Ray Donovan - Gem and Loan & S.U.C.K. - Review: "Sleeping With The Enemy"

Note: Please be aware that English is not my first language.

“Gem and Loan” and “S.U.C.K.” premiered respectively on Sunday, July 27 and August 3 at 9:00 PM on Showtime.

The season opened in a very strange way, but in a nice strange way. I really enjoyed the first two episodes, it’s like I was facing a brand new show. So, I noticed that Ray Donovan and Homeland have a lot of similarities. Both are focused at the same time on the family drama and on the major plotline involving the FBI and everything that goes with it.
But what opposed them is that Ray Donovan is dealing with the family matter in a very clever and interesting way unlike Homeland and it’s catastrophic manner to depict with realism and subtlety the relationships in the family.

But we’re not here to talk about Homeland, are we?

“Gem and Loan” and “S.U.C.K.” written respectively by Michael Toklin and David Hollander were faithful to the new direction the show is trying to get us, and I’m pleased.
Every storyline illustrate a very complex state of mind for every character and it helps us understand their motivations and what goes behind their heads.

Through those two episodes, we saw Mickey weaker than ever. The third episode opens up with him working in a seedy restaurant, taking orders to cut some carrots. The only friend he got is the one living in front of his shabby apartment. He is forsaken by his sons who do not trust him anymore after all he did to them.

Terry: “That’s enough Mick”
Mickey: “What did I do?”
Terry: “Get the fuck out of here. I run a clean establishment.”
Mickey: “Terry…”
Terry: “ Get out. Go home, Mick.”

On another side, Ray is trying to get Bridget to the prestigious Bel-Air Academy after she aced the entrance test. But one demon from the past, Stu Feldman, promised Ray to ban his daughter from every prestigious school in the city. That’s because Ray had sex with Stu's girlfriend. Thus, Ray had to swallow his pride and go to him to get his daughter into her dream school. But everything in this city comes with a price and Stu's price was to have sex with a porn actress who didn’t accept to have sleep with him (because she’s not a prostitute and does it only with professionals). This storyline was actually kind off amusing showing that the show is still able to make us smile through amusing situations.

What I really enjoyed in these two episodes was the return of Tiny, Sully’s nephew who got arrested by the cops and who confessed to them his involvement in Sully’s death the night at the docks. This storyline was really intense and funny at the same time as Ray had to take care of Tiny and get him on a plane to the Maldives. But Tiny refused the deal and Cochran ordered Frank to kill Tiny. Even if the storyline isn't that important, I think that having scenes like that can help us remember the beginning of the first season and the way the episodes were built on the case-of-the-week structure. Plus, Tiny was a very comical character and adding a shade of fun in a very dramatic show like Ray Donovan might not be the worst idea of all.

The storyline the most disappointing in my opinion is Kate’s one. Probably because I expected a little too much from this one as it had the potential to be brilliant. But the most disappointing is the fact that she’s already in the crosshairs of Ray and I think that it would have been more clever to let Kate do her investigation on her own without drawing the attention of the Donovans. I think that the hook-up between Ray and Kate after their meeting isn’t a really bold move. If they wanted to do a The-Donovans-Are-Being-Investigated-And-They-Might-Be-In-Danger storyline, we should at least feel that the stakes are high, but this is not the case here and it's too bad.


Besides Mickey, Abby is also in a very dark place as she is trying to do her best to ameliorate and enhance her relationship with her husband. For that, she’s even seeing a therapist. But Abby tend to be very naive as Ray doesn’t

seem to want this marriage to work. He’s not able to talk to her about his rape and is trying to make Abby happy through materialistic things (such as being a new house). Indeed, even Abby’s therapist is saying that Ray is “bribing” her. If she’s trying to find a reason to explain Ray’s behavior, she soon realizes that their relationship isn’t as strong as she thought it was. And when she learned that Ray cheated on her (again), she didn’t hesitate to flirt with a guy at a shooting club and to kiss her yoga teacher.

Another thing should be mentioned and that’s Bunchy situation last time we saw him. He makes friends with a women and her child at his bicycle shop job. Being at this shop is very significant for him and isn’t the greatest idea regardless his past with his rape. Am I the only one thinking that he is taking a road that he shouldn’t take if you see what I mean?

Verdict: 6,5/10 for "Gem and Loan" and 7/10 for "S.U.C.K.". Ray Donovan continues to offer a very solid second season thanks to the development of the characters in very different ways. The show demonstrates that he is still able to entertain us in a funny way (Stu Feldman in the third episode, Tiny in the fourth). However, in my opinion, the way they are managing Kate's evolution isn't quite the best approach to make this storyline as juicy and thrilling as it could have been. Wait and see.

It's your turn now ! So what did you guys think of these episodes of Ray Donovan? Hit the comments below and let us know what you thought about them.

About the Author - Adil Daoumer

Adil Daoumer is an almost 18y/o Moroccan student living in Paris, France, studying law and economy. He spends the majority of his life watching TV shows, reading books and listening to music. He has a lot of favorite TV shows such as Breaking Bad, LOST, Six Feet Under, Friday Night Lights, Shameless, Fringe, Hannibal, Boardwalk Empire, Game of Thrones, Revenge and more recently, Fargo and The Leftovers. He also enjoys having a good laugh in front of Community, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia and Happy Endings. This season on SpoilerTV, Adil will review Ray Donovan and Shameless.
Don't hesitate to contact him on one of these social media sites.

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