No lie lives forever…but SPOILERS do…
Season Two, Episode 10: “Volcheck”
Written by David Hollander; Directed by Michael Uppendahl
Is everyone in Los Angeles fucked up? If one’s only understanding of the city comes from this show, then yeah, they kind of are. Some of the series’ most annoying characters make their return this week after some much-celebrated (at least by me) time off. (But not Stu Feldman. Thank you, Jesus.) All those loose ends that I thought would slowly come together were frayed beyond recognition this week. Ray lets his guard down; Mickey proves why he’s the best conman around; Abby is still Abby; and Volcheck, well, he turns out to be quite explosive.
Quick Breakdown
Well, it doesn’t seem as if Ray engaged in any sort of taboo relationship with Ashley and Steve Knight. However, he did get really drunk and apparently let his guard down enough to share his problems with them. (Is it just me, or does that almost feel more shocking that him actually participating in that devil’s three-way I was curious about last week?) Anyway, it’s Steve who sets the symbolic theme of this week’s episode, saying, “Every day a man should tempt the ocean’s yin and yang with his presence. Let the ocean decide his fate.” Sometimes it really is the ocean being tempted, but sometimes it’s not.
Cochran is getting a new job: head of national security in Washington, D.C. While everyone is basking him in gifts and congratulations, Kate finds her nosy-ass back in L.A., trying to fit the missing pieces together about what really happened with Sully, Mickey, and Ray. Of course, this kind of lofty position requires the most stringent of background checks, and with Kate running around town stirring up shit, his little cover-up is sure to become public. Like the close-minded chump he is, Cochran’s only play is to off her. Or have Ray do it. But Ray isn’t fond of either option, instead revealing the ace he has been hiding up his sleeve: that video of the Cochrans and the Volchecks sharing a nice evening together. Ray promises it goes viral if anything happens to him or Kate.
Turns out that Ray is better at cards than Ronald, who loses all his money and literally the watch off his wrist playing poker at the casino. It’s obvious that he’s spent most of the season dealing with money troubles (mostly due to gambling). I mean, hell, it’s what got him paired up with Mickey in the first place. After Mickey bums $5,000 from Terry, he gives it to Ronald as a bribe to turn off his tracking device for a couple nights. But Ronald wants more than that five grand — he wants in on what Mickey has planned. And that loan from Terry was in exchange for a partnership, too. (Terry must really want to make that move to Ireland happen. He’s not the kind of guy who breaks the law. It’s not part of his moral fiber.) That brings Mickey’s hapless group of criminals to a total of five: a prostitute, a dying man, a parole officer, a man suffering from Parkinson’s and a man trying to live out his glory days. (This sounds like some real Grand Theft Auto IV shit, man.)
Abby attempts to take matters into her own hands concerning Cookie Brown. She’s been having nightmares about him killing Bridget, so she devises a plan of lackluster proportions: ask “Jim the Cop” to take care of Cookie. She doesn’t care how it’s done, as long as it gets done. When he refuses, she tells him that they can’t be together anymore. Later, like the predictable character he is, he shows up at her house to tell her that he will do it. Then they fuck in his car. The romance is real, guys.
Speaking of romance, Kate and Ray meet again. The two partake in chit-chat as Kate tries to coerce Ray into talking about his experience with the Catholic priest back in Boston before the scene becomes totally rape-y, ending with Ray almost choking her out before she runs off into the night crying. Smooth.
Obviously, Cochran isn’t too happy about the whole getting-videotaped-while-banging-someone-else’s-wife thing, so he decides to lay the boom on Volcheck in the form of having him moved to North Dakota, while also admitting to Volcheck that he had relations with his wife outside of their normal arrangements. That evening, Volcheck drops in on a dinner date between the Cochrans and another couple — there, he draws a gun, points it at Cochran, and unloads the bullet into his own head. (I can’t wait to see him try and sweep this under the rug. They’re in the middle of a fucking restaurant. People have brains in their cocktails!)
Ray ends his day the same place he began it, but he forgoes the chance to talk about his day with Ashley and Steve. Instead, he strips down naked and tempts the ocean’s yin and yang. Steve got his wish after all.
Rating
B+
The scenes involving Mickey this week were some of the best this season. The way he’s setting up this heist is really interesting. I haven’t found myself cheering for him much throughout this series, but I totally have his back on this one. Even as good as Mickey was, Volcheck is the one who stole the show. I mean, damn, where did that come from? Yeah, North Dakota probably isn’t too much fun, but that’s a bit much. With just two episodes left, it’s shaping up to be a hell of a ride.
Stray Bullets…
“I’m not fucking swimming with you,” Ray yells out to Knight as he trots into the ocean. Seriously hilarious.
Bridget still isn’t at Bel-Air Academy. Did I miss something?
This conversation between Mickey and Cherry: “I got this, Mick,” says Cherry. “I can blow that security guard in two minutes or I can blow him in 10.” “Make him go as long as you can. Use your wiles,” responds Mickey. “I won’t tickle his balls then. No finger up the ass,” she says.
