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True Detective Weekly 2: Night Finds You

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True Detective Weekly 2:

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Night Finds You

After the second episode of True Detective Season 2, we're bought in. Despite some lingering misgivings from the season premiere, the show has firmly staked its claim in pulpy conspiratorial Southern California noir fiction, and the character relationships are starting to take form. Join us as we discuss "Night Finds You" and speculate about what's to come. (Some cliffhanger, huh?)

(Soundcloud page hopefully coming soon!)

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Was Annie spending her night viewing hardcore porn because that's what she's into, or researching leads given by the psychiatrist guy, or checking up on her sister (ugh)? With the sex act that caught her dude off guard in episode 1, I think this has to be leading somewhere. Did she know the victim, a "passive" sex addict, from performing for him? Did her sister know him?

 

My theory right now is she was definitely involved in the same seedy sex circles as the victim at one point, and her history with this is why she's so concerned with her sister being a sex worker (going down same path).

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Was Annie spending her night viewing hardcore porn because that's what she's into, or researching leads given by the psychiatrist guy, or checking up on her sister (ugh)? With the sex act that caught her dude off guard in episode 1, I think this has to be leading somewhere. Did she know the victim, a "passive" sex addict, from performing for him? Did her sister know him?

 

My theory right now is she was definitely involved in the same seedy sex circles as the victim at one point, and her history with this is why she's so concerned with her sister being a sex worker (going down same path).

 

I'm suspicious if it will turn out that all three of them knew the victim indirectly in a bizarre coincidence.  The shots of the three detectives looking at each other at the end of the first episode would make sense in retrospect as each feeling a little panicked that the investigation will point to their own seedy relationship with the vic.  This isn't likely I know, but might mirror the 30 seconds or so of season one when Rust was supposed to be a suspect.

 

 

Also, I was the one who wrote in saying we knew who the killer was... for some reason in episode 1 I came away thinking that the shots of the body and the mask were in Colin Farrell's car, and we were supposed to understand that he had ditched the body that night.  Clearly, I see now that this isn't what was intended.  But now I guess I'm gonna stupidly spend all season rooting for Colin Farrell to be the killer so I can say I knew it since episode 1?

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First off, anyone with more knowledge of firearms than me know if shooting someone with blanks could send someone sprawling to the floor? Or anything other than actual bullets? I didn't see any blood on Farrel or on the wall behid him. And the shooter would be pretty dumb not to go for a headshot if it turns out he's wearing a bullet proof vest. I think it's a warning shot, not meant to kill. Also, the shooter has something to do with Caspare's killing because you can see the shape of a bird on his shoulder or head (was the thing in the limo a mask, as some have suggested)? If so, it can't be a warning from Vaughn unless he doesn't realize the shooter was connected to Caspare's death and it's just someone with multiple underworld connections (because I don't think Vaughn had anything to do with the killing - that would feel a bit too much like a cheap trick at this point and I don't think it's Pizzolatto's style).

Was Annie spending her night viewing hardcore porn because that's what she's into, or researching leads given by the psychiatrist guy, or checking up on her sister (ugh)? With the sex act that caught her dude off guard in episode 1, I think this has to be leading somewhere. Did she know the victim, a "passive" sex addict, from performing for him? Did her sister know him?

My theory right now is she was definitely involved in the same seedy sex circles as the victim at one point, and her history with this is why she's so concerned with her sister being a sex worker (going down same path).

I love the ambiguity of it. I hadn't thought of her having that kind of secret life, just assumed it's more repressed with her. That would be an interesting shift from season 1, where

nothing about the characters was really hidden from us, despite suggestions they had murky secrets or pasts at times.

Are we avoiding spoilers for season 1?

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The scene at the end reminded me a lot of that house from The Big Sleep where Marlowe finds Geiger and the hidden camera.

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That nonexistent anime pop star from Japan has a name, Jake! Have some respect for Hatsune Miku. She was on Letterman for crying out loud!

 

Ani and Velcoro are much more interesting sharing a scene together than they are apart from one another. I like their dynamic. Rust and Marty were fine too, but Marty was a little too much of a straw man at times.

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First off, anyone with more knowledge of firearms than me know if shooting someone with blanks could send someone sprawling to the floor? Or anything other than actual bullets? I didn't see any blood on Farrel or on the wall behid him. And the shooter would be pretty dumb not to go for a headshot if it turns out he's wearing a bullet proof vest. I think it's a warning shot, not meant to kill. Also, the shooter has something to do with Caspare's killing because you can see the shape of a bird on his shoulder or head (was the thing in the limo a mask, as some have suggested)? If so, it can't be a warning from Vaughn unless he doesn't realize the shooter was connected to Caspare's death and it's just someone with multiple underworld connections (because I don't think Vaughn had anything to do with the killing - that would feel a bit too much like a cheap trick at this point and I don't think it's Pizzolatto's style).

