TV - True Detective Season 2 Episode 2
Ray Velcoro: I support feminism, mostly by having body image issues.
The episode starts off with Frank in bed staring at a water stain and worrying about his shady deals admitting to Jordan that he didn’t really know what to do with money. He also tells Jordan about a time in his childhood when he was locked in the basement and wonders if he is still stuck in that darkness. Meanwhile, Paul, Ani and Ray are at the morgue with Caspere’s body and state and local law enforcement arguing over who got the case. State allow Paul to investigate but he also has to look into the Vinci PD. Ani is lead on the case, with Ray as her sidekick. However state want her to use him to find out more about the toxic waste Vinci was producing as an industrial city. Ray’s people knew about industry money that the city were hiding from state, and Caspere had been a key player at getting legislation passed that would rule in the city’s favour, so city officials want Ray to control the case and keep their dealings quiet. Frank also wants details from Ray about Caspere’s death. The injuries make Frank realise Caspere was tortured and he needs to find out who it was, as all of his shady dealings were also done using Caspere as a “bank” and Frank was owed a lot of money.
Ani and Ray go to Caspere’s house to investigate. After not finding much, they interview guys who knew Caspere, the same people who told Ray not to mention Caspere’s shady dealings with the city officials. On the ride home from visiting Capere’s therapist, Ani and Ray get to know each other a bit and Ray reveals the truth about the investigation and that them working together wasn’t supposed to work and there was a bigger reason behind it.
Paul meanwhile, went to talk to his mother, never a good idea, and then back to his place to pack a few things and ignore his girlfriend before heading to LA, having noticed that Caspere made withdrawals every month that corresponded with blank dates on his calendar.
Caspere’s murder was also really messing with Frank’s own plan. He told Vinci police that whenever they found the guy who killed Caspere, he’d want a minute alone with him and, later, Frank and Ray meet up at the bar. Frank talks about their past, including the fact that Ray has dumped a body, which got Ray’s attention. Ray heads back to Caspere’s place but, when he went inside, someone with a bird mask enters ...
Yes it’s a strange one this week in that the weirdness you expect wasn't really there until the final scene with the man in the Raven’s mask but that doesn't mean the episode was bad, far from it, and the depth of character development we got was fantastic. Top performers again this week were the pairing of Colin Farrell and Rachel McAdams whose distrustful relationship is forced to grow as they investigate the murder. Vince Vaughan continued to surprise with a softer, gentler man crumbling in front of his partner but back to his villainous best confronting businessmen and corrupt politicians. Taylor Kitsch still doesn't have a huge role in the story but his sidelining seems to suit a character that is pushed out by everyone else, we also got a glimpse into his relationship with women this week, the closeness with his mother particularly disturbing.
This year’s format leaves all the character building in the story, with no interview flashbacks, and that has forced the writing to be more linear which I'm enjoying more than I thought would and I'm still loving the dark gritty landscape of California. But so far we are lacking something, although I have no clue what it is, it just feels like it's at a level slightly below where it should be. I'm enjoying the look, the story and dialogue, and the cast are all excelling so I still can't put my finger on it, although it's not enough to stop me watching episode 3.
Image - HBO
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