Before we start unearthing clues and trying to uncover the identity of the killer as we head into Season 2 of True Detective, it’s probably beneficial to get everyone on the same page regarding the storyline and all the clues. After all, the opening episode was bleak and grimy, and you can be forgiven for missing some plot points with Nic Pizzolatto throwing four characters at us all at once and sneaking in some subtle shots you might not catch without a couple of re-watches, especially because the events don’t exactly jump off the screen in the opening episode when Colin Farrell is not beating the hell out of a dad (Happy Father’s Day!).
In fact, the pilot episode is much more interesting on a second or third watch, as we begin to pick up some of the clues about the characters and potentially, the killer. Let’s map it out.
The Railway Project and Frank Semyon
The backdrop to Season 2 is a California high-speed railway project going through the town of Vinci, and the episode is bookended to highlight that: We begin with a field covered in survey stakes in what appears to be an area that is contaminated (it’s very brief, but there is signage suggesting “contaminated area”).
The episode ends with our three main police characters converging around the body of Vinci city manager, Ben Caspere, who has had his eyes burned out with acid and who bled out from a “pelvic wound.” In other words, he had his junk removed.
Obviously, the survey site and the death of Caspere are related: The survey site is where the high-speed rail project is meant to go through. Caspere is the corrupt guy holding the money of sketchy career criminal/casino owner, Frank Semyon (Vince Vaughn), who is trying to push the project through and set himself up with a “legitimate legacy” and be wealthy enough that his grandkids will never have to work.
The death of Ben Caspere is not the only obstacle to the railroad project. A Russian mobster by the name of Osip is also set “buy in” to the project, but he’s having misgivings.
Another potential obstacle is Dan Howser, a reporter looking into the past of Frank Semyon. However, Detective Ray Velcoro (Colin Farrell) potentially takes care of that problem for Semyon by roughing up Howser.
That will presumably put an end to the eight-part series on Vinci being the most corrupt district in L.A. County.
Semyon also has a wife, Jordan Semyon, who is clearly the Lady Macbeth of True Detective. I suspect she’s guiding a lot of her husband’s actions, including turning him from a criminal into a businessman. She’s ambitious, and I suspect she has an evil, ruthless streak. If you’ve seen A Most Violent Year, she’s basically the Jessica Chastain character.
Detective Ray Velcoro
Colin Farrell’s character beats up Dan Howser because he and Frank Semyon have a history. Ray’s ex-wife was raped by an unknown assailant, and in all likelihood, the “fat pussy” that is Ray’s son is probably the product of that rape (Ray appears to be sterile, another reason he may be angry at the world). A decade or so ago, Frank gave Ray the identity of the rapist, and Ray presumably killed the rapist. Now he owes favors to Frank, one of which is removing the reporter as a threat.
Velcoro and his partner Teague Dixon (W. Earl Brown) are also put on the missing person’s case of Ben Caspere. During the course of the investigation, Velcoro and Dixon discover that Caspere is into some really weird, possibly occult-ish sex stuff. He’s a very big fan of dildos.
Meanwhile, Velcoro has a drunken history, as well. He feels emasculated by the rape of his ex-wife, and probably knows that his son is the product of that rape. His son gets beat up in school a lot, and when some kid bullies him and takes his LeBron sneakers, Ray goes to that kid’s house, puts on some brass knuckles, and beats the hell out of the kid’s dad, delivering the best line of the night: “I’m going to butt f*ck your dad with your headless mother’s corpse next to him on the lawn.”
Ray has some rage issues.
Ani Bezzerides
Rachel McAdams’ character, like Ray, also likes to tie one on. She’s also into rough sex with one-night stands and has a bad father (David Morse), a new-age academic of some sort. He’s a luddite, and they are estranged. He says weird things like, “Recognize the world as meaningless and understand that God did not create a meaningless world.” Bezzerides’ sister, Athena (Leven Rambin), is also messed up. She masturbates on web cams for a living, and she gets rolled up in a prostitution sting led by her sister.
Meanwhile, Ani is also investigating a missing woman who used to work with her father. Presumably, the missing woman will be connected to the death of Ben Caspere, too.
Paul Woodrugh
Finally, we’ve got Paul Woodrugh. He’s a motorcycle cop — and wants to keep it that way — who is suffering from some form of PTSD, which is affecting his boners (much to the dismay of his sexually starved girlfriend). He seems to be the “true detective” so far, by which I mean, an honest cop. His honesty, however, gets him suspended after he turns down the sexual advances from an actress trying to get out of DWI. He is accused to trying to solicit a blowie and suspended.
He also goes on suicidal 100 mph motorcycle rides with the lights off to clear his head. It’s on one of those rides where he discovers the body of Ben Caspere.
Jurisdiction
One murder brings three police officers together. Ray Velcoro has jurisdiction because it’s his missing person’s case in Vinci; Bezzerides has county jurisdiction over the homicide; and Woodrugh discovered the body as a member of the California Highway Patrol. I would imagine that Woodrugh would have no further involvement with the case in a typical situation as a highway patrolmen, but because he’s suspended, I suspect he’ll devote all his extra time to helping Bezzerides and Velcoro track down the murderer.
The Killer
We have a few clues as to the identity of the killer, so far. This is a brightened screenshot of the guy who dumped Caspere’s body. He also waddles.
Here’s his license plate.
He has a bird mask in his backseat (which might be important because birds are known to peck out the eyes of their victims, in horror movies, anyway).
And if you look at Caspere’s forehead, it seems to have been pecked.
Knives
In case you missed it, the series is trying to establish that Ani has a thing for knives. Here’s where she practices her knife-throwing.
She studies knives.
She has a wall of knives.
There’s also a transition shot of Ani in the locker room which seems only to exist to show off her knives.
Make of that what you will, but her obsession with knives will surely play into the season.
Conclusion
So, that’s the base of what we seem to be working with. Ray is a violent drunk with connections to Frank. Paul has some PTSD issues. Ani is obsessed with knives, and the killer is obsessed with a particular bird.
Let’s see how that plays out in the coming weeks, keeping in mind, however, that the identity of the killer may become secondary midway through the season, as it did last season when it became much more of a character study than a murder investigation. Pizzolatto, after all, likes to mess with us.
