Apple TV+ ‘Dope Thief’ Episode 7 Review - A Tense, Twisty Penultimate Chapter that Keeps the Stakes High

Episode 7 of Dope Thief, titled “Mussolini,” doesn’t waste a second. With just one episode left, the show drops the brakes and leans hard into the chaos. Ray and Manny, already deep in trouble from impersonating DEA agents and robbing a meth lab, are now running from a vengeful cartel, a newly alert police force, and worst of all — the consequences of their own terrible decisions. And it’s fun to watch.

The tone is pure, stripped-down tension. No romanticizing crime here. No slow-burn existential meanderings either. This episode moves. It’s all about characters trying (and mostly failing) to stay afloat while the walls close in. Ray is trying to keep his head above water, but between a broken relationship with his incarcerated father and a growing sense of doom, he’s spiraling. Manny is clinging to what little normalcy he has left, especially in his relationship with Sherry, but the cracks are beginning to show.

The friction between them, which has been simmering for a few episodes now, is finally out in the open. They snap at each other, and second-guess decisions, and you can see it: the partnership that got them into this mess is not going to get them out. Brian Tyree Henry and Wagner Moura bring just the right amount of desperation to these scenes — not overplayed, but just jittery enough to remind you these aren’t seasoned criminals. They’re over their heads, and the show never lets them forget it.

One of the most compelling aspects of “Mussolini” is how tightly it’s edited. There’s no fat on this episode. It jumps from tense stakeouts to uncomfortable family dinners without losing rhythm. One moment, Ray is trying to dig up a stash he buried in a cemetery (yes, really), and the next, Manny is being tailed by someone who clearly isn’t just a concerned citizen. The show knows how to keep you just disoriented enough to feel what the characters are feeling — without getting lost.

And then there’s Mina. DEA Agent Mina, who should by all accounts be sidelined after the explosion last episode, is back and more focused than ever. She’s had enough of being underestimated, and now she’s chasing Ray and Manny with the kind of tenacity that makes you slightly nervous for them, but also for her. She’s a great addition to the mix: principled but unpredictable, and clearly with her own reasons for going off the books. Her scenes crackle.

The directing here is slick but not flashy. The camera lingers just long enough on the silences, the glances, the unsaid things. A few sequences — like a nerve-wracking scene in a convenience store that turns from casual to life-threatening in a matter of seconds — show off the kind of confident restraint that most shows can’t quite manage. The tension builds not through yelling or car chases (though there is a pretty decent one) but through pacing, editing, and silence. It’s all very deliberate.

If there’s a complaint to be had, it’s that a few things this episode tries to sell don’t quite land. Some character decisions feel a bit rushed. There’s one moment, in particular, involving a betrayal that feels more like a plot requirement than an organic turning point. And there’s a late-episode reveal about Ray’s father that’s interesting, but could’ve used a little more time to breathe — it feels inserted to generate shock, but not fully integrated into the emotional arc.

Still, those are relatively small stumbles in an otherwise gripping episode. What “Mussolini” does best is what Dope Thief has always done best — blend low-key character drama with high-stakes crime storytelling. It’s a show about screw-ups making worse mistakes and trying to fix them with even worse decisions. But it never glamorizes. It just observes. The tension is lived-in, the humor is dry and situational, and the action, when it happens, feels earned.

It also never forgets to be entertaining. This isn’t a lecture. It’s a sharp, smart, watch-your-back kind of story where everyone’s in trouble and nobody’s safe. Episode 7 ups the heat, complicates the dynamics, and sets everything up for a final chapter that could go any number of ways. If you’ve come this far with Ray and Manny, you’ll be holding your breath for what comes next. And if you haven’t? Well, you’ve got a very tense, very fun ride waiting.

Final Score- [8.5/10]