'True Detective' recap: Do you want to live?

Spoiler alert! The following contains spoilers for Sunday’s episode of True Detective. 

Ray Velcoro is not dead, but that doesn't mean he's alive.

I didn't really thing True Detective would do something as bold as kill off a character played by Colin Farrell in its second episode, but, you know, one can always hope. And while Ray miraculously survived his attack (more on that below), his experience did bring questions of life and death to the forefront of this episode. In a show about a murder, death is never far from the minds of the characters or the audience, but "Maybe Tomorrow" was particularly obsessed with it, from Ray's drama to Frank's attempts to create new life to Ani's failed relationships to whatever Paul's deal is this week. And with another body added to the count this week, I can only imagine things will get more dire in Vinci.

Living on the edge

OK, so, we've got an Elvis singing and dancing on a bar stage while your dad sits across from you, sharing some platitudes. I have to admit, when we first opened the episode, I kind of thought we might be joining Ray on a trip to to the afterlife. Unfortunately that's an adventure for True Detective season three, I think, as Ray didn't die when he was shot twice by a shotgun. It turns out the shooter was using rubber bullets, so everyone's favorite least-effective cop was able to get away with a few broken ribs. But that begs the question of why the birdman (yeah, I said it) would do that. Does he know Ray? Was he afraid of creating another body? Does he just super like rubber bullets? The episode offers no answers.

In the here and now of the episode, Ray is barely keeping it together. A trip to the doctor reveals health problems far greater than just the broken ribs. At a meeting with his superiors he seems apathetic, at best. Talking to his ex-wife he's not threatening for once, but he's not exactly an award-winning father either. After he and Ani actually do some police work together, and he saves her from being hit by an oncoming truck, he finally just breaks down and asks her what evidence the state police have on him. It's the first time he's ever been, well, real this whole season, and it was a nice moment. Let's hope for some more.

I'm whittling them down

Could this show hate Ani anymore than it does? In this episode she is treated to verbal abuse while she's onscreen and off, gets to break up with a loser in her place of business and is told by a superior to let a man think she wants to have sex with him to get ahead in her career. Really great stuff, True Detective. 

Anyways Ani continues to be defined solely by her failed relationships with men and her focus on her career, but at least she's better at running than a banged up Colin Farrell. Also she's the only one asking the right questions about this murder, and if everyone else gets out of her way, she might be able to solve it. But I'm guessing the chances of that happening are slim to none.

It's hard to be the boss

Things have not been looking too good for our favorite mobster as of late. He's cash-strapped and he's losing respect, so why not add impotence to the mix? In what is bound to be one of the show's more literal metaphors we see Frank for the first time in this episode at a fertility clinic, attempting to produce a sample with the help of his wife, Jordan, only Frank's having a little trouble, um, performing. This will be a recurring theme.

But Frank, as we may have already noted, is not one to be messed with. He spends the rest of the episode, to borrow a phrase from Austin Powers, getting his mojo back. He shakes down a buddy for a cut of his earnings, and intimidates the local criminal element by beating a man senseless with his bare hands and then, in the season's most cringe-worthy moment so far, pulling his ridiculous fake teeth out. I guess that means Frank is back. If only he could repair the damage to his marriage.

Oh, and side note, can we talk about how Frank's minion sounds exactly like Owen Wilson? Or, rather, a comedian doing a bad Owen Wilson impression? Really affirms the whole Wedding Crashers reunion feel that this show has this season.

We're not soldiers anymore

OK so we're all agreeing, Paul's entire characterization thus far on the show is that he's a closeted gay man. There is literally nothing else to him at this point in the show. This episode sees him not being able to make eye contact with male prostitutes (one of whom makes a direct reference to using performance-enhancing drugs in order to have sex with a woman, something the show has intimated Paul has done) and has him getting into a fight with an old army buddy who hints that they were more than just friends. What a very nuanced character portrayal for 2015. Can't wait to see what they do with Paul next.

Missed last week's recap? You can read it here.