I think it was obvious that it was the woman from her reaction at the end. She knew who Ray was and what he does (at least from the short exchange they had)...This of course is just from my viewpoint.....

Another great episode, this show gets stronger as it goes on, glad I stuck around. Surprised no one mentioned the last scene with Voight dancing in the club. We are seeing more and more into what makes him tick with his insecurities causing much of his "off putting" behavior.

Yeah, I'm starting to rethink Mickey. It could be that he's, in his way, actually trying to gain revenge, money, get his family back, have a relationship with Ray and his kids, setting up Ezra and partner, but will not allow Ray to go down in the quasi-FBI sting. I think he wants it all. Could be wrong, but he was a pretty charming old bugger last night. Loved the amyl nitrate whiff on the gay dancefloor. The dude was in the moment.

Amyl nitrate, huh? I thought he did a bump of coke but I guess poppers makes more sense.

Think so. It wasn't a popper, but a small jar (used to sell them in head shops). I don't think it was quite Amyl...some derivative, but they had a similar effect...IIRC... RUSSSsssshshhh...

I'm not gay, but Liev Schreiber has a nice body build. Everything from muscles to body hair.

I want to be like him, LOL

Edit: I was drunk

My God, what I great episode. I want more already.

Sad to see the girlfriend playing a double life.

So that "FBI" guy isn't an active FBI agent at all, is he? Maybe a former agent who can't let go, or he's really working for some powerful mob guy.

I'm thinking the money was for a sex change operation for Mickeys girl before he went away. Great show.

That's my guess as well, which will likely make it easier for Ray and Co to dispose of him.

been hooked since the 1st episode , love this show When I heard about "Ray Donovan" months ago I did some research & was hooked then , now after a few shows it is the high light show of my week . I found I was watching it before I watched Dexter . So much so that If I'm the least bit tired ,I put off watching so that I can get every detail correct with a clear frame of mind .
This show has endless possibilities to take the plots anywhere , I like it Big Time !

This show just gets better and better. We are amazed that we can sit through an episode that has little action, and yet still feel nervous and on the edge of our seats. Just perfect all around.

Great show with great writing and Direction from Ann Biderman. She also created and Exc.. Produced Southland. As soon as I read that I knew I was in. She is also using some Soprano's alums to direct episodes, Dan Attias and Allen Coulter. How about Jon Voight, he sure makes it interesting doesn't he... .

The combination of a top-of-the-line cast and great writing have made Ray Donovan one of my favorite shows already. When I saw the scene where Abby saw the single handcuff in Ray's pad, I recalled wondering why Ray's fixer, Lena, had used bolt cutters to free Ray's psychopathic squeeze instead of using a handcuff key. We have seen Lena fix so much stuff, it seemed to me that coming up with a handcuff key shouldn't have been a problem. Makes me wonder if Lena was being passive-agressive. I'm beginning to think that poor old punch-drunk Terry may be the only sane member of the Donovan family.

Frank Whaley has done such a wonderful job of making us hate his supposed cop character, Van Miller, it's nice to see that Ray and his enforcer, Avi, are on to the guy. I wouldn't bet too much on Van's longevity.

Rewatched the episode last night. So sad to see Terry hurt over Frances. They made a cute, odd, couple. I guess there's going to be "relationship drama" coming soon.

I thought the handcuff deal was the first misstep in the show. It's common knowledge that handcuffs are easily picked - Reacher could have done it - so unless it informs the Lena character somehow, a bit disappointing. But I usually need no more than a few minutes to get perturbed by something dumb in most shows, so several episodes is pretty darn good

Really? I'm still hanging in there but I don't get this show. It seems a permutation of the Sopranos. A bunch of stuff happening without a lot of good story going on. Maybe you can explain why this is good tv.

Character and tone have a lot to do with it. Little bits are revealed each week - what was the last line of this week's episode? Who are you Ray? Hmm, or was that in the preview? Whatever, that's the idea for me.

A character study, with family, and a background plot to keep you guessing has a lot of value for me, especially with that tasty tone.

Went looking for a review that captured some of my interest -

If you’re a fan of the classic film noir of the ’40s and ’50s, you’re really going to dig the style and tone of Ray Donovan. The show is told in that same, slow-building, multiple storyline structure. There’s an air of tension and mystery in every scene of this premiere episode, just like any good noir would have. As for our leading man, Ray Donovan is an updated version of the classic Humphrey Bogart private eye. He’s got a classic style, fierce charisma, a blunt force trauma way of handling himself, a razor sharp mind and of course, a ton of demons that he’s carefully hidden under a fifth of whiskey and a wall of silence.

We all should know there's only 7 (or 5, or 10 or whatever) basic plots - makes me wonder why people say they won't view something that hasn't aired because of whatever it's ostensively about. It's what's between the lines that usually makes the difference, and that's eye of the beholder I guess.

