Did death become Ray Donovan?

That appeared to be the case on Ray Donovan Season 5 Episode 12, but with the news that the show has been renewed for a sixth season, complete with a new location, it's fair to assume that Ray lives to "fix" another day.

In all honesty, "Time Takes a Cigarette" would have been the perfect ending for the series. After killing off Abby on Ray Donovan Season 5 Episode 1, it has been evident that Ray would never really be able to put the past behind him.

He's been on the outs with most of his family, and most of those relationships are beyond repair. When Ray was on top of the building, it seemed to me that move was his way of letting go of Abby.

He was with her for much of his adult life, and she was the mother to his children, so the very notion that he could just move on and start afresh without a downward spiral is quite simply ludicrous.

I did gasp when he let himself fall off the building. The ending would have had a more profound effect on me had the fate of the series still been up in the air. Regarding the storyline, there's absolutely nothing left to tell in California.

It's been that way for a while now. Everything has felt so convoluted, and the shock death of Abby should have helped reinvigorate the series.

It's just a shame the various meanders away from the plot throughout Ray Donovan Season 5 have included frustrating developments that made me question whether the showrunner actually watched the earlier seasons of the show.

For all intents and purposes, the main thing this episode did was wrap up many of the storylines to help potentially reboot the series with Ray Donovan Season 6 which will be set entirely in New York City.

I've given this show so many chances that I am willing to extend one more to see if the omission of some of the long-in-the-tooth characters helps get the show back to its former glory.

The whole sub-plot with Mickey trying to turn the tables on Ray was a typical Mickey move, and if it worked, Ray would have deserved it. Mickey may not have been the upstanding citizen and perfect father, but Ray has made his fair share of mistakes.

With Mickey's threat to his son at the close of Ray Donovan Season 5 Episode 11, I expected there to be more of an interaction between them on "Time Takes a Cigarette."

Instead, it was Mickey subtly chatting to the FBI and hoping that his words would stick. The FBI detective didn't seem to give a damn who was sent down. All he wanted was to bring the case to a close, and with Mickey already on the inside, all he needed was a murder weapon to draw a line under it.

That development also meant Daryll had to turn on his father, but it got him a sweet office and a credit on the movie. Not bad for someone who murdered an FBI detective just a few episodes before.

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If Mickey ever finds a way to get himself out of the slammer, you can bet that Ray and Daryll will be at the top of his hit list. He may take pity on Daryll because he knows just how convincing Ray can be.

Did anyone else cheer when Bunchy told Teresa he wanted her to leave? She was ecstatic to learn that Bunchy had been given the bar. That meant she would be able to work there and call it a family business.

Maybe she should have kept quiet about cheating on him while on tour. With her well and truly out of the picture, Bunchy finally has a challenge. He will nurture the bar and turn it into a success.

If he stayed with Teresa, their relationship would never be the same. If Teresa was prepared to cheat, the relationship did not have a solid foundation to begin with.

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Bunchy's focus should be on fatherhood and a business ownership at this point in his life.

"Time Takes a Cigarette" was an okay episode that felt like it was trying to wrap the show up in a quick manner in the event it was not renewed for an additional season.

With a brand new location for Season 6, it's time to get the show back to being about someone fixing things for the rich and famous. The focus should be Ray and those close to him in this new location.

Stray Thoughts:

All of the stuff with Smitty felt hastily thrown into the episode merely to tie it up. At least Ray came through and righted the wrong he did by getting the poor kid off the trial in the first place.

It sucks there was no resolution for Terry and Maureen. Part of me wanted them to meet up and hash out their differences, but life is not perfect, and it looks like their relationship is over for good.

I don't agree with murder, but Landry deserved to die. He was a wicked man who thought he could sleep with whomever he wanted and there would be no consequences. I would have preferred his crimes to become a media sensation, but then Ray and Sam would have suffered.