Half-way through the second season and “True Detective” follows its own pattern by hinging on an ending that will have everyone talking. The fourth episode of season one, “Who Goes There” ended with the six-minute, one take scene of the one-man raid on the Hoston Projects. “Down Will Come” doesn’t end in quite as impressive a fashion but still delivers a game-changing scene that will no doubt alter the course of the investigation for the rest of the season.
Beside the ending, the episode is filled with new information about the case and all the various lives swirling around it. Woodrugh (Taylor Kitsch) begins this episode much in the same way he ended the previous one – that is, literally running away from his past. What Black Mountain was involved in over in the Middle East has come to light and the press is eager to confront him about it. Woodrugh is somewhat of an anomaly in a Nic Pizzolatto story.
Reading his fiction (if you like “True Detective” you should check out Galveston, he honed a lot of the techniques he falls back on in the show in that novel) and watching the first season, gives the impression Pizzolatto’s characters are shaped by their pasts and generally operate on pure id after a traumatic experience. Woodrugh is a character entirely built upon suppression. He wants to forget his dealings with Black Mountain, he won’t accept what appears to be his true sexual identity, and he leaps at any chance for a future that doesn’t acknowledge the past. He proposes marriage to someone who doesn’t know any of the real details about his history and therefore, doesn’t truly know him.
It’s an interesting character trait to explore, especially next to the other three main characters and the dead Ben Caspere, all of whom regularly indulge (or indulged) in their basest instincts on a regular basis. Someone like Frank Semyon (Vince Vaughn), tried to suppress his past, tried to become someone else. But the harder he tried, the more his old life would come back. It’s a lesson Woodrugh learns over and over. He is the only character involved in the final battle (and yes, I think this qualifies to be classified as a battle) who seems comfortable. He’s back surrounded by chaos and he’s the only one who surveys the carnage and looks contented.
Bezzerides (Rachel McAdams) and Velcoro (Colin Farrell) both have moments of hesitation during the gun fight and both breakdown after. The bodycount is so high, including Detective Dixon (W. Earl Brown), it’s no wonder they have that reaction. Velcoro jumping into the action so readily is a bit questionable considering his recent encounter with riot shells, but when the adrenaline dies down, he realizes for the second time, just how close he was to death. Bezzerides nervously considers using a blade after running out of bullets, her pause is indicative of her fear. She wears the blades in the first place because she is afraid but that same fear holds her back from using them when it counts.
The only main character not involved in this battle is Semyon. The episode focuses on Frank’s personal battle and him reclaiming his old life. He sets himself back up with his old club and his old drug connections. One can’t help but wonder if he was a bit too hasty in jumping back into the underworld with both feet. Semyon wanted to be a measured and calculating person, those would be the tenants of his new, legitimate life. It’s clear now those qualities were pipe dreams. He so quickly returns to threatening others and not just demanding what he wants, but outright taking it. If he used those same tactics in his confrontations with Mayor Chessani (Ritchie Coster), he could have uncovered more information on Caspere and probably broken the case wide open, or at the very least, recovered his money.
Semyon’s personal battle and Woodrugh’s physical battle are microcosms of what the season has been about as a whole. Legacy has been explored in multiple ways, from crafting a personal legacy to not being able to escape the legacy of the past. Semyon wants to create a legitimate legacy for his future children but now neither seem possible. Woodrugh wants the escape the legacy of his own past but his behavior during and after the battle prove he only thrives in chaos. The murder of Caspere will likely have deep roots to the history of the city of Vinci and that is a legacy no one caught in the vortex will be able to outrun.
Crazy Theory Corner
The gun battle will force the case to be shut down to the delight of Lt. Burris and Mayor Chessani. The case will be reopened years later when another city official winds up dead. Semyon will be fully back to his gangster life and will know the identity of the killer but unable to tell Velcoro because he would be brought down too. What’s your crazy theory?
