The third season of "Ray Donovan" wrapped up last Sept. 27, but fans were caught unawares by the twists and turns in the finale that left erstwhile tough guy Ray broken, in tears and vulnerable. The stunning revelations more than guarantees that fans will soon be counting down the weeks until the show returns. 

The Showtime series wisely deemed the last few minutes of the third season as the perfect time to reveal that Ray Donovan (Liev Schreiber) and his brothers were sexually abused as children by Father O'Connor and that he murdered the priest. The image of Ray in tears as he broke down and confessed to his father Mickey (Jon Voight) was undoubtedly one of the season's highlights and one that will usher in an "increased vulnerability" to the character next season. 

A review by Variety basically panned the series and lamented the opportunity it wasted, given its talented cast. The piece even highlighted the weak female characters and its dated subplot involving "a powerful L.A. family" and pointed out that the only character remotely interesting was the one portrayed by John Voight. 

But despite that criticism, "Ray Donovan" has already been picked up for a fourth season and new showrunner David Hollander has his work cut out for him. In an interview with TV Line, the show's executive producer hinted that Terry (Eddie Marsan) is still alive. However, the burgeoning attraction and flirtation that Terry and Ray's wife Abby (Paula Malcomson) had will taper off as the two decide to put a stop to it. However, they will remain close friends and this friendship will be felt in season 4. 

And as for the consequences of Ray's confession and the vulnerability he revealed to Father Romero (Leland Orser), these will be explored next season as Hollander promised fans that they are "going to challenge him" with some very hard questions that he has to face.