Ray Donovan

I had to stop watching about eight episodes in because I couldn't take the whiney wife. Why the hell did they give the part to someone from Ireland, who then completely failed at the notoriously difficult Boston accent?

Past that, the part as written makes no sense: why would sex-on-a-stick Ray be with this pasty-faced, completely asexual, nag-a-tha?

And there was zero chemistry between Ray and the Harpy. Too bad because I wanted to see what happened, although other stuff bugged too.

Off and on I watched a few episodes. Show was a BIG letdown. I expected a show about the slick Hollywood fixer and instead got a soap opera with his dad and family.

I thought the show was great! I discovered it only recently, so I got to bing watch the whole thing. I'm looking forward to the new season.

I love the gay action hero and all his problem, and how Ray is kind to the actor's boyfriend.

Is anyone watching this show? The new season started tonight.

Ray's wife Abby looks to be gone, more or less, so if she bothered you, come on back. The first episode is called "Abby," but that's misleading. It's sort of about everyone else.

Great ep, excellent (and expensive) song selections...

"Madman Across The Water" finale especially. Wise choice.

Also, Sarandon was surprisingly enjoyable. Nice work.

Best opener since S2.

Ray is the kind of guy who takes his wife and kids for granted until they're gone.

Then he falls apart.

Is Abby dead? Yeah, she was very hard to like.

AHAHAHAAHA. You think Angelina Jolie watches television? Please, she can't wait to tell people that she doesn't.

R7, it's a big spoiler. But the kids have moved out, Abby is out too.

Conor was sent to military school! Last seen wearing a uniform sitting in a military-looking bunk room.

He's no Grace Hanson.

I'm with R2. Yawn. It should be more about Hollyweird and not boxing and a little JV goes a LONG way.

Abby is dead. Hated her character.

I liked Abby and I am sorry if she is dead.

She is the most "present" dead person I've ever seen.

I'm finding it hard to follow, with all the flashbacks that appear to be in the present.

I'm watching a recording of the show now.

[quote]Past that, the part as written makes no sense: why would sex-on-a-stick Ray be with this pasty-faced, completely asexual, nag-a-tha

They've known each other since childhood and share a lot of history, having grown up in Boston and moved out to California together. Also, being Catholic at least in name, they'd be inclined to stay in a rocky marriage rather than get a divorce.

Who else loves Hank Azaria in this?

I love Liev Schreiber. But I gave up in the first season because the wife is irritating and Voight is nauseating.

I wondered if there was a reason they wrote the wife off the show. She seemed pissed about being out, although it sounds like she's still working through most of the season.

She made some weird comments about Liev Scrieber's style of acting, which sounded more Method than hers. She seemed to be describing the care and effort he put into his role as annoying to her personally. She said she wouldn't take the role if it were offered to her today. Then she seemed to be reaching for anything positive to say about him at all and said he was good at doing stunts. It was kind of "damning with faint praise."

The impression I got was he was all right and she was a bitchier version of Abby Donovan. Maybe she was just a bitch on set so they decided to write her off.

That was the last year of their contracts so maybe they decided to let her work it out while explaining why the character never came back.

R15, it skips around a lot. Watch it again, the second time makes more sense.

It looks like Abby was angry and bitter about her illness. When they came back from Las Vegas, Mickey mentioned the pest control guys looking for raccoons in the walls and said, they haven't found anything yet. Abby uses an angry expression and says, they'll never find anything, meaning she received her diagnosis in Las Vegas and now knows what's going to happen. Ray gently says, "Abby," meaning not to discuss it further with Mickey, or maybe not to take out her anger on Mickey. She looks at him and says she's going to lie down. That's their relationship in a nutshell right there.

Watch it with the subtitles on, it helps you catch all the nuances. Judging from the comments by the showrunners, They kept saying Ray goes very dark. I think Abby has been quietly keeping him human, lousy marriage and all. He's so repressed he can hardly talk to anyone about anything. How can he start a new relationship with anyone when he can't even speak about his feelings in even the most trivial way? She just accepted it, resentfully but she accepted it.

I would watch this show only if Ray hatefucked some man. Otherwise, it's pretty boring.

This season is already a total disaster. It's completely changed in tone and is unwatchable.

I tried to watch it but it seemed boring and gross.

OP it's funny you ask about Mickey being gay. I've been watching since the show started, and I totally forgot about that. In the beginning, they implied that Mickey was pretty much up for anything sexually. And that he indulged with men every now and again. He even tells Connor (Ray's son) words to the effect of "it's ok to be with men once in a while, but not to be gay. You need to be married blah blah blah"- kinda what Big Daddy says to Brick in Cat.

They totally dropped that aspect of his character. I think it might only be in season 1.

R23: in season 4, Ray tries to get Mickey moved to the so-called gay wing in prison so as to protect him from "the Russians." He succeeds, after Mickey has correctly answered a number of questions from a prison administrator about "gay life." At one point, Ray casually tells Terry or Bunchie (I forget which) that their dad "blew some guy in prison."

To each his own of course, but I find this show compelling. i LOVE this show. Flame away.

R24 I hadn't remembered that. Glad they didn't drop it entirely.

The show has been good about giving work to a number of past-their-prime actors, including Rosanna Arquette, Lisa Bonet, and Katie Holmes (and, of course, regulars Steven Bauer and Kate Moennig).

^^I would include Liev Scrieber in your list.

R27, I agree with your comment, but Katie Holmes was absolutely awful. She made what could have been a good season almost unwatchable, remember her 'braces'?

