Mr. Inbetween - General Discussion

[Meredith Quill]

A place to discuss particular episodes, arcs and moments from the show's run. Please remember this isn't a complete catch-all topic -- check out the forum for character topics and other places for show-related talk.

[margol29]

Well, I'll start this.

Seems like it would be a good show. My problem is the accents. Very difficult to understand the characters. Especially the man with the speech problem. Also who is he in relation to the main character. I was guessing a brother but I could have missed it not understanding what was being said. I like the main character and his daughter. I don't know if I will be back.

[Ohwell]

I also have a problem with the accents.  I'll try to keep watching though.

[margol29]

I have watched other shows produced in Australia and could follow along. I don't know if it is the production of the show or what. 

I was sorry to see that he had to kill the wrong guy in the second episode. He felt bad and gave the widow some money. I would just like some stuff explained a little better.

[Mahamid Frauded Me]

I kind of like this show, but agree following the accent is hard, had the same problem with the show The Terror. Maybe I will follow 90day Fiance Pole & Kareeny use google translate

[meep.meep]

I don't have any problems with the accents and the actual volume is OK.

I love Ray's daughter.

[msrachelj]

captions! i'm following so far, we'll see. it's different .

[mxc90]

Good show so far.

The brother in law is a moron!

[AuntiePam]

I'm using the captions.  My gosh, but they use the F word a lot! 

I missed the first episode, or maybe the first two episodes.  Seems like this is filmed in half-hour segments and we get two segments at a time.  Is that right?  Anyway, I caught the one where he thought he killed the brother-in-law (?) who had tried to rob him.

Wish I'd seen this from the beginning.  Who are the people taking care of Ray's daughter?  Is Ray a hit man?

Enjoyed seeing Damon Herriman  again.  After seeing him in Justified and Quarry, I'm surprised to see that he's Australian.  Why is it that Aussies and Brits can do excellent southern US accents, but Americans suck at southern? 

[meep.meep]

Ray is in "security" - usually he just roughs people up, but he did kill someone, apparently the wrong person. 

The people taking care of Ray's daughter are her mother and new husband.

My DVR has picked up new showings of the first two episodes during this week - check out the FX schedule.

[msrachelj]

even my captions can not understand the brother(?) who i assume has had a stroke. never know what he is saying. this show is strange. ray's girlfriend is a moron for staying with him after witnessing his outrage. not a good sign. i may have to bail out. the russian guy is a moron, the sister is unlikeable, her husband is unlikable and a porn addict. ray is unstable. 

[AuntiePam]

2 hours ago, msrachelj said:

even my captions can not understand the brother(?) who i assume has had a stroke. never know what he is saying.

He said he has MN, motor neuron disease -- which is Aussie for ALS, Lou Gehrig's disease. 

I can understand why we're having trouble hearing -- my closed captioning picks up conversation (from characters who are outside the shot) that isn't even slightly audible.  Really bad sound work.

Thanks meep.meep for alerting me about the repeats -- I caught them on demand and they explained a lot. 

The show has some really unattractive characters (behavior-wise, not physical) but it's compelling to me.  I like that Ray didn't kill the undercover cop, sort of making up for killing the wrong guy earlier.  Weird, to "like" someone for not killing somebody.  Kinda twisted, eh?

[meep.meep]

The 6th episode is hilarious - I think it's the last one.  I liked Ray letting the cop go too.  What did Ray ask him when he caught him on the pay phone?  "are you **** or dog?"  and what does that mean?

Where are our authentic Australian translators?  Don't make me have to ask my 96 year old uncle....

I'm probably going to hell for thinking a show where people get killed is hilarious.

[AuntiePam]

23 hours ago, meep.meep said:

The 6th episode is hilarious - I think it's the last one.  I liked Ray letting the cop go too.  What did Ray ask him when he caught him on the pay phone?  "are you **** or dog?"  and what does that mean?

 

"Are you Jack or dog?"  My guess is that Jack is real police and dog is an ordinary snitch, a low-life who sees an opportunity.  You can have some respect for a Jack, but not a dog.

What I want to know is what's a "dimmie"?

Edited October 13, 2018 by AuntiePam

[mxc90]

19 hours ago, AuntiePam said:

"Are you Jack or dog?"  My guess is that Jack is real police and dog is an ordinary snitch, a low-life who sees an opportunity.  You can have some respect for a Jack, but not a dog.

What I want to know is what's a "dimmie"?

