S6E13 - “The Thirteenth Step”
We open in Miles City, Montana. We lovebirds Ray Donovan and Sydney Manning. Ray looks like he hasn’t showered in days and is not registered to vote. Sydney wears booty shorts, and I would let her kill me if she asked. They have their own theme music. Every time they appear on screen, there’s this whimsical guitar riff music that we hear. They park their car at a gas station and go into the adjacent convenience store. They’re arguing about something, and Sydney goes, “Ray- it’s conforming. It’s like saying that you own me. I don’t wanna be a possession.” And Ray goes, “Tying the knot will guarantee me front-row seats to the movie of your life. Don’t you want someone to change your diapers when you get old?” Sydney also finds one of those ring pops. Basically, it’s a ring that has a piece of hard candy on top of it. Sydney’s is purple because – grape.
The gas station owner overhears this conversation and he goes: “Don’t do it, son. Marriage will ruin your life.” The temperature in the room instantly changes. Both Sydney and Ray are like starring daggers at this gas station owner. The gas station owner is pouring himself a cup of coffee, and Ray throws some snacks at him and is like “ring these up”. The gas station owner then continues to do the whole “I hate my wife” bit and ends by saying “marriage is overrated.” Then, almost in sync, Ray and Sydney pull out guns and start shooting. They kill the gas station owner first and then take out the rest of the convenience station customers.
Cut to BAU Headquarters in Quantico, VA. We learn that Emily Prentis went “salsa dancing” last night. Garcia gives Prentis a call from Shawn McCallister, saying that the call accidentally went to Garcia’s line instead of Prentis's. Garcia says: “He sounded very hot and very important. But it’s from Paris. A Scottish guy called from Paris! Even if he’s ugly he’s hot because of the accent.” I could not agree more!
In the BAU conference room, Hotch tells the team about the spree killing of the convenience store customers in Miles City, Montana. Six people were shot and killed. No cameras, no witnesses, and no robbery. But ballistics indicate two shooters. Rossi is like “it might happen again, spree killers often repeat themselves.” Cut to Billings, Montana. We go to a different gas station/convenience store. Sydney and Ray are shooting the place up. Sydney is in a wedding dress, Ray is drinking hard liquor, and bags of chips and snacks are flying everywhere. The same whimsical guitar riff music is playing. After they finish, Ray and Sydney make out in their car and drink more liquor. Apparently, they’ve made a trail of gasoline around the convenience store, because Sydney drops her cigarette and the gas station blows up. Sydney films the whole thing on her camera. Then she goes “I love you Ray” and he goes “Love you too, Syd.”
The next morning, the BAU show up at the gas station in Billings that was just exploded. 8 people were killed. We meet Agent Bates. For all you Wire heads out there… it’s Ronnie from the DA’s office. She meets with Hotch, Rossi, Prentis, and Morgan. Sydney and Ray dumped their car at this crime scene and the techs are dusting it for prints. One of the gas station patrons survived the attack, and he told Agent Bates that the spree killers were a male/female pair. Agent Bates specifically says: “One of the vics”. Prentis says: “Male and female teams are usually committed to pleasing each other both mentally and physically.” Rossi calls the murders “foreplay”.
Cut to a hotel room. And this to me is like- the low moment of this episode. Because we’re watching like, shaky cam footage of Sydney and Ray in their room. And then we get a slow-mo voice-over of them talking. And I’m like- why can’t we just see this in real-time. Sydney’s got her ring and they’re rolling around in the bed talking about how they’re going to live forever.
Now we cut to the Morgue in Montana. Prentis and Reid meet with one of my favorite medical tech of season 6. He is like, so stressed out about the situation. I bet they don’t get lots of sprees in Montana but I could be wrong. The tech says: “I mean, I’ve seen dead bodies before… but this is insane. They’re like Bonnie and Clyde. They smashed one guy’s vertebra so bad… it looked like a derailed train.” And then he shows Prentis and Reid the body and goes “most of the vics were shot at point-blank range.” Okay, so… is “vic” just a colloquial term that all law enforcement professionals use?
Okay but guys- the scene is not over. The store clerk got the brunt of the violence. He was raped with a tire iron and his face was smashed in. Reid goes: “In medieval times, it would just be another Monday.” Prentis says something helpful: “This type of overkill means that he was likely the root of their aggression.”
Back at the Billings crime scene- Morgan, Hotch, and Rossi walk through the order of events. They note that there is rice all over the floor at this crime scene, but the convenience store didn’t sell rice. Meaning that the unsubs brought the rice with them. BYOR. Morgan goes “who comes to a gas station throwing rice” to which I posit the question- who comes to a gas station shooting people?
