Dope Thief premiere ending explained: Where did Manny go?
Dope Thief is the latest crime drama TV series that premiered on Apple TV+ on March 14. Created by Academy Award-nominated scribe Peter Craig, the show follows the story of two childhood best friends and ex-convicts, Ray Driscoll and Manny Carvalho, who pretend to be DEA agents to steal drugs and money from drug dealers.
Ray had never been fond of the business idea. Regardless, he teamed up with his best friend Manny. After all, they both were doing this for their families. Ray's father, Bart Driscoll (Ving Rhames), had been in prison since Ray was a boy while he lived with his adoptive mother, Theresa (Kate Mulgrew). On the other hand, Manny wanted to settle down with his girlfriend, Sherry.
Disclaimer: The following article contains major spoilers for Dope Thief episode 1 and 2. Reader's discretion is advised.
Toward the end of Dope Thief episode 2 Bat Out of Hell, Ray goes to find Manny to warn him of the danger that was looming over their heads. However, when he reached his house, there was no sign of Manny. This made his whereabouts questionable. Considering Manny had ditched Ray to ensure his girlfriend's safety, there was a chance that he and Sherry were hiding somewhere together.
How did Ray and Manny end up in a life-threatening situation in Dope Thief?
Things appeared to be going smoothly until a third ex-convict named Rick joined them and suggested that they rob a methamphetamine lab in Ottsville. During the heist, things went awry when a nervous Rick, who was under the influence of drugs, opened fire. The chaos that followed resulted in the deaths of Rick and two other men and the lab blowing up.
Ray and Manny manage to escape, but they make two big mistakes. The first mistake was that they left behind a witness who was later revealed to be an undercover DEA agent named Mina (Nesta Cooper). The second mistake was that Ray dropped his walkie-talkie at the crime scene. These mistakes soon became the bane of their existence.
An injured Mina told her colleagues everything that went down at the lab but requested them to let her remain undercover because she was close to cracking the criminal organization behind the lab. A stranger began threatening Ray and Manny through the walkie-talkie they had left behind. At first, the stranger, who sounded dangerous, only wanted the drugs and money back.
At the beginning of Dope Thief episode 2, Ray persuades Theresa to go to Atlantic City to ensure her safety. The stranger's intentions changed when Manny and Ray ended up killing two of his men during a shootout at a house where they expected to find Danny Loebsack.
Danny, an ex-convict, was the one they suspected of sending Rick to them and having connections with the intimidating stranger. When Ray and Manny arrived at the house, they found everyone already dead. The confrontation with the men who had apparently killed the Loebsack family resulted in their deaths, allowing Ray and Manny to escape.
Before leaving the place, Ray stole the phone of one of the dead men so that they could find some helpful information. The result of the shootout only further angered the stranger, who now contacted them through that stolen phone. The unknown man read out Ray's address, which further terrified him. This further proved just how dangerous this man was.
Ray learned about the song behind the stolen phone's ringtone at the end of Dope Thief episode 2
After Manny fled to ensure his girlfriend's safety, Ray received yet another call from the intimidating man who told him that he would kill everyone related to Ray out of principle. When the man said that his first target would be Manny, Ray tried to reach his friend on his phone, to no avail. So, he visited his house but didn't find him there either.
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Outside Manny's place, another biker began following Ray, but he eventually died when a truck ran him over. Theresa called Ray, who was scared out of his wits, and told him to meet a lawyer named Michelle who could help him get a compassionate release for Bart under the COVID-19 guidelines.
When Ray met Michelle, he found out that Bart was dying from cancer. When he broke down in tears in the lawyer's chambers, the lawyer assumed that he was devastated to hear the news of his father's diagnosis. She informed him that she strongly believed the court would grant Bart compassionate release based on his flawless prison record.
Also read: Dope Thief: Release date, plot, and everything we know so far
This was a huge breath of relief for Ray, who, even in his resentment toward his father, did not want him to die because of his mistakes as the stranger had threatened he would murder Bart. When the stolen phone rang again, Michelle identified its ringtone to be from Bat Out of Hell by Meatloaf, which the episode is named after.
After learning this, Ray began laughing, considering how many times he had escaped death by the end of Dope Thief episode 2. The song is an iconic tragedy rock ballad that is about youthful rebellion, passion, and escape. It signifies the dangerous situation Ray and Manny are in and hints at the tragedy that may befall them by the time Dope Thief comes to an end.
Dope Thief episodes 1 and 2 are available for streaming on Apple TV+.
