Animal Kingdom's flashback scenes in Seasons 5 and 6 explain why Janine "Smurf" Cody (Ellen Barkin) has animosity toward her daughter, Julia Cody. At the center of the story of TNT's crime drama series is Smurf and her criminal empire, but not all of her children and relatives are fans of her illegal shenanigans. Julia Cody is one example, and her defiance ended up being the reason for her downfall.
Throughout Animal Kingdom, Smurf has been relentlessly following through with her goals, and she is also willing to use some family members in her criminal activities. Animal Kingdom Season 1, Episode 1 revealed that Julia is already dead. Still, Season 4 began highlighting flashback sequences that provided hints as to why she died in the first place (and it might have had something to do with her rift with her mother, Smurf).
Based on the 2010 Australian movie of the same name by David Michôd, Animal Kingdom follows the story of the Codys as they navigate the dangers of running a criminal family enterprise in Oceanside, California. The series stars Ellen Barkin, Scott Speedman, Shawn Hatosy, Ben Robson, and Daniella Alonso. Animal Kingdom ran for six seasons on TNT, with its final episode released on August 28, 2022.
Why Did Smurf Hate Julia in Animal Kingdom?
While the flashbacks between Julia and Smurf didn't start until Animal Kingdom Season 4, conversations among the Cody siblings in the first three seasons hinted that the mother-daughter pair didn't like each other. In fact, Barry "Baz" Blackwell (played by Animal Kingdom alum Scott Speedman), who had an intimate relationship with Julia, also shared that Smurf had little to no remorse for her daughter after he revealed that she let one of her "marks" abuse her.
In Season 5, Episode 13, it became even more apparent that Julia deeply hated her mother after Smurf forced her to pickpocket wallets. A reluctant Julia had difficulty following her mother's orders, signifying her openly rejecting her criminal lifestyle.
This defiance started a crack in their mother-daughter bond, and Smurf saw it as threatening her authority. What made matters worse was that Smurf was jealous of Julia's closeness with her twin brother, Pope, and adopted brother, Baz. She believed that Julia had the power to lure them away from their criminal enterprise.
Another reason Smurf hates her own daughter is that Julia has a stronger moral compass than she does. Unlike Smurf, who saw her children as tools to propel her criminal ways and elevate her empire, Julia deeply cared for her siblings.
What Did Smurf Do to Julia?
The tipping point of Julia and Smurf's mother-daughter relationship came during a flashback sequence in Animal Kingdom Season 6, Episode 12, "Exodus."
During the episode, Smurf violently kicked Julia out of the house after she learned she had stolen the family's money. This is why Julia resorted to drugs and alcohol to cope with her miserable life after being kicked out of the family home.
While Julia was intelligent and resilient at times, drugs eventually took over her system, which led to her death. Julia's son, "J" Cody, eventually joined the criminal empire, but it only took several reasons for him to realize how bad and dangerous Smurf can be. J eventually had clear ambitions of taking over Smurf's empire, as evidenced by his reckless actions that started with killing her lawyer, Morgan, in Season 3.
Some theorized that Smurf had something to do with Julia's death because she was the one who encouraged her to use drugs in the first place. Whether it was direct or indirect, it was clear that Smurf contributed to Julia's death.
