Ray Donovan – “Walk This Way” Top Five Moments. Happy Birthday, Conor.

Season 2, Episode 7

Airdate: Sunday, August 24, 2014 at 9:00 pm ET/PT on Showtime

Rating: ★★★★★

“Conor wanted the family, Conor got the family.” – Ray Donovan

Conor’s birthday party starts off with a traditional Donovan celebration.

Abby (Paula Malcomson) is way out of control, acting like a teenage girl on her ‘date’ with Jim Halloran (Brian Geraghty), and not giving any thought to the fact that it’s her son Conor’s (Devon Bagby) birthday. Ray (Liev Schreiber) doesn’t remember either, but at least he asks what Conor wants. I’m not so sure a party with the entire family is such a good idea, though. There’s a lot of unfinished business among all the Donovans but especially with Mickey (Jon Voight). In the meantime, Ashley (guest star Ambyr Childers) is back, along with that crazy self-help guru, Steve Knight (guest star Eion Bailey). They need Ray’s help dealing with Bob Lapecka (guest star Collin Christopher), a stalker from Ashley’s past who, once again, has Ashley in his sights.

Moment #5

I bet most of the men—and some of the women—watching “Walk This Way” would like to get the same kind of birthday wish Conor gets from Ray’s client Tommy Wheeler (Austin Nichols) via Skype. Here he is, feeling down in the dumps and Wheeler has three nicely endowed women bare their assets for Conor, each one saying the special message that’s written across their breasts—“Happy,” “Birthday,” “Conor.” That would pick up any teenage boy with raging hormones! I love that Conor calls out Ray for forgetting his birthday. What kind of parent does that? Abby is no better, though. She’s sitting in a motel room with Jim, ready to do the nasty—until Ray calls, wanting to know where she is.

Moment #4

I bet Ray is sorry he went down that road again with Ashley. Now, she won’t stop calling him. But when Ray finally answers the phone, it’s Knight on the other end. You remember him from last week, right? I thought for sure there was going to be a problem when Knight asks Ray, “Did you fuck Ashley last night? Because when I fucked her this morning, I felt very close to you, Ray.” I tell you, Knight is not right in the head; he seriously creeps me out with all his psycho-babble. What kind of person admits, “When I was 12 years old, I jerked off to my mother breastfeeding my baby sister?” Knight is trying to goad Ray into telling the truth, to “unburden” himself, but it’s not about what Ray thinks. Ray just stands there, stoic as ever, until he decides how to answer. “I think you’re a fucking asshole. I’m just using you for your money. We good now?” Ray Donovan sure knows how to bring the laughter in a very intense scene. The real reason Ashley calls Ray is to ask for his help in dealing with Lapecka. Things are different this time around; Lapecka doesn’t want to hurt Ashley. I think he’s onto something when he tells Ray, “I’m protecting her…he’s [Knight] the bad guy, not me.” I wonder whether Lapecka is going to be Ashley’s knight-in-shining-armor somewhere down the road. Lapecka is supposed to be a scary stalker; he’s anything but. Kudos to Christopher for pulling off such a sympathetic character.

Moment #3

Frances and Terry aren't happy with Ray's reasons for not selling the club.

Poor Frances and Terry. It’s not easy to hear your dreams being squashed like an insignificant bug.

Frances (Brooke Smith) and Terry (Eddie Marsan) don’t get the news they want to hear from accountant Harriet Greenberg (Jayne Taini) when they inquire about selling the fight club. Harriet informs them they can’t sell without Ray’s consent since he’s got the majority vote. Terry is certainly fooling himself if he thinks for one minute Ray will agree. First of all, Ray doesn’t trust Frances, and secondly, Donovan’s Fite Club serves a purpose only Mickey and Ray know about. Think about it—most days, there aren’t any boxers there. So how does the club sustain itself, financially speaking?

Moment #2

Bridget (Kerris Doresy) decides to go behind her mother’s back when she sneaks out to attend a recording session with her boyfriend Marvin (Octavius J. Johnson). But Bridget’s plans are squashed when Ray intervenes, sending Marvin and Cookie Brown (Omar J. Dorsey) on their way and Bridget to her room. Ahh, first love; I remember it well. I know she says she loves Marvin, but at her age, she doesn’t really know the first thing about love. She would be better off listening to her father’s advice. But given how angry Bridget is at both parents, I doubt she’ll do that. Interestingly, Cookie says something curious to Ray before he leaves. He needs to meet with Ray and Lee Drexler (Peter Jacobson) about some “business.” I wonder what kind of business a drug dealer and former con could possibly want to conduct with Lee and Ray. Bridget is in way over her head with these people. One way or another, she’s going to get hurt.

Moment #1

I knew there was a reason I didn’t trust Stan!

It’s the night of the party and everything seems to be going smoothly. Mickey is there with Daryll (Pooch Hall) and his mom, Claudette (Sheryl Lee Ralph); Bunchy (Dash Mihok) brings Stan (Ryan O’Nan), a friend from his abuse support group to the party; and Frances is there with Terry, despite her hesitation to go. It may look like everyone is getting along but it’s more like a powder keg waiting to go off. And when it does, it produces quite a domino effect. Mickey tells Bunchy and Stan a raunchy joke about a priest that prompts Stan to do something that disgusts Bunchy. Mickey also gives Conor the keys to his car even though the kid is only 14 years old and can’t drive yet. That brings back memories for Claudette and Daryll about what a crappy father Mickey was, and still is. Then, it looks like Bridget and Ray are having a good father/daughter moment, despite Ray telling her she can’t see Marvin again…ever, when she questions him about loving someone who’s wrong for him. It’s almost like Bridget wants to get back at Ray when she tells him, “Mom came home at 2 am last night.”

Conclusion

Once Ray finds out Abby was out late the previous night, he takes out his fury on Terry.

“Walk This Way” is Liev Schreiber’s first attempt at directing a TV show and outside of one scene, he does a fairly good job. I don’t particularly care for the way Schreiber shoots Ray stumbling down the stairs at the party. But, even though Schreiber succeeds as a director, unfortunately, “Walk This Way” doesn’t really do it for me. The one part I enjoyed tremendously is the fun line dance Mickey, Claudette, Conor, and Bunchy do. Outside of the last ten minutes or so, the episode is more filler material than anything else. Those last ten minutes, though, more than make up for the rest of “Walk This Way” as all hell breaks loose at Conor’s birthday party. An extremely inebriated Ray tells Terry the truth about bringing him to L.A. and opening the fight club. I feel so sorry for Terry having to hear such spiteful, hateful words from Ray. Ray may be drunk but that’s no excuse. I’m not sure Frances does such a smart thing when she walks out and tells Ray she knows he killed a priest. I can’t help wondering whether Terry and Ray will ever be able to repair their already wobbly friendship. They may be brothers but it’s going to be hard to forget what Ray says, let alone forgive. And how about what Daryll does to Mickey’s car—the one he gives to Conor? My heart goes out to Daryll. All he ever wanted was a father but we all know Mickey has never filled that bill for any of his kids. The worst part is that Mickey doesn’t understand how Daryll feels. And, of course, there’s the discord between Abby and Ray. They seem to be growing even farther apart than they ever were. Perhaps the best scene is the last—Ray and Conor connecting, dancing to Aerosmith’s “Walk This Way.” I had no idea Schreiber has moves like that!

What did you think of “Walk This Way?” Do you agree with my Top Five Moments or do you have something else you think I should have included? Leave me a comment below or tweet me @SeasideTV.

Tune in to Ray Donovan, Sundays at 9 pm ET/PT, only on Showtime.

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

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

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

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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!