I can't watch it because I once sat next to Liev on a bench on Bond Street and he was shouting into his phone for five straight minutes. He literally said three words over and over and over and over again ("Fuck off faggot fuck off faggot fuck off faggot" etc .... ) and then kicked a wall and walked away cursing to himself.

The beginning of the "say 5 nice things" segment brought back memories of the Shelly Duvall song in "Popeye." He's large, he's strong.

The actor who played the sister-fucking boxer Hector Campos in season 4 was hot as hell.

I also love the dynamic between Ray, Terry, Bunchie, and Mickey, and completely buy them as brothers and father/sons. Eddie Marsan, in particular, is fantastic.

I agree the acting on the show is stellar. I remember kind of losing the thread of last season. Toward the end it was hard to tell what was going on.

This season Terry had surgery which is temporarily suppressing his Parkinson's trembling. So it will be interesting to see how long that lasts or what side effects there are. And how Terry acts when he is healthier.

They have not told us yet, anyone have any good guesses what happened to finish of Abby?

Looks like she had a brain tumor.

Susan Sarandon is playing the most Bette Davisish role she ever played in this

R35, I think what happened is that Abby had breast cancer, she didn't get treated early, and it metastasized and spread to her brain. Then she died of a brain tumor.

This actually happened to a friend of mine. Her stupid doctor didn't do a masectomy right away when it was more likely to be survivable. I think she was trying very hard to keep her breasts. In the end it went to her brain. She became very angry and snappish due to pain so it will be interesting to see if they show that. Not even morphine could control it.

I think the truth about Abby is that she refused to have her breasts removed because Ray cheated all the time and she was afraid that without breasts he would just fuck his mistresses and ignore her completely. I wonder if at some level Ray understands that and is overwhelmed by guilt?

I think she thought she couldn't compete with the many other women he slept with and would rather die from cancer intact than live mutilated and ignored. He was her everything and she couldn't bear to lose him. I think she was well aware she was going to die but was just trying to put off dealing with it until "tomorrow."

Right to the end, she didn't think about her kids' feelings about having a dead mother, only her relationship with Ray. Selfish to the end.

My friend also had a cheating husband and I think she waited too long for the surgery because he was everything to her too. Right after her death, he immediately moved in with another woman that obviously must have been around all through it. He had been avoiding the hospital and home, evidently to spend time with his mistress right through the worst of it. He didn't want to deal with a sick wife and they were married many years and supposedly "happy" too. Nobody knew what was really going on. She was trying to save face.

Namoi Watts is a closeted lesbian does this make Liev Schreiber gay?

and he dresses his son as Harley Quinn

She was foaming at the mouth, from the seizure...the last episode, I haven't seen the one today yet.

People made a big deal about the kid dressing as Harley Quinn but he's just a young kid who probably thinks she's cool. Doesn't mean anything.

R39, Ray's kind of floundering. Kids are gone, Mickey is living at the house and he doesn't even have the heart to fight with him. He's just lost.

I wonder if the fight at the bar separated him from his family. It's not clear yet. People seem to realize he's not okay. They keep saying, Ray's got a lot on his plate right now.

But he's dead quiet about it as usual.

Love Lieve and his probably huge cock and clickable shitter. Watched this the first season burvaftervthat it just got boring. It should have more Hollywood issues than wrestling and hate Jon voihght.

[quote]clickable shitter.

Wow, he is a talented guy!

Jon Voight really disappears into the character though. I'm not a big Voight fan either, but this is the tv role of a lifetime for him. He's perfect in it. Well meaning asshole tries not to fuck up but fails at everything.

Voight is the main reason I watch this. The most talented actor in the whole thing, along with Eddie Marsan.

I love this show and wish it wasn't on against GoT.

They did interviews (kinda) of the cast. They all talked about how close they are, even when not shooting. Eddie Marsan said he loves shooting. Since he lives in England, he only sees the cast when they're shooting. Hadn't thought of that. Made me feel even more sorry for Terry/Eddie.

Actually, the actors are all good, but the characters they're playing are incredibly irritating. Voight is terrific, but that father is so insanely destructive. Wasn't there a scene early on wherein Abby deliberately invited Voight to their house even though Liev told her not to. Or even EXACTLY BECAUSE Liev told her not to. It was like somebody inviting the vampire in.

I had to stop watching because I hated everybody so much, but there was one charming scene--and this is really not a series with a lot of charm in it--when Liev and his son were dancing together. Liev's steps were from another world.

I hate Susan Sarandon too, but she appears to be playing a stuck-up, venal, user asshole. She kills it, of course.

Typecasting, but still good casting.

I loved that scene, R46! The best scene in the whole series till now, I thought.

I think I missed something. That big dog that was in the car with Jon Voight's character when he went to the cemetery. I seem to remember the dog getting out, running away, and Abby sobbing because the dog, like Ray and the kids, left her feeling all alone. When did the dog come back?

[quote]I agree with your comment, but Katie Holmes was absolutely awful. She made what could have been a good season almost unwatchable, remember her 'braces'?

This is the point where I stopped watching Ray Donovan. Plus I saw the coming attractions with the "Russians" and they just looked so comic book. I really liked it up til then.

I'm surprised by Voight. I had no idea he was that good. I also despise him for his Right Wing Pro Trump thing...

John Voight is perfect in his part and I really hate Voight but he could not do a better job in this role.

I could not stand Abby, I could not stand Skyler in Breaking Bad either.

I loved Breaking Bad and wasn't crazy about Skyler either. I guess Abby was too strong to live.

