside contractor, and then 'rob' the truck?

I just love this show and can't wait for it to come back for the second season. Don't TNT summer shows come back around January? I think we will be in for a ride next week for the season finale!

[sjohnson]

8 hours ago, MrWhyt said:

what evidence do they have? they pick him up and start accusing him he's going to know someone talked to them and shut down.

They go to the parents first, and they all question Nikky. As it turns out that pressure on Paul would end the series, even though they don't know that. The thing is, if you want to pressure someone to wear a wear, staying out of prisoner for statutory rape of a minor is much better club than teach's whining.

7 hours ago, Racj82 said:

I'm not sure I understand all the focus on whether or not the teacher is hot. It's not always about looks. 

She's in his life at the right time. She's offering him an out when he needs it. She reminds him of his mother with the abuse issues. That and she's older than him. 

Well we saw sex being used to manipulate males this week. One time it worked out!

In practice, available is hot. That's why sexy clothing tends to have a bullseye (cheek, nipple, vagina) so very close to being accessible.

4 minutes ago, Cranky One said:

I just love this show and can't wait for it to come back for the second season. Don't TNT summer shows come back around January? I think we will be in for a ride next week for the season finale!

The Closer and Major Crimes usually have longer seasons, part of which was split into December/January as counterprogramming to the broadcast networks, which usually have lots of reruns during the holidays. But Animal Kingdom is just a ten episode season. 

[SunnyBeBe]

Missed some portions last night, so I have quite a few things to catch up on, but did see Katherine go down and the detectives holding J.  IMO, J is really smart. He has to know how the cops putting pressure thing works.  He has evading capture gene in him, right?  He has to walk out of it without too much harm, right? 

[sugarbaker design]

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The Pope and Catherine scenes were so intense. He's so unhinged and she was so desperate. She was just dumb though, stealing in broad daylight from Smurf? While Smurf was doing laundry and not even covering the tracks right. 

Seriously!  Catherine thought she could outsmart Smurf?!  So Catherine agreed to turn against the father of her kid, her kid's uncles and grandmother, for no reason at all, she wasn't being forced to do it.  Not too bright.  

Smurf said something off-hand about Catherine's parents, so now I'm thinking Catherine was behind the death of her parents

When Baz figures this out, there will be hell to pay.

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The sentry seemed to note the skeleton mask in the back.  That's the mask Craig was wearing during paintball.  I'm thinking somehow that's going to come into play next week.  Or, maybe not! lol

Oh, it definitely will, there will have to cameras around to capture their masks.  Why did the boys have to pick such distinct masks?

[MrWhyt]

2 hours ago, sjohnson said:

They go to the parents first, and they all question Nikky.

why tip their hand on a charge that they'd have no chance proving? They want to get them for something big and with enough evidence that the case is airtight. A statutory rape charge on the dumbest brother isn't going to get them anything.

[sugarbaker design]

Nikki might have told J that she and Craig had sex to get back at him.  It might not be true.

[atomationage]

This show just gets better and better.  Pope has some mighty grave digging skills, so I guess he's done it before.  I'm watching an episode of Peaky Blinders.  Finn Cole just spoke with a different accent.   I guess he was hired to work with his brother. 

They've gotten to the police part of the series.  I guess the boring lawyers will be next season.  They'll have to be sexy lawyers.  I've seen Nicki Michaeux before on The Shield and Six Feet Under.   She's great.  They're all great, except for Finn Cole, IMO. 

[lazylou]

11 hours ago, sjohnson said:

 

Don't see any plausible way to walk this back for a second season.  

The plot will just change.  Now there will be a smoldering war between Pope and Baz, which already exists but now will give Baz the high ground, which he did not have earlier.  Though we do not know he truth of what happened in the past...   Somehow J will escape suspicion ... Or rather he will continue to be suspected of being a snitch by the family but without proof. ... I think he will go home... If the police don't arrest him, they cannot hold him if he insists on returning home.  He cannot wear a wire at Smurf's  where she insists on seeing him get dressed!  Ridiculous idea.  Somehow I think Alexis will disappear from the story, but I am not sure how J summons the moxie to leave her to her felony charge.

[sjohnson]

49 minutes ago, sugarbaker design said:

Nikki might have told J that she and Craig had sex to get back at him.  It might not be true.

She knows if she lies on Craig she loses his blow, and booze, and pool privileges at a really fun place to be. Most of all she wants J hurt and maybe up in Craig's face too, and maybe J beat up (she may not have the nerve to admit it to herself if so,) and actually sleeping with Craig does those things. And last but not least, it's Craig.

