Mr. Inbetween: Season 1/ Episode 4 “On Behalf of Society” – Recap/ Review (with Spoilers)
Ally begins to see Ray as we see him, and it makes her a bit more cautious when it comes to dating him. [adinserter name=”General Ads”] Network FX Director(s) Nash Edgerton Writer(s) Scott Ryan Air Date 10/3/2018 Characters Introduced Davros Firass Dirani Images and text in this post may contain affiliate links which, if a…
Ally begins to see Ray as we see him, and it makes her a bit more cautious when it comes to dating him.
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| Network | ||
| FX | ||
| Director(s) | Nash Edgerton | |
| Writer(s) | Scott Ryan | |
| Air Date | 10/3/2018 | |
| Characters Introduced | ||
| Davros | Firass Dirani | |
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The Sweet Side: Ray, Brittany, Bruce, Ally
As shown repeatedly, Ray has a bit of a soft side. Especially in regards to Brittany. Though he and her mother may not see eye to eyes, he is a consistent dad. He goes to her games, spends time with her, brings her over to his brother’s house so she knows where she comes from, a bit of everything. Also, upon meeting her, Ally sees the child is well mannered as well. I’m talking, she doesn’t curse, isn’t shy, or anything like that. Presenting the idea she knows, if her dad is around, she is safe and he wouldn’t put her into a position which would make her feel otherwise.
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Commentary
It remains quite weird how separated Ray’s gangster life and his life with Bruce and Brittany is. Yet, I gotta admit, I like us having a taste of both of his worlds. Granted, I feel like that is all we get since this show is but a half hour, but you can’t deny what Yasumura and Cassim bring to the show. It’s just, I wish, in a similar fashion to You or maybe how Quentin is in The Chi, they would interweave these two worlds more. Thus making the show seem more fluid than it being like two almost completely separated stories being cut up to seem like they go together.
The Dark Side: Davros, Freddy, Ally, Ray
So, the sit-down happens and it doesn’t necessarily go well. Ray is clearly there as a favor to Freddy and with Davros starting the meeting off refusing to shake Ray’s hand, he pretty much is dead to him. After all, what Ray desires the most is respect. It isn’t clear what started that or who made that such a high priority, but as long as you are honest and respectful, that is all that matters.
Ally gets to understand this too. When someone keeps him from being able to back out of a spot, and they are quite rude, he handles the situation physically. Something that doesn’t necessarily scare Ally but it does make her realize this sweet man has a bit of an anger problem. Yet, seemingly, she is like-minded enough to justify some of his actions.
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However, she doesn’t realize it goes beyond petty fights in parking lots. Take, for example, perhaps to get revenge for him feeling disrespected, Davros sends some guys after Ray – may even have gone himself. Problem is, Ray stays ready so he pretty much wipes them all out.
Commentary
Well, thanks to that gun, Gary shows why Ray keeps him around. But, I do feel that what this show desperately needs is some flashbacks or filling in some background information. I know it is a comedy, but it has so much potential for dramatic elements that goes untapped. Sometimes Bruce brings it, with his ailment, but I would love to see his and Ray’s childhood, maybe the fall of Ray’s marriage, how he got into Bobby’s employment, or how he became friends with Gary.
Because, as much as there is some value in just being dropped in a story in progress, for it presents a certain level of realism, eventually you have to fill in the missing details. Though with the season finale coming next week, and no signs this show will be looking back, I guess we just have to hope the next season will fill us in.
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Highlights
- Ally seeing Ray in a similar manner to we do and her reaction to it.
- Ray making it clear that his main reason for being violent is making sure people understand there are consequences for their actions. Rather than him having an anger problem – per se.
- All the drama which will come from a hit being put on Ray and him taking every last person out.
On The Fence
- The two worlds of Ray make this show not feel as cohesive as it could. Ally getting to see Ray as we do helps bridge the two worlds but it doesn’t feel like it is enough.
- Taking note this is but a 6 episode series, I must admit I crave some background on Ray, at the very least.
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Amari I find your ‘advisory’ approach rather refreshing. Have you seen the mockumentary that gave rise to this series… fills in some gaps… ironically on the actor/writer too. I’ll be following your recaps now rather than the torrid almost infinite leftard ‘reviewers’ that infest the inter-waves with their politicking of every show rather than a simply recap (with a bit of advisory)…