 

It was a very odd scene, for sure, in terms of firearms usage. Blanks could potentially knock someone down, but it would be an unreliable outcome and therefore probably not something that anyone experienced with firearms would plan to do with any deliberation. Firing a blank at an armed intruder would just scare him into shooting you dead, nine times out of ten, and shotgun blanks also produce a very distinctive gout of flame if they aren't specially prepared to look and sound otherwise. Beanbags, salt/sand, or rubber bullets are more plausible for a no-blood and no-kill option, but that's almost certainly invalidated by the second shot, done at point blank while standing over a prone figure lying on a hard surface. That could just as easily kill him, so why not just beat him with bootheels or the weapon's butt if bloody unconsciousness is the goal?

 

The simplest way for me to read the scene, if it's not being constructed deliberately to confuse its viewers, is that the shotgun was shooting buckshot and the second shot is done so close to pierce the vest or crush his chest trying, but why not the head, as you say? Was Farrell intended to be killed in a way that the body could be easily identified, hence not blowing off his head with a shotgun? To put it as callously as possible, why not just use a knife or beat him to death, after he's on his back? It's not like he's going to be hurrying anywhere after getting shot at a dozen feet, even if his vest blocked all real damage.

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It was a very odd scene, for sure, in terms of firearms usage. Blanks could potentially knock someone down, but it would be an unreliable outcome and therefore probably not something that anyone experienced with firearms would plan to do with any deliberation. Firing a blank at an armed intruder would just scare him into shooting you dead, nine times out of ten, and shotgun blanks also produce a very distinctive gout of flame if they aren't specially prepared to look and sound otherwise. Beanbags, salt/sand, or rubber bullets are more plausible for a no-blood and no-kill option, but that's almost certainly invalidated by the second shot, done at point blank while standing over a prone figure lying on a hard surface. That could just as easily kill him, so why not just beat him with bootheels or the weapon's butt if bloody unconsciousness is the goal?

 

The simplest way for me to read the scene, if it's not being constructed deliberately to confuse its viewers, is that the shotgun was shooting buckshot and the second shot is done so close to pierce the vest or crush his chest trying, but why not the head, as you say? Was Farrell intended to be killed in a way that the body could be easily identified, hence not blowing off his head with a shotgun? To put it as callously as possible, why not just use a knife or beat him to death, after he's on his back? It's not like he's going to be hurrying anywhere after getting shot at a dozen feet, even if his vest blocked all real damage.

 

Yeah. I'm 90+% sure at this point that Farrel is going to be alive in the next episode, so I'm really just hoping they don't come up with some really lame excuse for his survival. I also like the idea that the shooter wanted to leave him alive vs. the sloppiness of intending to kill him but not doing it right. Yeah, doing it in this method is risky but it's a guy in a giant bird mask so he's already gotta be a little unhinged, right? Oh, and for anybody reading my previous post and wondering how the hell I could think there was a bird on his shoulder rather than a giant bird-face covering his entire head, the screen I was watching on was REALLY dark! I just re-watched the scene on my phone and it's abundantly clear what he's wearing...

 

Love your avatar, btw.

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, it can't be a warning from Vaughn unless he doesn't realize the shooter was connected to Caspare's death and it's just someone with multiple underworld connections (because I don't think Vaughn had anything to do with the killing - that would feel a bit too much like a cheap trick at this point and I don't think it's Pizzolatto's style).

 

I'm probably gonna be thinking about this angle all week.  I'm really suspicious of Vaughn for letting Farrell (or anyone really) enter a building that could possibly have Vaughn's 10 million dollars in it on the assumption that he'll return it without even knowing it's Vaughn's.  How do underworld types even transmit that much money?  Is it cash?  Vaugh seems to think that whoever killed Caspare has taken it so it must be something pick-up-able, right?

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Yeah. I'm 90+% sure at this point that Farrel is going to be alive in the next episode, so I'm really just hoping they don't come up with some really lame excuse for his survival. I also like the idea that the shooter wanted to leave him alive vs. the sloppiness of intending to kill him but not doing it right. Yeah, doing it in this method is risky but it's a guy in a giant bird mask so he's already gotta be a little unhinged, right? Oh, and for anybody reading my previous post and wondering how the hell I could think there was a bird on his shoulder rather than a giant bird-face covering his entire head, the screen I was watching on was REALLY dark! I just re-watched the scene on my phone and it's abundantly clear what he's wearing...

