Rain Dogs – Season 1 Episode 8 Recap, Review & Ending Explained

This is not an Exit

Why are Selby, Gloria, and Lenny making the trip to Sunset Park?

The finale of Rain Dogs season 1 starts with a gut-wrenching moment between Costello and Iris. In the aftermath of losing the book deal, Costello has spiralled into relentless drinking and never-ending misery.

For the first time in the series, she seems to have lost all hope. Her defeated look while telling Iris about the book deal says it all. Iris plays a beautiful, melancholic melody to elevate her circumstances, even if it is for just a moment. She asks her mother to “try to be normal for once,” and “stop trying to become somebody all the time.” It is a genuine and beautiful moment of truth for Costello, who is stumped by her daughter’s maturity.

Selby, Gloria, and Lenny are taking an “odyssey of a hundred piss stops” to Costello’s address. Selby got Iris’ message in the last episode and asked for Gloria’s help to get the exact address. Since she would not let him drive there alone, Gloria is coming with him also and has decided to bring Lenny along.

Why does Costello lose all hope?

Costello gets her job as a debt collector back from Simon. From the looks of it, this is the episode of truth-speaking. First Iris, and now Lenny, telling Selby exactly why he cannot be in a functioning and lasting relationship with anyone.

Selby’s fundamental problem is similar to Costello’s but caused by a different personality trait. His reliability to “do the normal” is questionable. Lenny tells Selby to grab onto whatever “remotely makes him happy in life.”

Costello’s job is over in 50 minutes, this time being ended by Simon. He got into a fight with a debtor and Costello did nothing to fight with him, she even made snarky remarks after. Selby is forced to make a pit stop when Lenny soils himself in the car. While talking to Gloria, he is further emboldened when she thinks he can be a good father.

Are Gloria and Selby able to save Costello’s life?

Costello asks Grey to look after Iris for the night as she grabs two more bottles of wine to continue her drinking miscarriage. She has completely derailed and calls Selby from a payphone. He does not pick up but Costello is doing something grave.

Lenny plays dead and that forces Selby to stop the car. He listens to Costello’s voice message, asking him to “collect Iris and look after her.” Selby gets back into the car with urgency and drives on before she does something to herself. Costello writes a suicide letter to Iris as she takes sleeping pills with wine.

Selby and Gloria arrive just in time to get Costello to vomit and save her life. Lenny comforts Costello, who seems to have a newfound love for Iris. Selby tries to say the same thing to Costello and also says that he needs her as well. Who knows, Costello might get published in her 40s or 50s.

Selby and Costello both accept that “they are bad for each other” but they still “love it.” The finale ends with the proposition that Selby and Costello might live together again, only this time, with the burning recognition that it might not be all good.

The Episode Review

Episode 8 took a turn against the light-hearted, comedic vein to starker territory saddled with the reality of the working class. Costello’s helplessness and desperation are symbolic of societal inequities and how they destroy people. At the same time, there is an expression of hope that love and togetherness can make things better.

Selby and Costello’s toxic love is like all of us. There is something in life, like Costello alluded to as “junk food,” that makes us more miserable, but we still love doing it just because. Lenny’s sage and wisdom were the highlights of the episode. He is truly a delightful character with an unassuming exterior but a caring interior. The urgency in the storytelling did give us moments of tension and adrenaline.