S05.E04: Sold

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Quote

Mickey's screenwriting dreams stall out - until he's pulled into a gruesome fix for Daryll's movie star client. Abby starts construction on the new bar while Ray searches for a solution to their problem. Terry tries to win back Maureen one last time; Bunchy's quest for financial independence gets derailed; and Bridget tells her boyfriend who her father really is.

Promo:

 

Clips:

 

[Medicine Crow]

Is it just me, or is this show getting ridiculous!!???

[preeya]

Every "good" show usually has an offseason; this one seems to be Ray Donovan's.

[Puddy]

2 hours ago, preeya said:

Every "good" show usually has an offseason; this one seems to be Ray Donovan's.

They need to re-tool this and they need to do it like now.  It's getting tedious.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Oh, Ray, don't get rid of Abby's clothes while you're angry! By all means, start packing her stuff up since you're selling the house, but don't get rid of everything while you're in this state because you may regret it later.

When Ray told the oncologist "you gotta do something" for Abby, I just rolled my eyes. He's a doctor, not a magician. He already gave you his professional medical opinion. Asking again isn't going to change that. It's hard for me to take his desperation to save Abby too seriously when we know he can't keep his dick in his pants if there's a vagina within a five hundred yard radius.

Mickey reading his terrible script while he was alone in the car only confirmed that the reader was right to say it was garbage.

Mickey is a piece of shit, but I will give him this - he was pretty calm when he saw the decapitated guy which is more than I can say for poor Darryl.

Poor stupid Bunchy. If only he had listened to Harriet. What kind of a person carries around that much cash?! I wasn't even comfortable when I had to get a little bit of cash at the bank for work and then walk a few blocks!

Abby was right for wanting to make it through the holidays for the kids. Thanksgiving, Christmas, and other days like Father's Day/Mother's Day, birthdays, etc. are hard enough once someone has died, but it's even harder when the person dies near one of them. My dad died right before my birthday and that has made every birthday since then super fun. I LOVE celebrating my birthday, but the first year I didn't do anything at all because it felt too weird to celebrate knowing that it was the one year anniversary of his death.

I have a hard time believing that Smitty's old shitty apartment has that big clawfoot bathtub. So now Bridget thinks that Ray is getting his hands on biological weapons and infecting people with meningitis so that Abby could get into a trial? Okay, whatever. I just can't bring myself to care anymore.

[atlantaloves]

Yep, I think this show has gone off the rails as well. I'm gonna stick it out this year, but I am about through, it is so f**king insane. Okay we got Abbey who just won't die, brother dearest losing a million bucks, that stupid screenplay, that ugly daughter that won't go away, a severed head, Jez, it's just too much.  I will just concentrate on Liev's cute butt and hope for more scenes with Susan S. having multiple cocktails in her lion's den.  Damn, this show is becoming a fast forward special.  

[Diane12251]

I totally agree with everyone who says that this season is ridiculous - and tedious!!  I don't think I can watch it anymore.

[Gigi43]

Terry referring  to  Mickey as a cunt was the highlight of the episode. Not that it's much  of an achievement  but that's where we are this season. 

 

I'm  having trouble believing Ray actually  was able to infect the boy, screwed with the test results I assumed was where this was heading, since, again, how do you actually pull that off?   

 

Four episodes in and dead Abby has been in all of them but we still haven't actually seen Avi and Lena is barely seen. I'll be watching because there's  nothing  else on sunday for me right now but it's feeling more and more like an obligation.

Edited August 28, 2017 by Gigi43

[Medicine Crow]

5 minutes ago, Diane12251 said:

I totally agree with everyone who says that this season is ridiculous - and tedious!!  I don't think I can watch it anymore.

... & to think how much I looked forward to this show.  Now?  Big disappointment every episode!!

[TexasGal]

Every time Bunchy appears, I just have this overwhelming feeling of dread for what is going to happen to him.  They certainly didn't disappoint this week.

Ray needs to move away from his family and not give them a forwarding address.  Except Terry.  Terry can come with him.  :) 

[roughing it]

6 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

Poor stupid Bunchy. If only he had listened to Harriet. What kind of a person carries around that much cash?!

Harriet is the real estate person brokering the self-storage deal, no?  Poor stupid Bunchy, carrying around that kind of cash...eeekkk...go straight from point A to point B, do not pass go, do not collect $200.  If only he didn't have the chicken teriyaki craving...

[Medicine Crow]

... & another thing, is anyone else having difficulty deciphering what is being said?  I'm missing small chunks of dialogue because the "sound person" hasn't properly placed the mic.  Just sayin'.  (Don't want to pile on here, but ... )

[Gigi43]

13 minutes ago, Medicine Crow said:

... & another thing, is anyone else having difficulty deciphering what is being said?  I'm missing small chunks of dialogue because the "sound person" hasn't properly placed the mic.  Just sayin'.  (Don't want to pile on here, but ... )

I usually  keep  my  tv volume around 12 (I keep the cable as high as it goes and just adjust that.) ,for this show I've been going over 30!

