Joshua Cody

Joshua "J" Cody is the son of Julia Cody, and the grandson of Janine "Smurf" Cody. He is the nephew of Andrew "Pope" Cody, as well as the nephew of his mother's half-brothers, Craig and Deran. He begins as the main protagonist of the series.

Background
J's mother, Julia, is Pope's twin sister, and his dad was rumored to be Barry Blackwell (which was not confirmed until Smurf informed him while she was in prison). Baz was raised by Smurf from the age of 12.

J's mom, Julia, wasn't close to most of her family. An exception seems to be with Pope, her twin brother, to whom she was kind and attentive toward in childhood.

After she was thrown out of the Cody house, she didn't keep in close contact with them. After being kicked out while pregnant, she only took J to visit her mother and brothers when he was a young child. But she soon stopped having contact with her family all together. Baz, J's father, never acknowledged J as his son.

Early Life
J grew up with his mother Julia as his only parental figure, however flawed. He had minimal contact with his mother's family, including his uncles and grandmother, until they completely cut off contact (sometime between the age of 6 and 8).

J was also acquainted with his mother's best-friend, Angela, during childhood. J remembers having to shoot her up as a child. In one instance, Angela robbed Julia's drugs and disappeared, which forced J to go out and score for Julia while she began to suffer withdrawal symptoms. He, however, was given bad product, which landed Julia in the ER and left J to dodge DCFS for two weeks. This has caused J to harbor a continuous resentment and distrust toward her.

Throughout The Series
J is taken in by the family when Smurf's estranged daughter, his mother Julia, dies of a heroin overdose. J is suddenly surrounded by men, his uncles: Pope, Craig, Deran, and Baz (adopted into the family who ends up being J's biological father).

For the first time in his life, J finds himself navigating through a new world of material abundance and male aggression. He learns to survive in this new reality whilst finding his own moral compass. He admits to Baz that he gave the fatal dose to his mother not knowing the terrible result it would produce. He tries to fit in with his uncles' complicated and crazy lifestyle by accommodating to their will many a times. He soon finds out his mom had a secret relationship with her adopted brother Baz. When J asks Baz if he is his father he doesn't confirm or deny about brushes it off by saying J isn't a child, doesn't need a dad, and that he already has a kid to take care of.

In season 2, J continues to get sucked into the Cody's ways and is more involved in what they do. At the end of the season Smurf is put in jail and leaves J in charge.

In the first episode in season 3, Baz is killed and Smurf finally admits to J that Baz was his dad while he is visiting her in prison.

In the second episode after he meets with Smurf he is caught by Mia who belongs to the gang that is owed money, after the payment is done and similar attraction to each other is noticed, they end up hooking up in the truck.

In the third episode J begins planning for a heist while Nicky's growing drug addiction begins to cause a rift between them further complicated by J's continued sexual relationship and attraction to Mia.

In "Ambo," J informs Pete of Mia's activities after she and Tupi rob the Codys. Pete kills Tupi, but leaves Mia for J to deal with. Mia attempts to turn J against his family and to continue their partnership, revealing that she was the one who killed Baz on Smurf's orders. Instead, J kills Mia, avenging Baz's death.

In "Ghosts," Smurf set up a suicide mission for herself and Pope, not wanting to waste away of the cancer. With Smurf demanding Pope to shoot her after Pope saves her life and even threatens to kill Pope, J shoots Smurf through the head, killing her and helps his uncle's plan with how to deal with her death. Despite having gotten rid of Smurf, as he wanted, J seems somewhat shocked by what he did.

Personality
J has been shown to have a habit of unfaithfulness in relationships due to him cheating on Nikki on two separate occasions. He also appears to have a tendency to be attracted to dangerous or forbidden women such as his teacher or gang member Mia.

J appears at times to have very little attachment to his family as shown in his practical indifference to the death of his uncle and father Baz. He does not appear to have formed any strong relationships with his uncles or have any real interest in his possible half-sister Lena, despite the death of Baz leaving him free to form a closer relationship. Even his loyalty to Smurf seems to be fueled by a desire for money and success as well as self interest as he seeks to believe she is his best chance at survival.

J has a ruthless streak to him, murdering Morgan by feeding her to the sharks to protect himself and then killing Mia Benitez for her betrayals.

J resents Smurf, his uncles, and many other people whom he feels contributed to his mother's drug addiction, trauma, and subsequent overdose. When presented with the luxury and excess that the other Codys live in, J finds himself even more resentful of the fact that they knowingly left him and his mother to suffer through addiction and poverty. This resentment is in part what motivates J to vow to "take everything" from Smurf and easily take advantage of those with wealth.

Janine "Smurf" Cody
J harbors deep resentment toward Smurf for how she let him and his mother suffer.

Angela
J remembers Angela, his mother's best-friend, from childhood, and how he would have to shoot her up. Ever since Angela robbed Julia's drugs and disappeared, forcing J to get a bad score for his mother, he's mistrustful and bitter toward her. This underlying emotion contributes to how he leaves money on a table after they've finished eating while Angela was in recovery, as he knew it would prove too much temptation, causing her to use the money to score again.

Trivia

 * J has demonstrated many times during the course of the series that he is highly intelligent, quick thinking and sometimes even manipulative and deceitful often playing “ dumb “ and non confrontational while navigating a series of complex relationships with the Cody family.
 * His "Kill Count" includes the following: Morgan (cut her leg and left her to drown in the ocean), Mia Benitez (shot her in the head after she stole from him and admitted to killing Baz on Smurf's orders), and Smurf (shot in the head to save Pope and to fulfill his promise).