Episode 3 of True Detective left us hints of some major events that were about to unfold, both with the Dora Lange case and Marty’s marriage, and boy did this episode deliver.
‘Who Goes There’ begins with Marty and Rust questioning the ex-husband of Dora Lange in a jail cell. Once the ex-husband hears that Reggie Ledoux is their next suspect, he loses his mind. He knows Ledoux from sharing a jail cell with him, but he says Ledoux is a creep. Reggie would tell him about a place down South where they go to sacrifice women and children as apart of their twisted ritual. It is said, too, that Ledoux has a spiral tattoo on his back representing their group. Reggie would show him the skills he had as a chemist, and they would get high together. Even though the ex of Dora Lange wanted nothing to do with the devilish behaviors of Ledoux, he had no choice seeing as though this guy was crazy and twice his size.
The ex-boyfriend also tells them of a mutual friend they had, Tyrone Williams, who Marty eventually finds after some digging around. Tyrone spills that Ledoux is cooking up drugs for only one buyer, a motorcycle gang called the Iron Crusaders.
Meanwhile, Marty’s now ex-mistress is still furious about his run-in on her apartment and beat down on her date. While testifying for another case at the courthouse, we see Lisa is the court stenographer, meaning that is how they likely met. Marty gives her the cold shoulder, and it bites him back – hard. The moment finally comes when he walks through his front door to find his luggage and a note from his wife, Maggie. Lisa told her everything, and not that I like to see people suffer, but this needed to happen. Marty runs to the hospital later that night to speak with Maggie while she works her graveyard shift, and she is not having it. He causes a scene in the hallway, and Michelle Monaghan delivers an amazing performance as the pissed off, repulsed, wife.
Luckily, Rust is on his way to find Marty anyway and saves him by removing him from the hospital. They head to a bar, and Rust can’t help but make Marty feel even worse about his life decisions. He’s one of those “wipe some dirt on it” and let’s move on type of people.
It turns out, Rust knows the Iron Crusaders from back in his undercover days when he was with them on the regular and was forced to live the lifestyle of these drug-addict murderers. Rust has only one option; he must go to his old pals and make amends in order to find their supplier, Reggie Ledoux. Rust begins making himself look like he is still into drugs, by poking his arm with a needle multiple times and taking product from the evidence storage room to use as bait for the Iron Crusaders.
The last twenty minutes of the episode is absolute havoc, and the partnership between Rust and Marty grows even thicker, from the personal drama and the events that unfold with the Iron Crusaders. Plus, we see Rust push his limits further than I could have imagined he would have the guts to do.
Without further ado, the last scene: Rust is ready to meet his old friend, Ginger, at an Iron Crusader party. He dresses the part, just as they remember him, and they refer to him as “Crash.” When he meets with Ginger, he lies by saying he runs with the cartel in Mexico and is lying low. But, he proposes to Ginger that they swing a deal and trade with his ex-Mex Army drug lords. Ginger forces Rust on drugs to see if he still an outlaw like he remembers him to be, and then says the Iron Crusaders will only be willing to trade if Rust participates in a “grab” tonight. Rust has no time to say no or think it over, as Marty is not allowed inside and has to stay posted in the car.
Everything turns to turmoil. Rust is now higher than he ever wanted to be and has to drive with them to their hot spot, which is right in the middle of the ghetto, to perform a heist. I am shocked to see how far Rust will go for this case, but I suppose his rough past has prepared him far more for this than we could have imagined. It is evident what is going on when they show up to the front of the house – the neighbors notice immediately. It’s like a stray dog wandering into a well united pack. Ginger has no common sense and cannot foresee the repercussions. Despite the large gathering of neighbors outside the house, he continues to steal and does not leave. As soon as the first shot is fired, everything becomes more chaotic than it was to begin with.
Matthew McConaughey executes one of the best performances of his career in this twenty minute scene alone. I honestly have no predictions for episode 5, because I am left in a state of shock and speechlessness. Bravo.
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