[Puddy]

1 hour ago, Gigi43 said:

I usually  keep  my  tv volume around 12 (I keep the cable as high as it goes and just adjust that.) ,for this show I've been going over 30!

 

1 hour ago, Medicine Crow said:

... & another thing, is anyone else having difficulty deciphering what is being said?  I'm missing small chunks of dialogue because the "sound person" hasn't properly placed the mic.  Just sayin'.  (Don't want to pile on here, but ... )

I rarely use closed captioning.  With this show, it's a must.

[scrb]

I don't know, I think Bunchy could move away from his brothers or maybe go on that traveling wrestling show and trouble will still find him.  The money was legit so why didn't Ray make him store it in a bank? If that house burned down, he'd be screwed too.  But I guess they're trying to show he's careless and like a child, the way he slashed the money to the babysitter, who had to do his grocery shopping for him.

I think the shoe just want to feature B plots where Bunchy keeps getting into trouble.  Now they're hinting that Theresa may be cheating on him.  If that turns out to be the case, they just won't let him have any peace.

Yeah they could have featured a lot more of Susan Sarandon's character over ghost Abby thus far.  But maybe they only had limited shooting time with Sarandon, who's only been shown in her living room.  So Ray has to bounce around between being haunted by his formerly shrewish wife and messing about with the former Disney child star.

But maybe they will go more heavy with the Avi story line, though I don't know how that cop got evidence of Mickey killing Primm.

[jrlr]

Poor Ray-as-Hamlet doesn't seem to remember that he still has two horrible kids who now never appear in scenes with him.   And what is with Bridget telling that kid that her daddy gave him menigitis so that Abby could replace him in the clinical trial?  Is that even possible and if it is, why would Ray tell Bridget?  

That leading man/headless corpse bit was a completely idiotic way to get Mickey's screenplay bought.

I hate the fact that they've (apparently) turned Avi into a druggy villain

This season is sloppy and tired, alternating between irritatingly unbelievable and just plain irritating - I'll probably stay with it because I'm averse to not knowing what happens, but won't bother with another season.  

[preeya]

6 hours ago, Gigi43 said:

I usually  keep  my  tv volume around 12 (I keep the cable as high as it goes and just adjust that.) ,for this show I've been going over 30!

I watch with subtitles and pause quite a bit to catch up.

[Happytobehere]

This season just strikes me as being rudderless.  It's as if the current show runners have forgotten that we tune in to see Ray Donovan, the way he handles the problems that come his way and the ways in which he incorporates and excludes his family from the world he inhabits.

 

We aren't getting this this season.  Instead, we are getting Hardly Ray Donovan, the chronicles of his unlamented by most viewers wife, his dopey relatives and his horrid kids.  No-one signed up for this, and I can't imagine that the ratings for this season are going to be comparable to the ratings of other seasons.  I noted in the thread for episode 1, I think that it feels as if the show is ending, but those running it are unsure of how to wind it down; and rather than go full balls against the walls for the Liev Schrieber show, they are watering things down and going out like a lamb.

[Medicine Crow]

1 hour ago, Happytobehere said:

This season just strikes me as being rudderless.  It's as if the current show runners have forgotten that we tune in to see Ray Donovan, the way he handles the problems that come his way and the ways in which he incorporates and excludes his family from the world he inhabits.

 

We aren't getting this this season.  Instead, we are getting Hardly Ray Donovan, the chronicles of his unlamented by most viewers wife, his dopey relatives and his horrid kids.  No-one signed up for this, and I can't imagine that the ratings for this season are going to be comparable to the ratings of other seasons.  I noted in the thread for episode 1, I think that it feels as if the show is ending, but those running it are unsure of how to wind it down; and rather than go full balls against the walls for the Liev Schrieber show, they are watering things down and going out like a lamb.

Exactly!!!  Sadly!!  Doesn't Liev have a piece of this action?  Where's HIS professionalism & dedication to a turning in a good performance???

[scrb]

Ratings may be down but it may have more to do with going up directly against Game of Thrones than anything else.

Now that the GoT season is over, it may fare better.

I know the family drama is not a favorite but the show ALWAYS featured his family.  People didn't like the Sopranos' kids either.  I think we talked about whether any teen and preteen characters have ever come off sympathetic.  But certainly his family affects Ray and how he does his business.  Last season, his family was under threat for things he did and his actions were about ensuring their safety.

I really don't see a big change in how much emphasis they give to the kids or his brothers.  They were always going to have these characters to generate B-plots for the show, which I think has a long season for a premium channel hour drama show.  So they have a lot of time to fill.

