When Cal challenges Eddie trying to convince him he isn't ready to lead, the latter responds in an audacious way. At the same time, Sarah struggles with who she really wants Eddie to be.
The Path – Season 2, Episode 13: “Mercy”
Tagged Michelle Monaghan
The Path – Season 2, Episode 12: “Spiritus Mundi”
Richard is cast out from the movement for helping Eddie. and Sarah's run off the road in her car by a mysterious assailant.
And Mary finally has her baby, which reveals the father's identity.
The Path – Season 2, Episode 11: “Defiance”
Sarah & Cal's relationship is revealed to most everyone, as Hawk returns from his meditation. At the same time, Eddie storms the compound to confront Cal.
The Path – Season 2, Episode 10: “Restitution”
Sarah's guilt worsens after her night with Cal. Meanwhile, her estranged sister Tessa shows up at the compound demanding her family speak to her.
The Path – Season 2, Episode 8: “Return”
Cal has a new grift, as Sarah gets a call from his dying mother. Meanwhile, Kodiak & Richard drug Eddie, hoping to find answers about what truly happened to Steve in Peru.
The Path – Season 2, Episode 7: “Providence”
When Eddie takes Chloe's boy for a day of fun, he doesn't realise Kodiak is following him. And with sinister intentions.
The Path – Season 2, Episode 5: “Why We Source”
When Hawk is thrown in jail by Libby Dekaan, Eddie & Sarah must struggle together to help their son. And Cal, he struggles with his own demons in more ways than one.
The Path – Season 2, Episode 4: “The Red Wall”
A new development rears its head when Cal & Sarah attempt to get Lisa's further help with their tax exempt status.
Meanwhile, Eddie starts the process of moving on.
The Path – Season 2, Episode 3: “The Father and The Son”
While Richard & Kodiak uncover further uncertainties in the Meyerist movement, Eddie falls further & further from his family, as well as himself.
The Path – Season 2, Episode 2: “Dead Moon”
When Hawk goes out on his retreat, ascending to 1R, he finds more than he bargained for, as his Eddie struggles with himself.
The Path – Season 2, Episode 1: “Liminal Twilight”
Hulu’s The Path
Season 2, Episode 1: “Liminal Twilight”
Directed by Michael Weaver
Written by Jessica Goldberg
* For a recap & review of Season 1’s finale “The Miracle” – click here
* For a recap & review of the next episode, “Dead Moon” – click here
What’s next for Meyerism? For Eddie and Sarah Lane (Aaron Paul & Michelle Monaghan)? And what about Cal Roberts (Hugh Dancy), whose Golden Boy status has all but plummeted to the depths? And what about everyone caught in between?
We start Season 2 in Peru. Eddie wanders in search of answers, as Dr. Steven Meyer (Keir Dullea) appears to come alive once more. He all but springs from bed, almost in a frenzy. He goes to the balcony while Eddie walks in to find the bed empty, seeing Steven on his feet. The doctor doesn’t understand about Eddie’s “visions” and insists they must leave right away. Eddie asks him to reveal that he’s sick to the followers, so that they understand: “There is no fucking Light.” But the doc isn’t interested, and a whole new dimension of The Path has opened up.
Cal and Sarah have a ceremony started, on the site of where Dr. Meyer experienced his “transformation” from the Light. Everyone stands round to watch, as the two take their oath to be Guardians together. Problem is Sarah’s become quite suspicious, worried about where Silas went; of course, we know. In the meantime, Kodiak (James Remar) – another 10R – is brought in by Sarah to be a part of things, although Cal and Felicia (Adriane Lenox) don’t necessarily like it. Excited to watch the tension between Cal and Sarah play out through this season, as well as witness what that’ll bring in the long run.
Everyone is experiencing new things. Eddie works and lives outside the commune, without his family. Sarah takes on new responsibilities, new anguish, and debates with herself/her family whether or not to let Eddie see their kids on his birthday. And Cal, he tries to dull the pain of having killed Silas by diving deeper into Meyerism, as usual. How long until the memories of his old friend dying before his eyes will break Cal, or break someone else for its weight? Well, right now Mary Cox (Emma Greenwell) is again in the eye of Cal’s storm, which she may always be, but here’s news: she’s five months pregnant, she and Sean (Paul James) expecting a child together. Is it Sean’s baby? Might belong to Cal. Uh oh.
Sarah does let her children see their father. She sneaks them off to spend time with him, reluctantly letting Hawk (Kyle Allen) and Summer (Aimee Laurence) go on but still feeling a tiny bit guilty. Back at the ranch, Cal preaches and Sarah does her part next to him. When he talks of Silas, though, it visibly stings her. On their excursion, Eddie chats with the kids and it’s clear Hawk is bitter, although Summer loves her father; she insists he has to have a cake for his birthday, so it’ll keep him “sweet for the rest of the year.” Then Eddie runs into an old friend, Chloe Jones (Leven Rambin). They hang out, talk, catch up on the ruin of their lives. At one point Eddie goes to get in the water with his daughter, and Hawk notices a strange mark on his arm; dad passes it off as a workplace accident. I’m inclined to believe it has something more to do with Peru.
