Dope Thief episode 5 starts with a flashback into Ray’s past. It goes on to show how, often, one is born into the world of drugs and crime, and even if they try to avoid it, they end up becoming the man they feared as a child. Ray detested his father; days with him were laced with fear and anxiety. He remembered his father being stopped by the police and extensively searched, possibly because they had information that he was peddling drugs. Even though he was beaten up and harassed on the streets, Bart did not give away any information to the police, and he believed that was what a real man was supposed to do. We eventually discover that Bart had instructed Ray to hide the drugs, and the little boy did not protest. He was afraid of his father, and obeying him was his only option.
Spoiler Alert
Why did Michelle sympathize with Ray?
From the minute Michelle and Ray crossed paths, it was obvious that there was an underlying attraction between the two. Michelle was glad that Ray was trying to help his stepmother. As a seasoned lawyer, she could tell pretense from honesty, and she could sense that Ray wanted to be a better man. When she discovered that Ray was in some sort of trouble with the law, she wanted to get to know his side of the story instead of passing judgment. She could sense Ray was dealing with a lot, emotionally, and she just wanted to be there to support him. Ray was anxious about the constant threat he faced from the cops and the cartel, and amidst the madness, he found peace in Michelle. He was typically always the one looking out for his loved ones, but here was a woman who wanted to know how he was doing. Ray explained how he ended up in a mess from what he thought was a harmless scam. Michelle trusted Ray, and even though sleeping with her client’s son was not ideal, she was intensely attracted to him. Ray believed that Michelle was only with him to see how near she could get to the fire. As someone who had been a defense lawyer for quite some time, Michelle had learned to keep her emotions at bay; she preferred not knowing her clients beyond their cases. But with Ray, it was different. After a long time, she saw someone trying to be a good person, and she wanted to be there for him, not because she was inclined to play with fire, but because she genuinely cared.
What new information did Ray and Manny find out about Rick?
Manny was determined to become a better person. He regretted letting go of who he was, and he had joined a church group, hoping to connect with people who were on the same journey as him. Ray was afraid that Manny’s decision to discuss his past mistakes publicly would land them in trouble, and he kept an eye on his friend. Manny wanted to make amends because he believed that that was the only way he could ever move on. As his first step towards making amends, Manny decided to pay his respects to the Amish ‘Loebsacks’ boys they had found dead at the barn. After arriving at Lancaster County, Manny was surprised to see that there were no names mentioned on the gravestone, and he walked up to a barn to ask the men working there if they could help him spot the graves of Caleb and Harrison at the cemetery. The names immediately caught the attention of the workers, and they stated that unlike the ‘English,’ they didn’t have the tradition of offering flowers to the dead.
As soon as they stepped out of the barn, several Amish men gathered around them. They wanted to know if they were cops, and they later added that they knew Manny and Ray were at the Loebsack house when the boys were murdered. Ray clarified that they didn’t kill the boys, and they were not associated with the bikers from the North. When Ray mentioned Caleb and Harrison’s connection with the bikers, one of the men stated that the boys did not deserve forgiveness, especially after they sold meth to the pilgrims. They wanted to get other Amish men involved in their business as well, but their plan didn’t work. When Ray showed interest in getting into the details about the meth supply, the man mentioned that Caleb and Harrison had met a man who said he was a courier. He had stated that, during the pandemic, he could not move his money as usual, and he’d asked Danny for help (Danny was a member of Eden’s Gardeners crew; you can refer to *link ep 1 and 2) to hide the cash. He had divided the money and marked it so only he could later locate the cash. Caleb and Harrison tried to profit by hiding some of the cash in their barn, and that was why they were brutally murdered. While the man didn’t know where the money was, he handed them a two-dollar bill with a code marked on the top right corner. His only request to the pair was to keep the mess away from their community.
Ray strongly believed that there were multiple two-dollar bills with codes on them (possibly coordinates to the location), and if they could bring them all together, it could lead them to more drugs or money. After Danny found out about the operations of The Alliance, he asked Rick to befriend Ray and Manny and convince them to raid the meth lab and steal all the cash and drugs. Danny would’ve dealt with Ray and Manny if the operation had been successful. The most important question here is, was Danny working for someone else, or did he come up with the plan all by himself? The former seems more likely.
What secret did Jack hide from Mina?
To find out what Jack was up to, Mina went to his house, where she met his wife. Needless to say, the meeting was brief and awkward; Jack’s wife knew about his affair with Mina. She’d assumed Mina had come to apologise or confess to the affair, but Mina clarified that she wanted back a picture she’d handed over to Jack. Mina went through Jack’s belongings and came across two spare phones, one had a two-dollar bill attached to it. Jack had informants, and Mina looked forward to finding out what exactly her former partner was dealing with. She went through the text exchange and gathered that the person on the other end provided Jack with location details. Mina decided to reconnect with the informant. She wasn’t entirely sure if she would get a response, but to her surprise she did. Mina lied about Jack authorizing her to connect with his informants in case of his death. The person on the other side asked her to share the code to confirm her statement. Mina realized that the number on the bill was the confirmation code. They agreed to meet at a bar, and when Mina showed up and took a seat, a man introduced himself. He claimed to have been sent by the person (his boss) Mina had been texting. He explained that his boss had sent him to have a polite conversation with Mina and come to an understanding.
As it turned out, the boss was not a DEA informant as Mina had assumed he was. The man explained that they had an understanding with Jack, and he was the one who provided them with information, and they covered his debts. Even though Jack was not an honest cop, Mina had assumed their goal had always been the same—expose the cartels. But as it turned out, Jack was a flawed man who exploited his power to serve his interests.
In episode 5 of Dope Thief, Mina discovered that Jack had been working for the cartel, and he was the one who’d brokered the deal for them. But things didn’t go according to plan. When their men came to the lab to get their share, they discovered that someone had burned the deal. Mina initially refused to believe the man, but with every detail he provided, Mina struggled to dismiss his claim. The man was searching for Ray, and he hoped that Mina would agree to help him. In return, he promised to solve her problems. Mina threatened to destroy him, but the man was unafraid. They were way ahead of her, and they didn’t consider her a threat. Mina broke down after the meeting. She felt terrible for trusting Jack and letting him manipulate her even though the truth had always been right in front of her eyes. Mina wanted to pull the trigger on herself, but she decided to give herself one last chance, and she dialed the suicide helpline. Hearing the reassuring voice of a stranger who believed in her even though he didn’t know her helped her reconsider her plan.
Is Bart going to protect Ray?
At the very end of Dope Thief episode 5, Ray was waiting outside Theresa’s house, watching his stepmother live her routine life. He had warned her not to return home, but she’d dismissed his concerns. She had texted Ray, stating that she had a surprise for him. But before Ray could step out of his car to greet Theresa, he was shot. Thankfully, the shooter missed his target after Ray had bent down to grab his phone from the car floor. Even though Ray survived, he was shot in his leg, and he screamed in pain. The shooter had walked up to his car; he was a Hispanic man who instructed Ray to hand him over the number (the codes on the bills). But the conversation was cut short when, to Ray’s surprise, his father, Bart, shot the man down. This was the surprise Theresa had mentioned— the court had permitted Bart to return home, and he might end up in prison again if the cops discovered that he’d killed a man on his first day of parole. Bart took the driver’s seat and drove the car to the garage. He then got down and dragged the body to the garage as well. Bart already knew that Ray was in trouble, and who knows, maybe he can help his son after all these years.
