Ray Donovan recap Season 3 Episode 6: So that’s why Paige is married

Ray Donovan recap Season 3, Episode 6 “Swing Vote” (original air date Aug. 16, 2015): Episode 6 of Ray Donovan “Swing Vote” starts with absentee parents Abby and Ray Donovan actually under the same roof, a surprise for Bridget as she readies herself for school — neither of them noticing as they both are cashed out in separate rooms. This episode, however, shows some hope for the estranged couple.

Mickey (Jon Voight) gets a lesson from Mrs. Minassian (Grace Zabriskie) and her grandson on what happens when one of her debtors is late with their payments. Her grandson unleashes some muscle on a strip club owner who has fallen behind on his payments, while Mickey watches and is instructed on expectations. “You be a good boy, Mickey,” Mrs. Minassian reminds. Back at Mickey’s home base, Ginger (Fairuza Balk) is packing up and looking to move to Las Vegas as Mrs. Rosenblatt has threatened to call child protective services because she knows she’s selling drugs and is a prostitute. Apparently there’s one resident in that sex haven who has some ethics. But that’s not good for Mickey, as he needs Ginger and the other gals —he’s way too in debt now with Mrs. Minassian. Mickey convinces Ginger to wait a day or two and he’ll take care of things. Him taking care of it includes his plan to torch her car, but Daryll (Pooch Hall) talks Mickey out of it, and suggests instead that she puts Ginger on the books at the Fite Club to give her a legitimate-looking job.

Abby (Paula Malcomson) makes an attempt at conversation with Ray telling him about Old Southie and how their niece Lauren got the clap. Ray  (Liev Schreiber) says nothing.
“Why don’t you just say it,” Abby urges him.
“Say what?” Ray asks.
“Say you’re never going to forgive me so I can get on with my fucking life.” Abby says, fighting back tears. “Do you want a divorce Ray? If you want a divorce give me the house and kids, and you take the apartment in Hollywood.”
He doesn’t answer.

Bunchy (Dash Mihok) hosts another victims meeting at Fite Club where he shares with the group his feelings toward Teresa. Father Romero (Leland Orser) suggests Bunch tell Teresa his true feelings and offers to drive him to Bakersfield to do so.

Ray runs into Avi at attorney Lee Drexler’s (Peter Jacobson) office. Avi makes a case that their past should stand for something and the good times far outweigh the bad. Ray listens but says nothing — pretty much his normal ammo for dealing with things. Drexler can’t believe Paige Finney gave him 3 percent of the stake in her NFL team but he confirms the contract is legitimate. Ezra always knew of his potential, he tells Ray.

Finney (Ian McShane) and Ray need to head to San Diego to deal with a rival bid from Henry Sylvester, some fracking king from North Dakota. The plan is to distract Sylvester so he misses the meeting. Ray assigns Lena (Katherine Moennig) to grab him at the airport. In route to San Diego, Finney gets deep with Ray asking if he’s ever been a pallbearer. He has. Although Finney’s never been a best man for someone’s wedding. Ray neither. Thinking they have more in common than they realize. Finney mentions the track phone alluding that he’s glad Ray got rid of it, he has to know Ray gave it to Paige. He also references how the team is going to make billions, not millions.

Looks like Terry (Eddie Marsan) might not be out of harms way, as a stranger makes a visit to Fite Club and Terry suddenly finds a weight plate on his desk. Panicked Terry sits in his office, bat in hand thinking the Aryans are after him. He tells Pie (William Stanford Davis, pictured) he needs a gun. When he comes back with a gun and a handful of bullets, he tells Pie to shut down the club and get everyone out. Terry’s in panic mode alone at the club, his Parkinson’s majorly kicking in.

Dog gets some more screen time. He really needs a name. Ray calls Abby and tells her, “I don’t want a divorce. …Look Abs I’m trying to make some changes. Make a better life for us. I sold my business.” He’ll explain later, but for now he needs her to go to Barney’s and buy the best dress they have as she’s going to meet the governor tonight.

“How do you know the fucking governor?” Abby asks. Just wait til she gets a glimpse of his new business life.

Lena’s so slick with this Henry Sylvester guy, introducing herself as Debbie Harry (she was named after the Blondie rock star, she tells him) and his personal chauffeur. But she pops into the backseat instead of the front, and destroys an epipen-like sedative into his leg. Ray’s the driver. They dump his sedated body in a motel. Looks like he ain’t going to make that meeting.

Bunchy and Father Romero enjoy a picnic stop at a wayside, where Romero tries to get Bunch to spill the beans on Father O’Connor’s murder. Romero feeds Bunch some BS story about following his abuser home and stabbing him in his eyes blinding him. Bunch tells him that they will keep that story between them. When they arrive in Bakersfield, Teresa (Alyssa Diaz) is surprised to see Bunch and greets him with her usual pissed-off-as-hell attitude. When he asks her to come back to L.A., she turns him down telling him she’s not quitting her job for someone she’s known for a week. You can’t help but cringe, when Bunch drops to one knee.
“What the fuck are you doing,” she nervously asks.
“Will you marry me?” he asks.
“Are you fucking serious?”
“We understand each other. You know that,” Bunch reasons.
“Look at you — sweet, fucked up. Get the fuck up. You fucking asshole, you shouldn’t have fucking done this.”
Bunch explains how his heart was torn out when she left. “I don’t’ want to go back there without you. Bakersfield is not where you belong, you belong in L.A. with me.”
She tells him to get the fuck out of there.

