Last week saw Little Bill’s $4 million taken from his casino and from under Mickey’s nose. Ray Donovan heads back to all that money later in “Federal Boobie Inspector” as he works busily to get Belikov back on the street. Part of that plan deals with a “Natalie Wood” type twist that was surprising.
In this episode, Ray retrieves a confession from Ronnie Price (Dabney Coleman) that was kept in the late Ezra’s safe. On the taped bit of evidence Ronnie admits to killing his wife. Price’s statement, on the recording, says that he knew Suzi wanted “him” (someone else) and he struck her in the head with a boat hook and she fell into the water and drowned.
This entire scene seems evocative of film star Natalie Wood’s suspicious death in 1981. The 43 year old star’s body was found after an argument with her then husband Robert Wagner. Her corpse was floating in the waters off Catalina Island and there was signs of bruising. At the time there was a rumored affair between Wood and Christopher Walken and all three were on board the boat the night she died.
It is interesting to note that the taped confession of a younger Price sounds eerily like Wagner in terms of speech pattern and tone. As a point of interest, Wood’s family have placed Wagner as the number one suspect in her death, which was officially declared an accident.
Back to the episode: Ray has Lena watching Jackson Holt, the only man who can get Belikov released. Avi wants to kill Mrs. Kovitzky and Ray is rushing to liquidate his property to pay the woman off until Belikov can be discharged.
Mickey heads to Los Angeles to see his new granddaughter and gets a lift from the Pink Motel manager. Ray and Abby stop by to see Maria and Bunchy asks him to be the baby’s godfather. Neither Theresa nor Terry are pleased by this turn of events.
Mickey’s ride serenades him with “Plastic Jesus” and Ray tells a grateful Lena to stop watching Holt. Donovan visits Ezra’s widow and retrieves the evidence he needs to blackmail Price.
Mr. Price is shaken as he listens to his earlier confession and Ezra helping him to craft a statement. Ray tells Price to force Holt to drop all the charges against the Russian. Price complains that Ezra promised “this” would go away and never come back. “Ezra’s dead,” Ray says as he leaves.
He gets a call about Hector Campos and Mickey’s ride pushes the eldest Donovan into having sex to get to L.A.
Campos overdoses and after he and Marisol have sex, Hector collapses. Marisol calls Ray and he revives her brother. Lena visits Abby with her ex; a breast cancer specialist, at her bosses behest and Abby is initially resistant.
Mickey stops by the gym to a hostile reception from Daryll and he tries to talk his son into the $4 million retrieval deal. Theresa is not pleased to see Mickey at all and she refuses to get Maria. Mickey leaves without seeing his granddaughter.
Daryll tells Ray that Mickey is back in town and that he stopped by the Fite Club. He also mentions the money. Theresa tells Bunchy that she wants to move back to Bakersfield to be with her people.
Terry tracks down the kid that Daryll almost shot and talks him into returning to the gym.
Price arrives at Holt’s place, which is still under surveillance and as Ray and Avi watch, Price confesses to the old crime rather than do as he was told. Ronnie starts out well but then loses his focus and reveals that he murdered his wife.
Ray now has to come up with a plan ‘B.’ He asks Avi to see if anyone was arrested for the green horseshoe robbery and Avi tells Ray that the heist is legitimate and no one has been arrested.
Donovan heads to the batting cage and Mickey talks Bunchy into helping him get the money from the Indian. He offers him $200K.
After batting a few balls around, Ray tells Avi that they should get rid of Kovitzky. He changes his mind when he sees the skateboard girl’s Federal Boobie Inspector shirt; it says FBI on the back and he decides to visit Ed Cochran.
Abby is talked into getting her cancer treated by Lena’s ex at at the strip club.
Ray goes to a karaoke bar where the former FBI agent Ed hangs out. The two talk about Canadian rock groups and Cochran comes up with a criminal with more PR value than Belikov. He says that Holt will trade the Russian and it will cost Ray $2 million. Ed also forces Ray to sing Bob Seger at the karaoke bar.
At the Fite Club, Ray tells Bunchy he is not helping Mickey. After some initial resistance Bunchy leaves. Mickey and Ray talk about the money and “the indian” as well as Pinkie, who Mickey calls an “inbred desert rat.”
Ray tells Mickey that he will pick him up and his father is stunned that Ray is going to help. Donovan goes home and tells Abby he does not want her to die. She tells him about feeling the doctor’s “tits” and kissing her on the mouth. Ray says, “Well that plan sure backfired.”
Abby and Ray share a moment and after they kiss, the couple sing Bob Seger’s “We’ve Got Tonight.”
Apart from the rather surprising Natalie Wood connection at the start of the episode, “Federal Boobie Inspector” continues to have Ray busily trying to save his family. It featured the return of Marisol, and it looks like she and Hector will be together despite his best intentions earlier.
Ray is desperate this week, so much so that he almost okay’d killing Kovitzky, and now he will work with Mickey to get that $4 million. Next week looks to be quite fraught as both Ray and Mickey appear to get in over their heads.
(By the way, did anyone else notice that Waller’s driver appeared to be Welsh actor Richard Brake?)
Ray Donovan airs Sundays on Showtime. Do not miss this brilliant drama.
CAST:
- Liev Schreiber – Ray Donovan
- Eddie Marsan – Terry Donovan
- Dash Mihok – Bunchy Donovan
- Paula Malcomson – Abby Donovan
- Kerris Dorsey – Bridget Donovan
- Devon Bagby – Conor Donovan
- Jon Voight – Mickey Donovan
- Pooch Hall – Daryll
- Steven Bauer – Avi
- Katherine Moennig – Lena
Special Guests – Embeth Davidtz as Sonia Kovitzky and Hank Azaria as Ed Cochran.
Mikes Film Talk 