HomeTVRay Donovan: 10 reasons why we want season 8

Ray Donovan: 10 reasons why we want season 8

Ray Donovan‘s seventh season came to a close recently and according to lead actor Liev Schreiber, season 8 isn’t guaranteed.

If you want to avoid spoilers for Ray Donovan, stop reading now.

In a message posted to Instagram, Liev told fans that the fate of the show is in the hands of the network and he encouraged fans to let their voices be heard. Looking on social media, you can see a huge outpouring of love and support for Ray Donovan so fingers crossed we get another season.

Especially as season 7 didn’t exactly give us closure did it? As the credits rolled viewers were left in shock over the death of Smitty (Graham Rogers), who was caught in a crossfire between Daryll (Pooch Hall), Mickey (Jon Voight), Bunchy (Dash Mihok), Declan Sullivan (Kevin Corrigan) and his brother Kevin (Josh Hamilton).

The blow left fans reeling, especially after Smitty had decided to forgive Bridget (Kerris Dorsey) and they were planning to move back to New York. That last shot of Bridget looking out of their window, wondering where Smitty was, was heartbreaking.

Ray Donovan - 7x06
Credit: Showtime

Elsewhere the episode saw Ray (Liev Schreiber) put a bullet in Jim Sullivan’s (Peter Gerety) head and bury his body in the woods. He also ended things with Jim’s daughter Molly (Kerry Condon) before he did it. That brought that plot to a close after Ray learned that Jim had been raping his sister Bridget, leaving her pregnant before she killed herself.

Terry (Eddie Marsan) on the other hand left us worried he was going to try and kill himself but he was last seen on top of the Empire State Building.

With plenty of story left to be told, here are the 10 reasons we want another season of Ray Donovan…

1. We need to see the fallout from Smitty’s death. We want to see how the Donovan’s react to what happened, especially Bridget when she finds out that Mickey had a chance to save Smitty’s life, and deserted him instead.

2. Mickey Vs. the Donovans. This has been brewing since the first season but it’s the first time that the whole Donovan family has turned against Mickey. He’s always kept one or two of them onside but they all have their reasons to be mad at him.

Ray Donovan
Credit: Showtime

3. Conor Donovan (Devon Bagby) to come back. His absence in season 7 was a bit random. We know he’s enrolled in the military but there’s no way the show can end without him returning into the fold. We feel he’s been under-used and his character never fully realised.

4. Bridget to step into Lena’s (Katherine Moennig) shoes. Anyone else think that Bridget’s destiny involves her helping her dad fixing problems? She showed an aptitude with it during season 7 when she helped a troubled popstar evade the media and angry fans. In season 6 she also helped dispose of a few bodies…

5. Ray to find some glimpse of happiness. Post-Abby (Paula Malcomson), Ray has been spiralling hard but he did finally start going to therapy in season 7. We felt hopeful that he could find some happiness with Molly but after killing her father, there’s surely no chance that relationship can survive? While Ray will never be truly happy, we’d like his story to have a less bleak end than it might if season 7 ends up being the last.

6. Terry to find some control in his life. Like Ray and Bunchy, Terry has been spiralling since his underground bareknuckle fighting shenanigans. His disease is getting the better of him but the Donovan family needs him as he’s the glue that holds them all together. It feels like he got a bit of perspective at the end of season 7 so we’d like to see him once more pulling his family back together.

Ray Donovan
Credit: Showtime

7. Bunchy to resolve his issues with Teresa (Alyssa Diaz). It’s the only time Bunchy has truly been happy and it was heartbreaking in season 6 to see him resorting to kidnapping his own daughter after losing custody. They may never be together again as a couple but we’d like to see them successfully co-parenting.

8. Daryll to step out of his father’s shadow. Daryll’s life is getting pretty complicated thanks to being constantly pulled into Mickey’s web but by the end of season 7, he seemed to be finally pulling away from his father’s influence. We don’t expect season 8 to be a walk in the park for Daryll but he’s grown a lot the past two seasons, and is slowly finding his place in the world.

9. Shocking deaths. The main Donovan family, with the exception of Abby, have evaded death despite being in some seriously hairy situations. If season 8 happens, and it’s the final season, we don’t think all of the characters should make it out alive.

10. Some familiar faces to come back. Lena is an obvious one on our wish list but Ray Donovan has had so many great characters over the years, we’d love to see some of them come back. We also wouldn’t be upset if the show returned to Los Angeles at some point too so it can come full circle.

Ray Donovan airs on Sky Atlantic HD in the UK and Showtime in the US.

Pip Ellwood-Hughes
Pip Ellwood-Hughes
Pip is the owner and Editor of Entertainment Focus, and the Managing Director of PiƱata Media. With over 19 years of journalism experience, Pip has interviewed some of the biggest stars in the entertainment world. He is also a qualified digital marketing expert with over 20 years of experience.

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