What I'm Watching: True Detective

True Detective: Season 2, Episode 5 “Other Lives” (B-)

After the shootout that ended last week's episode, we've reconfirmed the fact that our three police protagonists are good people who ultimately want to get to the truth. Digging until they uncover it is the main way that they can bring up about justice, but they're also plagued by their personal problems, as shown for all three of them in separate scenes. Ray being told he has to move out because he is no longer officially employed by the force was a small blow compared to the misery of losing unsupervised custody of his son and then finding out that the man he thought assaulted his ex-wife wasn't actually guilty of the crime. Paul's hearing didn't go well at all, and his continued professions of innocence fell entirely on deaf ears. Ani was particularly bunt in her sexual harassment seminar, but it's clear that she was doing that just to mock the situation, and she didn't even seem especially amused by how well it was working. As each of them try to reconnect with family members, their loneliness is becoming increasingly evident. Ray shared a decent moment of honesty with his ex-wife when they talked about his attacker, Ani is using her sister to get close to a lead for the case, and Paul's mom took the $20,000 he brought back from his tour. Morgan continues to be the most magnetic element of the show, pushing Frank to do more than just be a big talker. I'm not sure why a tense arrival by Ray merits a cliffhanger episode ending, but I suppose their conversation will be fruitful.