 

My guess is Dim Sum. Ray mentioned soy sauce for the dimmies when confronting Nick at the payphone.

Ray has a safe rigged with a bomb for "certain" occasions. Kidnappers beware!

For a moment , I thought Dave was buying the steel ruler for the purpose to beat the goofy sidekick Bobby for leaving the car.

I am a little surprised Ray let Dave go after how many times the guy promised/threatened to put a hole in him.

Edited October 14, 2018 by mxc90

[meep.meep]

You're right!  And he gets soy sauce for his dimmies in the last episode.  When he finds the two car thiefs in the shop with his locked box.

[Ohwell]

I just watched the first two episodes.  I loved how Ray stepped back and kicked that young punk in the nuts.  Looking forward to watching the rest of this show. 

[AuntiePam]

It's baaa-ack!  Were there two episodes?  My DVR recorded just one, and there were a few seconds of what looked like another episode at the end.  I couldn't tell if it was a new episode or one from last season, or previews.

Ray is such a shit.  He acts so put-upon, like a husband being asked to take the trash to the curb. 

He's good with his daughter though.  How is he going to "deal with" Taylor? 

I liked seeing Damon Herriman again.  There are a lot of shows on his IMdB page that I haven't seen.  Maybe some of them are on Netflix or Prime.

[meep.meep]

It was just the one episode.  The second one was the last episode from the previous season.

I got an irrational flood of joy when I saw this come up on my DVR schedule.  

[tennisgurl]

Oh man, that guy in the car might as well have been begging Ray to kill him. Showing pictures of his kid, talking about how he wants to quit the criminal life and how this is his last job, he might as well have slipped on a red shirt. Those two are clearly awful at being criminals, I mean, driving around your own car with a dead body in it, and sticking it in your own garage? Really? 

Ray is such a dickhead, but he is really good with his daughter, and she is super adorable. So how is he going to "handle" Taylor? She might be a tiny mean girl, but maybe dont kill any children today?

[SimoneS]

La

On 9/16/2019 at 10:46 AM, tennisgurl said:

 So how is he going to "handle" Taylor? She might be a tiny mean girl, but maybe dont kill any children today?

Ray hired that young girl who was at the gym to threaten Taylor which made me laugh. I bet he will have that girl beat up Taylor if necessary. 

First episode that I ever watched from beginning to end. It was okay.

[tennisgurl]

Yeah that little girl would totally beat Taylor up but not give a single fuck. 

That last scene was really well done. 

[SimoneS]

I caught most of last night's episode. I liked how Ray explained sex to Brittany. He was direct and dealt with the embarrassment. Chika Yasumura who plays Brittany looked like she wanted to bust out laughing, but did good job looking bemused and horrified. Ray needs to lock his bedroom door from now on.

[mxc90]

Mum: Break a leg.

Ray:  I will! Thanks.

All he had to do was give Ray the money. Now his 8 grand veneers is damaged, lost his uke, and no audition.

I hope we see "Mr. Two Scoops" again and Ray kicking his ass.

It took them a while to remember Daniel Craig.

[tennisgurl]

I really hope we see asshole two scoops guy again and Ray kicks the crap out of him. All things considered, the sex talk went pretty well.

[SimoneS]

That was hella dark and emotional. It was a good episode with stellar subtle acting, especially from the actor playing the father. His quiet despair was heartbreaking. I am torn about Ray and his punishments, but I can't feel for that pedophile who is about to get a hellish beating.

[mxc90]

Kim waited over 20 years to go after Dennis Miller?!

This how adult Ray deal with monsters. No naming necessary.

You could see the look of disgust/disappointment on Ray's face when  Kim came out the tunnel and didn't kill him.

I was waiting to hear a gun shot as the song and end credits were going.

Freddy: " Oh! You don't kill bugs, you just kill people"

Ray: "I got to draw the line somewhere"

Edited October 4, 2019 by mxc90

[kassygreene]

Wow.  Just, Wow.  😮

Season 2 is on Xfinity until mid January.  Guess I'll be doing a binge re-watch over the holidays.

[AuntiePam]

On 10/4/2019 at 7:12 AM, mxc90 said:

You could see the look of disgust/disappointment on Ray's face when  Kim came out the tunnel and didn't kill him.

I don't think he expected Kim to kill Miller.  Ray always looks disgusted or disappointed.  Ray has to understand that not everyone is able to kill another person. 

