Ray Donovan – “Come and Knock on Our Door” Review. When to Sell Your Soul.

Season 3, Episode 3

Airdate: Sunday, July 26, 2015 at 9:00 pm ET/PT on Showtime

Rating: ★★★★★

“This ain’t some Hollywood bullshit, Ray Ray. I know these guys; they kill people. They’re gonna kill Terry…You’re very good at putting people in these places but I’m the one who had to survive inside. I know what’s going on.” – Mickey Donovan

The majority of this week’s episode, “Come and Knock on Our Door,” deals with the efforts Ray (Liev Schreiber) and Mickey (Jon Voight) put forth to rescue Terry (Eddie Marsan) from prison following his fight in last week’s episode, “Ding.” In the meantime, Mickey approaches the prostitutes at the motel with a new business plan; Abby (Paula Malcomson) has trouble at home; and Bunchy (Dash Mihok) comes up with a way to make money for the Fite Club.

Ray doesn’t like the reason for Varick and Goldberg’s visit.

Ray is a battered man—both emotionally and physically. He’s drinking, seeing hallucinations, and spending his time watching old TV shows like Three’s Company. Despite that, he has several balls up in the air. Bunchy wants money to finance a Luchadora show at the Fite Club, and Ray must deal with the precarious situation Terry is in following the death of the Aryan he beat up last week. And while I appreciate Ray’s guilt for missing dinner, he could have chosen a better time to pay his daughter Bridget (Kerris Dorsey) a visit. Showing up in the middle of the night with a bloody, beaten face doesn’t assuage Bridget’s feelings. Girls need their dad and Ray’s efforts are severely lacking. Adding to Ray’s stress is a visit from Varick (guest star Jason Butler Harner) on behalf of Andrew Finney (guest star Ian McShane), with attorney Goldberg (Ray Abruzzo) in tow. Much to Ray’s distress, Finney wants to cover all his bases considering what happened last week.

Kevin takes Terry to solitary confinement for his own protection.

Kevin (guest star Mark Rowe) takes Terry to solitary confinement for his own protection.

Finally, some scenes with Ray and Mickey! I’ve been waiting for some conflict between these two since the season began, and their scenes together in “Come and Knock on Our Door” don’t disappoint. Their confrontation inside Terry’s prison reminded me of the previous seasons of Ray Donovan. Both Ray and Mickey want to get Terry out of jail but only Ray has the means to do that—initially. I got a real kick out of Terry’s first scene with Ray in “Come Knock on Our Door” given how awful each man looks.

Terry: “What the fuck happened to your face?”

Ray: “What the fuck happened to yours?”

While the scene begins with this brief bit of levity, it turns into one of the most heartbreaking scenes I have ever witnessed in Ray Donovan. Marsan’s portrayal of a sick, broken man broke my heart and nearly brought me to tears, especially when Terry declares in a choked up voice, “I love you, Raymond….” Regardless of what Terry wants or doesn’t want, there’s no way Ray is going to let Terry languish in solitary, waiting for another Aryan Nation inmate to put him out of his misery. What is most interesting about this plot point are the different methods both Ray and Mickey utilize for approaching the problem, each reaching out in their own way to Judge Wettick (guest star Tom Bower), the man who sentenced Terry to prison last season.

Ray finally gives in, using Finney’s power to get to the governor.

Guest star Michael McGrady reprises his role as Frank Barnes, the FBI agent responsible for “hunting down the notorious criminal Patrick “Sully” Sullivan.” Barnes is now the “Assistant Special Agent in charge of the Los Angeles Bureau of the FBI” so Ray approaches him for his help in getting Terry released. It’s amazing what some people will do to save their job, and Frank is no exception. I bet Judge Wettick is going to wish he had gone along with Ray’s suggestion, especially after Mickey pays him a visit. Ultimately, Ray has no choice but to turn to Finney for his help with Governor Tom Verona (guest star Skip Sudduth). They say every man has his price and that is true for many of the characters in “Come Knock on Our Door,” particularly Ray.

Bunchy realizes he can solve his problem when he sees this woman at the market.

We all know Mickey will do anything to make a buck but his proposition to the prostitutes at the motel surprised me, especially given what happened to his own daughter. The problem is Daryll (Pooch Hall) isn’t equipped to handle all the girls’ needs. Enter Bunchy, who Daryll talks into helping out. Poor Bunchy; he’s always put in situations he is ill-equipped to handle and make him uncomfortable, especially when he has to find “breast milk” for one of Ginger’s (Fairuza Balk) customers. While it’s sad, the scene with the Latina woman (Yelyna De Leon) in the supermarket is just plain funny.

Overall

Frankly speaking, I’m bored with Mickey and Daryll’s foray into the world of drugs and sex, and miss the tension-filled interactions between Mickey and Ray. Until “Come and Knock on Our Door,” Mickey and Daryll’s story line has been nothing more than filler. Thankfully, episodic writer David Hollander changes all that with the brilliant dialogue that highlights the intensity of Mickey and Ray’s embittered relationship. I’m also uninterested in Abby’s story line this season; it has no teeth—nothing that compels me to watch her scenes. Ray, on the other hand, well, he’s sold his soul, so to speak. Going forward, you know he’s going to be faced with jobs he will be loath to undertake, jobs that should spice up this season of Ray Donovan. I also can’t wait to see what happens next with Terry. Will he reach out to Frances (Brooke Smith) even though she hasn’t called him since his incarceration? It’s about time something good happened for Terry, don’t you think?

What did you think of “Come and Knock on Our Door?” Leave me a comment below or tweet me @SeasideTV. Let’s discuss!

Stay up-to-date with the series on the official Ray Donovan website: http://www.sho.com/raydonovan.

LIKE Ray Donovan on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/RayDonovanOnShowtime.

Follow the series on Twitter @SHO_RayDonovan. And follow cast mates Liev Schreiber (Ray) @LievSchreiber, Pooch Hall (Daryll) @iam_POOCHHALL, Dash Mihok (Bunchy) @dizmihok, Devon Bagby (Conor) @DevonBagby, Kerris Dorsey (Bridget) @kerrisdorsey, Steven Bauer (Avi) @thestevenbauer, Kate Moennig (Lena) @katemoennig, and Eddie Marsan (Terry) @eddiemarsan.

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Linda

Love TV, movies, and books--mostly mysteries, with a good love story thrown in every now and then. I have four adopted dogs who I adore. I love trying new recipes, and enjoy eating what I make. English language perfectionist. Reading in bed, Italian food, warm weather, the beach, all types of games = favs!