 

Love your avatar, btw.

 

Thanks! I'm also fairly sure that Farrell's going to be alive come the next episode, so I'm just left wondering why it was chosen for him to be attacked with a sawed-off shotgun in a way that was flamboyant enough to flunk the smell test, besides it being visually interesting to the director. Granted, True Detective is not the kind of show to care about its gunplay, especially when directed by Justin Lin of Fast & Furious fame, but if the intention was for the evidence of this episode itself to indicate that Farrell is dead until the next episode demonstrated otherwise, there are more than a few other ways that the ambush could have been staged and shot to keep well-informed amateurs from immediately doubting its apparent outcome for reasons of basic practicality. I don't know, maybe confusion and skepticism were really the intended effects for us?

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After the first episode, I was afraid that throughout most of the show all the main players - primarily McAdams' and Farrell's characters - would be playing against each other. Not that it couldn't lead to some interesting plot developments; I just personally find those sorts of shows very frustrating to watch. Now it seems that Velcoro might be done playing the corrupt cop, or at least Vince Vaughn's corrupt cop (I will never learn these names at this rate), because he just doesn't care about anything anymore. I'm looking forward to him trying to make good on his suicidal promise to "burn this entire city" while trying to prove to himself that he is not "a bad person" as his ex-wife called him. To be clear, I'm not expecting - or in fact even hoping for - Ani and Ray to become perfect cop buddies. I'm just glad that it now appears that Ray might not be actively sabotaging the investigation for most of the season for his own selfish reasons.

 

I don't know what to think about the end of the episode, except that I'm quite interested to see how the thing is resolved. My very first impression, based on the fact that Farrell's character will almost definitely be alive and "functional" in the following episodes, combined with what appeared to be calm professionalism of the attacker, was that Velcoro is left alive for a purpose, perhaps of the "stop chasing me, and instead expose the corruption of Vince Vaughn's character and that mayor guy" variety. It is probably not that, though, seeing that the corruption is obvious to the viewers and the body is the intriguing part of the show so far.

 

Anyway, I'm feeling much more positive on this season now than I was after the first episode.

 

 

Also, with an animal-masked shotgun wielding killer cleansing the city of corruption one person at a time (well, one crooked city developer at this point, and I have no idea about the killer's real motive), I couldn't help but think of Hotline Miami.

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For comparison, in case it was too dark to see  in ep1:

td-ep-2.jpg

There's a bunch of dumb stuff that seems to have been added in just to feed the neuroses of armchair theorists, eg, the last verse in the theme song changes episode to episode (which I transcribe for completeness):

My woman's here, my children, too
Their graves are safe from ghosts like you
In places deep, with roots and twine,
I live the life I left behind
The war was lost, the treaty signed
I was not caught, I crossed the line
I was not caught, though many tried
I live among you, well disguised

to
I could not kill the way you kill
I could not hate, I tried, I failed
You turned me in, at least you tried,
You side with them, whom you despise
But never mind, never mind
I live the life I left behind
There's truth that lives, and truth that dies
I don't know which, so never mind


and similarly this:
05HWemg.jpg
I also noticed an eclipse featured in the intro - but I refuse to speculate on its meaning!!!!  I don't like this stuff, it feels hackey to slap it on just to capitalise on the needless buzz around season 1 theorising.  And I still hope there aren't any occult overtones to the secret brotherhood hinted at, even if (with all these masks) that prospect is shrinking away.  

What I did like most about ep2 was the tone of the rat scene.  In that it's like life is ambiguous enough as it is without any overt mysticism on top; reminded me of the way Louisiana was portrayed in season 1 as the

, even in places unconnected to cult goings-on. (I think it reminded me because of the damp which prompts Semyon (Vince Vaughn), just as damp ruins the files in the Louisiana police basement).


<spoiler removed for sake of guilty conscience>

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Really didn't appreciate that spoiler d L c at least provide some sort of warning for it. 

 

I think the show has really found its footing or at least a style to go on, I am definitely on board with Ani and Rey not trying to ruin each other for the whole series.

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Listening to the podcast now, I just realised that Ani's vaping feels like another subtle facet of her apparently hypocritical nature (i'm assuming she uses an e-cig because she believes it's 'healthier' than traditional cigarettes). The interactions she had last week with with 'Steve', and later her sister, were a great set up. The lingering on porn this week was perfectly balanced ambiguity.

