[rating=7.00] “Night Finds You”
While it may be lacking the intrigue of the esoteric musings of season one, this season of True Detective has proven that, if nothing else, the stakes are a bit higher and the costs a bit heavier than they ever were for Rust and Marty. Nic Pizzolatto is still playing things a bit close to the chest, keeping his secrets well-guarded, but already the scope of this season seems to indicate a massive sprawl of conflicting interests and desires. Our three detectives have found themselves caught in a web of schemes and manipulations, though as of yet it’s unclear who our spider might be.
Frank’s feeling the pressure after Caspere’s unfortunate demise last week; it would seem as though all of his eggs were in a single basket as he made moves to legitimize his income. $5 million in recently liquidated assets were given to the recently deceased Vinci city manager, none of which made it into the right hands before Caspere’s eyes were burned out of his skull and his genitals shot off with a shotgun. This leaves Frank not only out of the lucrative land deals surrounding the high speed rail, but also out an entire fortune. He’s not going down without a fight, though.
As Frank reels from his losses, our unlikely trio of detectives set out to piece together clues in a case that officials may or may not actually want solved. The City of Vinci, with its history of corruption guiding the way, doesn’t seem entirely interested in seeing justice brought to Caspere’s murderer. The mayor, at the very least, seems indifferent as he gives Velcoro some less than clear direction on how to handle their end of the investigation. He’s less concerned with solving the murder than he is with controlling the flow of information, leaving us wondering just what his involvement with Caspere and his associated land deals might actually be.
Indeed, Mayor Chessani’s hands aren’t exactly clean, as we learn later. Not only is he less than forthcoming during an interview with Velcoro and Bezzerides, giving them the barest bones in response to their inquiries, but he’s also in bed with Frank’s organization, taking bribes and kickbacks in order to allow Semyon to conduct his business without interference from the city. Of course, Frank’s recent financial woes have him strapped for cash, making his weekly payoff a little short for the mayor’s liking. The squeeze is on, and Frank now has a vested interest in finding Caspere’s killer, as there’s a good chance that whoever killed him also has his money. Good thing he’s got Velcoro in his pocket, I suppose. This gives him an intimate access to the case and ensures he’ll be on top of the investigation. Of course, this probably puts him on a direct collision course with the interests of the mayor, but we still don’t know much about that.
Bezzerides, for her part, is also caught between interests. While she seems generally vested in catching Caspere’s killer, her bosses seem to see another angle. “Caspere’s murder is a window into everything,” her bosses tell her. The county apparently has some unfinished beef with the city of Vinci and its government, whom they—rightfully—view as corrupt. Less interesting to them than Caspere’s killer is the prospect of catching Mayor Chessani and the city government in their shady dealings. Start with Velcoro, she’s told. County officials know or suspect his crookedness, and breaking him could start a domino effect that brings down the entire city. This sets up an interesting dynamic between Velcoro and Bezzerides, leading to the same kind of opposing personality car rides that made the first season so intriguing. Ray and Ani are no Rust and Marty, to be sure, but it’s always fun to watch the interplay between the crooked cop and the straight.
The only people who seem genuinely interested in solving the murder are the CHP, which puts Woodrugh in a bit of a tough spot. His entire career is hanging on the line thanks to the lies and slander of a starlet facing jail time. If he solves the case, not only will his record be cleared, but he’ll be given a promotion. All Woodrugh really wants is to be back on motorcycle patrol and he’ll jump through whatever hoops he has to make that a reality. He’s sent to LA to join the task force with Velcoro and Bezzerides, which brings to an end whatever semblance of domestic bliss he had with his girlfriend. Already strained by his commitment to the job and his secretive past, the double-blow of the supposed sex scandal and temporary transfer push her over the edge. She wants nothing to do with him, which he accepts, but only grudgingly.
In fact, the home lives of our heroes played pretty heavily in this episode. Velcoro—whose life is already more or less entirely in the shitter—is given the devastating news that his ex-wife will be filing restraining orders against him and petitioning for sole custody of their child, who is absolutely terrified of his father following their confrontation last week and the fact that Velcoro beat a man half to death. These are both pretty rational moves on her part, though it does put Velcoro in an even worse spot than he already is. His son was, until this point, the only thing keeping him grounded or, really, even invested in his life at all. There’s no telling what kind of spiral this might send him down, though that might not be something we need to concern ourselves with at this point.
You see, despite the fact that Velcoro’s bosses in the city don’t really care about solving the murder, Frank has other plans. He’s determined to get back his lost money and he’s using Ray to conduct as thorough an investigation as possible. Never mind the fact that Ray’s heart isn’t in it anymore. His heart doesn’t really seem to be in anything, really, after the conversation with his ex. He wants out, he tells Frank, and if he doesn’t let him out, well, he’s still got the one option that desperate people always have. But whatever, Frank calls his bluff and gives him his orders. Check out Caspere’s other home in Hollywood, he tells him, and he never wants to hear Velcoro talk like that again. “You used to be hard,” Frank says, doling out some cash for Ray’s troubles.
Following their meeting in the bar, Velcoro makes his way to Caspere’s other home and immediately things are fishy. A radio plays and a pool of blood has amassed on the ground. Some quick sleuthing leads Ray to a camera placed surreptitiously behind a mirror. Obviously, these are all things that would catch the interest of murder police. What heinous acts might that camera have caught? Whose blood is on the floor? Before he can even solidify these questions in his mind, however, a shadow moves in the background and a mysterious figure wearing a bird mask walks into the room, holding a shotgun.
Boom, Ray goes down. The figure steps over the fallen detective as he fights for his breath. Boom, another shot. It doesn’t look good for Velcoro, who was given the full Game of Thrones treatment. Could he really be dead? Could he be anything but? Suspicions tell me that while Velcoro is probably dead (though I suppose it’s possible he was only hit with a bag shot or perhaps rock salt ala Kill Bill) that we haven’t seen the last of Velcoro. The ground has been laid for a twist filled season that spans a least a decade in LA County’s scandal racked community. If he is dead—and again, that’s two shotgun blasts he just took, so that seems a bit more than likely—I suspect we’ll see him again in some extended flashbacks that explore the depths of corruption and the link between Vinci and organized crime.
Once again, we’ve been given some intriguing morsels without getting too much of the bigger picture. What’s your game here, Pizzolatto? Just what are you playing at? While season two still has yet to hit the same levels as its predecessor, the intrigue is thick as we move deeper into this story of corruption and deceit. We’re dealing with an entirely different sort of beast here with season two, one whose scope threatens the soul of an entire county or, indeed, state. For now, we’ve got some time to digest the bleakness and despair as we wonder just where we’re being taken along this journey into darkness.