R49, IIRC, one morning the dog just appeared at the sliding glass door and was let in, I think by Mickey who probably didn't even know it was missing. He just happened to be nearby when it showed up.

I think Abbey let in the dog and decided to keep it, right away. Her kids were giving her trouble, the dog wouldn't.

I LOVE the show, but I really prefer it when it focuses on the jobs he does for his clients. I loved Avi and Lena. Not so interested in his shitty kids and wife. Mickey is fun, though.

I don't like Jon Voight but I agree he's great in this.

Liev is looking rough...

I hate the wife and glad her character is dead.

I am still watching this because I've watched it since day 1. And there isn't anything good on TV at the moment...besides GOT.

Yes I agree, they should focus more about jobs and I want to see Liev get some action between the sheets.

Everything is different this season -- it's just not he same show.

The showrunners took a chance going this route and killing off Abby, but I don't think it's working. Too many flashbacks, too many slow, serious scenes.

I think we're going to find out that the reason for the family brawl at the wedding was because Terry slept with Abby -- and Ray found out. Terry ALWAYS had a thing for Abby, and I think he was there for her when Ray wasn't.

Susan Sarandon? I don't know how ANYONE can pass judgment on her role. In 3 episodes, she's appeared for a total of about 4 minutes.

Wasn't there a BI recently that a TV show does some major shake-up with its new season? I guess it's Ray Donovan.

Thank you, R54 and R55. Now that you mention it, I think I do remember the dog coming back.

From the cast interviews or whatever you call them, I think they are getting back to Ray doing the "Hollywood jobs" again. I still like the show.

"Clickable shitter"??

I agree with the people who don't like Jon Voight personally, but man, he is absolutely tremendous this in this role. It's really like watching a real person, you detect no "acting" at all. How can someone smart enough to create a character like this support Trump?

I honestly think it's maybe the best character on TV, even if the material isn't always up to the standard of his performance.

when did terry fuck abby?

We don't know if Terry fucked Abby, yet.....Maybe that is why Ray beat up one of his brothers? Hopefully we get some tidbits tonight...

VERY dissappointed in this year so far, have ZERO interest in Sarandons character, they are draggin the Abby story to o far, just show us how she died, is the whole season going to be a flashback with her? Too much Bunchie, weak character. Need more of the parkinsons brother, amazing actor.

I am not digging the flash backs.

This season is so boring. I was hoping we'd get more Connor with his new muscles.

Mickey kind of carried the last show. A laugh and a half. Hope he kills frank instead of avi.

Been watching season 1 on Showtime, amazed to see they basically showed us Ray blowing a priest on show number 2. Who remember these things a few seasons later!

I was hoping Conner would fall in with that hot fuckin' bi Tom Cruise but much younger type dude from the first few seasons.

Those lean, strung out bad boys always do it for me. Looks like they've phased him out, though.

I love Jon Voight's character, and love Abbey, though I hate the flashbacks. Love Ray, of course.

Agreed that I also want to see Ray's work more. I particularly love the hot action actor with the tranny friend. His quirky situation is a laugh riot.

Hated the girl-child, whoever, but liked Connor, and his friendship with the action hero.

Good show!

Gotta add, after binge watching the show, then Breaking Bad and Narcos, I felt totally "off". Had to decompress before interacting with normals.

that guy with the parkinson's is a really good actor!

I like twinky Connor. We need more of him, preferably shirtless all the time.

R70, fans were raising hell online at the prospect of Conor being "molested" by that guy. The writers were clearly headed in that direction, then backed off.

I have not watched any of this season yet but wish the fuckers would write about his Hollywood clients...there are plenty of good stories to tell.

They are back on track with that, R76. There's still plenty of Donovan family drama, of course, but there are three new H-wood stories currently playing out, too.

R75, well, you know the action hero guy has a problem with that dick sucking.

I laughed when the character refered to it as a "problem", as if he resisted with all his might, but couldn't resist.

Still like it, but the flashbacks are taking up precious screen time. WE GET IT.

The flashbacks have already ruined the season. I can't figure out what the hell is going on.

Predictions I made that didn't come true in the last episode:

• Thought drunk Bunchy holding the baby up in the air was going to drop her in the road and watch her get run over by a passing car.

• Thought Bridget's whiny-voiced boyfriend was going to die during sex or reveal his HIV+ status to her after sex

• Thought Conor was going to shit his wrestling leotard during the match because of the laxatives he took to lose those two pounds.

• Thought Mick was going to chop the black guy's head off on the fishing boat.

I missed the last episode. Conor was wearing a singlet? Oh my.

wow, he's gone up! Thanks for the pic R82

Sorry, i meant, "grown" up lol.

Yw. And yes, Conor's developed quite nicely.

I was glad that the show runners listened to the viewer feedback and wrote off the annoying Abby, but why bring her back via flashbacks for ten minutes of wasted airtime every episode of this season to date? Ironclad contract guaranteeing her screentime?

Getting annoyed with dumber than dumb Bunchie and his wife, too. Why didn't he give his money to Ray for safekeeping? I couldn't care less about Brigitte and Conor.

Gotta give the devil his due: Jon Voight keeps me tuning in every week; without him this mess would never have run past its first season. Bring back "fixer" Ray and his team and give us more of Terry.

Best Abby scene ever - Abby and Terry were shopping for a party they were throwing later that day at the house. It was early in the morning and Terry (shaking from Parkinson's) is loading the shopping cart with liquor.

This old lady gives him a dirty look and says "you should be ashamed of yourself". The old lady obviously thought he was drunk.

