True Detective Season 2 Episode 3

A lot has been said about the “I want to stay angry” scene:
Ray Velcoro (Colin Ferrell): Now, are you gonna tell me what Caspere was doing with you or do I wait to walk into another dark room, this time with real bullets?
Frank Semyon (Vince Vaugh): There’s a certain stridency at work here.  I’m gonna put it off to you getting blasted.
Ray: Oh, frankly, I’m apoplectic.
Frank: I’m feeling a little apoplectic myself.  What’s with the water?
Ray: Booze tends to take the edge off.  I want to stay angry.

One columnist referred to the scene as awkward, others feel the vocabulary is inappropriate to the characters.  Ok, here’s the thing: this verbal cockfighting is recurrent and gives Frank’s character believeability by having unbelievable dialogue in stereotype scenes.  There can no dozing through these scenes when the vocabulary demands full attention and adds to the entertainment, much like Tarintino did with playful dialogue but without the endearing high talk.

Check the other episodes where this feature was missed by the pundits:

Episode 1:

Frank Semyon (Vince Vaugh): You seeing anybody?  A woman?

Ray Velcoro (Colin Ferrell):  There something else I’d be seeing?  Nah, not interested in anything like that anymore.

Frank: Need to get back on that horse, my friend.    A good woman mitigates our baser tendencies.

Episode 2:

Episode 4:

Frank: You got this Roger Moore thing, huh?  Johnny Unflappable.

Blake Churchman (Christopher James Baker): Must be my predilection for virtue.

Frank: You know the word louche?   Somebody’s pulling me
out on the streets and you’re louche.

 

 

2 thoughts on “True Detective Season 2 Episode 3”

  1. That is not what I noticed of that scene, but I do remember that scene. I felt like they were using strange words and not really understanding the scene. Now I think, aha now I get it with your studious explanation and will pay more attention to this clever technique. I did relate to the line about the water. “I am so soaking mad at you” as we have heard some say.

  2. That was one of the most bonkers episodes of True Detective in either season. It was also the most eventful of the three hours we ve seen this year, so there is a lot to unpack.

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