At the end of the last episode Marty and Rust caught a break in the case, getting info on Reggie Ledoux “the monster” who we see here just before the end credits, leaving us chomping at the bit for 2 whole weeks due to the Super Bowl.
Episode 4 begins with their break connecting Ledoux back to Charlie Lange as an old cell mate. They quickly return to the prison where they’d interviewed Lange before about his dead ex Dora, and begin to press him for more answers. Lange, feeling no connection to Ledoux , quickly spills some dark info. Saying Ledoux often talked about “rich devil worshipers down south who sacrificed women and children”, and also mentions “The Yellow King of Carcosa”.
Later Marty, now at the court house, is confronted by his mistress the stenographer about his recent altercation with a man she brought home from the bar. Possibly still a bit heart broken from the incident Marty ends the relationship cold. Which ends up back firing when his mistress tells Maggie everything about their affair, prompting her to move out with the kids.
Marty comes home to find his bags packed and his house empty. Here I believe we finally see what is truly motivates Marty: his family. Though it was no secret how he felt about the institution stating that a man needs a family to stay on the path. However it was unclear how it stacked up against his job and mistress. But now while reading his dear John letter we clearly see he is destroyed, and for the first time we see his family take precedent over his job. Rust, aware of this and realizing their time to solve the case has run out, does his best to help Marty get back on track by talking to Maggie. After that fails he then lies to Marty saying his “honest read is that they will be back together in a few months.” A clear lie, but as we always knew Cohles dedication is to the case above all things, and at this critical junction they both need to focus.
With the case officially lost to the Anti-Christian task force, Marty and Rust decide to “go off book” and Rust develops a plan based on reestablishing his old narco contacts. In a weeks time he reasserts himself amongst “The Iron Crusaders” a motorcycle gang Rust has history with from his undercover days, and whom they’ve come to find out are the sole customers of Ledoux’s meth empire. Now with their table set Rust instructs Marty to wait outside the biker bar and stay on the cell in case he needs him.
Though it seems that his contact Ginger suspects him Cohle is coerced into robbing some drug dealers. Under the promise that Ginger will then set him up with Ledoux when they succeed. Cohle reluctantly agrees and is suddenly taken off to do the crime, unbeknownst to Marty. Rust, now riding the thinnest line ever drawn between good and evil, is forced to break his cover when a biker murders one of the dealers. Rust then takes matters into his own hands in one of the most intense moments of the series. The scene is shown in a running shot that goes 6 minutes uncut. During which Rust skillfully extracts Ginger from the botched robbery and manages to get a hold of Marty on his cell yelling “90 seconds!” Marty who’d been on Rusts trail, shows up just before the shit hits the fan and the local cops swarm the area. The episode ends with Rust letting Ginger know that he will be leading them to Ledoux.
In this episode, seemingly for the first time, we see both Cohle and Harte lie to the investigators during the narrative. Though they supposedly had a huge falling out and hadn’t talked in years they both stuck to their stories, covering each other for when they went “off book” to solve the murder they had both become obsessed with. Does this suggest that maybe they are closer in the present day than we were led to believe?
Also this is the 2nd time that “Carcosa” and the “Yellow King” are mentioned. Referring to a book of short stories published in 1895 called “The King in Yellow” that contains several stories that reference a play by the same name, in which the characters go mad upon reading up to the 2nd act. Is this the base for some under ground cult religion? Possibly tied to the rich southern devil worshipers? All I know is the hook has been set, and I cant wait to find out.
