After the brief increase in pace last week, this fourth season of Ray Donovan got the opportunity to slow things down once again with this week's episode, titled "Federal Boobie Inspector" (don't ask me what the thematic importance of this title is). This episode was a transitional episode of the show, but it stood out due to it not only bringing several dangling plot threads together, but focusing on several of the well-defined characters at the show's core.
I've mentioned before that the true strenght of this show lies in its main cast of characters, which is predominantly made up of the Donovan family. These characters have all (with the exception of Connor, who is terrible) been carefully drawn over the last few seasons, and when they get to bounce of each other, it's often magnetic. It helps that the actors on the show are among the best anywhere on television. Not everything on the show should or does work, but the actors all do their best to sell it so that often enough it doesn't matter.
For example, I'm not entirely sure that Abby's arc in this episode - in which she is brought to a strip club by Lena and her ex Gina, who is a breast cancer expert - works that well, but Malcomson's performance almost sold it to me. On paper, Abby kissing and feeling the tits of Gina in a strip club would be silly, but here it almost wasn't, and now Abby is willing to move forward with the treatment.
One scene that worked that maybe shouldn't have was the scene in which Ray and Abby go to see baby Maria in the gym, and Bunchy says he wants them to be the godparents of the baby. Terry's reaction to this in most cases would've come across as soapy, but intead it told us more about his character, as it reminded him of his loneliness. Soon after, he seeks the company of the young man who stole Abby's bag, and brings him to the gym to train. It's possible that Terry sees him as a last chance to have something resembling a child of his own. It's profoundly sad, when you think about it, and Eddie Marsan's performance is subtly great.
This episode effectivly also tied together some of this season's plot threads, with Mickey's escapades in Primm connecting to Ray's troubles with Sonia and the Russians, albeit in a convuluted way, whch inclued the return of Hank Azaria's Ed Cochran and Ray singing karaoke. Azaria's presence on the show is always welcome, and I hope we see more of him than we did last season, in which he only appeared for about three episodes. Ray needs Cochran too get the Distict Attorney to drop the charges against Belikov, and plans to pay Cochran with the money Mickey and his partner stole from Little Bill Primm in last week's episode. Ray working with Mickey to retrieve this money is clear evidence of Ray's desperation. He has three choices: turn himself in, kill Sonia, or get Belikov out of prison. Three bad options, and he's choosing the most desirable one, even if it means working with Mickey.
Ray Donovan has often been a show filled with great guest stars, often in season long arcs. Look no further than Ian McShane (Al f*ckin' Swearengen himself) and Katie Holmes last year. But this episode was strange, since it contained two notable cameos. Dabney Colman appeared as an actor Ray attempted to blackmail in order to get the DA to drop the charges against Belikov. This plan that backfired, forcing him to go to Cochran. And Diane Ladd popped in to give Mickey a ride to Los Angeles, and in return demanded cunnilingus from him, with Mickey obliging. Two vey strange, but welcome, cameos from two acting legends.
This episode makes it evident that the marriage between Ray and Abby is slowly becoming the strongest aspect of the show, and the two scenes that bookend the episode prove that. The first is in many ways a repeat of their scene last week, as Abby reaffirmed that she will not get treatment, while the last featured the two looking back on a strange day for them both, before singing Bob Seger's "We've Got Tonight" to each other. Both characters have spent long stretches of the show at each other's throats, and so it's satisfying to see them happy together, helping to show us why they got married in the first place. The chemistry between Schreiber and Malcomson is terrific also, which helps.
The show does still seem to be spinning it's wheels in other areas however. We got a brief check-in with Hector and Marisol's incestuous reltionship (in case we had forgotten it, the episode opened with a sex scene between the two), and I'm not entirely sure how, or if, this subplot is going to tie in with everything else this season. Bunchy, as a character, is still drifting without a substantive plot line, and Daryll hasn't really done much at all this season. Add to that the looming plague that is Bridget's romance with Ken Cogrove (which thankfully doesn't make an appearance in this episode), and I'm still not entirly sold on this season. But there was a lot to like here.
Before I finish, I have to mention the bidet, and the fact that the District Attorney uses one. Seeing him use one was an odd bit of comedy, and I loved the reactions of Lena and Avi. The latter found it hilarious, while Lena was aghast due to the waste of water, exclaiming "We're in a f*cking drought!" This show is often incredibly dour, but it can be funny, too.
