This series possesses a unique prowess in uncovering and delving into the darkest recesses of American society. From a dingy, regional casino desperately in need of carpet rejuvenation to a transient, blink-and-you'll-miss-it town dominated by night-shift workers and off-duty truckers, the narrative journey has been nothing short of intriguing. Episode three pierced through the decaying heart of a cornerstone American institution—just as integral to our national mythology as the Mayflower and the Liberty Bell: the family-owned-and-operated business.
Thursday saw the release of the fourth installment, titled "Rest in Metal," which features Chloe Sevigny, Natasha Lyonne's real-life best friend, as Ruby, a jaded employee at a big-box hardware store where individuals of intrinsic worth are compelled to don orange aprons over their personal attire. In her former life, Ruby was Ruby Ruin, the charismatic frontwoman of a heavy-metal band named Doxxxology—a name dripping with subversion. Though beloved for their lone, genuine hit "Staplehead," the song now fills Ruby with disdain. For her DIY comrades, the utterly banal tune is a source of admiration, but for the mismatched rockers of Dox, it serves as a poignant reminder of the heights they once scaled and are unlikely to reclaim as they edge closer to their fifth decade.
Yearly, the ensemble ditches their meagerly paid jobs to embark on a tour of the Midwest's smallest, seediest bars, clinging to the slim hope that inspiration will strike anew. Few situations evoke more melancholy and indifference than the plight of the once-almost-famous.
Enter Gavin, a (possibly) Juilliard-educated musician and an overzealous Dox fanatic who responds to Ruby's Craigslist advertisement for a new drummer. Devoid of any sense of composure or personal hygiene, Gavin makes up for it with his own equipment. The band is in shambles anyway. Guitarist Al, portrayed by John Darnielle of the Mountain Goats, can only pen bleak tirades about his messy divorce. Eskie (G.K. Umeh) has moved back in with his mother to finance his online law studies. Yet, Ruby refuses to fade into a nostalgia-tinged oblivion. She craves the electric thrill once more. She envisions Krampus, a nascent band, opening for Doxxxology the following year. They were metal deities once; they can reclaim that status anew. Gavin, however, is merely tagging along for the ride. As the band holes up in an RV, struggling to compose the one new song that will restore their glory, Gavin watches old episodes of the 1980s sitcom Benson, sans socks. Gavin adores "Staplehead."
Indeed, the song is the band's claim to fame, but it is penned and solely owned by Belinda, their former drummer. They perform it nightly; it's blared on the radio, yet it has never netted Eskie, Al, and Ruby a single penny. So, when Gavin presents them with his own composition, "Sucker Punch"—an undeniable hit—they hatch a devious plan to ensure history doesn't repeat itself. The band rigs his amp to electrocute him during a live performance. Smoke trickles from Gavin's lifeless lips. Motive, means, opportunity—all boxes ticked.
Among the initial batch of episodes unveiled, "Rest in Metal" stands out as the premiere installment where the criminal act strikes me as plausibly "escape-worthy." This perception is partly due to Ruby, whose steel-edged portrayal by Sevigny captures the essence of a woman shrouded in despair. She emerges as the first murderer we encounter who wholeheartedly embraces her dark endeavor. Ruby pens her own version of Gavin's song, which the band members endorse by signing as its authentic creators, subsequently incinerating Gavin's original manuscript. If they harbored any concerns that he might have previewed it to others, such murmurs remain unspoken.
This brings us to Charlie's role within the broader narrative tapestry. A few days prior to Gavin's demise, Ruby recruited her as a merchandise girl-cum-roadie for the tour. (A cash-in-hand gig, as Marge once advised.) Thus, Charlie has been a silent observer throughout, absorbing the band's essence, their dynamics, and the cringe-worthy embarrassment stemming from their shared desperation. Charlie even employs Marge's Krazy Glue first-aid hack when a crazed fan hurls a stapler at Gavin's head during the infamous "Staplehead" performance. When Ruby's anger and disappointment reach a boiling point, Charlie offers Gavin a ride to the next destination on their musical odyssey through America's declining cities.