Garcia pulls marriage licenses in Montana. 72 people applied for licenses, and 31 have records. Prentis is like – “they’re on their honeymoon!” Hotch also asks Garcia to focus on the store clerk angle. Asks her to check to see if any clerks were killed in the past few days in the surrounding area. They find two other clerks who were killed, one outside of Jamestown and one in North Dakota.
Cut to a parked car in Helena, Montana. Sydney is sipping whiskey. A man walks up to her, the window is down in her car, and he just- pops a squat. He goes, “hey there. You drinking all alone tonight honey?” And she goes “my company’s a little busy.” Quick cut to an AA meeting. Ray is introducing himself to the group. He is producing heavily. We cut back to the car- the creepy sitting man sees Sydney’s ring pop and goes “that’s a big rock you got on your finger there” and Sydney starts sexually sucking on it. She goes “I like things big” and says that $20 will buy the stranger a taste. Back at AA- Ray tells us he’s been drinking since he was 8. He tells us that his father was an alcoholic who sexually abused him. We alternate between these two settings, and I think it’s just so well done, let’s listen to it.
In an alleyway and the stranger is going down on Sydney. And she gets out her gun and shoots him. In the AA meeting, Ray is now being asked by the person in charge of the meeting what step he’s on. Ray admits he hasn’t gotten very far, and the person in charge, a man named Tim, goes, “have you admitted your shortcomings,” and Ray says, “No.” Tim goes: “you let this one incident dictate your entire life”. Which is… unfortunately, very accurate of what AA can be like. As someone who has had a loved one in the program, they do focus very heavily on this sort of thinking. Not all programs are like this, but some of them are. Ray just told this group of strangers that he was abused as a child and is going through a crisis and Tim, the Big Kahuna In Charge, is refusing to validate his abuse? Tim says: “Until you let this go, you will always be a victim to the bottle.”
Ray goes “screw you and your bottle,” and his nose is dripping and he shoots up the place! Sydney walks in mid-shooting and has a gun in each hand and together they kill everyone. They leave, and as they’re heading out, we see that the guy Sydney shot is still alive. Ray says, “what happened with him” and Sydney goes, “oh, he got fresh with me.” So Ray shoots him.
The next day, the BAU turn up at the AA crime scene. The BAU quickly pieces together that at least one of the unsubs is in recovery. Rossi asks: “What if the unsubs met at a meeting? They hear each other’s stories and develop a bond because of their similar backgrounds.” Based on the trajectory of the bullets, Rossi, who is on some shit today, thinks that the unsub was likely sharing with the group and then when he didn’t get the response he wanted, started killing people. Reid thinks the unsubs really are struggling with their sobriety and tells the BAU that the unsubs may be working on the hardest steps of the AA program. 7- acknowledge your shortcomings, 8- accept responsibility, 9- make amends. Reid also points out that the unsubs have already broken one of the most important steps, number 13- members are not supposed to be in relationships with other members while trying to get sober.
Now with Ray and Syd. Driving in a convertible. They are both wearing plaid. Ray asks Sydney what she’s thinking about. She tells him that they have to go to the next step. “All this killing and drinking is fun, but it doesn’t change the fact that you know, my father used to rape me or what your daddy did to you.” She suggests that to find closure, they go directly to the source. As we get the profile, we watch Ray driving along. Sydney’s got her head in his lap and is just guzzling whiskey. They drive to Missouri.
Profile
We’re looking for a young couple from North Dakota in their late teens to mid-twenties. They may have recently been married.
Alcohol plays a significant role in these crimes. It’s allowing them to kill freely and recklessly.
They’re killing surrogates who represent those responsible for deep-seated wounds.
These two most likely met at alcohol sobriety support, and they get a sexual charge out of the kill.
The change from gas station to alcohol support meetings suggests that one of them might have a slight moral compass that led them to get help.
Ultimately, the BAU believes that one of the pair is a sociopath while the other is a psychopath.
A sociopath is less likely to participate in criminal activity and can be lured by a dominant.
While a psychopath is a consummate leader and will likely engage and destroy anyone in their wake.
The most recent attack was 12 hours ago. Which means that they are most likely heading west of Helena toward Idaho. All surrounding areas should be on alert.
Cut to – a modular home park in Missouri. Sydney is filming on her camera. It’s Ray’s childhood home. He knocks on the door, and his mother, and his father, Mr. Donovan opens the door. Initially, he doesn’t recognize his own son, but then when he does recognize him, Ray pulls a gun on his father and forces him into the home.
