Time jumps can be a tricky thing. The lives of the characters carry on, but the audience has no immediate frame of reference for how things have changed. Therefore, to get us caught up, conversations happen in circles with people saying a bit too plainly how exactly something in the past is affecting them in this particular moment. “True Detective” moves roughly two months (66 days to be exact) after the massive shootout that concluded the previous episode and certainly a lot has changed.
As was to be expected, the public tragedy and ultimate failure of the Caspere task force in the overwhelming loss of life that came to pass at the end of the last episode, has caused the case to be declared closed. With no survivors there is no one left to question so it is easy to pin the blame on one of the dead bad guys. Also, as was to be expected, this isn’t a good enough resolution for any of the four main characters.
Usually, an episode that has to deal with the fallout of a major event such as the shootout is bound to be a bit of a letdown. In some respects, that is true with “Other Lives“, but mostly due to the time jump. Seeing Bezzerides (Rachel McAdams) and Velcoro (Colin Farrell) still dealing with the aftermath but mostly back to their version of normal, doesn’t allow for the shootout to feel as large of a specter on their lives as it would if the episode took place the next day. On the other hand, so much new information comes to light, the episode feels propulsive.
As compelling as the investigation is, this was a Frank Semyon (Vince Vaughn) episode. “Other Lives” is conspicuous for the amount of time it spends with Frank. He is sliding back into his comfort zone and being the person he really is. He’s approaching an understanding with himself that this is the life he will have to lead to stay alive. He’s a gangster, regardless of whether he likes the word or not. While already responsible for some of the bigger breaks in the case previously, including the discovery of Caspere’s house in Hollywood, there is a certain clarity with which Frank can operate now without having to constantly put on a show at being a legitimate business man.
Still not exactly sure what it could be, Frank finally confronts the feeling that he and Blake (Christopher James Baker) may be working at cross purposes. Velcoro, off the force and working as “security” for Frank, is put on assignment to follow Blake and determine what his motives might be. Frank’s hunch leads to another fancy party featuring powerful men and paid female companionship. This overlaps with what Bezzerides is starting to suspect after following up on the missing persons report she was told about in the season premiere.
Sidelined from the street herself, and stuck in the evidence room, Bezzerides perseveres and starts to put some pieces of the puzzle together. The corruption in Vinci now looks like the tip of the iceberg as photos of those powerful men at the secret parties emerge along with photographs of the missing blue diamonds. Most shockingly, Woodrugh (Taylor Kitsch) discovers the dearly departed Detective Dixon (W. Earl Brown) was chasing down the diamonds before Caspere even turned up dead. The diamonds, along with the contents of the missing hard drive, presumably containing video evidence that could be used as blackmail, are going to be found but what that will mean for the case is an interesting unanswered question.
Velcoro has a few unanswered questions himself and confronts Dr. Pitlor (Rick Springfield) for answers. Tony Chessani (Vinicius Machado) has a larger role in the political connections than would be expected and Pitlor descrives the Chessanis as “a highly inventive family.” This could be as pedestrian as some sexual deviations that Pitlor is privy to or it could be something more nefarious, perhaps something involving bird masks…
The biggest piece of new information that comes to light has nothing to do with the main case this week. The man Velcoro killed in an act of revenge for the brutal attack on his wife was the wrong man. The attacker was only recently captured and his identity confirmed via DNA. Frank gave Velcoro the information on the wrong man and set him on the path to becoming the broken man he is now. Everything about it now seems like a set up, Frank used Velcoro to have a man killed and buried while simultaneously getting a police officer under his thumb. As the episode ends and Velcoro arrives at Frank’s front door, it starts to look as if the biggest hurdles to solving the Caspere case will be those investigating it.
Crazy Theory Corner
The hard drive will be found with incriminating evidence on it but will have to be traded when one or more of the now secret Caspere task force will get in over their heads. What do you think?
