Exsuscito Recap: Ray Donovan Season 3 Finale

The final episode in Season 3 of Ray Donovan was called “Exsuscito” and if Latin is not your thing, you can click here for a definition. By the end, there were quite a few dead bodies, including a certain vindictive and very foul-mouthed Armenian matriarch, so we didn’t quite get the title’s significance.

The episode began with a depressed and very emotionally damaged Paige Finney being stashed at a place safe from helicopters and others who “love to see the mighty fall.” Paige said there were more helicopters at her father’s house “than when OJ took the white Bronco down 405.” Then she tried to pin the blame for Varick’s murder on Ray. Sorry, Paige, we didn’t buy that. It was really because Varick wanted your father to come out of the closet.

Bridget flew the Donovan coop and went off to Santa Monica. She called Greg Donellen to get him in even more trouble while her mother, Abby, frantically ran around looking for her. Ray learned about the Donellen Problem from Terry when he got home. He was really pissed off that Terry and Abby kept him out of the loop and suspected Terry of trying to take over his role with Abby. They began to argue over Ray’s shortcomings as a husband and father when Abby returned. After more arguing, Ray got Donellen’s address while Bridget waited in a motel room for her instructor. She sent Abby a lying text saying she was at Mickey’s.

Both Terry and Ray headed in Mickey’s direction. He was the midst of a coke party with the hookers. Davros Minassian, meantime, got out of jail and went to see his doting grandma. She ordered some manti for him. “Prison food is shit,” she observed as Vartan offered him bread and pickles to go with it. She even tasted it to see if it was good enough for her beautiful, beautiful boy and, for once, they put enough sumac in it.

Michelle brought Mickey’s car back with an apology. Daryll went to hug her but she said she’s not worth it– her own mother hates her. They joined Mickey’s party. Terry showed up and Mickey tried to call Bridget back to get her location but she was now with Donellen and unavailable to her family.

As Ray approached the El Dorado, he saw armed Armenians headed towards Mickey’s. They blasted the whole room through the window, hitting Terry and killing Michelle. Ray shot at them and maybe killed one. Then he frantically ran calling for Bridget. Mickey and Ray had to get Terry to the hospital fast and Terry asked for a priest. Abby came and blamed herself for Terry being at Mickey’s. Ray blamed Mickey. For the record, Terry would not have been there if it wasn’t for Bridget’s lie.

The doctor explains Terry’s critical condition to a very numb and nauseous Ray. That was odd because Mickey was sitting right there and as Terry’s father, the doctor should have been talking to him. Maybe Ray told them that Mickey is a dipshit and they have to talk to him. Mickey told Ray they have to do something about the Armenians but Ray made it very clear that he wasn’t going to do anything with Mickey so the old boy left and decided to fly solo. Ray and Avi made their own plans and when they showed up to dispatch the Armenians, they got to watch Mickey take down Marco at the door and proceed to enter the premises against heavy odds. During the ensuing shootout, Vartan shot Davros while he was trying to shoot Ray. Avi then shot Vartan. Mrs. Minassian was the last Armenian standing. She pronounced death to the Donovans then delivered a stream of f-bombs worthy of a yet-unnamed senior citizen’s award while Ray pointed a gun at her. Mickey got the last f-bomb when he came up behind her and slit her throat.

Ray was shot in the side during that exciting melée and was bleeding. Still, he stalwartly continued his dogged pursuit of the lovesick Bridget who was busily trying to make sure her teacher would be a registered sex offender for real. Since he was already guilty in everyone’s eyes of being with her, she reasoned, why not be with her? It’s really hard to excuse Donellen for even being there. “Oh, it was his vulnerability.” Bullfeathers. He should have just called the police and told them where Bridget was and what she was up to. But since he didn’t, he got a beatdown from Ray even though he called the tryst off and sat there crying over his wife. Ray whisked his angry daughter off and she complained that she was suffocating from his need to control everyone. LOL. She was hardly under Ray’s control (or anyone else’s) for more than 5 minutes of the entire season.

Terry, it might interest you, was at St. Matthew’s Hospital but one of their priests wasn’t good enough. Ray had to go off to get Father Romano, the Servant of the Paraclete. Romano wanted Ray to confess his sins and after 36 years, Ray finally let it all hang out. He admitted to killing Father Danny but Romano need to know why. Ray was in both physical and mental agony here. He was only confessing to save Terry and, actually, that had to have been the reason he needed Romano — because Terry believed Romano had put the whammy on them. Finally, Ray gave up his deepest secret and greatest shame: that he let Father Danny molest him because he cared about the priest. Ray’s loss of blood from the injury finally kicked in and he collapsed when he left the confessional. Father Romano loaded him in the car and drove off, presumably to the hospital and we wouldn’t be a bit surprised if he took Ray all the way back to St. Matthews.

Old Donovans Go and New Donovans Come

Daryll took Michelle’s death really hard. He told Mickey how angry he was at his mother for giving him her husband’s last name when all he wanted to be was a Donovan. Now he wants no part of Mickey. Michelle, he said, brought the car back so Mickey could go away in it and that’s what Mickey did. He got in the car and went to Nevada.

As we know, Teresa wears the pants in her marriage to “Brendan” and she also wears a luchadora mask and smacks him around during sex. She called him a “mariquita” (little fairy) and Bunchy thought she called him Margarita. She made him go hiking in the middle of the night to tell him that she is pregnant. Bunchy didn’t know how to react. He could not figure out how that happened so quickly and was unsure of his ability to be a good father because of the sexual abuse history. Teresa said that is in the past and they will figure it all out together.

And that’s it for this season, except for our supporting cast post coming tomorrow.