 

Looking forward to the next episode, which is a nice improvement over what the first episode left me feeling.

 

Some other thoughts: I liked the non-linear construction of the morgue scenes cutting to flashbacks, even if a lot of the dialogue itself felt inelegantly expository.

This may end up being more pointless armchair theorising, but I read a comment post or article somewhere (I think it was Vanity Fair) highlighting the links between season 2 and Oedipal myth. Antigone was an obvious reference from the first episode, but now there's stuff with Paul and his mother, Ray and "his" son, Frank Semyon and his father. At the very least this series seems interested in exploring fucked up parent/child relationships more than the first series touched on, and the story of Oedipus might be worth keeping in mind.

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My suspicion is that the killer's goal is to bring some malfeasance out into the open. That would be why he might attack the first person to reach the crime scene but not kill them, if in fact hes still alive. The idea being that the first person there would probably try and cover something up or hide evidence, but if you disable him and call an ambulance, all will be left open.

Was Annie spending her night viewing hardcore porn because that's what she's into, or researching leads given by the psychiatrist guy, or checking up on her sister (ugh)? With the sex act that caught her dude off guard in episode 1, I think this has to be leading somewhere. Did she know the victim, a "passive" sex addict, from performing for him? Did her sister know him?

My theory right now is she was definitely involved in the same seedy sex circles as the victim at one point, and her history with this is why she's so concerned with her sister being a sex worker (going down same path).

My feeling is that she was legitimately researching and trying to find the girl Casper was with, then seeing the content felt compelled to view more. It probably is connected to some past abuse, her time as a child in the commune. The other kids ending up badly. I don't know, maybe its sexist to automatically say i woman has to be abused to like porn, but i think the way it was portrayed, with the reflection in her eye, made it seem like a negative compulsion.

The email about the connections to lynch forgot one. The scene of the crime had music playing on the radio when he entered, "there is always music in the air" connected to Jacques cabin in Twin Peaks.

Last comment, about 10-15 years ago i use to listen to coast to coast in college, hanging out in the art dept computer lab until 1 am most nights. They used to talk a lot about some cult of super rich people in California that would wear animal masks at secret parties. A quick internet search brought back the connection Its called Bohemian Grove. If you type in bohemian grove and look at the images that come up it reminds me a lot of the occult images from season 1 of true detective. Apparently there is a giant Owl statue there and gatherings "those people who rule the world" ;). There is supposed to be an apparent connection to the Bushes as well which would make sense why they included the photo in the background of the mayor. I don't really buy into the truth of it but it might be some thematic connection to the series, like this seasons yellow king. Especially the owl thing, which feels like a twin peaks reference, the production company for the series is called parliament of owls, so there is that. I can't find the parliament of owls logo anywhere but they play it at the end of the show.

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The porn scene with Ani read really hard to me as a) evidence of her own private life that is heavily contrasted to how other people think she is b ) felt really...queer? I don't know how to explain it but one of the theories I had about Ari's characterization is that she's so close to being what would be the stereotypical "rough lesbian" strong female character that's reminiscent of Kima from The Wire, etc. Except she's been shown to not be, but I'm not ruling anything at this point. She has been given obvious man-hating overtones already for one reason or another. It's just a very typical thing that TV shows do so I'm just wondering what's up with that. 

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There's a bunch of dumb stuff that seems to have been added in just to feed the neuroses of armchair theorists, eg, the last verse in the theme song changes episode to episode (which I transcribe for completeness):

My woman's here, my children, too

Their graves are safe from ghosts like you

In places deep, with roots and twine,

I live the life I left behind

The war was lost, the treaty signed

I was not caught, I crossed the line

I was not caught, though many tried

I live among you, well disguised

to

I could not kill the way you kill

I could not hate, I tried, I failed

You turned me in, at least you tried,

You side with them, whom you despise

But never mind, never mind

I live the life I left behind

There's truth that lives, and truth that dies

I don't know which, so never mind

 

Interesting, I totally did not notice that they had rearranged the verses.

 

I wonder if listening to the song (Leonard Cohen's "Nevermind", which he apparently released as a poem "Never mind" some ten years ago) will spoil important plot points in the future episodes.

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The porn scene with Ani read really hard to me as a) evidence of her own private life that is heavily contrasted to how other people think she is b ) felt really...queer? I don't know how to explain it but one of the theories I had about Ari's characterization is that she's so close to being what would be the stereotypical "rough lesbian" strong female character that's reminiscent of Kima from The Wire, etc. Except she's been shown to not be, but I'm not ruling anything at this point. She has been given obvious man-hating overtones already for one reason or another. It's just a very typical thing that TV shows do so I'm just wondering what's up with that.

