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A paranoid man who saw any setback as part of a dark conspiracy against him.
A striver who couldnt let himself enjoy the good life, who didnt know when to say when.
But in the series finale, Steve becomes an active participant in pathologizing his own past.
Steve clarifies that like me means outsider, underdog, immigrant.
Steves humble origins were once a handicap from success.
Now, hes repurposing them as a defense against all the ways hes failed.
Meanwhile, Steves henchman Ray finds himself on what is unmistakably a soundstage reproduction of a vintage London alley.
But no, this stagy, neon London is actually meant to be the real London.
Which means the gun in Rays waistband is a real gun.
That Steve is languishing in kitschy tourist traps is perhaps meant to signal that you cant buy good taste.
Steve may have gotten away with murder, but hes not free, the show assures us.
Hes richer than ever, sure.
He finds himself in a country with a spotty extradition record, fine.
But can a man who is constantly looking over his shoulder ever really be free?!
(Freer than he would otherwise be in prison, but I take the point.)
These days, Steve suspects everyone.
He thinks someone an enemy?
A bar-back in lederhosen?
Its tempting to dismiss these concerns, but from the outset, Ray seems uncomfortable, too.
When the restaurant abruptly shuts suspicious!
Ray doesnt miss a beat in inviting Steve back to his hotel.
Ray more than once says he wants to drink beers and keep talking.
Who says stuff like that?
The FBI handler who convinces you to wear a wire, thats who.
Apparently, Steve dispatched Ray to murder theAdonistrio, but Ray got cold feet.
that just happened to march through a random back alley (no!)
in the wee hours of the night (this is silly).
I doubt Steve believes this nonsense or is listening much at all.
And how could he listen?
And why are they playing mysterious music at all?
There is no mystery here.
The man did the crimes.
Id rate my curiosity about Rays switcheroo as approximately five out of ten.
Still, this is a recap, and thus I will recap it.
Ray flipped more or less immediately.
Pick a tone, any tone, I beg of you!
Steve has a calculator where his heart should be.
He prefers things now because now he has four clubs and three world tours and a toe-hold in Asia.
He doesnt hear from his wife; he doesnt see his 7-year-old horse girl daughter.
But hes not lonely.
Hes a maverick, a lone wolf bringing naked men to the people who need to see naked men.
Not because Ray is bad at it, but because eight episodes in, Steve is largely inscrutable.
Eventually, Ray comes clean.
He did not, in fact, lose the gun in a spontaneous nocturnal parade.
No, he didnt even take it out of the hotel.
But in this admission, he stumbles on Steves Achilles heel: the heedless thirst for recognition.
The funeral featured a closed casket.
By some legal loophole, his death means Irene is able to inherit the whole shebang.
Back when breakaway pants were but a kernel of an idea in Denises beautiful, coke-addled mind.
Alas, all dreams must come to an end.
