There’s a strange allure to True Detective Season 2, even for those who aren’t enjoying it very much. Beyond the fleeting thrill of seeing a main character potentially kick the bucket (only to be immediately resuscitated), lies the deeper fascination with why Season 2 is failing to land with many viewers when Season 1 was such a cultural phenomenon. It’s beginning to seem like Season 1’s delicate, winning balance of occult mystery and humanist philosophy may have come from the lightning-in-a-bottle mix of Matthew McConaughey, Woody Harrelson, director Cary Fukunaga, and creator Nic Pizzolatto. With only one of those four puzzle pieces back in place for Season 2, the balance is off.

But if it’s just occult mystery and bread-crumb trails you want, True Detective Season 2 has that in spades. And three episodes into this season, evidence is stacking up that in order to get to the bottom of the death of Ben Caspere and the rotten, interconnected corruption of Vinci, California, we’re going to have to look to Northern California and a real-life secret society that exists there to this day: the Bohemian Grove. Tucked away in the redwoods of Sonoma County, the mysterious summertime retreat boasts a roster of powerful, land-your-private-plane-at-a-tiny-local-airport, elite members and has prompted curious speculation and frustrated investigations ever since it was founded over 130 years ago. Here are five ways Pizzolatto has made a strong connection to the Bohemian Grove and how it could help unlock the mysteries of True Detective Season 2.

Location, Location, Location: Any sharp-eared Northern Californian will have noticed that the tiny town of Guerneville (population 4,534) was mentioned twice in episode 2. Once in connection with Antigone’s father’s cult, The Good People (”Commune around Guerneville in the late 70s, 80s. Hippie shit.“), and again as the last-known location for the missing girl she’s trying to track down (”The call came from a Guerneville address,” her partner said). Sorry, Paul, I don’t think it’s Guerneville’s gay-friendly reputation we should be looking out for. But guess what’s just 12 minutes from Guerneville? That’s right, the Bohemian Grove. The missing girl’s co-workers told Ani in Episode 1 that she left to work the “club circuit” somewhere in Sonoma County. The Bohemian Grove hires young men and women to staff their summer gatherings every year so this could be where the missing woman with obvious ties to Ani’s father has disappeared to.