The end game has started. With a mere three episodes left in the sixth season of Ray Donovan, we’re seeing multiple characters headed to ruin. Chief among them are several members of the Donovan clan.
At the beginning of “the 1-3-2,” we find Ray detained following a brief assault and arrest by corrupt cops Bianchi and Radulovic, who’re both on the take for Mayor Feratti. The cops lay down an ultimatum – stop backing Sam Winslow’s mayoral candidate Anita Novak and figure out a way to discredit her campaign.
We know how Ray is about taking orders, but his “no” is met with a Taser torture session.
Later, Mac arrives and strikes a bargain to save Ray’s life – he’ll convince Ray to ruin Novak if he’s given a chance to get into the mayor’s inner circle. Radulovic’s concedes and releases Ray, who not at all happy with the deal and confronts Mac about his status as informant. Mac pleads that he had no choice and needs to get dirt of Ferratti before Internal Affairs puts him in handcuffs.
Ray looked absolutely disgusted but realizes his family is in danger should he renege. He swiftly goes about insulating his family, getting Lena to swipe Bridget from under the watchful eyes of the NYPD. She creates a diversion by causing a car explosion and look the epitome of cool as the car ignites behind her. Speaking of Lena, what would Ray do without her? Despite her growing resentment towards him, she remains the only character with unwavering loyalty to Ray.
With that said, everyone has their limits. Lena’s gets tested when Ray has her girlfriend Justine recant the feel-good story of Novak saving her from a rape attempt. Justine does this on camera and effectively destroys Novak’s credibility. She was blindsided by this as was Lena, who can barely speak to Ray afterward (“I hope it was worth it.”).
Out of all the women in Ray’s life, Sam Winslow is the most deadly. She won’t take kindly to Ray destroying her best chance at politically controlling the city. So far, Ray has served as her chief enforcer. We’ll discover the extent of her power now that her venom has turned in Ray’s direction. Right now, I don’t see an escape plan for Ray without more blood being shed. Case in point, Ray awakes from a drunken stupor to find a stranger in his home. The man easily knocks Ray out and it’s our last scene with him this episode. A Winslow warning???
We can also count Bridget among those at their wits end with Ray. She bluntly asks her father how far away she has to travel to get away from him. All he can say is “sorry” and unsurprisingly she doesn’t accept the apology. This is one area where you can empathize with Ray since Bridget’s idiotic fiancé put her in danger by going $80k into debt with a loan shark. But Ray has to learn, like all parents do, that you have to let your children go to live their lives and make their own mistakes. Ray’s son had to join the Marines to get away from him. If he doesn’t learn this soon, Bridget’s alienation from him will be permanent.
Mickey’s still on the run and hilarious. The man’s plot armor has been bordering on absurd the entire season. From a strategic fake heart attack and jail escape to the botched bus robbery last episode, how have the police not located this man? His disguise, complete with an 80s-style moustache, leads him to Penn Station where he’s waiting on a one-way trip to Buffalo. We see a somber moment when Mickey sees a loving family waiting for ride, hinting at the life he could’ve had with better decisions.
Mick is so high-strung that an accidental body bump leads to him shoving down a police officer and having to high-tail it out of Penn Station.
So now with the train station off-limits, we can be assured this will somehow lead to a (final?) confrontation with Ray before season’s end.
Outside of NYC we find Terry, Daryll and Bunchy making a trip to Boston. It was endearing to see the playful bickering between the brothers, particularly Daryll and Bunchy over their father and who’s more afraid of Ray. Later, we get a satisfying brawl where they beat up a bunch of disrespectful loudmouths.
Unfortunately, the excursion only did more to amplify for Bunchy how alone he is – no wife, no baby daughter and no purpose. He heads over to church and delivers arguably the most emotional moment of the season in railing God for allowing his life to turn out this way. It’s a Job moment but without God responding, leaving Terry to be the one to gently pull Bunchy away from the alter.
Questions for next week
- Anita Novak had blood-lust in her eyes after her campaign was destroyed. What will her revenge be?
- Emerson made contact with Ray and told him he knows about the Samoan drug dealer Ray killed. Killing an IA agent would prove disastrous so how can Ray maneuver out of this?
- Bunchy is last seen chasing the car of Sandy, the wise-cracking old lady that stole Mick and Bunchy’s $3 million score. Will he be able to catch up with her and get the money back?
- Terry had made it the finals of the underground fight tournament. Will this be the fight where his luck runs out and he gets seriously hurt?
Beats, Boxing and Mayhem 