Paging David Lynch! The
episode opens with an Elvis-like impersonator in aquamarine suit singing Conway
Twitty’s version of “The Rose” under a single spotlight. Ray watches from his usual booth at the seedy
bar. Across from him sits an old man in
police uniform who notes, “You got your father’s hands.” The old man continues with a non-sequitor
about a dream he had of running though the trees being chased by men who kill
Ray. Ray asks his father, “Where is
this?” His dad sighs, “I don’t know, you’re here first.”
Returning to the crime scene, Ray lies on the floor
motionless, “The Rose” plays in the background. Suddenly, he gasps. He’s alive! (I had a feeling they weren’t going to really
kill off a major character after two episodes.) The crime scene is swarming with activity and
we learn Ray is alive because the shots were rubber pellets used by police to
break up crowds. Ray’s scratched up, but
okay. Ani reads Ray the riot act for
going to the scene alone. A special
Vinci task force shows up to the crime scene. (Even though the house was in
Hollywood.) Ani surveys the scene and
notes the soundproof walls.
Frank looks pained as his wife gives him oral attention at
the doctor’s office. Jordon is angry
he’s not able to perform and he’s not taking her desire for a child seriously.
Frank explodes, “My whole life right now is life and death importance! It’s
unnatural!” He adds his sperm were
deemed normal and the problem is hers, not his.
His wife is understandably upset as he storms out.
Paul and Ani are partnered due to Ray’s injury. Paul notes Caspere and the Catalast
Corporation are linked. Ani asks Paul about the actress’s allegations against
him. Paul is very defensive and threatens to get out of the vehicle. (And walk
along the LA freeway? Right!) Ani
explains she’s just concerned if the exposure from the case will hamper the
investigation. Paul calms down and makes
a snarky comment about Ani’s vaping habit. It may be the most interesting thing about
her.
Frank and Ray meet at the dingy bar. Ray asks, “Who else knew about the location?”
Ray is livid and thinks Frank walked him into a trap. Ray demands to know what other business he
and Caspere had. They toss around the
word “apoplectic” which is an old fashioned term for stroke. This vocabulary extravagance seems to add
another layer of the artifice of this show. I don’t personally know many burned out cops
and gangsters, but I doubt they banter using 19th century
words. Ray is drinking water because he
“Wants to feel his anger.” (Which the alcohol would numb.) Ray notes there was a video recording of his
shooting and undoubtedly other crimes. Ray
leaves in disgust. The scarred waitress asks what’s wrong with Ray, and Frank
deadpans, “Someone murdered him.”
Ani and Paul arrive at the mayor of Vinci’s Bel Aire
mansion. Ani identifies herself as
“State Police.” (Still confusing, Paul is highway patrol and Ani is Sheriff, I
understand this is a special investigation, but they still would have to be
truthful in stating which department they are from.) A haggard looking blonde
in a gold gown and Russian accent answers the door. She looks disinterested as Paul brings up the
phone records indicating numerous calls to the residence. She huffs a
mysterious gas from a plastic container, “Medicine, for my eyes!” she explains.
The house looks like it’s in the throws
of a hangover. The woman says she’s been
married to the mayor for about a year and they met at “a party.” A woman jumps off a balcony into the pool
below followed by the yelling of a man upstairs. Ani ventures upstairs and meets a scantly clad
man. The man is the mayor’s son, an
“event organizer” and orders Ani and Paul out.
Ray gets a check up from a doctor. His liver is failing and his habits are
wreaking havoc on his body, but his most recent injury is minor. He’s cleared to go back to work. The doctor asks him pointedly, “Do you want to
live?”
Frank visits a construction site to intimidate the
boss. Frank notes their history of “quid
pro quo” deals and offers veiled threats if the man doesn’t keep paying him.
Frank is broke and a little desperate.
Ani and Paul go to empty Caspere’s security deposit box. It contains several documents regarding LLC’s
and some blue diamonds. It’s mentioned,
again, Caspere was deeply involved in the Catalast Corporation.
Ani and Ray split up to visit and debrief their respective
bosses. Ani meets with the D.A. Davis
who is eager to expose Velcoro as a dirty cop. Ray meets with the irate mayor who refers to
Ani by crude word for female anatomy. The
mayor wants the Caspere case closed, and preferably using the “hooker/pimp”
angle. Davis tells Ani if she can “get”
Velcoro, she’ll get a bonus. Exasperated,
Ray tells the mayor, “I’m not Colombo!” To
which the mayor responds, “Do you believe this guy?”
Ani goes back to the Sheriff’s office where she encounters
the man she was sleeping with in the first episode. She abruptly breaks up with him, displaying
her aversion to men. The deputy notes,
“You got problems!” Ani retorts, “And I’m whittling them down.” (By dumping him.)