If you look hard enough almost every show now will have elements of a previous show/movie. Explaining why a show is good wont do you any better it will just give you points to counter.

Really like this show and I think it has gotten stronger as it goes on. Sure there are multiple story lines going on at once, but don't we have that in real life? The story lines are also fairly basic which makes them easy to follow. I would think that would be more appealing then a intricate multifaceted method, which wouldn't bother me either but can turn people off.

I can nit pic with the best on small plot details, but didn't find anything odd about the handcuffs.  I thought the cutting/leaving was done realistically vs. a key in order to have them there when the wife arrives.  She surveys the various clues (cuffs, photos, bed, blood message, etc) and ends asking Ray "Who are you?".  A proper question, given the artifacts.  So, cutting the cuffs off was easy to take as a quick and dirty answer vs. a key.  Plot device, nothing more and easily accepted.

I agree ,
the handcuff key is way simplified in most cop shows it's not as easy & fast to to pick them cuffs as TV lets on add in there many different brands of handcuffs & not all have the same key , so If Ray's associate wanted to get her outta the apartment as fast as possible then bolt cutters is the fast & efficient item to use .

Sure liked the scene where Mickey was riding around the gym on Bunchee's bike celebrating his son's home ownership - and the look on Terry's face as he returned after observing Francis(?) true domestic situation was priceless. I need some clarification on the scene when Ray leaves the bar and then the next thing we see is him having sex in a bathroom - was that a drunken hallucination? If not - who was he with??

that was the blond who was handcuffed to the bathroom towel rack , later getting boffed in the rear by Ray .
Ray's associate told her Ray would see her later & hustled her outta the apartment , blond said she was lying in the hallway , the blond was warned to shut up , she didn't & promptly gets smacked ( i liked that scene immensely )

Ray had a hard day , has a drink , thinks what the hell goes taps the blond , gets home to his apartment realizes that didn't help at all ,starts to lose it & then his wife walks around the corner & asks "Who are you ? "

Ray really tries to keep a handle on things but he has past demons that haunt & family members that complicate things beyond Ray's control .

Agreed. The psychopathic blonde's scenes have been funny and entertaining. We never know what she might do next, or what Ray might do to her.

OK - I missed the part where Lena (Ray's assistant) told the blonde that he would see her later. That was a great scene when the Blonde told Lena "You can't hit me - I've got epilepsy" and Lena didn't miss a beat and slugged her in the jaw

As far as your basic plot device, it's a yeah whatever, but for it to work, you have to believe that the one and only Ray Donovan can't pick a set of cuffs, so it falls apart for me there. Lena not bringing a key is debatable, but Ray not having a basic skill anyone with half his ability would have is silly:) No biggee, just a little writer's cheat ...

Ray should consider locking his stuff up in his office or at least, locking his office door.

Like I said, plot device and acceptable to me if not others.  As for Ray's skills - he wasn't in the scene and there was no suggestion he couldn't have done it.  Not sure why you think that was the case.

Wasn't in what scene? The scene where he walked out on her after she handcuffed herself? The scene where he called Lena to go get her?

the set-up of the scene was that Ray had extremely pressing business to take care of & Ray just wasn't gonna play into her games of find the key . If Ray had picked the lock then he would have to deal with her & that's what she wanted . Ray wasn't about to spend time on her due he was having a bad day anyway ,Plus Ray didn't want to cede any amount of control of him to her by her , best that she be taught a lesson pronto that she can't demand that Ray pay attention to her on demand . Lena also did the same thing to her in the hallway "you can't hit me - I have epilepsy " immediate fore warned " Smack to the face" , I liked the different play that Lena took ,as Ray wouldn't hit a women but Lena sure would
The blonde is a child star who never has been said no to & still feels that no one can say no to her . She now thinks she can use her sexuality to get her way, as that is all the power she has left , she no longer has the clout of being a child star anymore . That's what I took away from those scenes in Ray's apartment with the blonde & the cuffs

I think the Lena character is going to be Very interesting in the future as they are slowly building a back story on her thru the phone calls she gets in the office from somebody who Lena cares about but is quickly losing patience for .
I like Ray's support staff they look out for Ray , their not afraid to offer suggestions , they question his motives , choices , offer advice & understand that he has the last word , they loyally try to protect him .

Yeah, I want more Lena! There's lots of ways to make sense of Ray just leaving her there and calling Lena to go get her, my only point is that it's all just to get wifey in the apartment with the bloody letters (as if that wasn't enough) and the busted cuffs. Actually, I was bummed when he called Lena - I wanted the next episode to open with blondie still there, with Ray sweaty and exhausted on the floor. As he stands, he asks her, "you got a bobby pin?"