Cancer Recap – Rake

Keegan Deane has to defend a client who is guilty as sin in “Cancer,” the third episode of Season 1 of “Rake” on FOX. But, as he tells his secretary, Leanne, “I don’t need them to find her innocent. I need them to find her not guilty.”

We open with Kee in a poker game with skateboard legend Tony Hawk. Kee teases Tony about his “tell,” but goes too far when he says it’s girly and on top of that, wins the hand. “The Hawkman goes down,” Keegan gloats, “Faster than a 1080 on a mega -ramp!” Tony gets pissed and now he refuses to show up at a fundraising event at Finn’s school. Kee worries not a bit about disappointing his son, confident Hawk will get over it. Two goons show up and haul Kee off and it has nothing to do with Victor this time. Kee owes $11,000 to a Chinese lady named Debbie Lee. He lays his homelessness problem on her and she wants him to rent an apartment from her aunt. She wants his watch too.

A lady named Carol Grady takes her kids to school. One of them is in a wheelchair and has a bald head. As the older boy wheels his brother away, other mothers offer Carol sympathy and she offers them baked goodies. The police show up and haul Carol away for fraud in handcuffs.

Kee gets the case (how does Keegan get these cases?) and just as he’s thinking there will be some sweet publicity, Leanne informs him his client is guilty. She’s seen the tests and little Bobby is perfectly healthy. Mom worked for an oncologist and faked the tests. She’s been pocketing the insurance checks and even stole from the police toy drive. No possibility of a mistake. The child hasn’t even had chemotherapy and Carol shaved his head herself. Kee confronts his client with these facts but she pretends to be hurt by the accusations.

Just like in the last episode, A Close Shave, Kee pays a visit to one person who really cares if Carol goes to jail. Carol’s oldest son, Greg, continues to play his role until Kee gets through to him that his mother will be in the slammer a long long time unless that money turns back up. Greg confesses that Mom spent it all, $318,000, and he tells Kee where.

Even though he’s been in trouble at the casino in Greg’s info, Kee heads over there “on business.” He is warned that any gambling is cash only. Spying an old lady walking away from a slot machine, he goes over and drops a coin in. The next spin is a jackpot of over $15K. (That would never really happen on one coin, would it?) Collecting his winnings, Kee shows Carol Grady’s picture to the casino cashier and gets the lowdown on the extent of her gambling addiction. It ain’t good news. He also calls Debbie and says he has her money.

At Carol Grady’s trial, between the clean medical tests and the casino cashier, the prosecutor easily proves Carol knew what she was doing. Leanne says it wouldn’t be that bad if the money went to mortgage payments or the water bill, but gambling? Leanne arms her boss with “everything social media has to offer” on the jurors so Kee goes to work on their addictions. He persuades them that Carol was helpless in the face of her addiction and the pressure placed upon her by the casino, who thinks of her as a “whale.” gambling jargon for the big losers. They supply with her a town car and other free perks, all designed to “keep her close” and exploit her gambling addiction. “Could you stick to your diet if a doughnut truck showed up at your house?” he asks.

Keegan pays a visit to Mikki where their session is interrupted by her pimp, Jules, another creditor who can provide a beatdown unless he gets paid for 10 sessions. Each session with Mikki is $500 so there goes $5,000, but he still has enough to pay Debbie.

Throughout the episode, Keegan keeps trying to get Tony Hawk back on board for the school auction. Besides not disappointing Finn, he also wants to impress Stacy Mullen, Finn’s very attractive English teacher. Tony Hawk won’t takes his calls and, through his manager, offers Ian Ziering or Heather from Celebrity Diving in Tony’s place.

At the fundraiser, Keegan covers Tony Hawk’s absence. There’s the pressures of being a celebrity skateboard person. Tony Hawk needs their prayers. Kee’s ex-wife Maddie is there with her boyfriend, Bruce. Kee gets Bruce into a “pissing contest” on an auction and ends up owing $12,000 for what he thought was going to be a week-long trip to Kauai. It’s a bench decorated by third graders with paper cutouts. There goes Debbie’s money and Kee again finds himself at the mercy of her ugly goons, er… cousins. He is forced to rent the Echo Park apartment but on the plus side, Debbie’s aunt thinks he’s hot, there’s a Chinese restaurant downstairs and he’s got a nice bench.

Kee gives Finn a set of keys to “the man cave.” The episodes ends with one last encounter with Tony Hawk in the casino. Tony has banned Kee and his whole family from his skate parks and his roller coaster. Keegan says “I can be a poor sport, too. Let’s play.”

Cast of Cancer:
Greg Kinnear – Keegan Deane
Miranda Otto – Maddie Deane
Ian Colletti – Finn Deane
John Ortiz – Ben Leon
Necar Zadegan – Scarlet Leon
Tony Hawk – himself
David Harbour – David Potter
Jeffrey Nordling – Bruce
Annie Mumolo – Carol Grady
Alexander Eckert – Bobby Grady
Niki Baur – Greg Grady
Cedric Yarbrough – Jules
Bojana Novakovic – Mikki
Elizabeth Ho – Debbie Lee
Jama Williamson – Stacy Mullen
Bernard K. Addison – Principal
Kelly Sullivan – Wendy
Tyler Tuione – Debbie’s cousin
Darin Heames – Casino Cashier
Jenna Ortega – Zoe Leon
Mae Hi – Mrs. Wu
Barry Levy – Judge
Eva Tingley – Joyce
Mary Gallagher – Alice
Marlon Correa – Police Officer
Nick Vallelonga – Pit Boss
Gamblers – Price Carson, Michael McGee
Jurors – Carmine DeBenedetto, Marlan Clarke