The Meyerism Council are trying to make fiscal decisions, and so on. But everything isn’t smooth, and the rest of the council can see the divide between Sarah and Cal. She won’t take his bullshit, not much longer. And that, coupled with the guilt, is going to crush him.
At family supper, Sarah’s brother Russell makes a big deal over her wanting him to keep an eye on Cal. This starts a big conversation, which reveals Sarah’s mother doesn’t exactly trust Cal anymore, not after Kodiak speaking in mysterious ways. Speaking of, Kodiak is on a hike with Richard (Clark Middleton), who has found the body of Dr. Steve Meyer, fallen from a cliff and decomposing brutally on the side of some rocks. This doesn’t help Kodiak’s feeling of unease towards Cal and whatever’s been happening in the movement.
What actually happened to Steve?
Also, Abe Gaines (Rockmond Dunbar) is still among the Meyerism movement, out with some of the others doing their duties. Moreover, Joy – wife of Russell – gets close to Abe, so close they embrace a moment. Yikes! Now that is some trouble brewing.
Across town Russell and Cal are at an auction, the latter going over the Meyerist budget to a price of $5-million on a piece of property. This is the beginning of his missteps, which will surely put the entire commune into crisis, sooner or later. And then there’s Hawk, feeling guilty about going to see his “heathen” father. Inside, Sarah won’t allow her true self to abandon Eddie, no matter their religion. This is another divide that will definitely widen.
Eddie dives deeper into normal life again, going out for a beer with his work buddies; they rib him at first, but genuinely like having him around and are more than happy to have him out for drinks. A couple beers deep, he makes a call to Sarah.
Things get worse when Sarah discovers Cal dropped $5-million of their cash on new property. She heads out into the night by car, listening to the message Eddie left for her. On the road she hits in animal. She stops her beaten up car and rushes to it: a small deer, bleeding. She weeps over its corpse, then in the trees sees another deer, possibly the mother; it runs away after a second locking eyes with Sarah. A weirdly emotional moment. Cal comes to her aide, and she starts expounding upon her doubts. Her belief is slipping. He does his best to bring her back towards the Light: “As long as the work is real,” he tries to tell her. But she’s not happy, she only wants truth.
The truth comes out. Cal admits to what happened with Silas. He breaks down, he acts like he’s remorseful – “I don‘t want to live like this anymore, I don‘t want to live with the way you look at me” – yet so much of it rings false. Then Sarah wants Silas dug up, to prove the truth.
At the same time, Kodiak and Richard explore the actual truth of other things in the movement. They’re getting closer to the truth: someone pushed Steve from that cliff, he never jumped, didn’t fall.
However, I’m still very interested in Abe and his particular story. He sneaks over a fence and heads to the backdoor of a house. He goes further, inside. To where his family’s waiting. And that story he’s telling the movement, about the death of his child, it’s lies; the baby is just fine, healthy and happy. He’s doing a big undercover operation, and that’s taking a toll at home. He’s a good man, though. That much is clear. “I promise you,” Abe tells her wife, “I‘ll be home soon.” Oh, I hope so. I hope Cal doesn’t do something drastic if he finds out what’s going on.
In Peru again, before, we see Eddie receive more prophecy from Dr. Meyer. The doc says Eddie is the “chosen son” for whatever comes next, when the Light takes him, or whatever the hell. Memories of that moment play in Eddie’s mind and plague him. Not to mention that strange marking on him which Hawk briefly spotted; looks like a fleshy tree.
Is there something binding Eddie further to Meyerism than he wishes to admit?
I felt this was a great start to Season 2. So many strange things, lots of intrigue. Who knows how it’ll all come out in the wash. Next episode is titled “Dead Moon” and I’m looking forward to more development on the Silas and Steve fronts. Kodiak is a great new character, as well; fuck yeah, Remar!
True Detective – Season 1, Episode 8: “Form and Void”
HBO’s True Detective
Season 1, Episode 8: “Form and Void”
Directed by Cary Fukunaga
Written by Nic Pizzolatto
* For a review of the penultimate episode, “After You’ve Gone” – click here
* For a review of the Season 2 premiere, “The Western Book of the Dead” – click here
The Season 1 finale holds many hideous delights.
Errol Childress (Glenn Fleshler) keeps his father strapped to a bed in a tiny shack, the walls written over with red paint in rambling mad words. The whole place is a horrorshow. It’s an old plantation-style home in the Louisiana bayou, out in some swamp. Inside the house Errol’s madness unfolds. He talks in a British accent now. He and his sister Betty (Ann Dowd) roam the decrepit home and talk in strange terms. She wants to “make flowers” while her brother’s concerned with “leaving [his] mark.” Their relationship is incestuous and deeply disturbing.
