Ray Donovan – “One Night in Yerevan” Retrospective. At What Price?

Season 3, Episode 10

Airdate: Sunday, September 13, 2015 at 9:00 pm ET/PT on Showtime

Rating: ★★★★★

“Non compos mentis, Mick…power of attorney. You’re going to do whatever I tell you to do or I’m going to put you in the worst shithole I can find and have them pump you so full of Thorazine, you won’t even know your fuckin’ name anymore.” – Ray

After last week’s love fest, otherwise known as “The Octopus,” Ray Donovan begins the work of wrapping up season three with “One Night in Yerevan.” Ray (Liev Schreiber) follows through on his promise to help Mickey (Jon Voight), while Ed Cochran (guest star Hank Azaria) seeks the revenge he can already taste. On the Donovan home front, an old problem pops up for Ray and Abby (Paula Malcomson) when Paige Finney (special guest star Katie Holmes) drops by unannounced, and Bridget’s (Kerris Dorsey) story line with her teacher, Mr. Donellen (Aaron Staton), finally comes to a conclusion.

Abby speaks her mind.

Let’s talk about the white elephant in the room first—Bridget and Mr. Donellen. Thankfully, episodic writers Gina Welch and David Hollander don’t take Staton’s story arc all the way to the usual culmination, choosing instead to stop at last week’s drug-infused bowling date. By having Bridget act out at school against her friend Janet (Alisha Boe), Welch and Hollander set up the only opportunity for Abby to figure out something untoward is going on between Bridget and Mr. Donellen. Although this is the perfect way to end this ridiculous relationship without actually having Bridget and Mr. Donellen do the nasty, it teeters on the edge of being boring, uninspired, and totally unrealistic. Abby’s way of handling Mr. Donellen is nothing more than a means for her to prove she can deal with problems on her own. I would rather have seen Ray act like a typical father would in this situation. Not only would it have been in keeping with Schreiber’s character as a fixer, it would have fit in nicely with Ray and Abby’s newfound respect for each other. While I have been enjoying this season of Ray Donovan, I am disappointed that the powers that be didn’t come up with a more interesting story line for Bridget. And let’s not even discuss Conor (Devon Bagby), who has had little to nothing to do this season at all.

Finney has more problems on his hand than he realizes.

Cochran and his supervisor Iris Kim (guest star Liz Burnette) drop in on the Finneys to question Paige and her father Albert (special guest star Ian McShane) about their inability to locate Paige’s ex-husband Varick (Jason Butler Harner). I know Ray thinks he and Avi (Steven Bauer) covered their tracks when disposing of Varick’s body but for a man who is out for revenge, you know Cochran will leave no stone unturned. I thought it interesting when both Ray and Cochran pretend they don’t know each other when first introduced at the Finney home. But when Cochran hits a little too close to the truth, Finney has his own way of dealing with him, especially after his right-hand man Windsor (Stewart Skelton) uncovers the “prurient” video of Cochran that Ray leaked to the press last season.

Drexler’s solution comes back to bite Mickey in the ass in a way I never saw coming.

Ray uses a two-pronged approach to help Mickey, using two former clients—Flip Brightman (guest star Bronson Pinchot) and Armenian pop star Hazmeek (guest star Sarah Shahi)—to get him out from under Detective Muncie’s (Michael Hyatt) thumb. Ray also calls on attorney Lee Drexler (guest star Peter Jacobson), who comes up with a solution that really pisses off our friendly detective. Man, does Muncie get hot under the collar! But Drexler’s legal papers only solve one half of the equation. There’s still Mrs. Minassian (guest star Grace Zabriskie) to deal with. After all the violence that has been present in most of the episodes involving her and her grandson Davros (Nikola Kent), the blasé conclusion of this story arc left me wanting. What a waste of Pinchot and Shahi’s talents. The only part of this plot point I enjoyed is the way Mrs. Minassian waves Mickey away like he’s an annoying insect at an outdoor picnic in order to speak to Ray.

I knew there had to be a reason Ray agrees to help Mickey and it is revealed toward the end of “One Night in Yerevan.” In the beginning of the episode, I thought Ray might be turning over a new leaf but it turns out that’s not the case at all. “I’m sorry, Mick. You gotta go.” Even though Mickey agrees, I can’t believe this is the way Ray and Mickey’s relationship is going to end. Mickey’s never been one to give up without a fight and I don’t expect him to do that now.

Other Observations

There are quite a few moments of levity in “One Night in Yerevan,” which are the episode’s saving grace. I thoroughly enjoyed Avi dancing around the room while Lena is on the phone with Ray, as well as the “dick pic” Avi takes in front of Cochran’s computer. Avi’s plan is brilliant and may come in handy at some point in the future. I especially got a kick out of Lena’s description of Avi’s ‘package’—“No, Av; it’s…shapely.”

Overall

Ray Donovan is one of my favorite television shows and it kills me to give “One Night in Yerevan” such a negative review. While the acting is outstanding as usual, the dialogue almost completely misses the mark. Two major story lines are wrapped up in a manner that is less than satisfying, leaving only Cochran’s plans for both Finney and Ray that may cost Ray and Paige their million dollar NFL franchise. I know Cochran thinks he has them by the short hairs but when you’re dealing with such powerful men, you shouldn’t count your chickens before they hatch. And then, there’s Abby’s reaction to Paige’s unexpected visit <sigh>.

What did you think of “One Night in Yerevan?” Were you as disappointed as I was? Leave me a comment below or tweet me @SeasideTV. Let’s discuss!

Stay up-to-date with the series on the official Ray Donovan website: http://www.sho.com/raydonovan.

LIKE Ray Donovan on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/RayDonovanOnShowtime.

Follow the series on Twitter @SHO_RayDonovan. And follow cast mates Liev Schreiber (Ray) @LievSchreiber, Pooch Hall (Daryll) @iam_POOCHHALL, Dash Mihok (Bunchy) @dizmihok, Devon Bagby (Conor) @DevonBagby, Kerris Dorsey (Bridget) @kerrisdorsey, Kate Moennig (Lena) @katemoennig, Steven Bauer (Avi) @thestevenbauer, and Eddie Marsan (Terry) @eddiemarsan.

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Linda

Love TV, movies, and books--mostly mysteries, with a good love story thrown in every now and then. I have four adopted dogs who I adore. I love trying new recipes, and enjoy eating what I make. English language perfectionist. Reading in bed, Italian food, warm weather, the beach, all types of games = favs!