Animal Kingdom Season 5: Why Smurf gave everything to Pamela?

Flashbacks have been improved, the new season of Animal Kingdom. They give us more insight into the things we are interested in and align with what’s going on in the present. Although the boys don’t know much about Pamela, or why Smurf gave everything to her, they do know that Pamela has endured a lot as a friend with Smurf.

It is possible she deserves compensation. Smurf was not a mother. Pam had to put Smurf in his place and urge her to get her life together for the good of her twins. Pam was raised from her days of playing games with the boys and everything. She wanted to get her life together for her twins.

Read More: Animal Kingdom: Season 5 Episode 6 Release Date

Pam was aware of the differences between Pam and Smurf and seemed to be more aware of it after her release from jail. Young Pamela played by Milauna Jackson probably didn’t realize that Smurf and other criminals were able to escape from the law and avoid it. Pamela didn’t have the luxury of having to worry about much. Pam and Smurf had some subtle differences, from Pam’s news curiosity while she waited for Smurf in her car to her unwillingness to bring Smurf along to the party. 

They were at an important crossroads in their lives and perhaps their friendship. Pam, unlike Young Smurf played by Leila George, took motherhood seriously and wanted her children back. Although she had Phoneix, she wanted to be able to take her daughter out of foster care. This could only happen if she continued to improve.

You wonder if any of her children will be present in the present as Pamela mentions them. Pamela could have seen the party at Marcus, the rich and arrogant, as a work thing. However, Smurf seemed to not care. She irritated Marcus and made him feel embarrassed. She was drunk and high and didn’t know when she should leave Marcus. It is a sign of how Young Pope played Houston Towe was awake when the women returned home. As he waited for his mother to return, he was likely in a protective mode. Aunt Birdy, also known as Pam, realized that Pope had issues and that he didn’t have the space to be a child. With her affectionate moments and insistence on a structure, she had a maternal edge to him that was probably more than Smurf. This likely spoke to a neurodivergent child that desperately needed it.

These flashbacks are interesting because Pope doesn’t share with the other that he knows Pamela. Pope saw her on the pier next to the apartment that the cousins robbed. Pope must know that Aunt Birdy Johnson and Pam are the same people when Smurf called Pam’s name. Pamela was tired of Smurf’s antics and wanted Pamela to get her act together and take care of her children.

What was it that caused some distance between them? What has this done to Pope’s knowledge and his view of this woman? If Pamela was another victim of Smurf’s antics or was just as tired of them, then is she worthy of what she got?

Flashbacks Animal Kingdom season 5 are much more informative, providing the basis for Pamela’s introduction as well as adding depth to Smurf posthumously. They help us to better understand Pope, how and why he is who he is. The past can help fill in the gaps in the present. I can’t wait to see the boys face-to-face with Pamela. She is the link to Smurf’s past, which may provide answers.