Without skippping a beat, and in her best Southie Boston accent, Abby says to her "he's got Pahkinson's you fucking cunt!" I laughed for a solid hour.

Speaking for myself, and I am unanimous in this, I think Bridget is more annoying than Abby ever was

Worst character on the show ever: "Mr. Donellen" (AKA Ken Cosgrove from "Mad Men" ), Bridget's borderline pedopredator math teacher.

WHET the other Jewish lawyer Ray worked for (not Sutherland), the whiny one that used to be on House?

Too funny, if you are substituting Donald Sutherland for Eliot Gould. Your inner MASH is showing....

R89, you made a good point. Don't forget about Katie Holmes though, she was horrible.

Hopefully Conor gets a spinoff.

Anybody watch this tonight? Poor Ray, he must be really depressed.

i did not need to see that woman's boobs!

I hate seeing Avi on the skids like this. Those Russians must have really broken him. Who's taking care of his Mom, or did she die and that's what finally put him over the edge?

So disappointed in last night's episode. Enough with the flashbacks, even the side stories are boring.

When has this show turned into a lifetime channel movie? Fuck a duck

I'm surprised Avi didn't tell Mickey, "Let me take care of my poor old mother.," when Mickey was ready to shoot him. Mickey would know about her. And Lena never says anything about where's Avi, or I'm worried about Avi, and she's very fond of him.

A Redditor accused Liev Schrieber of essentially writing out half the cast to get more airtime, which is stupid if true.

Maybe the network didn't want to pay for the extended cast, so they wrote out Abby, and limited time for other cast members? I know if a player is less than a certain number of episodes, they become a guest star or something, and can seek other work. It's like being a part-time worker. They are paid at a lower rate and are only guaranteed a certain number of episodes per season. What usually happens then is the person gets work on another show and leaves the show.

So maybe they're trying to gradually write out Conor and Bridget, they killed off Abby, Terry's wife and her family disappeared after one episode, Maria is on the road, and Terry is supposedly moving to NYC? That obnoxious priest is gone too. Sounds like they're dealing with deep budget cuts, maybe due to low ratings. Even the people still in the show are little more than cameos. The boxer Terry mentored was little more than a prop at the cemetery.

If they were going to do this to save money, they should have cut the cord quickly. They could have gone forward six months or a year, said Abby was sick of Ray's cheating and moved back to Boston with the kids, and written them out. Then make the show months later, Ray is over it, and back to his Hollywood job, with the focus there. Less time with the family. It could be the Ray, Avi and Lena show. And Susan Sarandon must have cost a fortune, why pay her if you don't have any money? People hate her and some are boycotting the show because of her. Did they sacrifice everyone else's check to pay hers?

I haven't watched the show. How much screen time does Kim Raver get this season? She is playing a doctor on the show.

If she's playing the lesbian doctor ex-girlfriend of Lena, not much. As far as I know she was only on the first one or two episodes, although it's hard to say because there's a lot of flashbacks about Abby, and they show this cancer doctor talking to Abby about cancer, as a favor to Lena.

Terrible season. Sticking it out only because I've been with it from the beginning. If this was the first season, I'd dump it.

Awful storylines that go nowhere, characters disappearing for many episodes at a time or appearing in one scene a week, a sadand depressed Ray, a Susan Sarandon who's wasted for 4 minutes a week....I can go on.

P.S. Nobody wants to see a dying Abby every week.

What have they done to my show, Ma.....

Thanks, r101.

[quote]Too funny, if you are substituting Donald Sutherland for Eliot Gould. Your inner MASH is showing....

LOL, that's exactly what I did. Brains are strange.

Was anyone worse in this than Elliott Gould?

Katie fucking Holmes

I'm willing to see where they're going. I feel for Bunchy, but he's right, he's so stupid.

Kim Raver is playing a surgeon named Dr. Bergstein. It is only a recurring role.

Poor Bunchy. I feel for that half-a-retard.

"Bergstein" is a 15-year-old alt-righter's idea of a Jewish name.

[quote]Poor Bunchy. I feel for that half-a-retard.[/quote]

The actor playing him (Dash Mihok) absolutely inhabits that character, R110. I wish he'd be in more roles elsewhere, he's fantastic.

I just started watching this and have like one more episode for the first season. It wasn't what I expected.

i have never seen such a great show turn to shit so fast. This show is ruined. SAD.

I'm sorry about Avi, but now that Frank is off his back, who knows, he may find out and turn up again.

Poor Ray is haunted by guilt about his shitty marriage to Abby. He's blaming everyone and everything but Abby. She was no saint either, she was a bitch right down to the end. Even when they were ice skating and trying to have a nice time last week she was bitchy. Ray was trying to make a nice memory he could remember afterwards and she just couldn't do that for him.

I think her bitchiness is part of the reason he's having such a hard time with it. She was bitter, and he knew his cheating was a big part of it. Ray was only married to his childhood sweetheart, he had nothing to compare her to. He honestly didn't realize she was a shitty wife and mother. He provided her with a nice lifestyle even though neither one of them had much education.

Ray's guilty conscience is bothering him so much, he thought Abby's bitchiness was because she was morally superior. He doesn't understand she wasn't, she was just a cunt.

I'm already up to the 5th season and I like each new season less than the last. So I'm worried.

^^^ Yeah, this season is a real turd. But I find it marginally more enjoyable if I FF through all the cretinous flash backs. Marginally

That being said, I thought that bit from last week where Mick was caught in the crossfire was really funny for some reason

Love the show, but I FF through the Abby parts. BORING.

