Rattus Rattus Recap: Ray Donovan

In the Season 4 finale of Ray Donovan (“Rattus Rattus,” 9-18-2016), Ray is in a big mess with the FBI and is being pressured to wear a wire to the boxing match that Hector Campos is supposed to throw in the 6th round.

The episode opened with a dream Ray was having while in custody at the FBI offices. The Donovans are at a funeral. Everyone is sitting on one side except Ray, alone on the other side. Suddenly Abby disappears and a woman’s hand is shown fondling Ray. Father Romero is officiating and tells the Donovans how God sent an app to help him out when the 101 was jammed that morning. He looks straight at Ray and says: “I saved 10 minutes. It was unbelievable, Ray, 10 extra f–king minutes!” That part, at least, was hilarious. Abby was in the coffin and Sonia Kovitzsky was revealed to be the woman next to Ray while a female voice sang “Rock Me Gently” slowly.

And “slow” is certainly the word for this finale. There was some slow “dramatic music” (that was what the CC called it). It was playing through many parts and was barely tolerable. Have we become action junkies? Not really. The things that happened just didn’t match up with the slow dramatic music.

After he woke up, Ray was escorted to Frank Barnes office where the FBI Agent showed Ray all the files confiscated from his office. Barnes said Ray used to have some teeth but it was all over now and he was in way over his head. Sonia Kovitzky was brought in. Ray was instructed to set up a meeting with Dmitri Sokolov, who had left a message that he was expecting ringside seats at the Campos/Whittaker fight.

Barnes made Ray take Sonia to meet with Sokolov at the reopened art gallery. On the way, Ray learned that Frank Barnes promised to take care of Sonia’s daughter. He told Sonia that Barnes was a lying sack of sh-t and he would try to take care of Katya. Aleks Malkin, Belikov’s replacement, was at the meeting and so was Anna, Sonia’s replacement. Sonia begged her uncle for another chance and forgiveness. Sokolov asked Ray what he thought about it. Ray thought they should all be friends. He was then dismissed and you had to know that Sonia would have to look for forgiveness in her next life.

Ray checked on Avi in the hospital. His jaw was wired in the back and he couldn’t eat the whitefish Ray brought. Ray told Avi that Barnes wanted him to wear a wire and he was fresh out of choices. Avi prayed in Yiddish as Ray wondered what good that would do. Avi said when the Russians were beating him (and boy, did they do a number on him!), he prayed and God sent Ray.

Ray went home where he found Mickey was asleep in a chair with half a glass of whiskey in his hand. Ray took it and found Abby sleeping with Big Boy, the white dog. Ray polished off the half glass of whiskey and took Abby’s phone out of her hand, waking her up. She asked Ray if he got Avi back. Ray let her believe it was all over now. She had some good news herself: a new MRI and bloodwork revealed that her cancer is disappearing. Just when she thought it was all over, they miraculously got a second chance. Well, well.

While Hector held a press conference, Father “Go to Confession” Romero was on the way back to L.A. for real. Hector insisted he is in top form and will beat Whittaker. When a reporter brought up Marisol’s incest allegations, Hector had his wife send little Stella up to tell everyone how her daddy was going to “da story” Whittaker. Hector looked up and saw Father Romero standing at the back of the gym.

Mickey’s mind was on the Campos fight. Knowing what he knows, Mickey wanted in on the action (who wouldn’t?) He asked Abby to pony up $100K on this “sure thing.” Although Abby couldn’t get her hands on that kind of dough, she did think of something she wanted to get rid of: the “Girl With Guitar” painting that Sonia gave to Bridget. She told Mickey to sell it, place the bet and she’d split the pot with him.

A pawnshop owner gave Mickey a contact to a guy who fences art in exchange for Mickey’s porn collection. The fence thought it was stolen. More likely it was a forgery but he did offer Mickey $10K for it. Mickey insisted it was worth $60K. The man opened up the back of the painting and took at look. Quickly closing it, he offered Mickey $50K. Realizing the fence saw something very valuable, Mickey didn’t sell it. There was a large quantity of heroin, cocaine and fentanyl stashed in the painting. Either Sonia never noticed the discrepancy in her drug inventory or she didn’t know about it.

