“Rogue Wall Enthusiasts” Offers a Few Answers, and a Lot More Questions in ‘Dirk Gently’

“It started here. It ends here. Please save her.”

Three episodes into the initial season of Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency, and behold the first real Big Development: Dirk (Samuel Barnett) and Farah (Jade Esthete) find themselves in a mansion with a map. They break down walls (literally), discover a secret safe, and find a note with the aforementioned passage, all thanks to Patrick Spring, the guy who maybe/probably hired Dirk to eventually solve his own murder.

If “Lost & Found” was an episode that depicted a series still trying to feel itself out, “Rogue Wall Enthusiasts” is an episode that stands itself up and announces itself as a program with more stable footing. The engine has been warming up thus far, and now the car is moving — slowly, of course — but still moving, nonetheless.

We begin this week with the introduction of a rock star who’s had his soul taken away to instill in the Lost Trailer Park Boy (and yes, we’re just going to continue calling him that from here on out). If nothing else, this gives us a window into what the creepy dude is all about. It also suggests the following: so … these people have the power to change bodies when it comes to their souls? Meaning, of course, that Lydia (Alison Thornton) is now the dog, and the dog is now Lydia. We kind of figured this last week, but hey, confirmation is confirmation.

From there, it’s over to the burned down house and a call from the Lost Trailer Park Boy, who Dirk amusingly labels “Bad Gun Man” in his cellphone. A few ominous threats are made (because honestly: what threat isn’t ominous?), and it ultimately leads to Dirk and Farah heading off on their own while Todd (Elijah Wood), for the 10,000th time, threatens to quit the whole operation (and like I said last week, holy shit, that’s getting old).

Dirk and Farah’s travels then take them to the Spring mansion where not only do they find a secret room and a secret note, but, for the first time in series history, someone (Farah) calls Dirk a good detective. Why, all of a sudden, he’s now a good detective, because he drew an obvious conclusion, is beyond me, but hell, man: just go with it. That dynamic duo eventually meets up with Todd and Amanda (Hannah Marks) back at Todd’s place and, naturally, Todd finally buys into Dirk’s whole deal thus suggesting that the Team O’Detectives is set in stone. Mercifully, this should mean the skepticism and whining from Todd will now cease.

Meanwhile, Bart (Fiona Dourif) and Ken (Mpho Koaho) find themselves driving down the road when a group of guys who presumably were friends with the guy Bart killed last week attack the duo with all types of angry intentions. It should be noted that this doesn’t come until after Ken explains the finer nuances of the Backstreet Boys’ “As Long As You Love Me”, which then leads to a conversation about radio, which then leads to one of the more endearing moments this series has provided thus far.

Still, the two get taped up to a pole and the way Bart sees it, there’s no way Ken escapes these shenanigans alive. Until — spoiler alert! — he does. This comes thanks to some maneuvering from Bart, a large knife, and a handful of tricky gun work. Naturally, these developments lead to Ken, much like Todd, believing his counterpart is a sort of invincible Seer/Knower Of All Things and, again like Todd, now investing in his new friend’s cause, saying that they have to find Dirk Gently as soon as possible.

All of this cowers in comparison to the final few minutes, when Riggins (Miguel Sandoval) confronts Dirk at the bottom of a stairwell and … well … what the hell was that? Dirk really did work for the military? Is the military plotting to kill him? Is that the only way Dirk can be dealt with (if you ask Bart or Riggins, it appears so)? And how did Riggins let Dirk down? That whole, “Go back to hiding in the shadows; it was the only thing you were ever good at” barb that Dirk lobbed in his direction was awfully suggestive, was it not?

The episode finally ends as the Lost Trailer Park Boy sits in his car before finding out that his old body, Mr. Rockstar, is now dead. This disturbs him to no end, so as Lydia … er, the dog … er, Lydia begins barking in the backseat, he responds with little patience before Lydia … er, the dog … er … whatever … starts licking his bloody hand. The whole sequence feels just a tiny bit gross for reasons far beyond anything I can fully articulate.

So, what do we know after three full episodes? We know where it starts. We know where it ends. We know that “someone” is tasked with saving “her”. It’s not entirely understandable, but at least we can now feel as though the story is moving. And that means more than nothing … right?

A Clue, An Accomplice, or An Assistant

“Potato, Potahto. What the hell is a potahto?” Honestly. That car ride with Bart and Ken was some of the best stuff this series has given us.

I’m liking the bubbling romance between Amanda and the Rowdy Three. Because that’s what it is, right? They stick up for her, protect her, bag her groceries and bring them home for her. Or, is this all in the name of the leader of the Rowdy Three? Either way, it’s weirdly adorable.

Speaking of Amanda, this week in “what odd thing will a part of Amanda’s body turn into” provided us with … fire hands and a fiery body! It was hard not to feel for her, though, considering how it seemed to take a lot of gumption just to leave the house. You could almost — almost — feel how embarrassing something like that would be if it happened in real life. Thank God for the Rowdy Three.

As much as I like the pairing of Estevez (Neil Brown Jr.) and Zimmerfield (Richard Schiff), I don’t even understand their interest in Todd anymore. Or, perhaps more accurately, I don’t know why they keep threatening and insulting him. Arrest him already, if you honestly think that’s the solution.

Still … man, their comedic timing is flawless.

“I don’t know anything, ever,” says Dirk. “It’s really quite relaxing.” Indeed.

We can all see the parallels between Bart and Dirk by now, right? Yet, if only one is invincible … and only one wants to kill the other … uh oh.

What’s up with all this special effects stuff? Whenever we see a glow, what does it mean?

So, for real: what the hell was up with that exchange between Dirk and Riggins at the end of the episode? We see a whole lot of posturing and a bunch of implications, but no real answers. I needed more from that.

This Week’s MVP: It’s gotta be Bart, right? She took out, like, seven dudes in one fell swoop and it only really took her about four-and-a-half seconds. To think, she does this all while being a dead ringer for an inmate on Orange Is The New Black!