And I cannot follow the whole thing with Bridget's cancer boy. Did Ray really make the kid sick? Bridget has terrible taste in men. And it doesn't even make sense, with her being a Daddy's girl.

R118 - Ray somehow made cancer boy sick so Abby could take his place in the medical trial but she was so sick of being sick and everything else that she opted for suicide and was helped along that night by Terry who admitted it to Ray last night and got a punch in the face for it.

I was excited when it was announced that Susan Sarandon was joining the show but she's only been in about three episodes so far which is disappointing. I was hoping she'd be in every one.

The jumping back and forth in time this season is a bit confusing in regard to cancer boy as well as Ray fucking the starlet who was there the night Ray and Abby went off the cliff.

Liev Schreiber had more chemistry with the Vinessa Shaw character than with the actress playing his wife.

Cancer boy is hot as fuck. Nudity, please!

Ray Donovan made the cancer kid sick? That seems way too close to Walter White poisoning that kid. Doesn't really seem in character.

They still haven't explained how exactly he did it.

I thought things finally started to heat up last night.

I like the way they dealt with Avi, and bringing the Hollywood element into it was fitting.

I agree that the infecting of the kid still makes no sense and hasn't even been confirmed, just speculated. Every time it's been brought up, Ray just gets sort of a "Huh?" look on his face and then they move on to something else. If it actually even happened, perhaps it was her sister?

It was disappointing to see Avi go because he was a fun character but with him largely missing in action this season and the wife dead (save for flashbacks), there's more screen time for the other characters now.

We don't know Avi is really gone. Frank wanted Avi dead and now Frank is dead. Ray needs to put Avi in rehab and take him back. Who's going to take care of Avi's mom?

I never gave Jon Voight much attention, just that he was good in Midnight Cowboy and The Champ, and was bad dad to Angelina Jolie.

But he is who I love in Ray Donovan. He is so good as Mickey. He is works magic with his dialogue and character.

Jon Voight disappears into that role. He's a famous actor, yet when I see him, all I think of is Mickey. Not one moment of "I wonder what Jon Voight is thinking or doing offscreen..." it's like there is no Jon Voight. Just a racist, Irish Catholic, jailbird dad from Boston.

That's quite an achievement.

This is for the OP from some time ago when first posted. Does Jon Voight play a gay character. Well they asked his kids.

Bungie: He dates me. I never know their names, he just brings them around sometimes. Terry: He's a gay man.

Corrections Officer: What is a size queen. Mickey: Someone that likes big dick CO: What is a Bear Mickey: A fat guy, hairy CO: What is a Wolf? Mickey: I don't know...you made that one up, that is a trick question.

LOL I don't know if the CO re- thought his decision to move Mickey into the Gay Cell Block after Connor blew up his game, because he couldn't believe that Mickey got women all the time, did he think that it was being laid on too think by the teenager that he was straight, or he knew they were lying but knew Mickey was going to get wacked if he didn't move him.

This was in Season 4.

Mickey's cellmate was moaning and groaning after eating Mickey's poisoned food, then sitting on the toilet. Mickey heard someone enter the block, got out his mirror, and saw it was the CO coming. Mickey got behind the cellmate and made it look as though he was fucking the cellmate. The CO saw that scene as he passed by; then he approved Mickey for the gay wing.

i really don't care about abby, I don't like to see her suffer like that. my mom died of cancer and it reminds me of that. I am not digging this season at all. and Liev has become quite fug. he was never that great looking anyways....

yes Mickey is very good.

r130, I guess I missed that, I heard him dying from the poison but I didn't catch that. Mickey is damn good.

His face is fug but I find him really hot.

Spoiler alert-tonight’s episode is all Abby. After fast forwarding through her parts, I watched the episode in under 5 minutes. At least Lena and Avi made brief appearances.

I liked tonight's eisode. Pretty much explained everything that happened to Abs, why Ray fought with his brothers, and showed Ray trying desperately to save Abs to no avail.

This is really the first time you see Ray let his hair down and just emit all the pain and grief he's always stifling. He could stifle all his anger about the molestation, his crappy dad, and god knows what other disappointments, as long as he had Abby to keep him level. He didn't freak out off camera, he did it right in front of you. He's had Abby so long, as a vent, he has no idea how or who to express himself to.

Now it's going to be off the deep end, wait and see. Liev so beautifully portrayed his real feelings. That's the first time the mask came off. Worth seeing if you ask me.

Very powerful stuff. Hard to watch, actually, but, yes, worth it.

Yes, it was a tour de force episode for Schreiber. Solid acting from everyone else, except for Abby, oddly. She did the little dab the nose with the kleenez followed by the scrunch of the shawl at least a dozen times. A little bit of that kind of acting "business" goes a long way.

I love Liev. I watched up till Katie Holmes came on. I read an interview with the writer/director (?) where he outlined the next season which was going to be about Abby getting cancer. In real life, the director's wife was diagnosed. I don't think it was that serious, but I could tell he was going to turn it into a big thing on the show. My mom and sis both had breast cancer and I decided to quit watching. Plus I was getting a little tired of it to tell the truth.

Reading comments about it online, I think a lot of people are like R138 and have had cancer affect their real lives, and don’t want to see it on television.

I had a friend die of cancer too, relatives had cancer they thankfully caught early and survived. But Abby’s gaunt, ghostly appearance is right on. I can see people not wanting to relive that when they’ve already seen it in real life. That’s not escapism, it’s like a bad flashback for a lot of people.

