Photo: Suzanne Tenner/SHOWTIME
Just two episodes in, it's already clear that the Donovans are a bunch of animals battling (or should I say "fite-ing") to be pack leader. But there can be only one alpha dog, and everyone else just has to try to scramble to the top of the rest of the pack. Here's how things shake out in the latest episode.
Ray
A determined alpha dog, Ray basically spends the day exerting his dominance over everyone he sees. His first order of business is dealing with Chloe (Alex Saxon), the transgendered prostitute that Tommy (Austin Nichols) visited in the series premiere; unbeknownst to Tommy, Chloe had taped him going down on her (or rather on him, since Tommy is clearly giving Chloe a blowjob), and Chloe's sent it to Tommy in an attempt to extort $1,000,000 so that Chloe can get gender reassignment surgery. Ray manages to win over Chloe when they meet at a café ("I like you," says Chloe, a tremendous judge of character), but then follows her home and gets her to back off by choking her out while henchman Avi (Steven Bauer) takes all the computers and memory sticks in the apartment. Then Ray gets sent over to see Feldman (Josh Pais), and after showing Feldman the clip of Tommy's sexcapade, gets cash out of Feldman's office safe. As Ray leaves, Feldman asks Ashley (Ambyr Childers) whether Ray is hot, and Ashley says he is. Ray then analyzes the security tape he got from longtime client Sean (Johnathan Schaech) after Sean received a threatening photo at his house; Ray confirms that the photo planter was his new brother Daryll (Pooch Hall) and that Mickey (Jon Voight) was the getaway driver. This makes Ray a winner x 3. Oh yeah -- and after nearly killing Chloe, Ray sends Lena (Katherine Moennig) to Chloe's to deliver a cut of Feldman's money so that Chloe can get the surgery after all. WHAT A MENSCH is what we're supposed to think, I guess.
Mickey
In addition to threatening Sean with regard to the cover-up that got Mickey sent to prison in the first place (apparently, Sean shot a girl and Ray helped him frame Mickey, the original fixer, for it), Mickey spends the night at Ray's house after getting Abby (Paula Malcomson) good and drunk and worming his way into Ray's family. He manipulates Abby into taking him to Malibu with the kids, and hands around cash like a big shot (including putting bills into Abby's bra so she can go buy something "sexy" and then pawing through her bag for the thong she picks -- inappropriate!). And even though Ray caught up to him with the whole Sean thing...Mickey got the better of Ray first. Mickey already set Ray on his heels by getting out of prison five years early; now Ray will need to start being calm and logical if he doesn't intend to cede his alpha dog status to Mickey.
Abby
Abby might have been in the two-slot above Mickey if her plan to punish Ray by bringing Mickey into the kids' lives against Ray's wishes hadn't been revealed sooner than she intended. But she was acting out of berserker rage instead of carefully considering what her next move should be, and that is just sloppy. It also seems like Abby might be lining up all the other Donovans as possible replacements for Ray.
Bridget
This was the first episode where we saw Bridget (Kerris Dorsey) doing much talking, and...what a bitch. If she keeps this up, she could be dominating her mother in no time.
Terry
Terry (Eddie Marsan) may not have the power his brothers do, what with his Parkinson's and his terrible, depressing apartment, and the sad story of Bernadette, whoever she was. But this nice nurse (Brooke Smith) likes him. Maybe he'll never be top dog, but he might be one of the few characters on the show who's actually worth rooting for.
Bunchy
Still mid-bender, Bunchy (Dash Mihok) is either too far gone to be trusted to be used as Mickey's runner for tasks like the Sean job, or he's climbed up the pack ladder now that Daryll's around to do that stuff. Either way, he escaped a beating.
Conor
Way to put your mom on blast to your angry dad, Conor (Devon Bagby)! You want to last in this family, you better get better at lying -- particularly about your texting friendship with Tommy, which cannot possibly end well for Tommy.
Daryll
Welcome to the family! You can do all the shit jobs that will get your big brother's enormous henchman to staple an old photo to your chest and leave you for dead. Now, hold still; Bunchy's going to hump your leg.