What are some of the male-hating overtones you're referencing here? I'm curious because I don't read her in that way.

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Interesting, I totally did not notice that they had rearranged the verses.

 

I wonder if listening to the song (Leonard Cohen's "Nevermind", which he apparently released as a poem "Never mind" some ten years ago) will spoil important plot points in the future episodes.

Haha, the reference to Leonard Cohen obviously flew over my head when Chris mentioned him, I had no idea.  That makes rearranging the verses weird.

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The porn scene with Ani read really hard to me as a) evidence of her own private life that is heavily contrasted to how other people think she is b ) felt really...queer? I don't know how to explain it but one of the theories I had about Ari's characterization is that she's so close to being what would be the stereotypical "rough lesbian" strong female character that's reminiscent of Kima from The Wire, etc. Except she's been shown to not be, but I'm not ruling anything at this point. She has been given obvious man-hating overtones already for one reason or another. It's just a very typical thing that TV shows do so I'm just wondering what's up with that. 

 

I read that mostly as the mandatory scene showing off her big vice, the way every episode needs at least on scene with Farrell drinking and looking sad. I'm not crazy about using a character's sexual preferences to display how messed up they are. She can't be allowed to just be into rough sex, she has issues.

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It's clear from the very voyeuristic way that scene is shot that the audience is meant to believe that Ani feels shame or guilt over what she is watching. That makes even more sense when compared to the other scene of Paul watching the male prostitute, since it is heavily implied that he harbors his own shame over his sexual desires. The equation isn't necessarily "likes rough sex = messed up" but more "denies or feels guilty about her true sexual desires = messed up." It's similar to Marty's own sexual hangups from season 1, where he struggled with a very obvious Madonna/whore complex that poisoned all of his relationships with women. Every character on this show (except for maybe Frank) is being dishonest with themselves about who they truly are and that is a major cause of their emotional damage.

 

I was a little worried in the first episode when Ray was introduced as having murdered his wife's rapist, but was quickly assuaged when in the second episode, his wife flat out tells Ray (and by extension the audience) that Ray's assault on the rapist was for no one but himself. It makes me more confident that these other sexual issues will be handled in a smart, nuanced way and that in future episodes we will learn more about Ani's history and her relationship with her sister, which should help us understand more why she is the way she is.

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Re: the relevance of Leonard Cohen's song "Nevermind"...isn't that a raven mask that the killer wears?

 

EDIT: And seeing that they rearranged the verses so that the "Nevermind" chorus appears before this week's episode makes it seem even more like there is a connection there. Edgar Allen Poe meets Raymond Chandler?

 

DOUBLE EDIT: I'm an idiot - it's "quoth the raven nevermore" not "nevermind" (maybe I was mixing up Poe with Cobain haha). Ah well, that's crackpot theory #1 for season 2 shot down... ;)

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What are some of the male-hating overtones you're referencing here? I'm curious because I don't read her in that way.

 

Has significant emotional alienation from her dad, is painted by her sister as a prude, likes rough sex but isn't into emotional intimacy and then that big conversation with Shitty Cop (I still cannot remember anyone's names) in the car about being overpowered by men and that's why she carries knives. And then Shitty Cop made that quip about feminism. It just reads closely to how a lot of writers chose to present a woman who's been hurt/broken in some way and how it comes off as aggressively anti-man. That's all. 

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I feel like everyone is reading a lot more into Ani's porn-watching than I did...  She was stuck at a hotel for the night, had been left unsatisfied by her partner a day or two before, so she watched some porn.  I don't think this is super-uncommon, or indicates that she's damaged or anything, except maybe that she's unsatisfied in her relationship which we alread knew.  I had the impression that the uncomfortable angles and music overlayed with the scene weren't about her feeling weird about porn, but were about making the audience feel weird for watching her...

 

Random other thoughts

  • Man Ray had a weird journey in the audience's eyes.  His introduction was that he's trying hard with a kid who might not be his.... I can't think of a better shorthand for "this is an unimpeachably good guy" that clearly Ray turns out not to be.
     
  • No flashbacks in episode 2.  I had assumed we'd pick up from Ray and Vince Vaughn in the bar 10 years ago, just so that this season has something in common with season 1 structurally.
     
  • In the "next time on" from the previous episode there was a very brief glimpse of Vince Vaughn's thug with the very long beard---I was sure he was going to turn out to be Ginger from season 1.

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