Apologies if these observations have been made before, I'm struggling to keep up with all the posts on this episode:
1) In Ep 6, Red made a coin magically appear in Richard Horne's mouth. In Ep 8, the girl finds a coin on the floor (magically?). Are these related events? What is the significance?
2) How come DoppelDale failed to shoot Ray? The gun was loaded when Dale checked in the car. What happened to the bullets? More magic?
2) I got the impression that since Ray had a gun and seemed to know what Dale was planning to kill him. Someone, likely the warden, double crossed Dale and gave Ray the gun. Second, to not seem as if the Warden was playing along, he gave Dale a gun without or with a sheared off firing pin or with empty or dummy bullets.
1) I would never say that its not possible, but I got the penny the girl found as more of a nod to the woodsmen actors very well known experience and traits to Abe Lincoln.
Another coin: Hawk's coin is what leads him to the diary.
In The Secret History... Jack Parsons also performs a magic coin trick
Fire walk with