Mr. Inbetween: Season 2, Episode 2 “Don’t Be a Dickhead” – Recap, Review (With Spoilers)
Mr. Inbetween doesn’t feature a murder this week, but Bruce triggers something which makes Ray willing to open up to Ally about a dark time in his life.
Mr. Inbetween doesn’t feature a murder this week, but Bruce triggers something which makes Ray willing to open up to Ally about a dark time in his life.
Network | ||
FX | ||
Director(s) | Nash Edgerton | |
Writer(s) | Scott Ryan | |
Air Date | 09/19/2019 | |
Introduced This Episode | ||
Samantha | Elle Murray | |
Petra | Maha Wilson | |
Taylor | Jayanna Assaf |
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Recap (with Commentary & Spoilers)
Another Day, Another Assignment: Ray, Freddy
Ray gets yet another job from Freddy, but this one seems legit. It requires him killing an associate, but with the price being 250 with a 100 upfront, with no qualms or issues, it seems like easy money.
Commentary
Honestly, the hitman, killer, security guard, what have you, part of the show is the weakest. People come and go, Freddy is barely memorable, and there isn’t much of a build to the kills. They just happen and both the person who took out the hit, and the now deceased, are just part of an endless parade of people barely worth investing in.
You Shouldn’t Have Messed With My Kid: Petra, Taylor, Samantha, Ray, Brit
Ray, trying to keep things between parents, speaks to Petra, Taylor’s mother, and Petra immediately denies Taylor is bullying Brit. In fact, she feels Ray is harassing her, so she calls the cops. Leading to what should be an iconic moment which deserves to be a meme and what I need to make a .gif for.
But the “I Don’t Answer Questions” moment aside, being that Ray clearly didn’t break through to Petra, he gets Samantha, who choked him out in the last episode, to pay Taylor a visit. Leading to Brit likely not having to worry about Taylor again.
Commentary
Wouldn’t it be cool to see Brit and Samantha become friends? Brit learning to fight, Samantha getting to stick around and add some color to the show. Heck, maybe even discovering what Ray does and being the bridge between his personal life and professional life? I mean, he did likely pay the kid to threaten someone. So it isn’t like he hasn’t already started to blur that boundary.
It’s All Fun & Games Until A Few Beers Open You Up: Ray, Gary, Tatiana, Ally
Tatiana, during a group date with her, Ray, Gary, and Ally, decides to bring up the urine porn and Ally just rolls with it. Which isn’t surprising since she joked about taking a dump on Ray’s chest in the last episode, so what’s pee?
But, jokes aside, Ray seems to appreciate Ally being able to roll with the punches and that’s probably why he opens up to her about the abuse he experienced as a child. Be it at school, where he was bullied until the 6th grade, or at home. In fact, he notes it was so bad he contemplated suicide and cut his hand to see if he could really do it.
Thus helping you understand why this bullying thing was a big deal to Ray to the point of getting Samantha involved. Brit is a bit delicate and while Ray moved past his suicidal thoughts, who is to say Brit would?
Commentary
Generally speaking, most of Mr. Inbetween feels nonconsequential. Ray is told to kill someone and does it. Gary drags him into some weird situation and is forgiven, and he sometimes spends a day with his daughter. However, the conversation with Ally reminds you of the reason why you should stick around, watch each segment, and not just make the show into background noise. For every once in a while, it gets real, and Mr. Inbetween is always at its best when it isn’t trying to be funny, make Ray overly complex, or really push this duality, but just make him someone who has been through s***. The kind which alters a person and makes them capable of being a hitman. One whose humanity survives thanks to his brother, daughter, and now Ally.
Review Summary
Highlights
- Ray Opening Up To Ally, And Their Relationship In General
- Ray and Bruce’s Relationship
- Samantha’s Return & Doing A Favor For Ray
On The Fence
- Gary Is Still Married To Tatiana
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you clearly don’t understand this show or the people in it. I have met people involved in Oz criminal world and Mr Inbetween seems very real.
Ray is never going to involve anyone who he hasn’t known pretty much his whole life in anything big like a killing. People just don’t talk about jobs unless it is cryptic and then only rarely. One thing it gets a bit wrong is the looseness of some of the chatter on the phone and inside the house in that methhead hit last episode.
I suppose it made sense for the TV show even if usually much of the stuff said would only normally spoken after a long walk outside away from microphones and cameras.Generally this show is accurate with little side chatter about jobs and absolutely no trust for anyone who hasn’t been known for years.
Last season Ray got pissed with Freddie when it turned out he had hired a young ‘security’ bloke who he didn’t know that well & the guy turned out to be a copper.
Not much Ray can do though since he isn’t a member of one of the large extended families who control major crime in Oz. Freddie is even if it is not that big prolly just a part of a major city. They don’t go into too much detail because there is enough prejudice about migrants from some places, but I get the feeling that Freddie’s lot probably originated in Malta. A few Mediterranean countries, plus some of the ME and Asia are where many families originated. Mostly the crim element lasts into the second, sometimes 3rd generation before everyone is sufficiently established and separated from their migrant milieu.
Meaning Ray has got as far as he can ‘up the ladder’ and cannot become a boss himself. This makes him circumspect most of the time as we saw in the 1st season these guys are full of that ‘respect’ nonsense as it is only in the underworld they can confidently assert themselves. Ray doesn’t play that game if he doesn’t have to; so he generates both fear & respect unless the ‘boss’ is a dickhead like Freddie’s son in law was.