Ray met up with Frank Barnes who said he’d forget everything against Ray and personally move his family to Idaho if Ray wore a wire to the Campos fight. Ray asked after Sonia and Barnes claimed he had heard from her.

Father Romero showed up at Ray’s office. He said he missed Ray in confession but the real reason he was there was because Hector called and cried the blues. He told Romero that he murdered Marisol, how Ray cleaned it up and how he now wants to win his fight and face the consequences of his sins but Ray is making him throw the fight. Ray scoffed at the priest, asking if he got a call from the Cardinal because the Pope wants to see a Catholic wearing the champion belt. Romero thought Ray sounded paranoid. Ray asked if Romero really thought Hector was going to turn himself in after the fight if he won. Romero insisted that Hector called him so he could return to God. Ray pointed out that Hector didn’t call him when he was drowning Marisol or when he needed to get rid of her body. He called Ray and Ray solved his problem, not God.

Bunchy drove back down from Pismo Beach. He stopped by the gym to tell Terry how Mickey hit him up for money so he could bet against Hector. Mickey was very specific about the bet, too. This sent Terry over to confront Ray about fixing the fight. As Abby sat listening on the stairs, Ray freely admitted that it was true. Terry was angry that his chance to be somebody was going out the window but said he would put something in Hector’s eyes so he couldn’t back out. Ray then told Abby how Sonia ratted him out.

Lena called and met Ray at the morgue where they viewed Sonia’s dead body. When he went back and told Abby, she wanted him to leave with her but Ray said, for him, there was no place left to go except prison. That’s when Mickey came in with the “Girl with Guitar” painting and the drugs. So this is the Big Twist– instead a screwing everything up, Mickey provided Ray with an option that can get him out of having to wear a wire. Ray gathered everyone (Lena and Avi, too) together and laid out a plan for them all to help take out the Russians and make it look like a drug war.

Ray went to the fight, stopped by the FBI van and threw the wired shirt in Frank Barnes’ face. On the way in, Ray told Hector to win the fight if he wanted to. As they sat ringside, Sokolov lied and said Sonia went back to Grenada. When it looked like Hector was really going down in the 6th round, Sokolov marveled at what a good actor he was, though a much better fighter than Whittaker. It wasn’t an act. Once Hector got it together, he whomped on Whittaker, the bell rang and Sokolov told Ray he was a very foolish man.

Avi and Daryll had already overpowered Sokolov’s driver and were waiting for the mob boss to come out. Mickey and Bunchy went to Sokolov’s compound to kill a couple of guys. Lena and Ray went to the art gallery to deal with Aleks Malkin who laughed at Ray standing there holding a bat until Lena put a gun up to the side of his head. Ray put the bat to work and called Frank Barnes. “Nice work, Frank,” Ray said as he handed Barnes the bat, “Looks like you brought down another crime boss.”

So Avi got the satisfaction of beating Sokolov’s thugs and killing both of them, Terry got credit (he no longer wanted) for training a champ, and Hector felt that he was free at last, thumbing his nose at Romero and God. Abby now believes that the Donovans are untouchable. Hmmmm… famous last words.

Other storylines:

We thought Bridget and Conor went with Bunchy and Teresa, but they were back. Bridget has been accepted into NYU and had to go to an orientation in New York City. Abby asked Ray to take her to the airport. Bridget showed no emotion as she parted with her father but going up the escalator, she fought back tears hard.

Damon worried that Terry wasn’t going to want him around after the Campos/Whittaker fight but Terry told him that wasn’t the case. He was going to train Damon to be the next Hector Campos and he gave Damon a key to the gym. Officer Doherty showed up and she and Terry talked about their upcoming date. Overwhelmed with gratitude because he never had a key to anyplace, Damon tried to thank Terry with a hug, but Terry brushed him off. Doherty wanted to know what that was all about. Terry explained and said she always had a place, too, with him. She said he got her in a dress and that would have to be enough for now.