I’m reading a fiction story online about a character going through a serious cancer crisis, and it’s the same thing. Many people are writing in to say they can hardly bear to read it, or are waiting until the story is over to make sure it’s a happy ending before they read it through. Many of them have had bad experiences with cancer.

I wonder if the people that wrote this realize, it’s one thing to have a character fight cancer and live, or the viewer not knowing how it ends. But saying, “She’s dead! Wanna see how?” inevitably leads to “NO!” for many. Too painful and too real.

This episode was so good it almost makes me wish the show just ended on this and they went out on a high...

...but, four more episodes this season, plus it's already renewed for another year (I believe).

I doubt the show will reach the heights of this episode again, but I'll be watching to see if it does.

Great work from everybody. I wish the show was a little better overall since episodes like this prove it can be quite wonderful.

Anybody watch tonight? I didn’t understand the last scene with Natalie.

It seems pretty obvious she’s staying with Ray so people will think he’s the baby daddy of her kid. She doesn’t want anyone to know it’s the married director’s kid, so all she has to do is live in Ray’s house and people will add two and two and get five.

She’s a sociopath and doesn’t care about Ray, she’s just using him. Meanwhile he’s falling apart and she obviously doesn’t give a shit.

[quote]I didn’t understand the last scene with Natalie.

Murder-suicide was my assumption. The crazy ex knew where to find her because of the Stalkerazzi piece. So he then goes to Ray's apartment, kills her by strangulation (there were ligature marks on her neck) and then takes a header off the balcony. Since she was naked in bed, they may have had sex, or maybe she was that way waiting for Ray to come home, or maybe the guy even raped her after he killed her--think Star 80.

This has been an amazing season. The male prostitute in tonight's episode was cute.

Thanks R142. I thought the ex was shot, not jumped. Could he have killed himself in the street to frame Ray? Or maybe the real baby daddy did it to frame Ray?

R144, I thought that at first, too, so I backed it up and froze the shot of him laying in the street. There was blood coming out of his nose and a pool of blood under his head, which would seem to be consistent with hitting his head on the pavement. One thing that seemed odd to me, though, was the way he laid face up. Whenever you see the body of someone who has just jumped off a building, it's usually face down and kind of contorted, but maybe that's just dramatic staging. The fact that he left the dog with the bartender could imply suicidal intentions.

I am also wondering if this thing is going to blow back on Ray, whether by deliberate frame-up or just a really bad set of coinciding circumstances.

It was eerie seeing Jay Thomas looking so gaunt knowing he died soon after that.

I agree about Jay Thomas. Knowing he died not long after he looks so sick.

I wonder if they hired him so he would have enough working hours so SAG would cover his insurance. (I know somebody in SAG and if you don’t work enough hours you don’t qualify to be insured). If so, that was a really kind thing for them to do. I wonder if it was Liev’s idea.

Nice episode this week with some entertaining twists.

Very explicit gay sex dungeon scene was unexpected.

And, of course, Micky at the wild party playing butt bongo...

Liev looking in very good shape in the open shirt, too... almost works against the downtrodden nature of his character this year (when does he fit in the gym?), but no complaints...

I’m on the second episode of Season Three (I know, late to the party!) with Katie Holmes, and you folks weren’t exaggerating — God, is she wretched! Can’t tell if it it’s her character, her non-presence as an actress, or both, but this doesn’t bode well for my watching further. Ian McShane was a welcome sight, but so far, they haven’t given him much to do. Vinessa Shaw was really terrific on Season Two, I hated to see her go. Tastemakers on DL, should I continue watching?

Hank Azaria and Katie Holmes are MAGNIFICENT, the rest is whiny soap opera trash. Liev Schreiber just plays himself as usual.

R148 I wasn't bothered by Katie Holmes's acting. It was those fucking braces of hers which were so distracting. I couldn't stop staring at her mouth whenever she was onscreen. They did eventually explain why she had them but I wish they'd have thought twice and not given them to her to wear. As someone who wore braces as a kid I know they make speaking difficult at first which is something else that doesn't help an actress.

Thanks for the input, R150. I hadn’t even noticed braces yet, only scraggly hair that would have been more fitting on one of the hookers at Mickey’s hotel. I looked on IMDB, looks like she’s on all of Season Three — yikes!

R151 During the first episode I kept wondering if she had braces or something on her teeth or they were blackened by rot (for the show). They were an unnecessary distraction. Anyway, enjoy the rest of the season including the gay angle.

R148, Katie Homes eventually leaves the show and they never speak of her again. So there’s that.

Liver Schrieber plays himself? Jesus Christ, I hope not.

I saw someone ask him on a talk show if he liked to fight in real life and he said no, at least pretending to be far too delicate and spoiled to ever do such a thing. Maybe that was the acting, but I doubt it.

That blond hustler that Ray encountered on Hollywood Blvd that was later getting butt plowed at the sex club was beautiful! Who is he? If only LA street corner hustlers actually looked like that.

Poor Ray had a rough day in this one.

And could Bridget be any stupider? No.

Tonight is a good one. Check it out. Poor Ray. And finally we get to see Lena a little bit.

Mickey continues to be amazing.

Any comments on last night’s show?

God, I love this show. I loved the last episode. It's both arty and plot driven at the same time. Grit and grace.

I know most people don’t agree with me, but I liked this season. The story unfolds episode by episode and when you look at them as a whole, it all makes sense.

I feel sorry for Ray because it wasn’t until after or very near Abby’s death that he understood what she meant to him. And even right before the end, he is so emotionally repressed he couldn’t have expressed it while she was living. It was beyond him.