But Bunch ain’t backing down, he holds his ground and tells her that he’s going to wait for her at some Denny’s down the street for when she changes her mind. Bunch sits it out at Denny’s with Romero, where he ends up spilling the whole story about Father O’Connor. “I shot him,” Bunch tells Romero. When Romero presses on if he had killed him, Bunch tells him only partially and that his brother Ray was also abused by him and he was the one who shot him in the head. Oh Bunchy! “I don’t regret it for a fucking second, not anymore,” Bunch confesses. And there’s no telling what Romero will now do with that information. Clearly satisfied he thanks him for telling him that. Their conversation is cut short when Teresa arrives. She actually showed up, yay for Bunchy. She, of course, has conditions. No lying, cheating or ever hitting her. “Never,” Bunch agrees. But she’s also not running away with some “gioco” named Bunchy. “Your name is Brendan.” He’s OK with that too.

In San Diego, the Finney meeting with Zack Davis (David Cubitt) on the NFL franchise wasn’t an initial slam dunk. Paige has to lobby hard to get Davis to move without hearing the other offer. Davis found Sylvester’s absence suspicious and puts a break fee on the deal, an un-refundable deposit. Finney doesn’t like the break fee saying if he wanted to gamble he would have bought a casino. She pleads with her father to change his mind. “It’s the last thing I’ll ever ask you for, my word,” Paige says.

“Make the deal,” Finney tells them.

After the papers are signed, Finney notices Ray smiling. Paige jumps in saying it’s her happiness that’s contagious. “Why do I get the feeling I’ll be flying home alone,” and Finney exits. Ray shares a celebratory drink with Paige where she waxes poetic and beams with excitement about completing the deal (and speaking of beaming, does Katie Holmes have braces? She actually doesn’t but her character suffers from migraines and those apparently help. Holmes also said in earlier interviews that the braces give her character some flaws.) At the future football grounds, Ray gives Verona’s phone to Paige. He asks her about the envelope she gave her father last week. Her response I never saw coming … so sit for it. Apparently the letter was a love letter from her father to her husband. It was a breakup letter that Varick Strauss (Jason Butler Harner) – her husband — never threw away. OK, what? So Finney and Varick are partners and that’s why Paige had to marry him? Hmm. Things are getting even creepier with the Finneys. But that news barely fazes Ray, heck, he’s seen a lot of shit in his life with all of his effed-up clients he’s had. His only response is something like — that must be hard. But Paige tells him that’s her life, and then tries to make a pass at him, but he shuts her down.

As Abby and Ray prepare for their evening at the governor’s election party they finally have a real conversation. Ray explains how when he met Bridget at school for her college counseling meeting he felt like he didn’t know her anymore. “I’ve been wiping up blood for too long,” he shares. “I’m tired of fixing things for people who don’t deserve it. It’s gotta change.”

Endearingly he tells his Abs about how he’s working on getting a piece of an NFL team. “Small but real.” He’s just got a couple of loose ends to tie up, but if he pulls it off it could change everything. “It means a lot to me that you’re coming tonight.” Abby wastes no time to take advantage of his good mood and later asks about potentially buying her family’s bar. Ray thinks it’s a good idea to help them out. Wow – meet the new Donovans! At the party, Finney is thrilled to meet the beast’s beauty. Casey’s there too and tells Ray that the ship is about to go down. How could he know Verona is about to lose? Paige introduces herself to Abby and Abby immediately gets her radar up – she’s far too good looking. Later Paige tells Abby that she’s lucky — “Ray’s devoted to you.” Ray, however, gets a call from Terry and he needs to leave the party after hearing Terry’s panicking about the Aryans. At the club Ray is able to disarm a shaky Terry before he almost kills Mickey. Mickey agrees to stay with Terry so Ray can get back to Abby at the party. Brendan comes back to Fite Club with Teresa, and arranges the mail that has fallen on the floor in the dark gym.  As he walks off,  Brendan/Bunchy leaves a weight plate on the stack of mail (I had to go back and double check it was him, but his bracelet gave it away, good catch Pattie).

As for Bridget, she’s helping man the polling booth at the school in an effort to get a little closer to her math teacher. She ends up getting high with a friend and finds herself too stoned to do anything so she just sits on the bathroom floor. Surprisingly her teacher understands, he says he was high the week prior and joins her on the bathroom floor and they both share photos of the loves they lost.

At the election party, Finney is pissed. Governor Verona just lost, which means no governor, no stadium, no football field. He outs Ray for losing 3 percent of nothing and implies some sexual exchange most likely took place between Ray and Paige for him to even negotiate a deal like that. Ray comes clean and tells him he gave her the phone, but, of course, Andrew Finney already knew that.  Ray should have known that too. Finney expresses his grave disappointment. Ray’s crushed. As they exit, Abby’s head is spinning – clueless over what Ray truly got himself into this time.

 

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