I kinda wanted Ray to let Miller go.  Let him live, and let him wonder if and when Ray or Kim will be back.  Also, Ray left fingerprints all over Miller's kitchen.  It'd be all kinds of wrong if he was caught and prosecuted for this murder.  

[retrograde]

I only just started watching, and am still catching up. To answer some old questions on this thread: 

On 10/13/2018 at 2:50 PM, AuntiePam said:

"Are you Jack or dog?"  My guess is that Jack is real police and dog is an ordinary snitch, a low-life who sees an opportunity.  You can have some respect for a Jack, but not a dog.

Yep, a Jack is a cop. A "dog" is general parlance might be used for someone who does something low-down and dirty (more commonly you'd say they did a "dog act"), but I'm told in Australian prison slang it is specifically a snitch.

On 10/14/2018 at 9:38 AM, mxc90 said:

My guess is Dim Sum. Ray mentioned soy sauce for the dimmies when confronting Nick at the payphone.

Close. Dim sim. It's a huge pork dumpling, though the word apparently comes from a misspelling of Dim Sum. It's a fried food take-out staple that you'd buy from like a deli/bodega/convenience store equivalent in the US. 

The audio is fine for me, but I can imagine the accents are tough if you're not used to them. This is actually how a lot of Australians talk but you rarely see it on TV where actors often speak with very polished drama-school accents. 

[mxc90]

I liked that Ray tried to stop smoking for his daughter. Won't last but he is trying. 

Ray already telling his daughter Santa is not real and he forgetting he told her were funny.

Brittany gave Bruce jokes for Christmas. LOL!

I'm ashamed to say I laughed at the "chicken crossed the road" joke. Brittany is a better joke teller than Ally's father.

Also, I laughed at the middle finger presents.

"Cause It's kitschy" (famous last words)! I wasn't expecting him to be tossed through the glass. That was soooooo damn funny! Too bad Ray's relationship had to end because of this (sucks to end  the episode on a sad note).

Edited October 12, 2019 by mxc90

[meep.meep]

Made him realize why he needed the anger management group.  And he does.  His temper lost him his girlfriend.

[SimoneS]

The episode started off so heartwarming with Brittany seeing the multicolored "unicorn," I should have known it would all go to hell. I hope Ray manages to stop smoking although I can't help thinking that his withdrawal from nicotine was part of the reason that he lost it so quickly with Ally's brother. He is usually far more controlled when Brittany and Ally are around. 

My heart broke for Ray and Ally during that break up scene. They both were so sad and broken. I am glad that she is protecting herself and not risking becoming a victim of domestic violence again. I want to believe that Ray will never hurt her and I know that he believes that he never will, but how can Ally be certain after how he bashed her brother and she does not even know what he really does for a living.

[tennisgurl]

I should have known after we started with so many sweet heartwarming moments, like Brittany seeing the unicorn, that things would go sideways, but I didnt see all of that coming. Its nice that Ray is trying to stop smoking for Brittany, but I do think that the nicotine withdrawal made him more easy to piss off than usual. 

I mean, shoving Allys brother out of a window on Christmas is clearly a very bad thing to do, that guy really did seem like a dickhead. I mean, he took a little kids Christmas present they were clearly thrilled with because "its kitschy"? Then when everyone rightly called him out he was all "hey its the rules!" all smugly while poor Brittany is clearly heartbroken, I mean who does that?! 

Ally and Ray breaking up was sad, but I get why she did it and it was probably the right thing for her. She didnt want to become a victim of domestic violence again, and while Ray has never hurt her (and I dont think he would) he does clearly have a violent temper and that could end badly, especially as she is seeing what happened in her earlier relationship happen here.

[mxc90]

Did Ray feel compelled to watch a documentary about World War II after he mentioned it in the meeting?

Meh episode. It felt like they needed to show reasons why violence is acceptable (the men at the club and Ray threatening deadbeat Simon if he dosen't pay child support).

Curious why Ray took the job for deadbeat Simon, he didn't seem interested at the meeting.

No smoking for Ray in the alley (progress).

Poor Ally for seeing Ray and leaving the store and poor store clerk for having to put the items back on the shelf!

I almost thought Ray was going to get struck by lightening!

Ally's items at his house are thrown out, the pictures on the phone deleted, and the heart in the tree chopped away. Anything else in need to get rid of Ray?

[AuntiePam]

2 hours ago, mxc90 said:

Curious why Ray took the job for deadbeat Simon, he didn't seem interested at the meeting.

He pegged Simon as an asshole.  Ray's not the kind of guy who's gonna kill a rich man's girlfriend, or kill anyone just to protect their reputation.  I think he was offended by the request and decided to check out the guy's story. 

Is it possible that Ray knew Fiona?  She didn't seem at all frightened to have a strange man accost her in the parking garage. 

I don't think Ray would have killed her even if what Simon said were true.

The $250,000 is about 18 years child support at $1,000 per month, eh? 

[meep.meep]

$250K is a little more, but it's a 10 times less than what the guy was claiming she was demanding.  And $1000 a month for child support is not very much.

Ally dumping her stuff and leaving the store was heartbreaking.

[AuntiePam]

4 hours ago, mxc90 said:

It felt like they needed to show reasons why violence is acceptable (the men at the club and Ray threatening deadbeat Simon if he doesn't pay child support).

Yep.  It's hard to argue with Ray, sometimes.  Those guys will think twice before they slap a woman on the ass, and Ally's brother will reconsider before he does something shitty to a kid. 

On the other hand, when we're hit, our instinct is to hit back.  Those people Ray hit might retaliate, and the chain begins. 

That leader in the anger management group -- I'd be scared to death to draw those guys out, get them going. 

Ray looks like he's seething, all the time.  Maybe it's the way he grits his teeth.  He never looks relaxed and calm.

[mxc90]

10 hours ago, AuntiePam said:

He pegged Simon as an asshole.  Ray's not the kind of guy who's gonna kill a rich man's girlfriend, or kill anyone just to protect their reputation.  I think he was offended by the request and decided to check out the guy's story. 

Is it possible that Ray knew Fiona?  She didn't seem at all frightened to have a strange man accost her in the parking garage. 

I don't think Ray would have killed her even if what Simon said were true.

I was just wondering why he just didn't tell him no from the start.

You're right about Ray. I hope he is keeping tabs on her. What will stop Simon from hiring someone else to do the job. 

Their conversation was so casual/calm, it did seem like they knew one another. 

9 hours ago, AuntiePam said:

 That leader in the anger management group -- I'd be scared to death to draw those guys out, get them going. 

Ray looks like he's seething, all the time.  Maybe it's the way he grits his teeth.  He never looks relaxed and calm.

The anger management guy should have his chair positioned closer to the exit or close to the window to jump out.

Maybe Ray needs a cigarette to relax him (oops!) or that waitress.

[AuntiePam]

55 minutes ago, mxc90 said:

I was just wondering why he just didn't tell him no from the start.

It's hard to say.  Maybe he was worried that Simon would just find someone else.  Or maybe he was suspicious about the guy's story.

He didn't like Simon even before Simon started talking.  Wouldn't shake his hand. 

[tennisgurl]

Ray needs to find a way to relax now that he isnt smoking. Like, maybe get some gum? I know that he is an angry guy in general, but he just seems to be seething 24/7.

Ally ditching her shopping cart and running off, ouch, that was heartbreaking. 

Ray certainly isnt the type of person to kill a pregnant woman, her baby daddy is a serious scumbag. As much as Ray seems to constantly be surrounded by assholes who it seems could use a good punch, his solving every problem with violence wont end well.

[mxc90]

Thanks to the show for not letting us see Bruce walk down the stairs to Ray's car. That may have taken up the entire half hour.

Brittany is 9 and Ray's father is just finding out he has a granddaugther?

So was Freddy's story about his and the son-in law's soured relationship the reason why Ray changed his mind to talk to Kate?

Ray made sure not to give her any direct answers:

Kate: Where did you grow up?
Ray: About 4 hours out of Sydney.
Kate: Do you mind my asking where?
Ray: I don't mind you asking.

After this funny exchange, I started to feel a little concerned for Freddy's safety (not Kate's) when she told Ray the book was about criminals and asked about his first hit job. Ray seemed blindsided by this. He sure didn't appreciate Freddy telling her what he does for a living. His silence, tapping of the fingers and non eye contact were a little intense.

Gary finding out he was wrong about clamari, that it is squid not octopus and he can eat it wihtout guilt was funny. He must have told the towers story to prove he was right about something.

Ray spent over 30 plus hours waiting for the right time to shoot and the job ended in failure. He didn't know the place would be occupied by others and had an alarm system? The person ordering the hit must be losing his patience with Ray on this job. Only one to get hit was the poor doberman.

I guess it was smart to have another getaway car (Gary's personal car?) a few miles away. But if Vinnie happened to give chase by car, Ray and Gary wouldn't have time to change vehicles and Vinnie would have found Gary's address.

