Inspired By... True Detective: Night Country Episode 02
Inspired By…True Detective: Night Country playlist available on Apple Music | Spotify | YouTube Music
Inspired By is a collection of tracks that fit the theme of a film or TV show I’m watching. We start with True Detective: Night Country, which continued with another great episode last week. It included a corpsicle, Christopher Eccleston, Liz Danvers being an absolute menace about town, the worst pillow talk ever (everyone knows that you leave discussions about dead bodies for a few hours after sex), and connections with season 1.
Featuring The Dandy Warhols, Doja Cat, Barry White, and Stevie Wonder.
Enjoy 🥰.
Photo credit: Alberto Restifo
Episode Plot (SPOILERS AHEAD!)
Photo credit: True Detective / HBO
As Danvers and Prior set out to learn more about Tsalal, and find an unlikely location for the physical evidence, Capt. Connelly threatens to move the case to Anchorage; Navarro and Danvers separately find a connection.
Camera Flash (feat. Illa Ghee)
Team Demo, Waid P & Method Man
Scientist
The Dandy Warhols
Frozen
Madonna
Naked
Doja Cat
“Alright, everyone. Everyone! Stop fucking around! Alright, this is a crime scene! Why don’t you pretend like you know what you’re doing.”
Fkn Around (feat. Megan Thee Stallion)
Phony PPL
How can a group of people be so terrified of something that they run outside, take their clothes off and fold them neatly beside their shoes before dying?
Foldin Clothes
J. Cole
Broken Bones
Aqualung
Scream
Kurt Cobain
This whole scene was wild!
please put me in a medically induced coma
carolesdaughter
Hot for Teacher
Van Halen
So, the Travis from episode 1 is Travis Cohle, Rust’s father.
I’m Seeing Ghost Again
pranav.wav
“I’m saying the work they were doing could end up curing genetic cancer, autoimmune diseases, genetic disorders. Just an absolute fucking game-changer.”
Game Changer
MIST
Doin’ My Job
T.I.
Photo credit: Michael K. Short/HBO
“You’re doing it just to fuck with me, aren’t you, Lizzie?”
Fuckin’ wit Me
Tank
“Well, just so we’re clear, I’m doing this because I love this town.”
I Love This Town
Bon Jovi
You’re The First, The last, My Everything
Barry White
Photo credit: Michael K. Short/HBO
“We’re just not seeing it. Not asking the right questions. ”
Start Asking Question
H. Scott Salinas
The Answer
Apollo Brown
“Me and this girl, we go way back. She thinks she’s real tough, ya know? You come close, she snaps at ya, but deep down, she’s a softie. She just needs a little love and affection and then she’s gonna melt.”
melt
Kehlani
Scared
Russ
I Don’t Like You
Bloody Civilian
What was going on with those posters in what looked like a dorm room? Anyway, Chuck is very dodgy. How can you claim to be Ryan’s friend but not give a shit about what happened to his sister?
Could Hank be the victim of the most obvious catfish in catfishing history? I mean, he’s a detective and he can’t spot that?
MONEY
LISA
“Don’t worry, babe. I’ve still got a little cash left.”
“Okay, so the NGO that funds the station, right, if you trace the taxes, you can trace it back to a shell company called NC Global Strategies, which, in turn, belongs to Tuttle United.”
Follow The Money (feat. James Taylor)
Buddy Guy
Me hearing Pete say Tuttle United.
Like a Tattoo
Sade
I’m interested to see how this show explains the spiral, especially as Annie K had it before Raymond Clark.
Trying to Forget
Jim Reeves
Danvers is trying to mask some serious grief!
Secret Lovers
Atlantic Starr
We Can Work It Out
Stevie Wonder
“You want in, or do you just wanna go fuck yourself?”
Get Down Tonight
KC & The Sunshine Band
Good Enough
Jazmine Sullivan
“That sticks with you, doesn’t it? Not being good enough.”
Never Sleep (feat. Travis Scott)
NAV & Lil Baby
Photo credit: Michael K. Short/HBO
Missing (Todd Terry Remix)
Everything But The Girl
Noticeable Mentions
The sex scenes highlight Danvers and Navarro’s personalities. Both want to be in control but in entirely different ways. Also, can we normalise people over 60 having sex? I know popular opinion would have you believe that once you pass the age of 40, you lay on the floor in the fetal position and weep until you die, but I don’t know how to break it to you; that’s not what happens.
Add Corpsicle and Shit Bowl into the Oxford and Merriam-Webster Dictionaries. I will be using the term ‘shit bowl’ in my daily conversations.
What is the ‘Wheeler thing’ that Navarro tried to talk to Danvers about? Whatever happened, Danvers was not happy. Navarro seemed fine with what went down.
Danvers and Navarro were close once. Danvers did seem to know where Navarro used to keep her tinned food.
What’s the deal with Blair? When Danvers returned to the factory to question the cleaner, Blair (the worker who was assaulted in episode 1) looked disturbed when she was shown the spiral. Her ‘no’ was not convincing.
The number seven shows up twice in the music. Song To The Siren (Take 7) by Tim Buckley and Seven Devils by Florence + the Machine. There are seven scientists now that Raymond Clark is missing.
Thoughts
Best Parts
I loved the shadow the corpsicle had over this episode. Having it thaw out, and the slow reveal that one of the scientists was missing was the chef’s kiss.
The scene between Danvers and Pete was also a highlight. It showed that even though Danvers is an absolute piece of shit for the most part, she’s an excellent detective and wants to mentor Pete. Let’s hope Navarro is wrong and Danvers doesn’t disappoint him.
I am intrigued to see how this all gets wrapped up.
Season 1 Revisionist History
There’s a hefty dose of revisionist history going on with season 1 of True Detective. I remember that people didn’t get into the show until episode 4. It’s been a decade since its release, and it’s reached ‘You must watch The Wire, Sopranos, Lost, Breaking Bad’ status.
The criticisms I’ve heard for this current season - slow and dull, but with great performances - were the same as back then. However, I noticed that some nastiness kicked in with Night Country when the critic reviews were overwhelmingly positive. Season 4 has its flaws. So did season 1, season 3, and sure as hell, season 2 did. No one has to like anything, and criticism should be welcomed, but the spite I’ve seen hurled towards the showrunner, Issa Lopez, and the two leads goes beyond anything constructive.
Seriously!?
I am baffled by the fact we’re in the year 2024, and there are chronically online people wondering why a lesbian actress is acting in a heterosexual role and love scene. It’s called acting for a reason.
Also, any reviews, commentary, or social media threads with the word ‘woke’ in them are an instant instruction for me to start checking windows to select the best one to throw myself out of. We are indeed in the most willfully stupid timeline!