Charlie and Gavin naturally bond during their day-long adventure, as Charlie's endearing nature resonates with everyone, and she strives to see the best in people, even in someone as down-on-his-luck as Gavin. Charlie vouches for Gavin to Ruby and celebrates with him when Ruby extends the ultimate olive branch: the privilege to perform the song's climactic primal scream in "Staplehead." She's present when he places his bare foot on the booby-trapped pedal and witnesses his untimely demise. Charlie is invariably a spectator when death makes its entrance.
Even before Charlie has finished cleaning Gavin's debris from her car, the remaining three members of Dox record a demo of "Sucker Punch" in a Kenosha podcast studio. Earlier in the episode, she playfully labels him a magpie for his habit of collecting trivia: a travel brochure, a sugar packet. However, as she sorts through the remnants of their road trip, she realizes that his lyrics are similarly pieced together. A line from "Sucker Punch" is lifted from a roadside attraction pamphlet, pairing with a snippet found on a plastic straw wrapper. Single-serve ketchup, a french fry sleeve. Gavin assembled the words of "Sucker Punch" as if populating the landfill of his imaginative realm.
I anticipated that the perpetrator and their crime would be promptly apparent, yet Charlie still seeks the truth at its source. To her surprise, Ruby confesses upfront that Gavin penned the song, but questions the point of revealing this now. This solitary tune could rescue Doxxxology from another forty years of mediocrity.
Nonetheless, Charlie remains persistent in her quest. As Dox and Krampus converge for the grand finale of their tour, fate orchestrates a reunion between Charlie and Deutorotomy, Dox's former roadie whom Ruby dismissed – a reduction in vigilant eyes over the band's gear that inadvertently decreased the likelihood of detecting tampering with Gavin's amplifier. In an instant, clarity dawns upon her. Deutorotomy downplays such accidents, yet Charlie knows Gavin for his meticulous nature, making such a careless error unlikely. Furthermore, Charlie chance upon an eBay account where Al is auctioning off macabre Doxxxology memorabilia, including the stapler marred with Gavin's blood and the very amplifier that proved fatal. Al's new composition, titled "You Can't Un-murder Someone," sings an ominous tune.
Charlie initially presumed Al acted solo in Gavin's murder, a notion that puzzled her, given Al's subtle incompetence and Ruby's relentless, cold-blooded demeanor. It isn't until she notices each band member, save Gavin, donned brand-new Doc Martens with thick rubber soles, insulating them from the deadly electrical surge, that Charlie fully comprehends the conspiracy's scope.
Just as she ponders correcting this injustice, Cliff arrives at the concert. Recall Cliff, the stone-faced professional whose mission is to track and capture Charlie. Hours earlier, she went viral on TikTok for instinctively decking Krampus, a grown man clad in a four-horned goblin mask, as he exited a portable toilet. By the time she learns of her fleeting fame, her four-hour reprieve has expired. Charlie and Cliff engage in a brief chase, culminating in Charlie's daring escape into the concert, crowd-surfing to safety amidst the thunderous beats of "Sucker Punch," a television-worthy spectacle so surreal it elicited uncontrollable laughter.
It isn't until the尾声that Ruby Ruin and Doxxxology face reckoning, rendering justice all the sweeter. They enjoy a fleeting glimpse of opulence before their downfall, predetermined by numerous factors. Even sans Charlie's detective work, their plot to dominate the world with Gavin's creation would have been foiled – by Gavin himself. It transpires that Gavin didn't compose "Sucker Punch"; he borrowed it from the Benson theme song. Charlie, too, is honing new skills. Instead of taking her findings straight to the police, she forwards them to the host of the podcast Murder Girl, whom she met when Doxxxology usurped her studio time in Kenosha.
However, I'm ambivalent about this twist. Ruby won't merely serve time for Gavin's murder; she'll gain infamy. It wouldn't surprise me if, fifteen years hence, she's paroled for good behavior and headlines the Murder Girl World Tour, or at least graces the CrimeCon cruise ship as a featured guest.
