Wednesday, October 1, 2014

What I’m Watching: Ray Donovan (Season Finale)


Ray Donovan: Season 2, Episode 12 “The Captain” (A-)

Now this is how you end a season. Ray managed to tie up all his loose ends and punish those who had wronged him and still had to reel from the biggest and most unexpected shock of the episode. That it was Avi who pulled the trigger on an unsuspecting Kate when she walked into her apartment and started checking her mail made it sting all the more, and it’s a harsh reminder that Ray is far from immune to his own tactics. Walking into Cookie’s house and shooting him before he had the chance to hurt Bridget was intense, and distracting his two henchmen by encouraging them to fight over a million dollars was a brilliant strategy. As if walking into his office and punching Cochrane in the face wasn’t enough, Ray managed to humiliate him in a fantastic and furiously career-ending way by leaking the video of his twisted sex online. Locking Steve in the trunk so that Ashley could call and report him for his abuse and his murder of Bob was also a neat and effective way of dealing with that particularly uncontrollable problem. Calling to report the body buried under Ezra’s dream was cruel, but Ray felt he had been betrayed, and he wasn’t about to let that go. After Jim made a truly honest and selfless move, Abby is likely to return to the comfort of family and the fact that, as that final look indicated, she knows she really can depend on Ray. Mickey hearing voices again and betting big on the captain was a fun way to finish up that plotline, and I’m glad to see that Bunchy got a half-decent resolution and even Terry might not be in store for too much punishment. This has been a superb season, and I eagerly anticipate season three.

Season grade: A-
Season MVP: Liev Schreiber

No comments: