Ray Donovan 7.3: "The Air that I Breathe"

An excellent, even memorable Ray Donovan 7.3, seen a few hours early, courtesy of Showtime On Demand.

At least three major stories were wrapped up, or almost wrapped up, giving this episode the feeling of a season finale.  Lena's going to LA may well be permanent, or at least for the rest of this season (The L-Word, where  Katherine Moennig has a more major role than on Ray, is coming back on Showtime in 2020).  I'll miss her on Ray Donovan, where she was always a combination of the voice of reason and a woman of cool, effective action.  Mickey being sent off by Ray to the Maldives is likely less permanent.  My guess is he'll be out of the story for at least a few episodes.  But it looks as if the police investigation into the severed head is shutdown and over, despite the tenacity of the detective.

My favorite scene, by far, was Bridget singing the Hollies's "The Air that I Breathe".  Kerris Dorsey (or whoever it was who was singing - I hope it's Dorsey) has a really nice voice, and she delivered the first part of the song (all she sang) very effectively.  It served as a perfect prelude to her sleeping with Adam.   I think Smitty's a pretty good character, but I wouldn't mind Bridget moving on.  She after all did marry Smitty for the wrong reasons.

Storylines I didn't particularly like at all were Bunchy's and, even more so, Terry's.  I think Terry is too strong a character to waist on this new-age medical mystical business.   As for Bunch, I know that it's deeply written into his character that he's always the victim, but that's getting a little tedious already.  I'm hoping that he, with or without Ray's help, can turn this completely around - soon - and get into a newer kind of story.

As for Ray, his powerful opponent has now settled into the Mayor.  With any luck, he'll have Molly Sullivan by his side and in bed to give him support.

See also Ray Donovan 7.1: Getting Ahead of the Game ... Ray Donovan 7.2: Good Luck

See also Ray Donovan 6.1: The New Friend ... Ray Donovan 6.2: Father and Sons ... Ray Donovan 6.4: Politics in the Ray Style ... Ray Donovan 6.6: The Mayor Strikes Back ... Ray Donovan 6.7: Switching Sides ... Ray Donovan 6.8: Down ... Ray Donovan 6.9: Violence and Storyline ... Ray Donovan 6.10: Working Together ... Ray Donovan 6.11: Settled Scores and Open Questions ... Ray Donovan Season 6 Finale: Snowfall and Mick

See also Ray Donovan 5.1: Big Change  ... Ray Donovan 5.4: How To Sell A Script ... Ray Donovan 5.7: Reckonings ... Ray Donovan 5.8: Paging John Stuart Mill ... Ray Donovan 5.9: Congas ... Ray Donovan 5.10: Bunchy's Money ... Ray Donovan 5.11: I'm With Mickey ... Ray Donovan 5.12: New York

See also Ray Donovan 4.1: Good to Be Back ... Ray Donovan 4.2: Settling In ... Ray Donovan 4.4: Bob Seger ... Ray Donovan 4.7: Easybeats ... Ray Donovan 4.9: The Ultimate Fix ... Ray Donovan Season 4 Finale: Roses

And see also Ray Donovan 3.1: New, Cloudy Ray ... Ray Donovan 3.2: Beat-downs ... Ray Donovan 3.7: Excommunication!

And see also Ray Donovan 2.1: Back in Business ... Ray Donovan 2.4: The Bad Guy ... Ray Donovan 2.5: Wool Over Eyes ... Ray Donovan 2.7: The Party from Hell ... Ray Donovan 2.10: Scorching ... Ray Donovan 2.11: Out of Control ... Ray Donovan Season 2 Finale: Most Happy Ending


And see also Ray Donovan Debuts with Originality and Flair ... Ray Donovan 1.2: His Assistants and his Family ... Ray Donovan 1.3: Mickey ... Ray Donovan 1.7 and Whitey Bulger ... Ray Donovan 1.8: Poetry and Death ... Ray Donovan Season 1 Finale: The Beginning of Redemption


 

It started in the hot summer of 1960, when Marilyn Monroe walked off the set of The Misfits and began to hear a haunting song in her head, "Goodbye Norma Jean" ...