Gem and Loan Recap: Ray Donovan

The third episode of Ray Donovan, Season 2 is “Gem and Loan” (7-27-14). Last week, we left Ray and Abby at her dream home in Trousdale that Ray is going to buy. Tonight, we open at a Mexican restaurant where Mickey’s new parole office has found him a job. Mickey would rather be on death row than peel another carrot, or so he says.

Getting Ray’s daughter Bridget into Bel Air Academy will necessitate involving Stu Feldman who put the kabosh on private school for the Donovan offspring last season because of Ray’s involvement with his girlfriend, Ashley. While Ray and Abby talk to Bridget’s current guidance counselor, she gets a text from Marvin Gaye Washington: “Where are you shawty?” and Ray tells her to put her phone away. Ray promises Abby that he can take care of Stu. As Ray approaches Bridget’s locker, she closes it so her father won’t see the photos of Marvin on the inside door.

Boston Globe reporter, Kate McPherson, is with LA’s FBI director, Cochran. He is telling her all about how Frank Barnes took down Sully even though he knows damn well Mickey Donovan did it. When she wants to know how Mickey is involved, Cochran says Mickey’s name never came up in the investigation. Kate also wants to know, off the record, if Sully’s girlfriend, Catherine, is in witness protection. Cochran says he never goes off the record. Ray gets a summons from Cochran who refers to Kate as the Lois Lane of the Boston Globe. Ray tells him how Sully strangled Catherine and Avi buried her. He assures Cochran that her body will never be found.

Skip to the bottom if you want to read about Stu Feldman, Abby and Bridget because we are dealing with the Mickey and Kate storylines first.

It’s my prescription, homes… it’s legal, man

Mickey takes “cinco” after peeling a barrel of carrots. While he is learning how he can be on parole and smoke marijuana, Ronald Keith shows up and says that ain’t happening. He has an ankle bracelet and a threat for Mickey. Be home by 6 pm or else. Claudette calls and Mickey arranges to meet her for dinner. Keith says his woman can visit Mickey at home but Mickey says she is his son’s mother and they have parenting issues to discuss. When Keith finds out their son is 30, he says Mickey’s ankle bracelet better not turn up on Hollywood Blvd. after 6 pm. Mickey wants to know why he is so important to Keith.

At the dump he has been forced to live in, Mickey tries to pry the ankle bracelet off so he can keep his date with Claudette anyway. Another resident, Long Story Shorty who has pancreatic cancer, comes by and brings Mickey some tools. He agrees to keep the ankle bracelet on his own ankle in exchange for a grilled whitefish dinner. Mickey bursts into tears over finding a friend. Shorty has a coughing fit and Mickey asks if he is contagious. Getting ready for his date, he asks Shorty for cologne. Shorty, quite the character, wants to know if it’s for a job interview or for a woman. When Mickey says a woman, Shorty says he doesn’t have any at all.

Ronald Keith suddenly appears demanding to know if Mickey thinks he is stupid. While he is being frisked, the expensive watch Keith is sporting sets off alarm bells. Mickey says his ankle bracelet fell off and Shorty comes to the rescue, claiming he’s been trying to fix it. Up to this point, Mickey’s coming close to being broken by all this, but now he knows why he is really in this fix. He asks Keith where he got the watch and how much he paid. The parole officer claims he bought it in a pawn shop. As he walks off, Mickey yells after him: “I bet you paid a lot more than money for that watch, didn’t you? Cost you a piece of your soul, right? Right?” Mickey calls Claudette and says he can’t make it and he doesn’t want her to see how he is living, but Claudette insists.

Meantime, Kate has been nosing around the Fite Club. Ray gets a heads up from Terry who didn’t tell her anything. Ray gets her background from Avi, who blocks her car in at the Fite Club to keep her there till Ray arrives. Ray spins her a yarn about how he and his “Pop” are close, Mickey is a tired old con who may know one Sully story if he even remembers who Sully is. He asks her to give Ricky a break.

