On tonight’s episode of Rake, Keegan “Kee” takes on a high-profile and macabre case as a favor to Ben. Someone close to Keegan goes temporarily missing. Finn entertains an overnight guest at his dad’s apartment.
Playing Doctor
Keegan continues to have a relationship with a prostitute that appears to involve everything but actual coitus. Their leisure time together takes a bit of a grotesque turn when Keegan asks Mikki to yank a tooth with a pair of pliers to save him the expense of going to the dentist. Spending over ten thousand dollars on a bench at his son’s school auction to prove his phallus is larger than Maddy’s new boyfriend’s, not a problem. A few grand for basic health and hygiene, out of the question.
No Weddings, One Funeral
Ben’s father finally passes away, but Keegan’s attention is focused on trying to gamble his way out of the enormous debt he owes his bookie. During the eulogy, he’s listening to the game, but predictably technical hijinks ensue, and the boisterous voice of the sports announcer interrupts Ben’s awkward tribute to his father. He should actually thank Rake for averting the crowd’s attention.
Lacking any sense of propriety or shame, Keegan heads to the the obligatory post-burial gathering, probably for the free food and booze. He finally turns his attention to Ben who he calls out for being torn between forcing himself to grieve his son-of-a-b***h father or enjoying the freedom of the man’s now permanent absence. All we know about Ben’s dad Arthur is that his relationship with his son was strained, and he had no problem engaging in intercourse with Keegan’s date at Ben and Scarlet’s re-commitment ceremony. Leave it to Keegan to lay all the cards on the table. Ben reveals that his father liked Keegan because he thought Kee had b*lls, something he also believed his son lacks.
Ben asks Keegan to take over a case for him. It’s first degree murder, but Ben guarantees it’ll never go to trial because the defendant is a nutcase. Keegan will also be forced to face off against Scarlet who’s the prosecutor on the case. The whack job in question is the mayor’s former top economic advisor and financial wizard, Graham Murray (Denis O’Hare), accused of killing and then eating a young accountant. This puts Keegan once again at odds with the mayor, who is still holding a grudge over a previous case.
Cheaper Than a Root Canal
After threatening physical violence for the past three episodes, Roy finally makes good and knocks Keegan around a bit. It seems he’s now sixty-seven thousand dollars in the hole with his bookie. Keegan’s last request? He asks Roy to hit him hard enough in the face to knock out his bad tooth.
The Man in the Caftan
It’s business as usual for Keenan the following morning. He’s forced to switch offices again unexpectedly and is still trying to keep himself out of jail for tax evasion by bribing or cajoling assorted characters to serve as witnesses.
His day takes an unpleasant turn when he finds out Mikki has moved and apparently quit the business. Her pimp Jules refuses to give Keegan her new number, and when he loses his cool, Jules warns him “Step back brother! This ain’t no skinny white b***h Heidi Fleiss you’re dealing with. This is me, this is Jules.” Then he threatens to sick the dogs on Keegan. Jules reminds Keegan that Mikki has his number, and if she wants to use it, she will. He also advises Kee to be smart for a change and forget about her.
Tastes Like Chicken
Keegan finally meets with his high-profile client. Murray confesses to eating the accountant but doesn’t consider himself a murderer so much as an economist. Keegan’s reputation has preceeded him because Murray states he was led to believe that Kee defends the indefensible.
Murray claims to have met his victim, Paul Wilson (Kurt David Anderson), in an online chat room through which he made his proclivities very clear. Mr. Wilson volunteered to be eaten and swallowed the pills that ended his life voluntarily. Murray says that Wilson even recorded a video that supports his story. The evidence is in his desk at his home.
Murray tells Keegan his wife Annie (Rebecca Tilney) hasn’t come to visit him in jail, and he’s worried this “business has upset her a little.” He asks Keegan to pass along an apology. As Murray is led away by a guard, Keegan, in typical fashion, asks the money guru for a stock tip. There’s got to be an ethics violation in there somewhere.