Her partner Elvis is there to give Ani moral support.
Prompted by his near death experience, Ray visits his
father. He helps his father drink
whiskey and delivers some herbal medicine. Ray tells him he had a “dream” about him. He fishes his father’s old badge, which has
been encapsulated in plastic, out of the trash. It seems the old man routinely throw it away. His father waxes nostalgic about the “good old
days” under the infamous L.A. police chief Darryl Gates, back when “real police
work” could be done. His father notes he
retired with “Half a pension.” He must
have been dirty too. His dad adds, “This
ain’t no country for white men!”
Osip meets with Frank at the casino. He tells Frank he’s heading to Las Vegas to
explore other business options. Frank
wishes him a sarcastic “Bon Voyage!” and calls him some racial and ethnic
epitaphs behind his back. Frank speaks
to his cronies, wondering if Osip possibly had something to do with Caspere’s
murder.
Paul and a friend watch some monster truck show. They were in the war together and the friend
asks why Paul doesn’t attend support group meetings anymore. (For PTSD?) Paul
responds he’s just trying to forget. The
friend states he’s working on becoming an electrician but he misses the
excitement of combat. Paul gets upset,
were these too a little more then friends in the desert?
Back at the Quonset hut, Paul reports they have CCT of the
Cadillac used to transport Caspere’s body. The car was stolen from a film being shot in
Vinci. Ray and Ani visit the film set to
ask if anybody recognizes Caspere. They
learn from a set photographer he liked to attend parties with “industry” types.
Caspere’s office manager meets them on
the set to bring them tax documents.
Frank is fuming in his office, wondering where his associate
Stan is. Another lackey informs him,
Stan is dead. Frank views Stan’s body,
which is in a box in a large warehouse facility. Frank yells at the his assembled crew, “Who is
after me?” Frank orders a meeting be set
up with rival organizations.
Paul speaks to the street prostitutes, showing them a
picture of Caspere. (I’m not an expert on prostitutes but it seems the
wealthier client would not go to the street to look for entertainment, but
would use the Internet as to be less visible.) Paul stands in front of a
billboard for “American Sniper.” A song
plays about killers, as Paul watches a male “angel” give oral services behind
fence nearby. Paul finally finds a male
hustler who’s seen Caspere and says he frequented a nearby club. He states Paul, with his “angsty cop vibe,”
probably wouldn’t get into the club. Paul
has a hard time making eye contact with the man.
Ani is at Ray’s house. Ray’s ex-wife is at the door. She speaks to him outside, imploring him to
take ten thousand dollars in cash and leave town because internal affairs is
close to making their case against him. Ray
is disgusted she thought he would relinquish his custody rights for money. He seems unconcerned about his own fate. The ex and her husband leave in the Volvo. Ray returns inside to Ani and they get back to
work on the case.
Paul and the hustler are in Frank’s former club. Paul speaks to another male prostitute about
Caspere. The man states Caspere liked to
go to parties and watch rather then participate.
Frank meets with rival gangs. He asks them about Stan and who wants to “Fuck
with him!” The various leaders plead ignorance. The “Fuck You” grill man
challenges Frank, calling him a weak has-been. Frank prepares to fight him, telling the man,
“You can leave your rings on!” They
engage in a fistfight, which Frank surprisingly wins. At the end of the fight, Frank asks for some
pliers to remove the man’s gold grill, saying, “I hate those things, what a way
to greet the world!” Ouch and yuck!
Ani and Ray go to visit the man who quit the movie set prior
to the Cadillac’s theft. The man claims he quit to take care of his mother and
denies stealing the car. An explosion
booms behind them, and Ray investigates to see their car is burning. A masked man in a hoodie is across the street
and Ray and Ani take off after him. It
appears the suspect wants to be seen and chased. The race through a homeless camp and across a
freeway ends with the suspect escaping through the bushes. Ray saves Ani from being hit by a semi, by
rolling her to the ground out of its path.
Jordon waits for Frank in a silky bathrobe by the fire. She wants to make up after their fight at the
doctor’s office. Frank ignores her and
pours some whiskey. His face is
distorted like he’s smelling rotten eggs, and I suppose that’s Vince Vaughn’s
attempt at acting conflicted. He tells
Jordon, “Maybe tomorrow.”
What did we learn this week? No main detectives are dead or are likely to
be killed off before the finale. Catalast
and Caspere were in a lot of financial dealings together. The mayor and the D.A. want different things
to happen as a result of this investigation. And please, leave the Twin Peak type sequences
out of this show, because it’s not as clever as the David Lynch series it wants
to be. It’s all feeling a bit heady and
clichéd. Who killed the scum Caspere,
I’m not sure I care. I miss McConaughey
and Carcuza…
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