Instead of 12 episodes, like season 4 had, would viewers prefer they limit it only to 8 or 6 episodes only featuring Ray's business?

[yourmomiseasy]

The family has always been on, but this season it feels like they are the A plot and Ray and his business are B or maybe even C.

[Loandbehold]

On 8/28/2017 at 6:42 AM, ElectricBoogaloo said:

When Ray told the oncologist "you gotta do something" for Abby, I just rolled my eyes. He's a doctor, not a magician.

I love when people channel Leonard McCoy.

 

23 hours ago, Gigi43 said:

I'm  having trouble believing Ray actually  was able to infect the boy, screwed with the test results I assumed was where this was heading, since, again, how do you actually pull that off?

That was my original guess. Even if one could snap your fingers and get a hold of a meningitis bullet, why would you need to do so? Fixing test results had to be a simpler way to go. Of course, it's Bridge, so she could just be assuming the worst. As if changing test results so Abby gets into the trial wouldn't have been bad enough.

 

7 hours ago, yourmomiseasy said:

The family has always been on, but this season it feels like they are the A plot and Ray and his business are B or maybe even C.

I so agree with this. I don't think we've even seen Avi, and Lena gets three lines an episode. Maybe we'll get lucky and Avi will kill Mickey. Then, he can get back w/ Ray and Lena, they can handle the Hollywood cases that need fixing, and we can have our show back. I don't mind if they spend a little time with the family, although most of that should be with Terry, but go back to what was fun.

[Utpe]

On 8/28/2017 at 0:59 PM, Medicine Crow said:

... & another thing, is anyone else having difficulty deciphering what is being said?  I'm missing small chunks of dialogue because the "sound person" hasn't properly placed the mic.  Just sayin'.  (Don't want to pile on here, but ... )

 

On 8/28/2017 at 1:15 PM, Gigi43 said:

I usually  keep  my  tv volume around 12 (I keep the cable as high as it goes and just adjust that.) ,for this show I've been going over 30!

 

On 8/28/2017 at 2:45 PM, Puddy said:

 

I rarely use closed captioning.  With this show, it's a must.

Ugh, glad to know it isn't just me!  I hate having to turn the volume up on the TV as to not disturb the neighbors, so I'm forced to use closed captioning.

Even then, if I happen to miss a piece of dialogue, I don't bother going back, especially during the Abby scenes.

ETA:  Nice blue screen behind Bridget while making that phone call.  Completely noticeable.

Edited August 31, 2017 by Utpe

[WaltersHair]

Yes. I can't make out a single thing these people say. It's as if sound department set everything to mumble.

Show, I am tired of you trying to make us feel sorry for the Donovans.  I would have had greater respect if you'd actually killed off Bunchy, or one of the kids. Oh, hell. All of them except Ray and Darryl. And Maria. Just put them on a bus and Susan Saradon drunk in a car going the opposite direction. Done.

I wonder how bright Hollywood would shine if Luminol was sprayed in all the houses in the hills. Bet I could see it from Chicago.

[jrlr]

The trend in Hollywood has been skewing dark for at least a decade, and I think both tv shows and films use the mumbled/muffled talking and the so-dark-you-can-barely-make-out-what-is-happening-to-who lighting to PROVE that "this is dark, dark, dark material."  It's an irritating and sloppy way to create atmosphere, because if the stories and characters are well written, the audience won't need to be hit over the head (or forced to use subtitles for American shows) to get the point.

[Bannon]

So the fixing of the clinical trial patient list is stupid, and it's even more stupid to have Bridget getting into a relationship with the guy who got bumped. I'm tired of Bunchy effing up, regardless of the contrived nature of sandwich shop robbers hitting the sub store just as a meathead with 1.2 million in cash shows up. I did laugh out loud at Mick's "It's a very big ocean, and a very, very small sensei" wisecrack.

The show peaked in season 2. The decline is getting more steep.

[Bannon]

10 hours ago, WaltersHair said:

Yes. I can't make out a single thing these people say. It's as if sound department set everything to mumble.

Show, I am tired of you trying to make us feel sorry for the Donovans.  I would have had greater respect if you'd actually killed off Bunchy, or one of the kids. Oh, hell. All of them except Ray and Darryl. And Maria. Just put them on a bus and Susan Saradon drunk in a car going the opposite direction. Done.

I wonder how bright Hollywood would shine if Luminol was sprayed in all the houses in the hills. Bet I could see it from Chicago.

It really would have been better writing for somebody, Terry, Conor, somebody in the family  to observe how booze and rule breaking had wreaked havoc on the family, and had become a straight and narrow type in response. They faked that direction with Terry, but then he was pulling heists, and now banging prostitutes just before getting married. Conor could have gone to military school earlier, or just become a straight arrow A student. Bridget could have avoided the affair with the teacher. Anything to provide some contrast, because the monochrome of transgression, depression, and boozing becomes tiresome.

