Riot shells… “True Detective” wastes no time resolving the cliffhanger set up at the end of its last episode. That decision, as well as the decision to keep Det. Ray Velcoro (Colin Farrell) alive at all, set up “Maybe Tomorrow” as a worthy follow up to “Night Finds You” and keeps this season’s momentum firing.
The opening dream sequence falls squarely in the disorienting category. Velcoro has visions of his father and this scene assuaged any fears I may have had when faced with the possibility of exactly the type of “cop out” we ended up getting. The character of Ray Velcoro and Colin Farrell’s performance are an integral part of what gives this story it’s vitality and spark. In a television landscape where shows like “Game of Thrones” kill off a main character seemingly every week, the audience could be considered numb to a twist dependent on a major casualty. Having Ray survive the ordeal might actually be the bigger twist because it allows us to ask the question, why is he still alive?
While Caspere’s Hollywood home is being swept for clues, Lt. Burris (James Frain) is awfully keen to have all of the evidence flow through Vinci PD. That, coupled with Mayor Chessani’s (Ritchie Coster) continued state of absolute drunkenness, is aiming the “whodunnit” magnifying glass directly to the Vinci leadership. This could be a red herring and they’re only nervous something in Caspere’s possession would implicate one or both of them in standard issue governmental wrongdoing – graft, bribery, embezzlement, things of that nature. Still, I wouldn’t be surprised if they know more than they are sharing with Velcoro.
Frank Semyon (Vince Vaughn) continues to be a problematic character but his story this week ends with a bit of a silver lining. Early in the episode, Semyon faces off against Velcoro, the latter fresh off being shot. Semyon expects a hearty “thank you” for the big break in the case and Velcoro can’t help but think he was set up when he walked into that house. There is an intensity from Velcoro’s side of the table that just isn’t there on Semyon’s side.
As the episode progresses though, and Frank gets deeper and deeper back into his old life, a bit of verve finds its way into the character. His fight with Danny Santos (Pedro Miguel Arce) is fairly straight forward, with the exception of the teeth pulling, but it’s what happens after that is the most surprising. Having spent much of the season setting up the problems he and Jordan (Kelly Reilly) are having conceiving, they reinforce that fact with an awkward confrontation at the fertility clinic.
The rest of Frank’s scenes in the episode are about him reclaiming his purpose and finding himself again. He intimidates an entire room of criminals while demanding more information about Caspere and what could have happened to his money. After these experiences he comes home to find Jordan provocatively waiting for him on the couch wanting to make up. His final line, the one that gives the episode its title, is the most invested I’ve been in Frank’s side of the story. The cliche is ably averted, the one that would find Frank reenergized as a man and take his wife aggressively, and now I hope he continues to surprise.
Det. Bezzerides (Rachel McAdams) handles a lot of heavy lifting with the investigation this week. She and Woodrugh (Taylor Kitsch) find a direct link between Caspere’s second home and the Mayor of Vinci. Several calls were made between the two homes at odd hours. Bezzerides and Woodrugh discover Chessani might be living a similar lifestyle to Caspere based on the state of his house. Additionally, Bezzerides and Velcoro arrive on a movie set looking into the car that was used to dump Caspere’s body. This was the most significant break in the case this week, leading to a near miss with the guy that Bezzerides assumes is the guy.
When not on the case, Woodrugh spends time with a guy he was deployed with. He’s always been a character with secrets, and who better than someone who lived those secrets to pull them out. Not surprisingly, Woodrugh still doesn’t want to talk. He finds it difficult to get over something when all anyone wants to do is talk about what he went through. What Paul is haunted by isn’t combat, it’s the romantic time he spent with his friend. This sets up an interesting arc for Paul to go through in parallel to the case, I just wish this scene didn’t end with him literally running away from his past.
Despite a lot of progress being made on the case, we are no where near learning the identity of the person or persons responsible for Caspere’s murder. More importantly, we don’t have a clue as to why. Why is Caspere dead? Why is Velcoro alive? Which question do you think will have the more interesting answer?
Crazy Theory Corner
The animal mask cult will have some relationship to the Yellow King cult and Tony Chessani will be this season’s Errol – my only proof being Tony also does accents…