Later, Kate watches a Sean Walker TV marathon with Amy, her roomie, and notices that Mickey is listed as a consultant on “Black Mass”, the one that ends with “Amen, motherbleeper!” She calls the Parole Office pretending to be from a coffee shop where Mickey has applied for work. Lupita provides Mickey’s address and Keith informs Ray of this dilemma. Ray instructs Keith to get Mickey out of there so he takes Mickey to meet Claudette. He is amazed that this classy black woman is the love of Mickey’s life and mother of his son.

Ray is there to greet Kate when she arrives at Mickey’s dive and he invites her out for a drink. She tells him that she knows when there is a story and she knows Sully was not in L.A. for 6 months as the FBI claims. She knows Catherine is dead or in hiding and she knows Ray and Cochran are trying awful hard to prevent her from finding out the truth. Ray replies that Sully would have said: “Kate McPherson, you’re a real pisser, you know that?,” She laughs back at him: “Ray Donovan, You’re a real pisser, too.”

What happens on Stage 6, stays on Stage 6.

Ray pays Stu Feldman a visit and runs into Ashley on her way out of Stu’s office. Stu wants to talk about his testosterone problems and Ashley’s costly ($800) makeover. They made her look so much like his son Jamie that he almost screwed him, we assume, by mistake. He can’t believe “Ray Donovan wants a favor from me”. Ray tells him about Bridget and Bel Air Academy and Stu says he wants porn star, Lexi Steele, “the Meryl Streep of the gang bang.” No matter what he offers, they won’t let Stu sleep with her. If Ray can find out what he has to do to get Lexi in the sack, Bridget can go to Bel Air.

Ray talks to Rick about Lexi’s availability for $20K. Rick informs him that he is Lexi’s husband and she is not a prostitute and what he is proposing is not going to happen. Lexi only bangs other professionals. Ray deliver the news to Stu who decides he doesn’t need Ray to get what he wants after all. Ray warns him that these are rough people but Stu sets up a scenario where he will play the role of the professional having sex with Lexi, while filming it with a handheld camera. In the midst of the “action”, Stu puts the camera down and Lexi hollers for Ricky “Camera down.” Stu claims he dropped it but Ricky knocks him for a loop. “I’m bleeping Stu Feldman,” Stu screams, “I own this bleeping town.” Ricky kicks Stu and kidnaps him.

Stu calls Ray with Ricky’s demand for $200K to release him. Ray meets up with Lena who got the money from Stu’s safe. As soon as Ricky opens the door, Ray punches him in the nose.Rick asks Lena if she’s ever done porn and informs her that the Indie Look is really in right now. As Ricky counts the money, Ray says if he takes the money, it will make Ricky a kidnapper and Lexi a whore. Ricky is unimpressed but Ray leaves with the money anyway and gives it to his bookkeeper to launder. Later Stu and Ricky are watching a scene for a Tommy Wheeler movie and guess who’s in it? Yes, Lexi. The film director is annoyed at the intrusion until he realizes that it’s Stu.

For sale is a sign. In escrow is a sign.

Abby’s latest tragedy is an encounter with Judy Hoffman, her soon-to-be next door Trousdale neighbor. Judy finds Abby’s Boston accent charming. Abby blasts the woman’s Valley Girl accent, calling it anything but charming and has second thoughts about moving to Trousdale. Later she visits the therapist and tells him all about Ray’s largesse, crying about her ingratitude. He writes down one word on a card: BRIBE!

Wrote it in Compton and they singing it in Tokyo.

Marvin Gaye Washington continues to pursue Bridget by text throughout the episode and when she won’t reply, shows up at her door. She says he doesn’t need her anymore now that he hangs out with supermodels and rock stars. Marvin says they’re not real. They go off to make out in his car and she asks him what it was like in Japan. Marvin didn’t see much outside of the hotel but the Japanese kids knew his song. Bridget mentions that they teach Japanese at Bel Air Academy. Marvin says why not just go to Japan with him?

Bunchy, Darryl and Conor were all MIA in this episode. Maybe next week, instead of going to Bel Air Academy, Bridget will go on the road with Marvin Gaye Washington and Conor will beat someone up at his new school after they move if they don’t believe it.

Supporting Cast of Gem and Loan