So I was talking to my friend about how rough of a watch Animal Kingdom is if you don’t like angst and I had a few thoughts. With the context that I’m only on the 2nd season of the show but know a couple plot points from later seasons, I wrote out a vague plot of how being in that show would affect Robby. More specifically the kind of ending he would have. And a few things occurred to me as I’ve thought about it since.
Every post about The Pitt’s optimism is VERY right. Holy hell is that show built on insane amounts of optimism
There’s a STARK difference in how Pitt/Animal Kingdom crossover AUs function depending on which characters are “entering which domain” (excuse the phrasing I can’t think of anything else rn)
I used Robby as the example specifically cause we’re both deeply aware of his mental health issues and how they affect both himself and the people around him.
Here’s a lightly edited version of what I sent, for the sake of coherency
If Robby was in Animal Kingdom, his behavior in the first 2 seasons of The Pitt would be the mostly same. I don’t think that would change much, with it just being 2 days total. You would watch him have that severe breakdown, plan his suicide, maybe even attempt therapy after the events of the 2nd season of The Pitt, but after a WHILE of fighting his depression and suicidal ideation, he would ultimately kill himself.
At no point would you not expect his death, but you would be really fucking upset that he didn’t make it. He would get a few moments of fleeting hope, but that’s it.
And that’s without factoring the criminal element, or how the Animal Kingdom characters and events would affect him. Solely the tragic tone that’s maintained through the entire show.
He would probably end up wrapped up in Smurf’s (or Baz’s) bullshit somehow, and the everything about what they do, what he would have to see every day, and what they would likely force him to do would be the thing that broke him.
Animal Kingdom is, to it’s bones, a tragedy. To me, anyway. There’s hardly a moment of solace to be found, and the way that kind of weight would affect Robby would be nigh on horrifying. He has it bad enough as is in The Pitt, but if he had to deal with the tone of Animal Kingdom or be directly intertwined with the Cody family, he simply would not survive. The Pitt characters being put into Animal Kingdom would suffocate under the weight of that tragedy.
In opposition to that, putting Animal Kingdom characters into The Pitt is a release. Most crossovers I’ve seen between these shows is this type. More specifically, removing Pope Cody from the weight of Animal Kingdom and allowing him the optimism found in The Pitt.
Post after post, and fic after fic, of Pope leaving his family, and Oceanside as a whole, behind and finding a home among The Pitt characters. Finding people who are willing to accept him as he is and show him the love and care he’s craved and been deprived of his entire life. People who make room for him to actually heal.
If you can find nothing else that speaks to the optimism of The Pitt, look no further than the idea of Pope Cody walking in there and not having to live in a waking nightmare anymore.
There’s a reason so many people like PopeWhit as a ship.
This man who’s never known a single goddamn second of peace in his life being with someone who cares so deeply for others in a way that puts their wants and needs first all of the time. Allowing Pope to be with someone who would treat him gently, but wouldn’t take any bullshit. And who wouldn’t run when he learned the truth about who he is.
It’s a level of optimism that’s so unique to The Pitt, and in direct opposition to Animal Kingdom.
Anyway. Idk where I’m going with this, I just had Thoughts™️ and needed to get them out LMAO
