A couple of entertaining instalments with a really meaty episode followed up by one that had more of a caper feel. David Hollander, the current showrunner, scripts 6 and it's a strong one, getting to the heart of what makes Ray tick. Feeling guilty that his father is taking the Armenian multiple murder rap to get Russian mobster Belikov out of prison (even though Mick was responsible for the shootout), Ray (Liev Schrieber) is drinking more and unable to sever ties with the Mob and their acceptable face, gallery owner Sonia Kovitzky. She tasks him with helping forge a painting for a charity auction and Ray has to deal with Belikov's crew and their harsh treatment of their young prostitutes, one young woman making a cat's cradle with wool which he helps her with. When Sonia tries to lord over him, he cuts her down. "You're a pimp and a drug dealer," he tells her simply. "That art gallery, it's just a front." However, she later seduces him, telling him that he can see beauty in ugliness, revealing her own scars as she has lost part of her breasts to cancer. It's a brave scene for Embeth Davidtz and strangely touching. However, his guilt at betraying Abby again leads to him drinking too much at baby Maria's christening and when he finds that Belikov has strangled the wool girl he flips and kills the mobster, disposing of him in the crate that the Russian had prepared for the girl's body. For Ray, mistreatment of woman will always fire him up, not just from his natural sense of justice but that his thoughts are often dominated by the two Bridgets in his life, his daughter and long dead sister, both a similar age to the wool girl. However, this means all bets are off, for all the Donovans including Mick behind bars. With the Armenians having snuck in a prisoner to kill Mickey, Ray has to get him out. The scene where Ray and Mick talked on the phone, both holding back their tears from the other, was a powerful piece of television.
Episode 7 details the convoluted scheme Ray cooks up to get Mickey out of prison with old foe Ed Cochrane (Hank Azaria, great as always). This involves an old murder committed by TV celebrity Sherman Radley and covered up by Cochrane years before when he was in the FBI. The episode twists and turns, Ray knowing that Cochrane will betray him the first chance he gets. Along for the ride are Tommy Wheeler, agent Nick and Ezra's other enforcer, the mysterious Texan (a rare cameo from the great Stacy Keach). There's also some gallows comedy, none more than Mick's attempts to be moved to protective custody in the gay wing. When his poor cellmate eats poison meant for him, the old guy drops his pants to go to the loo and keels over. Seeing the officer who will approve his transfer coming, Mick drops his own pants and pretends to hump the groaning old lag who promptly dies once the officer gets a quick glimpse and quickly walks away. It works, however, and in the nick of time as Mick's new cellmate was the assassin. That Mick has a charmed life but will the DA honour the deal and accept the high profile Radley case in exchange for Mick's freedom? In other news, boxer Hector Campos wants to train for his next fight at Donovan's Fight Club but sister Marisol is back on the scene having been booted out of rehab. This can only lead to trouble. Abby meanwhile is attempting risky drug therapy instead of an op for her breast cancer leading to poor Bunchy bursting into tears. "You can't get sick," he wails, "you can't die!" Is he already too reliant on her to help look after the baby? A strong pair of episodes with some nice returns too - as well as Tommy we also got Ray's old lover Ashley and her odious husband Stu, Ashley furious that a leak of sex tapes didn't have her in it and getting Stu to film a fake one in his office with a well hung stud!
70s Rating: ****
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