Animal Kingdom: What happened to Nicky? Character’s fate explored in depth

If you're an Animal Kingdom fan, you might be curious about what happened to Nicky Belmont.

Nicky, who was first depicted as J Cody’s girlfriend, quickly turned into a character who embodied the grey side of the criminal world and the human cost of closeness to the Cody family.

The hard fact is that Nicky is not killed off in Animal Kingdom. She takes her leave after a very intense event in Season 3, followed by her father’s decision to take her away from Oceanside.

Her exit may be silent, but it holds a lot of character! Nicky’s storyline suggests that in tough places, the right decision may be to leave. Nicky's story might be less dramatic than the blood and betrayal surrounding the kings of the castle, but still, it points to the very real consequences of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Who is Nicky Belmont in Animal Kingdom?

The character of Nicky Belmont is brought to the audience by the actress Molly Gordon.

The girl, first seen as a pretty normal teenager, fights to cope with her school commitments, relationships, and home life. However, Nicky’s life is so unstable that she is very easily influenced by her surroundings.

Her link with J and the Cody family soon draws her into the circle of crime, where she has to face hard truths about the weak and the strong when it comes to the chaotic world of crime. Nicky’s storyline is not only about the crime and its consequences but also about the harshness of growing up in such an area.

Nicky’s relationship with the Codys in Animal Kingdom

Nicky’s attachment to J opens up to her the whole Cody family, Smurf, Baz, Craig, and others. In Animal Kingdom, Nicky's experiences highlight the complexities of managing ties with people engaged in crime. Unlike other characters who adapt or interfere with the circumstances, Nicky is left to carry on the fight for her place of stability.

Her encounter with drugs, parties, and people with dubious conduct have an unintentional but direct impact on her vulnerability, showing vividly the dangers of being around the illegal side of life, even for the ones who are simply bystanders.

The Animal Kingdom Season 3 incident

The story of Nicky in Season 3, Episode 5 (“The Killing”) comes to a tremendous breaking point. During the heated argument at Cody's place, she gets shot in the midst of the drug mess. She was taking heroin at that time, and the accident happened right during a loud and chaotic scene with many characters coming and going.

The injured person was caught in Cody’s house where the breakout was happening, and thus it was labeled as an accident rather than young people playing tricks or one person inflicting harm to himself. This incident is the deciding factor that changes everything, leading to her expulsion from Oceanside.

Father’s intervention and Nicky’s exit from Animal Kingdom

Nicky’s father comes to her rescue after the shooting incident. He commands J to keep off and makes sure that Nicky is taken away from the perilous environment of Oceanside. Nicky’s exit is directly connected to the consequences of her being shot and the disorderly conditions surrounding it, not just a decision made by her.

Nicky is not seen again in the later seasons. The storyline of her character virtually finishes with the father’s intervention in Season 3.

Themes highlighted by Nicky Belmont in Animal Kingdom

Nicky Belmont has been vulnerable, suffered from toxic family dynamics, and, probably, the worst of all, she was close to criminal activities. The Codys’ very existence is powerful in the sense that it can even affect those who did not take part in any crime.

Her branched-out life, marked by her successful father’s priesthood, is a demonstration of one main theme in Animal Kingdom: sometimes, the best and the most logical thing to do is to quit. Her plotline is very down-to-earth and true-to-life, unlike the other thrilling parts of the series, which she has continuously contrasted with.

Lessons from Nicky’s arc in Animal Kingdom

Nicky indirectly leads the audience through the path of the drug-intoxicated people, the decay of morals, and the instability of the family. The chaos from her family and her final drawing away indicate that one does not necessarily have to be a fighter or a genius to survive; helping oneself to the back door might suffice at times.

The series presents her leaving with care, stressing truthfulness rather than dramatization. Nicky’s tale alerts the audience regarding vulnerability.

Fan perception and legacy

Nicky, although being there for only three seasons, is still very much talked about. She is the embodiment of purity amidst the filth and the involvement in crime as a result of being too close. The fans keep in mind her fights, the shooting episode, and her father’s interference since all these depict the true-to-life risks that the weak have to face.

Her story is still in people’s hearts because it is so easy to connect with: there are occasions when the only way to stay alive is to go away. What seems like a small step in Nicky’s case turns out to be quite a significant one in revealing both aspects of the Cody household, the risk and the safety coming from family.

Therefore, Nicky Belmont does not die and lives on in the Animal Kingdom, being shot during the drug-intoxicated chaos of Season 3, and her dad takes her out of Oceanside. She doesn't appear in future seasons, and there are no confirmed updates from canon sources about her after this point.

Her narration points to the totality of the human price that has to be paid for growing up near crime and the poor, but necessary survival strategies that could prove fatal.

Even though the series was filled with crime and violence, Nicky's arc can be characterized as a humble and realistic display of the dual nature of human existence, consisting of extremes such as good and evil, vulnerability and resilience.

Also read: Where was Animal Kingdom shot? Revisiting the filming locations of the TNT crime drama