Ray Donovan Season 2 Premiere – “Yo Soy Capitán” Review. Problems Galore.

Season 2, Episode 1

Airdate: Sunday, July 13, 2014, 9:00 pm ET/PT on Showtime

Rating: ★★★★★

“Oh, I know who you are. You’re a bag man for movie stars. You’re also an extortionist, and a wire tapper…well, basically, you’re an all-around piece of shit.” – Ed Cochran

Season 2 of Ray Donovan opens with Ray (Liev Schreiber) in the midst of an extremely frightening dream. If your dreams are an extension of your real life, as some people say, I am worried about what’s in store for our favorite fixer this season. Ray’s way of proving he’s ok when he wakes up from the nightmare seems odd to me. Is it because he loves having that kind of sex with his wife Abby (Paula Malcolmson), or is it his way of dealing with the events of his childhood?

Can Therapy Help Ray and Abby?

Dr. Finkel listens intently to his new patients, Abby and Ray Donovan.

Ray agrees to go with Abby to see a therapist, Dr. Finkel (guest star Brett Spiner), who, hopefully, will be able to help Ray deal with the sexual abuse he experienced as a child—that is, if Ray opens up. While there, Abby confesses her role in bringing Mickey into their lives after he was released from prison, and allowing him access to their children, Conor (Devon Bagby) and Bridget (Kerritt Dorsey), against Ray’s wishes. Ray agrees to tone down his brutality in front of the kids. Conor and Bridget certainly saw a lot of it last season—more violence than any child should ever see their father involved in. I’d like to know how Ray plans to keep his promise given his profession. He may have good intentions but I doubt he’ll succeed. So what will that mean for Ray and Abby’s marriage going forward? I guess we’ll have to wait and see how the season plays out.

Oh, Mickey

Daryll is beyond pissed at Mickey

Ray’s father Mickey (Jon Voigt) is in Mexico setting up a fight for Ray’s half-brother Daryll (Pooch Hall). It doesn’t look like he’s working very hard when he heads into the most beautiful blue ocean water I’ve seen in a while. I think his bad habits are going to his head, especially when he has a hallucination in the water involving a very cute dolphin, which explains, in part, why the episode is titled “Yo Soy Capitán,” which translates into “I am the captain.”

Mickey is a real screw-up at times—or is he? I feel sorry for Daryll when he faces La Fuerza (Mariano Mendozo) in the ring. Poor Darryl was expecting a small man according to Mickey’s statement, “He’s a Mexican, how big could he be,” but what Daryll gets isn’t anywhere close to being small. I got a kick out of the look on Daryll’s face when he gets a load of the guy. I’m sure he’s wondering how the hell he can possibly win the fight against that behemoth. Mickey’s dastardly deeds come to light after the fight, and Daryll gets back at him the only way he knows how, by contacting Ray. I can’t wait to see what happens after Ray takes that baseball bat into the bar where Mickey is having such a good time with his prostitute girlfriend Jazmin (Vanessa Born) and her Mexican friends.

The New Bureau Chief

Cochran is a man with a purpose.

Hank Azaria joins the cast this season as Ed Cochran, the Los Angeles FBI Bureau Chief. Following a confrontation between Cochran and Ray, and in order to save himself from prosecution, Ray is forced to tell Cochran who killed Sully Sullivan (James Woods) last season and why. Now Cochran wants to question Mickey but Ray doesn’t have a clue where Mickey is. Ray is going to have his hands full dealing with Cochran this season, who certainly won’t be as easy to get rid of as last year’s FBI agent Van Miller (Frank Whaley). I’m looking forward to watching these two men square off again. I think Cochran is going to be a good match for Ray; he’s intelligent, doesn’t seem to have a grudge, and appears to have his head screwed on much better than Miller did.

Problems and More Problems

“Yo Soy Capitán” has plenty of problems for Ray to deal with, not the least of which is the latest screw-up of his pro-baller client Deonte Brown (Mo McRae) who sleeps with his fling-of-the-moment, Tiffany (Alexandra Shipp), at his house. As you can imagine, that doesn’t sit very well with Deonte’s wife Porschla (Simone Missick). And then, there’s the serious trouble both Conor and Bridget get into—Conor at school and Bridget with the police. All three of these issues are important to the story despite being minor plot points. After all, how can a show about a fixer succeed without having things for our hero to ‘fix?’

Overall

“Yo Soy Capitán” does a good job of setting up season two of Ray Donovan. It has great acting, sharp dialogue, and even a bit of levity. It will be interesting to see whether therapy is going to work for Ray and Abby, what their sessions will consist of, what other messes their kids will create, and what clients—both past and future—will get themselves in trouble and how Ray will fix them. Also, I wonder how Terry (Eddie Marsan) is going to deal with his obsession with ex-girlfriend Frances (Brooke Smith), and whether Bunchy (Dash Mihok) will get the job at the bike shop, to say nothing of a possible friendship with Stan (guest star Ryan O’Nan), who he meets at a sexual abuse support group meeting. I have a bad feeling about that guy. Don’t ask me why as it’s not based on anything in particular but I just don’t trust him.

Mickey has no trouble keeping up with Jazmin

On a side note, it’s easy to see why Ray Donovan has garnered an Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series nomination for Voigt. He absolutely shines in “Yo Soy Capitán,” stealing every scene he’s in.

What did you think of “Yo Soy Capitán?” Leave me a comment below or tweet me @SeasideTV. Let’s discuss!

Tune in to Ray Donovan, Sundays at 9 pm ET/PT, only on Showtime.

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

Follow the series on Twitter @SHO_RayDonovan. And, follow cast mates @LievSchreiber, @iam_POOCHHALL, @dizmihok, @DevonBagby, @kerrisdorsey, @thestevenbauer, @katemoennig, and @eddiemarsan.

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

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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!