1 hour ago, MrWhyt said:

why tip their hand on a charge that they'd have no chance proving? They want to get them for something big and with enough evidence that the case is airtight. A statutory rape charge on the dumbest brother isn't going to get them anything.

The charge doesn't even have to tip their hand re J, which they can present as coming from Mom, Dad or Nikky herself. And to my eyes, risking blowing uncooperative J who they don't really have a handle on and can't know that much anyhow, for serious leverage on Craig is a no brainer, which is why it struck me as so odd. Breaking someone on the inside leads to the "something big" I think. As for airtight cases, no cases relying on confessions and plea agreements is truly airtight. The Cody crime family can die the death of a thousand cuts from tax evasion charges alone. They aren't do much crime when they have to keep going to court. 

But I do see how you could think differently on that. What I'm not seeing is how you think Craig is the dumbest. It's Deran. 

[Chaos Theory]

I think the reason that the police need someone on the inside is that the Codys aren't stupid.  Reckless maybe.  Stupid no.   They don't usually use partners which keeps things insular.  They plan out their jobs pretty throughougly.  The Jewelry store job went sideways because Craig and Deren were chaffing at their rolls in the family and half assed their jobs and missed a crucial element of guard rotation.  The Codys don't leave evidence behind for the police to find.  At least none that they can definitely lock to them.  They need someone to testify against them and right now all they have is J.  

It wouldn't surprise me if the teacher ends up dead and Smurf reminds J that he committed a federal crime and so did his girlfriend's father and it wouldn't be very hard for her to get the girlfriend involved as well.  Hand her her fathers cut and boom.  

Edited August 3, 2016 by Chaos Theory

[iMonrey]

I don't know about anyone else but I was on the edge of my seat through the whole episode. The heist was fascinating, and I have to admit I was wrong about how it all went down and what they were using the ironed money for, but it was still a nail biter to watch, especially when the soldiers came into the warehouse when they were in the middle of it. The only problem is all the promo spots showed events after the heist that gave away the fact that they were all going to get out of there.

That whole scene with Catherine and Pope - yikes, that was intense. You just knew it was not going to end well and I was pretty much yelling when he carried Lena's body to the car thinking he'd killed her too. 

I hate that damn detective pressuring and threatening J into wearing a wire. Although he's still such a cipher; he's the one who went to Alexa and got talked into talking with the police then wouldn't tell them anything. 

Maybe I'm sick but I just want all the Codys to get away with their crimes and live happily ever after and pull bank jobs and Alexa and the detectives can go take a hike. Why can't they all just get along?

It's going to be an interesting season finale because I'm betting they might have planned something of an ending in case they didn't get another season.

[lazylou]

4 hours ago, Cranky One said:

I've never seen any other roles that the actor who plays Pope has done, but man, he does intense and creepy very well!

He was in "Southland" as a cop...if I remember correctly, he was troubled on that show, too, because he was married to an unfaithful wife who caused him plenty of personal problems.  

[lazylou]

Looks as though there are ten or eleven episodes already made...so maybe the show will come back like Major Crimes does, after Christmas.

[Rapunzel]

Why on earth didn't Catherine leave right after stealing the money from Smurf's house? She had already packed up her and Lena's things and once she had money, she should have just started for the boarder - it's only a little over an hour away from there. If she wasn't planning to leave right after getting the money, then why pack? Or was she hanging around thinking she could convince Baz to go with her? If that's the case, why didn't she talk with him earlier and why did she start packing in such a rush as soon as he left for the job?

I cannot stand the female cop. She is corrupt and using a teenage boy and insisting on putting his life in danger is just wrong. I don't care what his family has done - so far, the cops can't prove J has been part of any of it or done anything wrong. We know he has done some things, like helping with the one robbery, setting the fire on the base, the beating of the guy in the alley, etc., but the Police don't seem to be aware of any of this or they would use it as leverage against him.

Also can't stand the teacher. She is homely and I hate her little kid voice. It just isn't believable to me that J would do anything for her, especially risk his life to save her from a drug charge. Any good lawyer could probably get it reduced, especially if it's her first offense, and she likely wouldn't even do jail time (though she would likely lose her job, but she clearly shouldn't be working with kids anyway). Also, the fact that she would put a teenager in danger to save her own ass is just wrong, not to mention sleeping with him. She is just as slimy as the female cop and the Cody family. I really hope something happens to her and she doesn't factor into the show next season - same thing with the female cop. I would love to see at least one, if not both, of them locked up or killed off.

Edited August 3, 2016 by Rapunzel

[Broderbits]

Smurf said something about Catherine's parents being horrible people, but it was during her manipulation of Pope so probably lies.

