Ray Donovan Recap: Who Once Was Dead

We took a few trips with Ray Donovan in “Who Was Once Dead” (S6 E8 12-16-18). One was to Long Island to get the $3 million and the others were mind trips.

Your employment has been terminated ~ Vinny

In fact, the episode opened up with one hallucination. Ray was in a building and went upstairs to a room where Bunchy asked him what happened to his arm. Bunchy disappeared leaving the photo of young Ray on the bed that said “Forgive yourself” on the back. Then Mickey was all dressed up in a suit and tie, repeating the speech that Sam Winslow gave Ray in Season 5 when he showed her the photo. (The photo and Winslow’s remarks are on the Time Takes a Cigarette Supporting Cast post).

Vinny, the guy who knocked Ray out, poured water on his face and he came to. Vinny informed Ray that Sam Winslow fired him and wanted the keys to the swanky apartment and car back and her $3 million dollars by the end of the day. Ray gave his usual 2-word response in such circumstances. (We joke that most of Ray’s dialogue consists of those 2 words or “What?”) Vinny broke a glass over his head, knocking him out again.

You’re delusional ~ Sam Winslow

Once Ray came to, he sprang into fixer mode as he always does, no matter what. Lena hung up on him when he called to ask her to go to Boston to get the money back. Emerson Lake showed up at the door to let him know the clock was ticking on getting Feratti on tape. Ray went to Sam’s and barged in to her car. One of her employees attempted to stop him but she said it was fine. Ray told her he could bring down Feratti and get her Arthur Kill prison but she had to trust him. When he said she was going to have go through a “bad news cycle” first, she laughed in his face. When Ray said it was going to happen with or without her cooperation, she calmly replied, “No, it’s not.” What was supposed to go down was Justine claiming that Sam paid her the $50K for the Central Park attack set up, so Ray’s next stop was Justine’s place. He saw Vinny in his car outside her building and he found her hanging from the shower fixture.

Ray went back to his place to track the money himself. Lena was there and knew what happened. She said that she was going to kill Sam Winslow. Lena said she knows Ray thinks everything he does is for his family but pointed out that they are all gone and told him he would die alone, the ultimate “everyone hates you” insult. “You deserve it,” she added.

I just wanted to show my pals that I was a millionaire ~ Sandy Patrick

In Boston, Bunchy chased after Aunt Sandy’s car on foot until he commandeered a kid’s bike. Sandy cruised slowly along, groovin’ to rap music, when suddenly she stopped short, causing Bunchy to fly into her rear window and shatter it. She was gonna book as soon as she saw who it was but he grabbed her by the leg, got up and put a chokehold on her. As they tussled, Darryl came running up, horrified at the sight of Bunchy throttling an old lady. “How the hell did you ever find me,” Sandy exclaimed when they got her in the car. “Divine intervention,” Bunchy answered.

They drove to where Sandy was staying and Bunchy told her he lost his father and daughter because of her actions. Genuinely sorry, she told him the money was in the refrigerator (still in the same bag). She swore she only spent 20 grand on a gift for little Maria, which turned out to be true. Sandy wanted Bunchy to take her back to Long Island, where unbeknownst to them, Mickey was breaking in her house. Mickey found his brother Cormac’s personal effects that were sent home from Vietnam and when Daryll and Sandy walked in, he was sitting there in Cormac’s clothes, wearing his dogtags.

You would have done the same ~ Sandy Patrick

Mickey threatened to shoot the two of them. Sandy said she saw her chance and took it just as he would have. Daryll pleaded his case: Frank Barnes was going to kill Mickey and he saved Mickey’s life by killing Frank Barnes. Mickey was not satisfied with that explanation. “You betrayed your own father,” he said. Daryll blamed Ray: “Pop, he said that you would rat me out, that you were gonna talk.” Mickey told him that even when he was locked up and knew that he might die in prison, he never told them that Daryll was the real shooter. The one thing he would never do is rat out family. (He did pin a bunch of murders on Ray in the Season 5 finale though. Ray must be disowned.) Daryll looked properly ashamed and Mickey philosophically forgave him. Daryll asked Mickey if he could get a cut of the ransom and Mickey had to explain why he was not on the receiving end of that deal.

Outside, Bunchy was completing his plan to give all the money to Teresa for Maria. He texted her and said he would be there in an hour and just then, Ray rolled up right behind him. Ray forced Bunchy to give him the money and took it back to Sam Winslow. Ray told Sam that she didn’t have to kill Justine and Sam told him that it was his fault. Bridget called him right after that transaction.

Bridget was at loose ends after getting canned from Anita Novak’s campaign. Novak told her it was nothing personal. Interns are rotated every two weeks. Bridget correctly surmised that Novak slept with Ray but that really wasn’t the reason she got the boot and it didn’t get her the job back. Now she wanted to cut ties with Ray for good so she can marry Smitty and have a family and be happy. What she told Ray in a nutshell is that she blames him for everything that is wrong with her life and quite a bit of bad stuff that happened to other people and that although he sees himself as the big caretaker and protector, he’s really a big loser. As she kissed him goodbye, she momentarily turned into Justine. Ray staggered out into the street and saw a lot of ghosts from his past: Natalie James, the Marilyn Monroe from outside Grauman’s in Hollywood and more Justine. Then he went to rub his hands over his face and saw blood all over them. He broke down and a police officer rushed to his assistance. But just like when Mac went to save him from drowning, Ray attacked the cop! Another officer helped subdue him and he was rushed off to Grandview, a psychiatric hospital. Ray continued to have distorted flashbacks, with Dr. Brogan’s parting words to him from the Season 5 finale being reiterated by Bridget. When he awoke, he got hinky with an orderly who came in to medicate him.

I came back here ’cause I want to go home with you ~ Terry Donovan

While still in Boston, Terry had gone back to the bar and Lauren, Abby’s niece, said she told the police some guys from L.A. came in and wrecked the joint. Gus said the Donovans were all mean “no mercy” fighters. After he left, Terry told Lauren the real reason he came back to the bar was that he wanted to spend the night with her. Who knows why she was amenable to that and she even let it slide when he said “I love you, Abby” during their session. However, she was not agreeable to going back to New York with him and being a permanent Abby replacement. Terry went to see Big Easy when he got back, ready to participate in “the big one.” Terry took a terrific pummeling, got knocked down and was shaking like a leaf when he got up. He amped up his pacemaker anyway and charged the guy shouting “you murderer!”

The montage at the end showed Bridget and Smitty packing their belongings, Bunchy sitting sorrowfully in front of Maria’s empty playpen and we took a little trip around Grandview where, alone in her room and rocking back and forth, a girl with a shaved head was singing the popular Mormon hymn “I Know that My Redeemer Lives” (which contains the episode title)