Back with the BAU in Montana, the team talks about how the whole point of AA is that it’s anonymous. And they’re like- what a bummer. We wish we could have access to that confidential information! Prentis calls Garcia and asks her to access the website for the meeting that Ray attended last night. Garcia is able to pull the information almost immediately, only 3 people went to the website. She then cross-references those people with the marriage licenses but comes up empty. Then Garcia uses the website list against people in North Dakota and gets Ray Donovan.
Ray is 27 and has been in and out of foster care since he was 10. Garcia calls him “kind of a lush and a bit of a meany.” He’s had two DUIs and a restraining order from an ex-girlfriend named Amy Wichowsky. We learn that Amy died a year ago from an overdose of alcohol and heroin. Garcia tries to call the Donovan residence, but the phone just keeps ringing.
Cut to the interior of the Donovan residence. Ma and Pa Donovan are there, being held hostage by their son Ray. Ray wants to play Russian roulette with his parents. He threatens his parents and tells them that they need to take the ninth step. However, Mrs. Donovan tells Ray that the reason he went to foster care was because she and her husband had a drug habit, not because he was molested. Sydney is drinking gin. Also, it’s a plaid alert for Sydney. Ray shouts at his father and points the gun. But Mr. Donovan swears up and down that he didn’t molest Ray. Sydney yells, “don’t you lie!” and Ray is like, “Syd, I’ll take care of it!” Ray is like, “TAKE THE NINTH STEP,” and Mr. Donovan says, “I ain’t taking no step.” Sydney then takes matters into her own hands, dropping the gin and shooting Mr. Donovan herself.
Ray is like, “why did you do that, Syd” and Syd is like, “because you wouldn’t.” Ray keeps yelling at her, and she’s like “let’s go” showing us that she is dominant and that she is the psychopath!
The BAU roll up at the Donovan crime scene. Mr. Donovan was shot, but Mrs. Donovan is still alive. Morgan and Prentis determine that Sydney was likely the one who killed Mr. Donovan based on the trajectory of the bullets. Prentis gets a text from Sean McAllister that says “we need to talk.” Hotch and Reid talk to Mrs. Donovan, and they learn about the twisted amends that the unsubs are making their victims do. They also learn Sydney’s name.
Back in the convertible, Ray is driving, and Sydney is like, “please don’t be mad.” Ray can’t take it anymore! He stops in the middle of the road and gets out of the car and Sydney chases after him. Ray is trying to calm down and smoke a cigarette, and Sydney is like, “hit me.” And he likes “pardon moi” and she pushes him, and she’s like, “HIT ME.” She starts hitting him, and he grabs her and pushes her up against a tree, and starts choking her. And he goes “when I say I’m gonna handle something, I will handle it. I am the man in this relationship, and a man takes care of things.” Sydney reaches her hand into his pants and starts touching him. And then they have sex. And the car is just like… in the middle of the road.
Garcia has figured out who Sydney is- Sydney Manning of Spokane in Washington state. She’s lived in North Dakota for the last four years. Sydney was sentenced to mandatory rehab after serving time for a hit and run. At the time of the hit-and-run, she was under the influence of alcohol and heroin. Wait, that drug combo sounds familiar! That’s what Ray’s ex-girlfriend Amy died from. The BAU now thinks that Sydney killed Amy and made it look like a drug overdose.
So we’re headed to Spokane. Sydney and Ray show up at a gas station. Ray is filming Sydney. We’re still wearing the plaid outfits? We don’t know what time they left the Donovan residence in Devil’s Lake, ND. But it takes 16 and ½ hours to drive to Spokane, Washington. And I cannot imagine this pair being early rises. So like… it’s likely been at least two, probably three days wearing the same clothes. For the record- thus far, we have seen Prentis in three different outfits in this episode.
Okay there’s sexy music playing. Ray is filming the gas station, and he goes, “shit is about to get crazy.” The gas station clerk is Sydney’s father. And he says, “What are you doing here, Sydney?” And she goes “have you heard of the ninth step?” And she points a gun at him. She says, “I don’t want to put the gun away. I want you to touch me.” And she pulls up her booty shorts a little and starts rubbing her thighs. And Ray is kind of like… I knew things were going to get crazy. But not this crazy. And he’s like, “Syd, put your skirt down.” Sydney starts to have a meltdown and she’s like, “What’s wrong, you don’t like the way I look?” And Mr. Manning is like, “Sydney, I’m sorry I hurt you, I found God!” Sydney says, “God? Where was he every time you took me to that back room? Every time I heard that door chime… I thought someone was gonna save me. But it never happened. God was never near this place.”
Both Ray and Sydney start beating on Mr. Manning, and after they have curb stomped him, a little girl comes out of nowhere and is like, “Daddy? What are you doing to my dad?”
