‘True Detective’ Recap: ‘Down Will Come’ Ends With A Shootout To Remember

True Detective “Down Will Come” introduced more plot lines – both in the investigation of Ben Caspere’s murder and in the personal lives of the main characters – and concluded with an epic shootout to rival the one in the series’ first season.

True Detective Recap

After following their lead from the disorganized film set, Ani (Rachel McAdams) and Ray (Colin Farrell) are at an auto body, learning what they can about the car they found. They determine that it was the car used to transport Ben Caspere, but the guy who had worked on the set was setup by whomever actually committed the crime. While hashing out the details, Ray takes the opportunity to warn Ani about pulling any more stunts like she did at the mayor’s house. He informs her that no member of that family has ever gone to jail, and that there’s a reason for that. He also warns her that the attorney general likely has his hand out for a deal before both of them start wondering where Paul is.

Paul (Taylor Kitsch), after his night trying to get information from hookers, wakes up at his army buddy Miguel’s (Gabriel Luna) place. He doesn’t remember meeting him at Luxe – or sleeping with him. Tears fall from his eyes as he rides in the back of a cab to where he thinks he left his motorcycle the night before. It was stolen, and making matters worse, he can’t get back into his hotel room because the press are all outside screaming about war crimes allegations and his alleged incident with the actress. Ray swoops in to pick Paul up on a curb, and offers him some vodka. Paul confesses to Ray that he’s so used to listening to orders, he doesn’t even know who he is anymore.

After getting Paul situated, Ray goes with Ani to sit outside the mayor’s home. They watch the mayor’s daughter pull out of the driveway, so Ani decides to tail her to a hookah bar, where they question her. She admits to knowing who Caspere was, but says she doesn’t know who he was talking to on their second phone line. “There are no rules, you see? It’s how it’s always been,” she explains. She also admits that her father is a very bad person, and that her mother hanged herself while in a doctor’s care after she was diagnosed with schizophrenia.

Ani then goes to talk to her sister about their late mother, and to see who she’s doing. Her sister reassures her that she’s clean, that she’s not even drinking anymore and that she’s planning to go to college to study art in two months. Ani apologizes for not being their for her during her tougher times and then brings Ray to her father’s retreat. They learn from him that not only was Dr. Pitlor a frequent visitor, so was Caspere, Chessani (Ritchie Coster)and Chessani’s father.

As for Paul, he meets his ex-girlfriend at a diner, and admits that she was right about what she said to him when they split up. He doesn’t blame her. But before he can get much further along in the conversation, she interrupts to tell him that she’s pregnant and that she’s keeping the child. Paul, wrestling with the relationship with Miguel, responds by telling her that they should get married and that he has, in this moment, realized that he loves her. She says she guesses she loves him too.

Meanwhile, Frank (Vince Vaughn) is pissed that his avocado trees aren’t growing, and wants to delay having a kid with Jordan (Kelly Reilly) while he tries to get all of his various businesses on track. She presses him about talking alternatives and suggests adoption, but he’s not into it, suggesting that she get more tests to see if she can still carry their child. Leaving Jordan, Frank kicks off his day of meetings.

First, Frank meets up with two guys who own a bakery, for whom he’s done some favors. He doesn’t want a handout; he wants consignment now that he has Luxe back. Frank wants them to supply him with coke, crystal meth, and MDMA, and after some bartering, they shake on it. Next, he goes to a housing project and tells the guy who is now running it that he could use a partner. He wants to start handling collections and wants a cut. Eventually, he heads to Luxe, where Jordan has set up a meeting with a past acquaintance. Unlike the rest, this guy will need some time to consider Frank’s proposal. As for his poker room, Frank and Jordan agree that Chessani’s warning that someone was looking to make a move to take over was valid.

The following day, Paul heads with Dixon (W. Earl Brown) to a pawn shop to track down Caspere’s watch. They find it and learn from the security footage that it was sold by a girl, who worked for a pimp named Ledo Amarilla (Cesar Garcia). Paul presents the new information to the task force, including Ray, as a disgruntled Ani rushes in after learning that her ex Steven Mercer (Riley Smith) filed a sexual misconduct complaint, which, since he was her subordinate, is resulting in an internal affairs investigation.

Ray, who’d been recruited to join Frank’s sketchy businesses and seemed to accept the offer after a poignant farewell with his son, heads out with Paul, Ani and the rest to apprehend Ledo. As they approach the building where he’s hiding, a man starts to open fire with an AK-47. They fire back until the top floor of the building explodes. More gunshots are fired from the floor below and Dixon goes down with a gunshot wound to the head. Paul manages to gun one of Ledo’s associates down while Ani chases down the getaway SUV on foot.

Before the SUV can get to a main road, it crashes into a bunch of protestors and a city bus. Ledo’s associates start to pick off the innocent bystanders before turning their sites back to the cops. Out of amunition, Ani looks doomed until Paul guns down the nearby criminal. After peppering the last man standing with bullets, Ani, Paul and Ray look around, shocked at the carnage surrounding them.