This show is fascinating, but I do not want the Cody family to get away with anything. If J and Lena are the only ones left standing at the series end, it would be ok with me. And that includes the lady cop, who truly disgusts me.

[Artsda]

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Smurf said something about Catherine's parents being horrible people, but it was during her manipulation of Pope so probably lies.

I think they said her parents were junkies  last week. She wouldn't need to lie to Pope about Catherine's parents, the boys knew her parents.

[sugarbaker design]

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Remember last week when the lady cop told Catherine that Pope had set the fire that killed her parents on Smurf's orders?  I don't think she knew that up until now and maybe that realization was enough for to say "Enough of this".

Good point.

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Smurf said something about Catherine's parents being horrible people, but it was during her manipulation of Pope so probably lies.

The only other person who mentioned C's parents was the female cop, who was also manipulating.

[iMonrey]

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. It just isn't believable to me that J would do anything for her, especially risk his life to save her from a drug charge. 

I think it's believable because he has nobody else to turn to. He can't turn to Nikki and his family has proven he's nothing to them but someone to be used. It's strange that he didn't have any other friends at school besides Nikki, but for whatever reason he's completely alone. Alexa is the only one he can talk to about this stuff and I think he probably only agreed to talk to the police because she kept pestering him about what she needed from the police so she wouldn't go to jail. He wanted to help her but at the same time he can't give them info about the Camp Pendleton job because he would be implicated as an accessory. He used his own ID to get into the base plus the two security guards who caught him could ID him. 

I think the sex is just because he's a 17 year old kid - it's not the driving force that's binding him to Alexa, it's the fact that she's the only one he can turn to right now.

[Kuther2000]

The lady cop is getting on my nerves. She keeps badgering them. She is pretty safe. Jay and Cath aren't or weren't safe in Cath s case. I figured Pope would killed Cath. I just didn't know what would happen to Lena. Pope's crazy. I guess he planned on killing her too since he took her out of the house at first instead of just leaving her there. I was scared her waking up would affect whether or not she died. Previews show Pope is gonna allow Baz to think Pope's old cellmate had something to do with it I think.

[Rapunzel]

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I think it's believable because he has nobody else to turn to. He can't turn to Nikki and his family has proven he's nothing to them but someone to be used. It's strange that he didn't have any other friends at school besides Nikki, but for whatever reason he's completely alone.

I don't think Nicki's family treated J poorly. Nicki was heartbroken when he broke up with her, her Father, even when he caught J coming out of their house early in the morning after spending the night, was nice to J and believed (or at least pretended to believe) J's story about them falling asleep while doing homework. He even asked J how Nicki was doing and if he thought everything was alright with her. He also offered condolences" for the death of his mother, asked where he was staying and if he was okay, etc. When Nicki's whole family went to Smurf's for dinner, they were nice, respectful, didn't have one bad word to say about J and, of course, invited them over to theirs to return the favor of dinner at some point. Also, apart from the dinner and one very brief conversation J had with Nicki's Dad, we really didn't see him interact much with them, but he was welcome into their home at least.  If anything, it's Nicki and her family that are being used - and were used to pull off the Pendleton job.

J is isolated, but many kids with junkie parents are. They make this a choice, sometimes even subconsciously, as they don't want to take the chance that anyone finds out about their secret and either tries to interfere or decides to call social services. It is also an embarrassing situation for them and, if they keep to themselves, they help avoid any risk of being ridiculed which would only serve to further isolate them and make the situation worse. The fact that J had a girlfriend (and it seems like they were together for a while - in high school terms, anyway), was a big step for him and I think the only reason he broke it off was to keep her away from the family. He turned to the teacher (AFTER she sought him out) in part out of loneliness, but also because she was manipulating him - smoking pot with him at school, asking about his family, inviting him to the art show, kissing him and then later sleeping with him, etc. All evidence that she was chasing after him, not the other way around. She is the adult and his teacher - she has a duty to protect him, not the other way around.

As smart as J is, he is still 16/17 and definitely subject to manipulation, especially given the major changes in his life at the moment. The cops should be more interested in bringing the teacher up on child abuse/endangerment/statutory rape charges even if they do end up cutting her lose on the drug charge - cops other than the corrupt ones encouraging the behavior, of course - and then charges should be brought against them as well.  

Edited August 3, 2016 by Rapunzel

[Dowel Jones]

9 hours ago, Cranky One said:

Baz is going to know something is up.

