True Detective Recap: There’s Nothing Like A Saggy Old Man Orgy To Make Things Interesting Again

This is a recap of the sixth episode of True Detective’s second season. Spoilers.

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In Ancient Rome, they used to say that a full moon caused people to behave irrationally, whipping them up into a temporary insanity. Later on, science concluded “yeah, nah”, but I’m telling you: when there’s a full moon in Vinci, things get crazy. Things get reaaal crazy.

While True Detective‘s second season isn’t attempting to do anything new with these crime narrative tropes (so the lady cop is going to go undercover as a prostitute? That thing that has been done literally hundreds of times before? Ten points to Gryffindor!) this week seemed to move a little faster, while still staying weighty in all the right places. The protagonists were actually doing something and even though I wasn’t terribly interested in Paul’s quest to find the diamonds, the season’s second mention of the ’92 LA riots must mean that it’s heading somewhere. ‘Church in Ruins’ was actually good!

Before we consider our (true) detectives racing off after a successful heist, illuminated by the glow of that crazy-making moon, let’s think about the ways the Scooby Gang have totally given in to their lunacy. Ray has been driven mad by the thought of the life he could have had; a life that didn’t involve killing an ‘innocent’ man and then working for a gangster who has read too much Raymond Chandler. Frank swears that he didn’t set him up and anyway, Ray was obviously always capable of murder. They’re just two old friends brought together by a tragedy, sharing a cup of joe while pointing guns at each other’s e-cigs dicks.

Ray’s inability to connect with his son who would rather eat pizza and watch Friends than talk about feelings — I hear ya, Chuckie — only fuels his need for retribution on the dude who assaulted his wife. Though when he actually confronted the criminal, you kind of got the impression that Ray was madder at him for fucking up his revenge narrative than actually, you know, attacking his ex-wife. But really, the question is: will he use a cheese grater he already has on this guy’s penis, or will he spring for a new one?

Frank’s blind desperation to retrieve this hard drive for the Catalyst dude, thus buying his way back into the corridor, has left him senseless (although I have to admit, Vaughn’s two Mexican standoffs lifted his acting game just a little this week). Did he really think that those two nameless heroin kingpins who he racially vilified would just hand over Irina (who was in cahoots with a “thin white” cop who gave her Caspere’s stolen stuff)? They slit her throat just to show Frank they could. She didn’t want to talk to any more white guys, and nor do they. Probably should have stopped using phrases like, “wet back hoochies” huh, big guy?

Well, at least Stan’s kid likes him. Side note: anyone remember Stan?

Ani is often characterised by irrational behaviour, but that wasn’t the case this week; although playing with knives when someone comes over to hang out is a little rude. Ani’s obsession with finding Vera (who we now know wasn’t the hut victim) has overshadowed her desire to find Caspere’s killer. What’s another dodgy rich guy, right? It’s been heavily hinted at throughout the season, but this episode’s drug hallucination (which definitely had some more Lynchian elements) confirmed that Ani was molested as a child at the Good People commune. This was Rachel McAdams’ episode. Colin Farrell may have had the cocaine tears, but Regina George had the stakes. She also has a custom painting of a women “drowning on land”, but that’s another story.

Ani’s infiltration of the rich guy prostitute party and Ray and Paul’s implausible but fantastic surveillance of the mansion, was easily the most exciting thing that has happened on the show this season. Why did they do it, and what did they think they would find? I have no idea! But there was actual urgency attached to the situation and I cared if these people lived or died. I even cared about Eastern European Prostitute #4567 who explained that the MDMA spray “keep you in good mood”!

The high-class hooker party we’ve been hearing about was like a cocktail of Mulholland Drive with a little Eyes Wide Shut thrown in. It was also fucking repulsive. Minute by minute it got a little worse, from old dudes standing around smacking their lips and diving into salad bowls of Viagra, while young women swan around and drink champagne, to Ani narrowly avoiding Vinci’s police chief and Chessani Jnr by coupling off with an old Texan who said shit like, “I do so enjoy the natural state”.

The orchestral score, uncharacteristic for True Detective, combined with Ani’s foggy, red-tinged vision made the disturbing scene even more surreal and nightmarish. Ani is literally tripping over bodies engaged in the oldest, saggiest orgy of all time and tripping balls (I don’t know, would you say that MDMA causes hallucinations?) while finding semi-conscious missing persons in a bathroom where some women are washing their butts. Just like, washing their butts.

Ani told Ray a few episodes ago that her relentless training was an attempt to level the playing field between the genders, and it paid off. Everyone was too busy making polite conversation/boning to intervene. Our detectives managed to run away and save Vera in the process, but if Ani used Athena’s name then there will probably be retribution.

The full moon may be a siren song to the supernatural evils of the world, but everything that’s happened in Vinci is manmade. Ani, Ray and Paul aren’t turning into werewolves but they’re sure haunted by ghosts. Ani, sweating and crying, whispers, “I think I killed someone”. Ray, his face splattered with someone else’s blood, drives quickly and his cocaine eyeballs dart over his shoulder. Hell, Paul is just impressed that the Catalyst contract he stole has signatures on it.

Maybe history will remember this season well if True Detective manages to tie up all of its loose threads in the next two hours and leave us with something that feels like satisfaction. Otherwise, there’s always a Friends re-run on somewhere.

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True Detective airs on Foxtel’s Showcase every Monday at 3.30pm (express from the US), before being re-broadcast at 7.30pm.

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Sinead Stubbins is a writer from Melbourne who has done stuff for Yen, frankie, Smith Journal and Elle. She tweets from @sineadstubbins.