Keegan goes to Murray’s home, and the man’s wife confirms the existence of the evidence. Keegan, always eager to skate by, is thrilled. Mrs. Murray? Not so much. Her husband may not be a murderer, but he’s still a cannibal. Keegan tells her “Well, I’m not saying we should bake a cake, but it appears there was no murder.” An added bonus is that cannibalism is not illegal. Mrs. Murray begs Keegan not to mount a defense for her husband and let him rot in a padded cell somewhere. So, it’s no big surprise when Keegan finds out she destroyed the phone and threatens to lie about its existence if he puts her on the stand.
Delivering Justice
Keegan, getting more creative when it comes to transportation, tags along with the pizza delivery guy to Scarlet and Ben’s. He presents them with the evidence that he has no physical proof ever existed. They counter that they have a ton of statements from Wilson’s friends, family and colleagues that there was no way the guy was suicidal. When they offer up that Wilson had recently purchased a mountain bike, Keegan is unswayed, “That’s a sign he wasn’t suicidal? Maybe he was planning to ride it off a cliff.”
Hot for Teacher
As usual, Keegan’s colorful personal life takes precedence over his case because he’s in the midst of yet another mini melodrama. When his ex Maddy comes by his new apartment to drop off some of his things, she witnesses their son Finn’s very young and very desirable teacher doing the walk of shame. For a defense attorney, Keegan can’t come up with one of his own. It turns out, he’s covering for his son who has a key to his apartment.
Matriculating Mikki
While waiting on a college campus (the wrong one) to meet with an expert–I’m guessing on cannibalism–Keegan spots Mikki. He chases her down demanding an explanation for her abrupt departure. She points out that their relationship was strictly business. He doesn’t buy it, but she lays out the cold hard facts about her previous job. She was whatever a man wanted her to be, and for Keegan, that was a friend. He believes their connection was real, which speaks volumes about his inherent loneliness, or her intimacy issues. Either way, they’re both screwed up.
He was Hungry
With little to no preparation, Keegan defends Murray. His strategy is to get the jury to see him not as an animal but as a person. He puts Murray on the stand and asks him why he did it. Murray says he was hungry. Murray believed that cannibalism would be some sort of existential or transcendental experience. He thought he would benefit from some transference of spirit or increased sensitivity or heightened awareness. Now he has his answer. What he thought he was hungering for, he already had experienced through his own life and particularly his marriage.
Bad Behavior, Worse Grammar
Keegan confronts Finn about his affair with his teacher. Despite the self-professed hypocrisy of it all, Kee tells his son that he’s crossing the line. While Keegan could relate to a testosterone fueled teen sex fantasy being fulfilled, he’s disappointed and more disturbed to learn that Finn is in love with her. Keegan warns his son he’ll get hurt, but Finn says that “her and me, we’re different.” Keegan is even more upset about his son’s poor grammar given he’s sleeping with his English teacher. As usual, Keegan’s bad judgement outweighs common sense, and he agrees to keep his son’s secret, for now.
Another Unbelievable Outcome
Keegan’s back in court, and figures out that Paul Wilson sent the video he made to his sister, with whom he was very close. The charges are dismissed, and Murray remains involuntarily committed pending further psychological evaluation. This guy’s no Hannibal Lecter, but still creepy nonetheless.
Rake writers continue to be lazy when it comes to the procedural courtroom drama aspect of the show. I mean, now we’re just dropping evidence right in the guy’s lap, so he has time to live a life so fraught with vice, no mere mortal could survive it. I’m not sure the irony is intentional, but how can a man be so unlucky when it comes to his personal life and have the opposite be true when it comes to his work?
I can’t help to admit that I am curious to finally see the infamous stalker and learn her history with Keegan.
Rake airs 9pm Thursdays on FOX.
(Image courtesy of FOX)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
Jennifer has worked as a freelance writer in the entertainment field since 2012. In addition to currently writing feature articles for Screen Rant, Jennifer has contributed content ranging from recaps to listicles to reviews for BuddyTV, PopMatters, TVRage, TVOvermind, and Tell-Tale TV. Links to some of Jennifer’s reviews can be found on Rotten Tomatoes.
