Things are getting more and more complicated as we’re getting closer to the Dope Thief finale. Will Ray survive the gunshot? What is the meaning behind the codes? Where is the money hidden? And will Ray and Manny get their hands on the cash before the feds do? These are a few of the questions that we’re yet to find answers to. In the previous episode, we witnessed Bart rescue Ray from a tattooed biker. Ray was shot in the leg, but going to the hospital was not an option since the feds were after him. Bart deduced that the tattooed biker was sent by the cartel; he was a cartel cleaner sent to kill Ray, and he strongly believed his son had some vital information that they desperately wanted to bury. It was obviously about the money, not the sum Ray had collected from the meth lab but the codes on the two dollar notes that hint at something bigger at play.
Spoiler Alert
What convinced Ray to go to the hospital?
Ray was adamant about not going to the hospital, even though he could barely move and was running a temperature. Bart agreed with his decision because he too believed that it was better to spend whatever time he’d left at home than be stuck behind bars for life. Bart had an ankle monitor that recorded audio, which was why he decided to play loud music the whole time. Since Ray was not ready to seek help from medical professionals or hand himself over to the police, Theresa decided the only option left was to call his best friend, Manny. Bart tried to temporarily cauterize the bullet wound using burning hot metal and glue. Manny was surprised to see Ray in such a sorry condition. They initially tried to respect Ray’s decision, but it was obvious that his condition was deteriorating every passing second, and Manny ultimately made up his mind to seek Son’s help. Son arrived with his trusted bodyguards and his mother, who was a trained medical practitioner and had served during the war in Vietnam. She fixed the wound in Ray’s leg, but after treating him, she advised Ray’s family to take him to the hospital because the wound on his shoulder was infected and the infection was rapidly spreading, meaning he would need special treatment to survive the sepsis. Even though stepping out of the house was dangerous with the bikers showing up every now and then, Son and Manny knew that they didn’t have much of a choice. They were a little surprised when they stepped out and discovered that there were no men waiting for them outside. A car sped in their direction, and Manny decided to have a conversation instead of resorting to violence. Manny, unfortunately, had failed to stick to his promise and ended up taking drugs, so he was not really in the best of his senses. But as it turned out, instead of a tattooed biker, a woman stepped out of the car, and it was Sherry. She’d been tracking Manny’s every move to find out if he truly intended on changing himself, and she was impressed seeing how desperately her lover was trying to right his wrongs. After the romantic reunion, it was time for Ray to make it to the car.
Bart decided to drive his son to the hospital while Son, his bodyguards, and Manny followed their car. Ray was not happy with the decision, but he didn’t have any choice. He’d never shared a loving relationship with his father. He’d always despised his old man, and watching him take charge and come up with a plan to save his life didn’t sit well with Ray. He accused his father of ruining his life, and he believed that, even by trying to save him, he could not undo the mistakes he’d made in the past. Bart always knew how deeply Ray resented him, but he didn’t care anymore; he simply wanted to get his son to the hospital. Bart strongly believed that just like he was given an option to either wear the ankle monitor or hear about his son’s death while being locked in prison, someone had made a deal with a crooked fed. They used Ray to kill the fed (Jack), possibly because he knew too much or because someone hoped to take something that belonged to him. Whatever the case was, Bart was convinced there was something large at play.
What caused the shootout?
As soon as Bart and Ray made it to the hospital, they realized it was an ambush. The tattooed bikers had not been waiting outside their house because they had planned an attack at the hospital. Did they simply assume that at some point Ray would be forced to rush to the nearest hospital, or was there someone who’d tipped them off about it? Son had possibly made a deal with the cartel. He might have agreed to help them get Ray, if in return, they let him continue with his business in peace. Maybe that’s why he’d brought his mother with him, to make it seem all the more genuine. Perhaps before they’d entered Theresa’s house, Son had asked his mother to convince Ray and his family that the hospital was the only option they had. He’d possibly shared his location with the bikers, and they’d attacked as expected.
Mina, who’d been listening to the audio feed from Bart’s ankle monitor, had warned the agency that Ray had been shot and that they needed to help him because he was the only one who could provide them with all the information they required. But her suggestion was not taken seriously, and it was assumed that Ray was high and his family was simply dealing with his delusional thoughts. When Mina learned that Ray had stepped out of his house, she immediately asked for a tactical team to head to the nearest hospital because she could already guess that there would be an ambush. Son, his bodyguards, and Manny engaged in a shootout with the bikers. Manny grabbed hold of Ray and managed to make it to the hospital amidst the chaos. Even though it seemed Son had made a deal with the cartel, his dedication to helping Ray was extremely genuine. So was he a traitor or a good friend?
Who shot Bart?
If Son made a deal with the cartel, perhaps the only reason he wanted Ray to get into the hospital was because more members of the cartel were waiting for him inside, and after his treatment, they would want to talk to him in private. If that was not the case, then Son’s interest in helping Ray looked pretty genuine.
At the very end of Dope Thief episode 6, someone walked up to Bart while he was loading his gun and shot him. I have a feeling that the man was Son. The watch he was wearing looked pretty similar to the one the killer had on. But why did Son shoot Bart? Did he suspect Bart of making a deal with the cartel, and was that the reason he wanted to punish him? Or was Bart in some way involved in helping the cartel while he was in prison, not realizing the price his son would have to pay for it? Everything looks pretty murky at the moment. Neither Bart nor Son are characters worth trusting, so you never know what they were up to. The only people Ray could trust with all his heart were Manny and Theresa, though Bart’s death would leave Theresa completely devastated. She’d been reunited with him after so long, but unfortunately her happiness was cut short. Maybe Son feared that Bart would find out about the codes and use them to his advantage, whereas he could convince Manny to hand the codes to him, and he would have an upper hand and call the shots. Did he actually help both the sides (feds and cartel)? Or was he innocent? And it was just another biker who’d shot Bart? Well, there is a lot to uncover, and hopefully episode 7 will clear some of our doubts.