Cut to- suburbia. Morgan and Prentis roll up in front of the Manning residence, and we meet Mrs. Manning. She is the *new* Mrs. Manning, meaning that Mr. Manning has since remarried and had another child. Mrs. Manning tells the BAU that her husband owns a gas station.
Back at the gas station- Ray takes Mr. Manning into a back room and executes him. Meanwhile, Sydney attempts to trauma bond with her new little sister. Now that they’ve completed the ninth step, I guess, they’re ready to leave, and they’re taking Lil Sis, whose name is Heather. Just as they step outside the gas station, Morgan and Prentis show up and pull firearms on them. Sydney shoots at Morgan and Prentis, and Morgan shoots her. Ray drags her and Heather back inside the gas station. Sydney is alive but in need of urgent medical attention.
Heather goes, “She needs a doctor,” and Ray is like, “NO SHIT HEATHER!” They ask Heather where the alcohol is, and Heather is like, “this is an alcohol-free gas station” “that’s against the bible.” Heather is sure being a buzzkill! Hotch dials into the gas station, and Ray picks up the phone. Hotch goes, “How are you doing in there” and Ray goes, “How do you think I’m doing? You shoot my girl!” Hotch says: “Technically, that wasn’t me. That was one of my agents.” Ray is like put him on the phone! So Hotch puts Morgan on the phone and it is a sexy vs sexy takedown. Ray wants a car, two tickets to Aruba, some gauze, and some booze- but not the cheap kind!
The rest of the team shows up outside of the gas station with Agent Bates. Meanwhile, inside the gas station, Sydney is still trying to trauma bond with Heather. And I just realized that it is a three way plaid alert. Sydney is wearing a light green and brown plaid, Ray is wearing dark green and brown plaid, and Heather is wearing pink plaid! Ray is like, “stop talking to her,” and Sydney is like, “relax, Ray, we’re having a family reunion in aisle three.”
Morgan shows up with gauze and cheap liquor, and Ray puts a gun on Heather. Morgan puts down the liquor (it’s Jack Daniels) and the gauze. Ray calls Morgan and is like, “where is the car?” Morgan then tells Ray that Sydney killed his ex-girlfriend Amy. Ray is like, “no way” and Morgan is like, “no she definitely did.” Sydney realizes something is up, although she can’t hear what Morgan is saying. She asks Ray what’s going on. Meanwhile, Morgan encourages Ray to ask Sydney about Amy. He says, “I guarantee you that she’s not going to answer you, she’s only gonna question you back, Ray. Ask her. Get her to come clean.” And Ray is like, “Did you give Amy heroin?” And Sydney is like, “What are you talking about? I love you.” Ray gets back on the phone, and Morgan goes: “You see that? We call that structural deception. She doesn’t want to answer your question. She’s just trying to buy herself some time so that she can think of something else to say to you. If you press her, she’s probably going to use sexual distraction.”
Ray hangs up on Morgan, and Sydney does use sexual distraction! Sydney suggests making sex right here, right now, in front of everyone. And she holds Ray, and he starts to cry, and we realize that he has realized that Sydney killed Amy. Ray tells Heather to go to the door. Sydney tells Ray, “The first time I saw you, I knew I had to have you. Til death do us part, right?” And Ray says, “Till death do us part.” He starts to kiss her, and then he starts to strangle her. And at first, she thinks it’s sexy time like before. But then you see it on her face, she realizes that he’s killing her. And he’s crying, and the audio technicians were on their shit because a bell tolls, and Sydney dies.
Ray instantly regrets killing her and tries to revive her, but it’s too late. Heather is like, “what did you do to her?” Ray sends Heather out, and Morgan grabs her and brings her to safety. Just as Heather’s grabbed by Morgan, Ray pulls out of the gas station’s garage. I guess it was attached to the convenience store. He’s loaded Sydney’s dead body in the passenger seat, and he’s driving, and as he reserves, he bursts through the garage. The BAU and local PD fire a million shots at him, and he’s shooting back, and it’s Bonnie and Clyde. Just before Ray is killed, he hallucinates that he’s seeing Sydney in heaven, and they’re both dressed in wedding outfits. But she drifts away before he can reach her, and then he’s shot in the head and dies, slumped over the steering wheel.
Cut to- VA. Prentis meets Sean McCallister in a bar. Prentis and Sean hug and they sit down. Sean tells Prentis that Ian Doyle has vanished from prison and Interpol can’t find him. Prentis is in shocked disbelief. She asks, “do you think he’s headed here?” And Sean is like- fuck yeah. And Prentis says, “am I in danger???” And Sean says, “we all are.”
Rating Criteria:
Criminal/Serial Killer: 20/20
Character development/ character arcs: 20/20
Forensics/Context: 20/20
Script writing: 20/20
Background characters: 20/20
Overall: 100/100