Now Conor is gone, and they’re saying next year Bridget will have a big storyline. So it will probably be Bridget and Smitty, Ray and Terry in New York. Maybe Bunchy too since he won’t have any ties to LA any more. And somehow Mickey’s got to get out of prison, because no way are they leaving Jon Voight in there unless they can find a good storyline for him in there for a while. He’s great in this.

It looks like Ray may be headed for more therapy. Or maybe just being around (cured) Precious Rainbow-Farting Unicorn Smitty will help him.

I want to see Smitty naked. He is hot as hell.

I agree with you, R160. I think this was a very strong season for each of the characters (except poor Connor).

Another big fan of this season. I think season 1, 3 (if that's the one where Ray gets shot) and this one are the best.

I've been avoiding this season, but it sounds like I should watch.

What happens to Connor? Is he just not in it much? He's a fucking hot little number.

Conor’s not around much. He goes to military school. I don’t think they’ve ever described exactly why, but it sounded like it was his choice. I think he just wants to get away from his fucked up family.

Conor in military school, that would be a good spinoff show. The one episode earlier this season that featured him had him wrestling at school, lots of singlet shots of his hot bod.

R166 holy fuuuuuuck. Ima start on this season when I git hizz-ome.

Anybody still watching this?

This season is pretty interesting. Mickey escapes from prison, managed to destroy Bunchy’s life and tonight got fucked over himself. Heh.

I’m also kind of wondering what’s going on with Bridget. She’s still with Smitty the Cancer Boy, but he’s now recovered and asked her to marry him. The thing is, she doesn’t seem to want to. She seems cold and detached like her dad. Trouble in paradise? Tonight Smitty turned out to be not so sweet and pure as advertised.

Sandy Martin was fabulous as the female version of Mick. I so thought she was gonna crash at the end and the money would go poof. I hate what Terry is doing.

Anyone recognize the restaurant where Anita and Ray were dining? They were also at its bar in the previous episode. Looks like a great place for a martini, if it's in NYC.

What’s happening with Ray’s hot twink son?

What car is Sandy driving? Is that her car or Mick’s?

R171 Ray's son went to military school.

Avi was written out because he had a drug problem. He wasn’t showing up for work. He eventually entered a rehab facility. I miss his character.

This season's ratings are way down.

I really like this new season but the dire ratings are not encouraging that this will continue beyond S6... hopefully, Showtime realizes they fucked up with the late release date (it has always been a late-summer show) and gives it one more season.

Also, holy shit is Brian J. White hot as fuck... what a body, especially considering he is 43. He's gotta be juicing, no?

[post redacted because linking to dailymail.co.uk clearly indicates that the poster is either a troll or an idiot (probably both, honestly.) Our advice is that you just ignore this poster but whatever you do, don't click on any link to this putrid rag.]

Bunchy broke my heart last week when he broke down in the church.

I just watched tonight's episode & every single one is falling the fuck apart except that SOB Mickey.

Ray started off the season with a suicide attempt & I wouldn't be surprised if it ends with him being successful.

Shit, this season is rough on all of the Donovans.

They've been advertising it incessantly on Hulu. When he says "Ray... Donovan" and looks up at the end, he looks so cute and sexy. I might have to watch it just for him.

This is my favorite season so far, so I hope the low ratings don't mean it's the end.

This has been an amazing season. I didn't think I'd like the location change, but the show has found itself again.

It's on Showtime, a subscription service. No one's watching it but a small number of people, anyway.

Ratings? What ratings? Renewed today for season 7. Now if only Bridg would fuck off

I’m glad. It’s a really interesting show. A lot of different levels to it.

I agree, this season is perhaps my favorite to date. I am *SO* thrilled that Lena has been fleshed out a bit more... her scene in this week's episode was her best yet and the actress is criminally underrated. THE L WORD was garbage but she was absolutely transcendent as Shane... a true "star is born" tour de force performance. She's incredible.

Watched tonight's episode early.

If I didn't know the show had been renewed I'd swear this season was leading up to Ray's suicide or Ray's murder.

Who was in that stretcher at the scene of the car accident?

When the camera panned to the face of the stretcher victim, it was Ray's own face. Other than that, it seemed to be someone he recognized. I thought maybe it was Bunchy, after getting the crap beaten out of him.

Tonight's episode was excellent from beginning to end. This show has truly been invigorated this season.

Next weeks previews look off the chain.

I can't believe someone thinks Kate "no range" Moennig is a good actress. She is serviceable at best in straightforward scenes but very weak whenever she needs to "emote." Plus, she always plays the exact same character (herself, presumably). Now if she were actually straight in real life and played Shane the way she did, THAT would have been Emmy-worthy. But she was cast simply because she had the right look for the part.

I love the interaction between the three brothers on this show, though.

The character Sandy has been great for some humor this season. The show has been so intense, bringing her into the show definitely helped ease the tension. It’s been a great season but sometimes hard to watch.

Aunt Sandy needs her own spinoff. She's brilliant.

The actress who plays Aunt Sandy was also a bad ass on Big Love.

What a great penultimate episode... this is definitely one of, if not the, best seasons of the series. I think the NYC reboot was a brilliant idea and I think the show has a good 2 or 3 more seasons left in it thanks to that. Of course, it has to end in Boston... only disappointment was Connor barely appearing. Hopefully we get to see a lot of him next year.

Connor is such a dweeb, but he’s a hot little twink dweeb. He needs to get his ass out.

Sandy is the best new character. She also plays Mac's mom on Sunny in Philadelphia. I was hoping they'd kill off Bridget. No such luck!