I was thinking at the time that she knew she was likely to die that night, and wanted to leave some kind of message to Baz about it, one that she could retract if Pope didn't kill her, but wouldn't be obvious to Pope if he went in the bathroom.

[sjohnson]

J was after the teacher (and the story line where teach tells J she was wearing a wire was due to him getting his hooks---and other things---into her...seems silly to me, but I'm not a modern mid twenties teacher, so what do I know?) because she signaled to him. But he feels stuck with her because she had him on a wire. He's afraid of what the cops might do with that. 

[SingleMaltBlonde]

Color me surprised...the age of consent in California is 18.....

The weirdest thing is nobody here is traditionally likeable at all.  I understand Smurf and her clan are broken for some very good reasons and J deserves sympathy.  Maybe the male cop is a good guy and maybe the female cop has a back story.

I kinda want the show to end this season....next week just end like Hamlet.

Edited August 4, 2016 by SingleMaltBlonde

[formerlyfreedom]

This show has me rooting for the Codys, even while I'm yelling at myself for caring. Pope and Cath - man, I sat on the edge of my seat literally from the moment he knocked on the door, knowing what was coming, and cringing. I really thought he had killed Lena - I'm glad he didn't, but I do wonder if (like with Smurf about Mommy's friend), something she says will clue Baz in to what happened. Maybe she thinks she dreamed Pope at the house or something?

I am really glad this has been renewed, but I do need the hiatus to start feeling better about my choices as a human - I think I'd totally cover up for this family if I were in their world.

[sugarbaker design]

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The weirdest thing is nobody here is traditionally likeable at all. 

That's one of the reasons I love the show, I love a dark drama.

[MaggieG]

21 hours ago, sjohnson said:

 

But I do see how you could think differently on that. Whist I'im not seeing is how you think Craig is the dumbest. It's Deran. 

I don't know, I don't think sleeping with your nephew's underage, teenage ex girlfriend counts as a smart move. The same underage girl who's father you're also working with. Not smart on Craig's part. Of course, Nicky could be lying about the whole thing.

This show has me on the edge of my seat! Poor Lena

[sjohnson]

The girl who's ten times smarter than her father and a hundred times as determined to win. No, since the cops will let Craig slide on screwing her, he's got nothing to worry about. He's a dope fiend but that's not exactly a matter of intelligence, is it? 

On the other hand, Deran actually thought beating up his boy friend to stay in the closet that has a glass door wasn't going to impact his love life. That having his competition terrorized would actually help. That nearly drowning J wasn't going to cause any problems. That Smurf loves him best. As near as I can make out, he's not really interested in a life of crime, but keeps on because he can't really think how to cope with life without Smurf. If he can afford the occasional paintball game and surf, what else does he want? (Craig wants money for dope, so his life of crime makes perfect sense for him.) 

[iMonrey]

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The weirdest thing is nobody here is traditionally likeable at all. 

I guess in a weird way I find Smurf kind of admirable. She may be a crook and a manipulator but the strength and control she has is kind of fascinating. No, I wouldn't want to get within ten miles of her in real life but as a TV character she's strangely rootable. 

And I think J is likable. I mainly just feel sorry for the poor kid, he's in a terrible situation with nowhere to turn and his life wasn't great before his mother died either. 

[Rapunzel]

23 hours ago, SingleMaltBlonde said:

Color me surprised...the age of consent in California is 18.....

I was surprised when I looked this up as well, and I live in CA (I had it stuck in my head that it was 17 for some reason). I did move here in my early 20's (and married), so it really wasn't something I had at the top of my list to check, but I've lived in other Countries and other cities in the US and have seen the age of consent as low as 15 or 16 (and in some places, the drinking age lower than that).

In any case, J is definitely being manipulated and taken advantage of by people that we are generally told all of our lives that are there to help and protect us - teachers and the Police. To me, there is no way teacher and the vile lady cop shouldn't be punished in some way for what they are doing to this teenager, especially as he is currently in a fragile emotional state and has had his whole world turned upside down.

Whatever the relationship he may have had with his mother and seeing/helping her dealing with her demons, she still died and he still injected her with the dose that killed her (unintentionally, hopefully). He then went off to Smurf land and was exposed to definite weirdness, including Smurf watching him undress. He was also exposed to danger and threats from his various "uncles," including being nearly drowned by one of them. In addition, he believes there is a chance Baz (or one of his other uncles, perhaps) could be his father and no one will really give him any straight answers and he is afraid to ask the questions he needs to in order to know more about who he is (probably more so now given Baz' reaction when he asked if he was his Father). He also has the added pressure of having to keep all of the Cody Family Secrets or risk endangering himself. Despite that, the horrid, corrupt, female cop is forcing him into a no win situation which could get him killed. This is especially negligent by the cop since, as far as they know, J has committed no crimes (we have seen otherwise, but the cop had no knowledge of any of it or it would be used to pressure/threaten him more).

