"True Detective" Recap: "Other Lives"

Written by John Edward Betancourt

THIS IS THE EMERGENCY SPOILER ALERT SYSTEM...YOU ARE ADVISED TO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK...

A week ago True Detective left us as it always does, devastated and uncomfortable as we were witness to one incredibly ugly shoot out that cost many a life of both decent hard working folks and human garbage alike. It left us with more questions than we would like to have on our minds halfway through the season.

Was the shootout a trap or a housecleaning of Vinci P.D. and undesirable officers much like our damaged trio? What is this grand conspiracy that seems to be happening behind the scenes? And the most important question of all, who the hell killed Ben Caspere? Well, with the help of a little time jump and a lot of surprises in last night's episode, the show is moving forward toward something big, making "Other Lives" one of the finest episodes of season two so far. 

This was an episode that dealt squarely in consequences and took the opportunity to show the true colors of one particular character, but more on that in a minute. For when we rejoin the story in this episode, months have passed since the Vinci shootout and wow, the fallout was epic. Velcoro left Vinci P.D. and is working security for Frank. Paul is a fraud detective and Ani is banished to the evidence room. Yet, clues are starting to show their head once again. Ani is pulled right back into the case of the missing girl from early in the series and what do you know...it leads back into those weird parties where girls are the party favor. It reactivates the case off the books since well...it's odd that the Attorney General closes the case and suddenly decides to run for Governor. Something bigger is going on and at last it felt like the conspiracy is finally taking shape, especially when Velcoro unleashes his fury without an official badge on that creepy ass doctor to learn a little more about the parties.

But the centerpiece of the episode...is the big reveal of how big of a piece of crap Frank turned out to be. I distinctly remember writing about how he seemed to be the only character looking to do some good in the world, especially by helping out Ray hunt down the creep that assaulted his ex wife. Except it turns out that was quite the opposite. We learned last night that the man Ray either took out or moved to some obscure part of the world was not the one who hurt his wife, he was merely a pawn in Frank's plan...just like Ray. The real culprit was caught after another assault and his DNA matched everything. It's sending Ray into another dark and ugly place and well...that ending where Ray shows up at Frank's doorstep can't be good...for either of them. 

But all things aside, kudos to this episode for moving everything along in subtle fashion. It may have felt slow, but I think that's nothing more than a trick. The show is playing with us. Giving us little bits and pieces at a time to slowly digest in the back of our minds until surprise...something big will fall right into our lap. The weird kill room behind the house up north is no doubt something extremely important that felt played off on purpose and well...this conspiracy just plain feels creepy. Bunch of rich guys, doing as they please, blackmailing one another and death surrounds them. I dunno, there's something terrible going on here, and we are inching toward discovering it. Just not sure we will like it when our curiosity is finally satisfied. Until next time. 

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