Walk This Way: Ray Donovan

Last week’s episode ended with Conor Donovan turning 14 right after midnight. In tonight’s episode, “Walk This Way” (S2 E7) the Donovan family assembles to celebrate the birthday his parents forgot about.

Ray is sleeping on the sofa when the episodes opens up and gets a call from Ashley that he ignores. Conor is up in his room on the computer with Tommy Wheeler who is in London. Conor says everyone forgot his birthday. Tommy tells Conor to have a party. Just as Ray peeks in the door, Tommy shows Conor three ladies with Happy Birthday Conor lipsticked across their bare breasts. Ray must find Abby, now that he knows it’s Conor’s birthday. So Abby is pulled back to earth and away from her lover’s tryst with Detective Jim Halloran before anything can happen. “Where are you?”, Ray wants to know, “It’s Conor’s birthday.” Well, Abby can’t exactly say “I’m in a motel room with a cop, dear,” so she lies and says she’s picking up the cake.

I’m paying you $100,000 a month. That makes me family. ~Steve Knight
So you thought that Ray beat Ashley’s stalker to death in last season? So did we, but Ray just crippled Bob a little. That’s why Steve Knight was calling on Ashley’s phone. When he gets to Ashley’s beach house, Knight goes into his radical honesty spiel, demanding to know if Ray screwed Ashley the night before. “I think you’re a bleeping asshole,” Ray honestly tells Steve, and adds that he is just using him for money. Bob insists that he’s protecting Ashley and Steve Knight is the bad guy. Ray takes the card out then smashes Bob’s camera while Knight watches. Knight wants the card but Ray keeps it. Bob needs and gets a ride home from Ray who warns him not to go to Ashley’s again.

Terry and Frances try to get a ballpark figure out of Harriet on what the gym is worth but Frances finds out that Terry can’t sell it without Ray’s consent. Meantime, Ronald Keith pays Mickey a visit demanding to know what he was doing at Paramount. Mickey explains that he has a million dollar deal going on and could use a hard ass like Keith if he wants in. After a SNAP meeting, Bunchy talks to Stan about his Viagra episode, and when Stan gets down in the dumps, he is invited to Conor’s party.

Abby arrives home with a cake she bribed the kid at the #1 bakery in Calabasas to erase someone else’s name from and put on Conor’s. Only she forgot to tell him how to spell it and it says Conner. Bridget smears one “n” off and tells her mother that she can’t stay for the party. She has a recording session with Marvin Gaye Washington but Abby insists she is staying. Bridget cracks wise about Abby’s late night out.

Ray arrives home just as Bridget is being picked up by Marvin and orders Bridget back in the house. Cookie Brown emerges from the vehicle to say that he was misled by the youngsters. He asks Ray to tell Lee Drexler to give him a call about some business.

After Mickey calls Ray to make sure it is okay for him to comes to Conor’s party, he pays Cherry to keep Shorty company while he’s gone. With Daryll at the wheel, he and Claudette go to Ray’s in the car that we thought Claudette gave to Mickey. Claudette reminisces about Daryll taking the car for a spin when he was 12. Mickey tells Daryll to put his chauffeur’s cap on and both he and Claudette are offended.

Supporting Cast of Walk This Way

Abby and Ray get dressed for the party when Abby goes on the offensive about Mickey coming. Ray wants to know where she was last night. Abby said she didn’t feel like having dinner with him and he has some balls to question her. “What time did you get in last night?” She accuses him of sleeping downstairs because he had someone’s stink on him.

After Conor gets a pair of personalized Fite Club gloves from Terry, Ray and Bunchy turn Conor upside down for 14 head thumps but they only get through 10 when Mickey arrives. Conor runs off to welcome Grandpa. Ray is peeved when Claudette thanks him for inviting her since he didn’t, but Abby smooths things over as best as she can. Mickey and Ray trade barbs when Terry interrupts. In another room, Terry demands that the gym be sold and Ray asks that they not talk about it now.

Mickey tells a crude joke about acne and a priest to Bunchy and Stan which really upsets Stan. Unfazed, Mickey dances with Claudette, telling Ray to ask Abby to dance. Ray lifts his glass in her direction, but Abby storms off to the bathroom to check her phone and have a smoke. She types “I miss u” to Jim Halloran, erases it, then storms into Bridget’s room, demanding that she join the party. “Are you screwing around on Daddy,” Bridget asks.

Bunchy apologizes to Ray for Mickey’s crass joke but Stan says that’s not what’s got him down in the dumps. His family disowned him after he sued the Scouts and he is lonely. In fact, Stan is so lonely that he kisses Bunchy on the mouth. Bunchy recoils and says “I’m not gay.” Stan asks how he knows when he had to take Viagra to be with Patty. Stan leaves and Bunchy asks a half-drunk Ray if he saw what happened. Ray laughs it off.

It’s just a car. ~Claudette
Conor notices that his name is misspelled on his cake but Abby says just cut it. Ray offers his son and wife a toast. The tension in the room is really thick. Bridget says it’s all bullshit, and walks out. Mickey produces the keys to the car that Daryll drove them over in and gives to Conor. He takes him out to crank it up while a distraught Daryll watches from the steps. Claudette comes up behind Daryll to console him. See why we’re confused? She should have never given the keys to Mickey if she knew her son loved it so much.

Ray goes to Bridget’s room where she is texting with Marvin and says she is going to keep seeing him. Ray tries to explain that she is out of her league there. Bridget wants to know about the woman he loved who was killed and Ray tells her that Abby is the best thing that ever happened to him. Bridget’s zinger this time: Abby came home at 2 a.m. Ray drunkenly stumbles down the stairs where the party is at last in full swing and everyone is dancing. He walks up beside Abby and says “I’m on to you.”

That’s not a boxing gym, that’s a laundromat. ~Mickey
Then Ray tells Mickey that he guesses his mother couldn’t dance when she was on chemo. Mickey says he can’t insult Claudette and Ray yells “Get out.” Terry tells Frances this is why they are moving to Ireland and Ray wheels around and tells Terry he isn’t going anywhere and they aren’t selling the gym. Mickey spills the beans that Ray uses the gym to launder his money. Ray reminds Terry that he was washed up in Boston and Ray brought him to L.A. and set him up. Terry says they are through and Ray calls him a piece of crap who can see how far he gets without him. As Terry stomps out, he sees Daryll destroying the car with a bat. Everyone comes outside.

Frances tells Ray that even if what he said was true, he was wrong to say it, adding that she knows what she saw that night (the priest was killed). “You threatening me now?” Ray wants to know. Back in the house, he tells Abby “Conor wanted the family. Conor got the family.” Then he goes upstairs and Abby takes a call from Jim Halloran.

Conor comes in Ray’s room to say everyone is gone and Ray gives him one of his expensive watches as a birthday gift. Ray calls Kate McPherson in Boston to say he wants her to come back.

Marvin picks Bridget up. Ashley stands outside on her balcony with a split lip while Steve Knight smashes things inside. Ashley puts her hand up in greeting to acknowledge Bob’s presence on the beach. He responds in the same fashion. Abby meets up with Jim at Room 208. Mickey asks Cherry if it was thumbs up or down when he gets home and she makes the down gesture. He motions for her to come in his room.

At last we get to the episode title when Conor drinks champagne and puts Run–D.M.C.’s “Walk This Way” on. Ray comes back in and starts dancing. Conor joyfully joins in.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=FfrDF1qQFbs