The teacher is also a scumbag and should never have become a teacher in the first place. She is still willing to set up J to help her avoid a charge that likely would be reduced and not result in jail time (though may cost her her job) in exchange for putting J in a position where he may likely be killed. J should have let her OD instead of saving her life - she doesn't deserve to live especially if she is going to put a traumatized teenager with no one to turn to at high risk over a stupid drug charge that may only end up with her having to find another line of work. She's too stupid to be a teacher - why hasn't she spoken to an attorney about the charges the cops keep holding over her head? Any attorney, hell, any law student, could get the charges against her reduced or maybe even thrown out, especially if she could use the brain she doesn't appear to have and record the conversations with the cops on her cell browbeating her into further breaking the law by sleeping with J, an innocent kid as far as anyone else knows.

Edited August 4, 2016 by Rapunzel

[SingleMaltBlonde]

Between googling the age of consent in California and what amount constitutes possession with intent I hope the NSA isn't paying too close attention.

[Joimiaroxeu]

I'm thinking the woman cop is going to end up dead, courtesy of Smurf and the gang. I'm also amazed that robbery went off without much of a hitch. There's still room for something to go wrong though before they get their hands back on the money.

[iMonrey]

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Well, she keeps the house sparkling clean, does the laundry and cooks meals for her boys (including that delicious looking apple pie; apparently a post-heist tradition in the Cody house), so in a way she's a good mom who just happens to head a family of thugs :)

I was going to comment on this last week, but when they were planning the heist with Paul, Smurf said "Let's take a break, I'll put out lunch." Cut to Smurf setting down this enormous tray of deli sandwiches. I was cracking up over how huge it was and couldn't figure out if she was supposed to have made all that stuff herself or if she went to the grocery store and bought it.

[atomationage]

Well, what does Smurf do all day long when she's not stealing drugs to crush into Pope's food, or re-visiting backstory characters?  They show her behind a locked gate at the house. 

[SunnyBeBe]

So how does it work when a person goes missing, but no one reports it?  Catherine does have a job right?  Will they report as missing, if her husband doesn't?  Can he just tell them that she took off? If she left her child, no one will believe that though. Will the police come to investigate?  I'm just trying to figure out how this works.  Her husband will be devastated. So, can he appear to be worried instead of in grief?

[SingleMaltBlonde]

22 hours ago, atomationage said:

Well, what does Smurf do all day long when she's not stealing drugs to crush into Pope's food, or re-visiting backstory characters?  They show her behind a locked gate at the house. 

You can eat off her floors and given the overgrown toddlers that inhabitat her home that takes work.

 

14 hours ago, Gabrielle Tracy said:

You bring up a good point.  Remember, we first met the male half of the "Get the Codys" police duo when he was at the bar where Catherine worked.  We didn't know it then, but now it seems pretty clear that he knew about her family and was trying to forge a relationship with her.  So, will he notice that she doesn't come to work anymore?  Very interesting!

This makes letting Lena live (a horrible thing to type) a huge mistake....very few women would abandon their child, especially leaving said child with in-laws like this.  Her friendly local police officer also knows all of this...Which makes me wonder if Smurf isn't setting Pope up because he was too chatty in Prison?  Killing your sister-in-law you're obsessed with is a crime of passion and easy to understand.

Edited August 6, 2016 by SingleMaltBlonde
random thought and correction

[lazylou]

6 hours ago, SingleMaltBlonde said:

This makes letting Lena live (a horrible thing to type) a huge mistake....very few women would abandon their child, especially leaving said child with in-laws like this.  Her friendly local police officer also knows all of this...Which makes me wonder if Smurf isn't setting Pope up because he was too chatty in Prison?  Killing your sister-in-law you're obsessed with is a crime of passion and easy to understand.

I think this is a good point,  especially since we have repeatedly been shown the scene with the cop coming upon Pope and Catherine at the car. Probably he will suspect Pope, but Smurf does not know that Pope has been spotted around Catherine though she plays on his jealousy, suspicious nature, and his Oedipal urges.

I think it is what makes the show so interesting...Pope is clearly mentally ill and easily manipulated by his mother, but he also has a side that is unable to smother Lena.  Also, he seems to have had feelings for both Catherine and Julia in the past.  Occasionally he seems to sympathize with J as Julia's son, too, even though he is also suspicious of J's loyalty to the family.