Former Detectives Marty Hart (Woody Harrelson) and Rust Cohle (Matthew McConaughey) have Steve Geraci (Michael Harney) in their clutches. They force him to watch Marie Fontaneau on that tape from 1990. This is where Geraci comes in having come into contact with the reports. Links up to a Sheriff Childress. All those blood ties. To keep Steve from doing anything crazy, Rust has his bar owner buddy Robert Doumain (Johnny McPhail) pop a couple shots into his car from far away. Sniper style. That and some backup. From having the tape planted on him, to other little bits.
But all the while Errol is still out near all kinds of children. He’s a painter, as well as a gardener. So he does lots of jobs, all over the place. Perfect for a serial killer like him. Yet Rust and Marty are biting at the heels of his evil deeds. They’re fleshing out the Childress family tree. And then a moment of genius strikes Marty. He stares at the green ears of the supposed spaghetti man who chased that girl years ago. After a bit of talk he wonders if maybe this guy is a painter. He finds a house that’d recently been painted. Perhaps those green ears on the scarred man meant he painted that same house. They interview an old woman who owned the house. She recalls the man that did the painting had scars on his face. They get deeper into the Childress history to find the father of Errol, William.
What I love about this detail is that this is what can often happen in REAL police work. Little details that go unnoticed could break open the longest of cold cases. So it’s nice that Nic Pizzolatto went for something organic and genuine for the way they come to start following this thread. Good writing. Fun to watch.
Both the former detectives take measures to ensure if anything happens to them, the truth will come out. Either way. Cohle has his sniper buddy with the tape, all that. For his part Hart goes to see Dt. Papania (Tory Kittles) who sort of agrees to help out in the event they need it. Then off the duo go, into the belly of the beast.
Out to the old home of William Childress they head. Rust tastes that old psychosphere rearing its head. Then once they arrive the macabre fun starts. Betty answers the door when they come knocking. But nothing feels right, certainly not to Cohle: “This is the place,” he gravely tells his partner. Marty winds up inside with Betty, as Rust has a brief run-in with Errol. The terror starts. Chasing Errol into the the deeper parts of the big plantation Rust finds himself almost in another world. The filthy house is one thing. The creepy, sprawling grounds of the old slave quarters from the plantation is spooky.
When Marty discovers the withered corpse of William Childress, he rushes off to find his friend going further into the world of Errol, the mad king. There’s an almost never ending number of hallways through the old tunnels. Each littered with symbols made out of wood, hanging objects of some eerie significance. All those markers of Carcosa and the Yellow King.
Through a tunnel of arched trees Rust comes to a skeleton, draped in yellow robes, on a makeshift altar. Then overhead he seems to see a black spiral in the sky, swirling. Out of nowhere Errol attacks him viciously. Rust takes a knife in the gut, tearing him apart. As the serial killer rips Rust’s stomach to shreds he says, creepy as all hell: “Take off your mask.” The two fight in brutal fashion once Cohle manages a few headbutts. Bleeding out, about to be killed, he’s saved by Marty who just about meets a savage death. Right before Rust pops one shot into Errol’s head, blowing his face apart.
Errol: “Come on inside, little priest. To the right, little priest. Take the bride‘s path. This is Carcosa.”
Afterwards, Dts. Gilbough and Papania figure out the Childress family were up to some wild shit. They’re still trying to piece it all together. At least the Dora Lange case is finally solved, though there are plenty of child molesting killers still lurking there in Louisiana, as the Tuttle family escaped without a scratch. For now, Marty sees his family and gets to enjoy at least one happy moment. Maggie (Michelle Monaghan), the girls, it all touches him especially after getting so close to death. Then there’s Rust, whose life has been changed in a drastic fashion. In the darkness of nearing death he spent time with his father, his daughter, all in some other place. He sees that there’s something else about life other than the pessimistic view he’s lived with so long. Now, he embraces the idea he might see his daughter again. “It was like I was a part of everything I ever loved,” Rust tells Marty with tears in his eyes. An amazing scene between two men who’ve been through hell and back together. Even though they stopped their evil and paid their debt, the greater evil still exists. The ending is slightly optimistic, though not entirely. Just in a microcosm. And that’s life.
To me this was the perfect way to end Season 1. A spectacular finale that gives us equal doses of the interesting existential ideas of Cohle and the macabre, creepiness expected out of the serial killer with his Yellow King/Carcosa references (ties into Robert W. Chambers’ book of short stories The King in Yellow). Loved this season. While I’m in the minority, I also loved the second one, too. Those recaps/reviews are available over here.