[Rahul]

2 hours ago, Bannon said:

The show peaked in season 2. The decline is getting more steep.

So true. I used to wait with bated breath for new episodes and watch live in the first few seasons but this show has seen a sharp decline in quality. The storylines are all over the place and there is no clear focus or finesse to the storytelling. I just watch now out of habit which is a shame because this show was pretty great back in the day.

One problem that plagues this show (as does many aging drama series) is that the characters have grown apart and now all have disparate arcs which don't seem to intersect.

If the writers wanted to get rid of Abby then they should have just pulled the trigger and been done with it. She's annoying me more in her flashbacks than ever before.

Edited August 30, 2017 by Rahul

[Bannon]

5 minutes ago, Rahul said:

So true. I used to wait with bated breath for new episodes and watch live in the first few seasons but this show has seen a sharp decline in quality. The storylines are all over the place and there is no clear focus or finesse to the storytelling. I just watch now out of habit which is a shame because this show was pretty great back in the day.

One problem that plagues this show (as does many aging drama series) is that the characters have grown apart and now all have disparate arcs which don't seem to intersect.

If the writers wanted to get rid of Abby then they should have just pulled the trigger and been done with it. She's annoying me now in her flashbacks than ever before.

I don't mind telling the story of a cancer death via flashback, but there's nothing else going on that's interesting, although the beheaded sensei made me chuckle a few times. The starlet in distress story is a retread, Sarandon hasn't had enough scenes, Bunchy as a eff up is a repetitive snooze, Terry's treading water. As mentioned, Bridget's current story is dumb, and Conor seems to have remained a dumb hothead, now with short hair. Oh well.

[Dobian]

The whole Bunchy thing was so contrived.  Yeah, he happens to be walking around with a million dollars and happens to walk into a fast food place at the exact moment it's being robbed and the robber is behind the counter.  Right.

More contrived plots.  Yet another rich famous person kills someone and it's the Donovans to the rescue.  Right.  Though I got a kick out of Mickey using the samurai sword for wet work.

[Gobi]

I kept checking the time while watching this, it seemed to go on forever, without getting anywhere.

[Bannon]

On 8/31/2017 at 11:15 AM, Dobian said:

The whole Bunchy thing was so contrived.  Yeah, he happens to be walking around with a million dollars and happens to walk into a fast food place at the exact moment it's being robbed and the robber is behind the counter.  Right.

More contrived plots.  Yet another rich famous person kills someone and it's the Donovans to the rescue.  Right.  Though I got a kick out of Mickey using the samurai sword for wet work.

The life insurance premiums, for anybody who provides service to entertainment industry bigshots in Hollywood, must be astronomical. It's like a damned Auschwitz for Tinseltown gofers!

[For Cereals]

Boxing kid reminds me too much of Nick Cannon.  It takes me out of the story, which, as everyone pointed out already, isn't that great.  A Mickey/Darrel spinoff with Mickey as The Bumbling Cleaner could be fun.

[scrb]

I didn't realize the kid was half black.

Seemed Hispanic.  Those racist Donovan's are just getting used to Black Irish but they may not be ready for others yet.

[meowmommy]

On 9/2/2017 at 0:00 PM, For Cereals said:

A Mickey/Darrel spinoff with Mickey as The Bumbling Cleaner could be fun.

The dismemberment and burial at sea left me thinking I was watching Dexter.   But we got to see a little bit, maybe, of where Ray got his fixing skills.

In the opening shot when they panned to the for sale sign and Deb's picture, it reminded me we lost a lot when they made Elliott Gould crazy and then killed him off. 

[tvfanatic13]

On 8/30/2017 at 0:41 AM, Utpe said:

 

 

Ugh, glad to know it isn't just me!  I hate having to turn the volume up on the TV as to not disturb the neighbors, so I'm forced to use closed captioning.

Even then, if I happen to miss a piece of dialogue, I don't bother going back, especially during the Abby scenes.

ETA:  Nice blue screen behind Bridget while making that phone call.  Completely noticeable.

I felt the exact same thing with Bridget in Washington Square Park. Holy green screen!!

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Behind the episode (S5.E4): Sam Winslow's backstory:

[80sBaby]

The show is so bad this season. I used to love Bunch and really feel for him, now I cringe when he comes on the screen.  The Abby flashbacks are annoying as hell. She's dead, let her be dead and move on.

The "sexy" actress that talks like a character in a cheesy 40s detective movie. I can barely understand a word she says!!! I agree that the whole show is a big mumble.

This was one of my favorite shows, sad to see it go out like this.