Funny ending. Was Brittany waiting a long time to unleash to Ray her true feelings about Jack and sympathy for the Giant or did she come to her conclusions at that moment? And how quickly she made Ray and Bruce believers!

Edited October 25, 2019 by mxc90

[meep.meep]

So Ray can answer some questions!  It was a dick move by Freddy to let her know that Ray was a hit man.

He did know that Vinny was expecting visitors.  In the previous episode where they agreed to get together, Ray first proposed this weekend, and Vinny said that it was no good because his family was coming by.  So they settled on the following weekend.

Not only didn't Ray's father not know about Brittany, he hadn't seen Bruce for 16 years.

[mxc90]

On 10/25/2019 at 1:40 PM, meep.meep said:

He did know that Vinny was expecting visitors.  In the previous episode where they agreed to get together, Ray first proposed this weekend, and Vinny said that it was no good because his family was coming by.  So they settled on the following weekend.

Thanks. I had to re-watch that episode and totally forgot about the line when Ray told Alex's man: Vinnie's security is tight and he will get him at the parent's farm.

I wonder why he didn't pop him as soon as he got out the car or when he walked out with the dog.

[AuntiePam]

5 minutes ago, mxc90 said:

I wonder why he didn't pop him as soon as he got out the car or when he walked out with the dog.

Maybe because if he does it farther away from the house, they'll have a better chance of getting away. 

I wonder if he's having second thoughts.  There's Brittany's influence, and also the fact that he's killing one boss to make way for another boss.  Seems so useless.

[mxc90]

5 minutes ago, AuntiePam said:

Maybe because if he does it farther away from the house, they'll have a better chance of getting away. 

I wonder if he's having second thoughts.  There's Brittany's influence, and also the fact that he's killing one boss to make way for another boss.  Seems so useless.

From his position, it seems he could have picked off Vinnie and the other guy. Parents would be ducking for cover as he ran away. There was no guarantee Vinnie was going to step out and take a walk with the dog. 

Maybe this is the first time Ray has to hit someone he knows. Vinnie was nice to him at the store and called Ray to drink beer. This is making him think twice (just a guess).

[mxc90]

The man with Vinnie at the farm is Dave from the end of season one. Davros contracted him to kidnap Ray and after the explosion Ray let him go because his wife was in labor. Now that adds to my guess why Ray didn't shoot at the time Vinnie stepped out of the car.

[mxc90]

Ray had to deal with "killing" on many levels (kid's question, Kate's questions, killing Vinnie, and not wanting to kill Dirk).

Surprised the teacher didn't step in when the kid asked Ray if he killed anyone.

Kate was getting to Ray a little when she brought up Brittany. She is doing a better job than the group session. Ray was more talkative this time with her, I wonder if he is treating this as therapy.

I guess Ray never asked Freddy why he told Kate he is a hitman.

Dirk didn't want Ray's money but rather rob Freddy!

If Ray wanted to protect Dirk, why did he blurt out his name to Freddy? Freddy may never have known it was him.

Ray will not be haunted by Vinnie but he sure will about Dirk. This may have been the most emotion he has shown since the show started. Maybe this will get him back to smoking. 

[tennisgurl]

Brittany has valid points about Jack and the Beanstalk. I mean, unless its one of the versions where the giant is terrorizing people or doing something evil, Jack broke into a guys house, stole his stuff, and then killed him when he tried to get it back! What a dick!

That being said, it also seemed like it might be rather sad foreshadowing. If Brittany is so upset by what a fairy tale character did by stealing, breaking the law, and killing someone, just imagine how she will feel when she finds out what her dad does for a living.

[AuntiePam]

16 hours ago, mxc90 said:

If Ray wanted to protect Dirk, why did he blurt out his name to Freddy? Freddy may never have known it was him.

I don't think Ray thought Freddy would be so upset about the theft of a few dollars.  And he did "blurt" -- if he'd thought about it, he might have kept quiet.

This episode gave us something to think about.  Killing is killing, whether it's done in service of country or for pay.  And in service of country is also for pay, so to speak.  The person is just as dead, in uniform or out.  Motive is what makes it bearable.  I think I could kill someone to protect my family, and I don't know how I'd feel after.

I think Ray feels worse than he can bear to admit, about everyone he's killed.

Unless that cliff side spot had meaning to Dirk and Ray, I gotta wonder if it was in the back of Ray's mind that Dirk might do what he did.  It takes the heat off Ray.