Ray Donovan through the ages. Apparently Ray is the same in every era:

“AMUNDSEN: Could you be a little more communicative, sir? These two and three-word responses grow maddening.

RAY: Sure.”

They’re having a Ray Donovan marathon right now. Probably because tonight is the finale.

Just watched the finale on demand, it's pretty great. I won't spoil anything, but I will say it could have made a halfway decent series finale if that's what they decide to do.

The show has already been renewed, R199.

I saw the finale too. I really liked it. A lot of loose ends were tied up.

In the past, some years the show seemed to end on a high note. I will say, this year it seemed to end on a hopeful note.

Not that everything is fixed and everything is going to be perfect. But you can see the way forward will have a lot of hard work in it, but also possibilities for redemption for at least a few of the characters.

If you like Ray Donovan, watch it.

That song they used at the end of the finale was beautiful. First time I’ve ever cried watching this. If Voight wasn’t such a right wing loon, he’d probably have five Emmys by now,

R1, just watched episode 1. Done. The plain jane wife made it unbearable.

[quote]I can't believe someone thinks Kate "no range" Moennig is a good actress. She is serviceable at best in straightforward scenes but very weak whenever she needs to "emote." Plus, she always plays the exact same character (herself, presumably). Now if she were actually straight in real life and played Shane the way she did, THAT would have been Emmy-worthy. But she was cast simply because she had the right look for the part.

This! And JFC, can someone give her a comb to get the hair off her face? She's had the same style for over a decade.

Some comments after binge watching:

How do these characters withstand the constant beatings? It's ridiculous how much they get beat up. And they aren't young. Even Mickie gets the shit kicked out of him on the reg --and he's in his seventies. And they recover as if by magic. Ray gets beat with a tire iron and gets up immediately to save the day in some other plot line. Stupid.

Ray--Hot. I enjoy his character most when he's doing what he does best - fixing 'problems'. The show would be better with more of this and less family drama. Love his tough guy persona. Don't like entire seasons dedicated to delving into his weaknesses.

Abby--dear God, what a nagging bitch. If you're so miserable in your marriage, just leave. Do something about it. How about a job or a hobby? How about showing a modicum of interest in your kids? Awful person. Can't die fast enough for me.

Micky--Wow. What a juicy role for an old actor. And Voit plays it brilliantly. Too much physicality though (see above re. beatdowns). The writers must not know any old people and what their bodies can take.

Terry--like the character and his acting but the actor really can't pass for Boston Irish. He looks Italian or Greek.

Bunchie--annoying man-baby with an unwatchable bitch of a wife.

Aunt Sandy -- love her. I want her to have her own show

Susan Sarandon - who is her surgeon? I must know. She looks fab. Nice juicy role for her too.

Lena - yawn......see R204.

Swearengin (McShane)---loved seeing him again, but he was under utilized as he was in GOT.

Katie Holmes- teeth were a distraction. Looked like she had meth mouth. Not buying her as a tough as nails character.

Connor-- I know you fat whores love his hot bod and cute face, but the character is dumb as a stump and an annoying brat.

Bridget-- she's fine, but her whiny BF is horrible.

Avi--bring him back. Love him.

Excellent end to an excellent season. I definitely think this was their strongest yet, which is very rare for a show that's been on for nearly 10 years. I'm so happy it's renewed, but this would have been a perfect series finale (as was mentioned upthread). I bet Voight will be back in the awards conversation if he submits this episode... the Joyce/DEAD speech was epic. Hopefully, we get more Connor next year (my only gripe with this season).

R205, the actor who plays Avi has drug problems in real life. He went to rehab several times.

These days, he’s very emaciated looking and unrecognizable as Avi. He looks strung out.

I’m guessing they wrote his drug problems into the show to explain why his look had changed and to write him off in some way. He looks even worse now, the last I saw. Maybe they hoped he would clean up so they left it open, but he didn’t.

People ask about him on fan sites all the time, he did a great job. What a pity.

Truly excellent season finale.

My only quibble was Bridget acting like witnessing all that murder & chain sawing was no big deal. Ray & Abby kept their kids insulated from all of that.

They had her passing out sandwiches for Pete's sake.

I feel sorry for adorable, good hearted Smitty, getting all wrapped up in this fucked-up family. His love for rat-faced Bridget must truly know no bounds.

Whatever I might think of the show in general, I can't fault the excellent cast. Schreiber, Voigt, Marsden and especially Minok are terrific.

[quote] My only quibble was Bridget acting like witnessing all that murder & chain sawing was no big deal. Ray & Abby kept their kids insulated from all of that. They had her passing out sandwiches for Pete's sake.

My take is that she was having some kind of dissociative break. She had already been held hostage and in fear for her life, so this was her protecting herself from further trauma by going into extreme denial.

So, Ray killed Sam. How is he going to get away with it? Surely Sam lives in a secure building with a doorman and camera. That was a big problem for me this season. Lots of criminal acts in buildings that surely had security.

Maybe Bridget realized they planned to kill her, and was so angry she felt they deserved it.

What I think is interesting is, why is she still mad enough at Ray to not let him come to her wedding? He saved her. You would think there would be some residual gratitude for that, but she just acts like she doesn’t give a shit about his feelings, even though she was upset he tried to kill hinsrlf. Being part of her wedding would go a long way towards making him feel he had something to live for.

I read an interview with the actress. She said she thought Bridget was really upset by Ray’s suicide attempt and loved him and wanted to help him, but that’s not on the screen.