Dope Thief Episode 3 Recap: Run, Die, or Relapse

In its third episode, Apple TV+’s ‘Dope Thief’ continues to tighten the noose around the neck of Ray Driscoll and Manny Carvalho. They made their living by posing as DEA agents and robbing low-level drug dealers. But one bad decision leads them into trouble that doesn’t seem to have an exit point. It seems that their last bust has ruffled quite a lot of feathers. Now, on the one side, they have the drug dealer that they stole from. On the other side, they have the DEA agents who were running a secret operation on the said drug dealer and are now looking for the people who messed it all up. In the center of it are Ray and Manny, who are just trying to survive the catastrophically worsening situation. SPOILERS AHEAD.

Ray Desperately Looks for Manny

By the end of the second episode, the drug dealer that Ray and Manny stole from seems to have tracked both of them down. While Ray barely survives an attack from them, Manny seems to be in the wind. With no word from his friend, Ray spirals as he wonders whether the bad guys got to him already. He goes to his house, but there is no one there. He constantly calls him, but there is no reply. He goes around his regular haunts to ask if anyone has seen him, but the only thing he discovers is that someone has been calling around asking for him. When he approaches Son Pham, he is advised to pack up and skip town and not to contact Son again as it could be very bad for his family.

Eventually, Ray finds a piece of information about Manny from a local pawn shop. He knew that Manny was a regular, and the shop’s owner also knew both of them very well. Well, enough not to divulge the specifics of Manny’s last visit to his shop as much as possible. First, Ray is relieved to know that his friend is alive and well so far. But then, he notices that Manny bought a gun from the shop, which makes him even more concerned. He starts to wonder if his friend has already left town. While he should be relieved at this, he is also weirdly frustrated because Manny refuses to pick up his phone.

On top of all this, Theresa decides to cut her vacation short in Atlantic City and return home against Ray’s repeated pleas. When she arrives home, she makes Ray spill all the beans about what’s really going on with him. With no option but to be honest, he tells her the truth, and, as expected, she lashes out at him. However, there isn’t much she can do about the situation now. Relief finally comes to Ray when he discovers that Manny has been hiding in his attic all this while.

Ray’s Father Bears the Brunt of His Problems

While Ray is looking for Manny, the drug dealers the duo stole from are looking for him. Their search leads them to the pawn shop owner, who tries to evade their questions. But then, they torture him, and he tells them about Ray’s father in prison, following which they kill him. The shop owner appears again at the end of the show, but this time, he is in a box, and it’s just his head. His death serves as a message to Ray and Manny to tell them what’s coming for them, but before that, they target Ray by having Bart shivved inside the prison.

The moment Theresa finds out about the stabbing, she rushes to the prison, and Ray is forced to drive her. While Theresa goes inside, Ray stays behind and meets with Michelle, hoping to confide his troubles in her and hopefully find a solution to his problem. They sit in a bar where there is a group of prison officers at one table. And then, the drug dealers walk in. It turns out that Bart’s stabbing was a way for them to flush Ray out of his hiding hole, and the plan works. Michelle immediately realizes the situation and instructs Ray to go inside the prison to meet his father, where the drug dealers cannot touch him. They slip out with the prison officers, and Ray gets another hour and so.

In there, he meets his father, who is on the hospital bed, and they have a heated conversation. When it ends, Ray decides to accept his fate as he steps out of the prison’s premises. Luckily for him, the bartender noticed the sudden increase in the number of bikers in the bar and sensed that something was afoot. They call the cops, who arrive just in time to arrest the drug dealers and let Ray walk away without a scratch from what would otherwise have been the end of him.

The DEA Catches Up to Ray

While Ray is occupied with Manny and the drug dealers, the DEA has the funeral for the undercover officer Jack, who was killed during the altercation with Ray and Manny. Mina, who seems to have slipped out of the hospital, reveals that they were setting up a deal with a gang called the Alliance, whom she describes as a bunch of Aryan guys from up north. If it hadn’t been for Ray and Manny, things would have gone smoothly. Anyway, Mark Nader tells Mina that they have identified the third body, Richard Stanley. Soon after, he gets information about a car that has been burnt beyond recognition. However, a witness revealed that they saw two people on the bridge and throwing something into the river.

It turns out that what they were throwing was licence plates and a gun. When Nader tracks the owner of the gun, he comes face to face with the guy whom Ray and Manny had robbed in the first episode. When Nader approaches him, he reveals that this isn’t the first time that he has come face-to-face with the DEA. He gives the real DEA agent the sketch of what the fake DEA agent looks like, and when Nader shares the sketch with Mina, she identifies him as one of the men who shot at them. For reference, the sketch is that of Ray.

Meanwhile, Ray and Manny meet with Sherry, who had been worried sick about the missing Manny. Ray tries to calm down the situation, and the only way he can seem to do that is by showing Sherry the ring that Manny bought for her, which had been hiding in a drawer in his house. With the ring out in the open, Manny proposes to Sherry on the spot. To give them space, Ray walks out of the house, where he finds the box with the pawn shop guy’s head in it. As Manny comes out the door in happy spirits, Ray hates to burst his celebratory bubble and reveal how much worse the situation is now.