True Detective has become something of a phenomenon since its release in 2014. The first season is a moody, time-shifting piece of television that borders on horror with occult themes. Rustin Cohle (Matthew McConaughey) and Martin Hart (Woody Harrelson) are larger than life characters, even if life finds a way to break both men down and forces them to rise from the ashes of guilt and duty. Two seemingly unhinged detectives navigating a seedy, crime-ridden Lousiana, getting into gunfights and chasing down cultish freaks who sacrifice children — what’s not to love?
Then the second season happened. A strange departure in both tone and storytelling from the True Detective that we knew. Creator Nic Pizzolatto takes the story to California and centers on four major characters, including a career criminal (and absolute menace with one-liners) played by a hammy Vince Vaughn. Critics and fans alike were disappointed; even Woody Harrelson couldn’t dig it.
The latest season of True Detective is a return to form. Starring Mahershala Ali as Wayne Hays, a talented yet troubled detective, the show once again oozes with atmospheric pressure and focused storytelling. However, some questions remain unanswered. Here are 10 things that don’t make much sense about the show.
The Change Of Tone In Season Two
Season one is a focused, horror-infused adventure about two detectives that investigate a murder that ends up spanning three decades. Both central characters have a transformative arc, and in the end, they are forever changed. Season two is something of a beautiful mess.
The tone is dark from beginning to end. The main characters range from a disgruntled crime boss to a knife-wielding female detective who belongs in one of those ultra-violent Indonesian action films like The Night Comes For Us. Everyone is super stabby and depressing. No one achieves anything; they either end up on the run or dead in a sun-bleached woodland.
Frank Semyon
Enter Frank Semyon (Vaughn). He runs around spewing his unique brand of quasi-criminal mastermind wisdom and getting into fistfights with insubordinate business partners. He can be seen tearing out gold teeth and arming himself with assault weapons, instead of, you know, taking care of problems like the businessman he so desperately wants to become. Vaughn tries his best to act menacing, but he ultimately comes off as a bizarre misfire.
He may overeact and cause a chaotic tone shift, but Semyon is the soul of season two. He has the best arc — even though it’s a spectacular downward spiral — and is by far the most entertaining part of an otherwise dreary eight episodes.
Wayne And Amelia’s Relationship
Wayne Hays goes through real hardships throughout season three. He is a Vietnam War veteran, expert tracker and isn’t afraid of bullying suspects to get answers and solve the case of a missing girl, Julie Purcell. However, no one seems to break down his hardened exterior like his wife Amelia. Throughout the show, Wayne and Amelia never seem to navigate their relationship in a healthy way.
They both belittle each other and attempt to sabotage any semblance of order in their home life. Amelia begins writing a book about the Purcell case and it continues to cause conflict in the marriage. Instead of working together to solve the mystery, Wayne and Amelia fire off insults and blame each other for their shortcomings.
Season Two’s Convoluted Plot
Perhaps the most glaring issue with True Detective’s second season is the confusing plot. Not only do we follow three detectives, but Semyon’s story is added into the mix and causes upheaval. What starts with the simple murder of Ben Caspere, grows into a multi-generational, complex tale of several corrupt police officers and politicians who take a powerful grip on the city of Vinci.
They stole some diamonds in the past, committed murder, upset a couple of siblings by killing their mother, and now, the brother and sister are wearing bird masks and hunting down those involved in the crimes. Semyon’s downfall is directly linked to Caspere’s murder (he was Vinci’s corrupt city manager), which sets him off on a rampage to regain control within the city.
Cohle’s Substance Abuse
Cohle gets into firefights, chases down murdering psychopaths, and gives us a crash course on the philosophy of pessimism, all while abusing alcohol and cocaine. His ability to use hardcore drugs and remain visibly solid can be attributed to his time working in an undercover drug task force, but his understanding of himself and the world is second to none.
However, it’s nothing short of bewildering how well he performs directly after snorting cocaine or downing a fifth of whiskey. It only serves to solidify Cohle’s status as the most interesting True Detective character.
The Hatred For Season Two
So far, this article has been quite critical of season two, and that is because it’s not a good True Detective season, but it is a solid piece of noir television. It’s difficult to tell if season two takes itself completely seriously or not, as the majority of its characters are obtuse exaggerations of ideas we have seen before.
Season two is also the most fun and quotable the show has been thus far. Rewatchability is high, and the violence is turned up to 11. Between all the gloom and doom, poor storytelling, and bizarre performances, Pizzolatto’s sophomoric entry is a good time. Just take this Frank Semyon-ism, for example: “I never lost a tooth. I’ve never even had a f***ing cavity.”
Marty And Maggie’s Relationship
Watching the Harts is like witnessing a trainwreck you can’t look away from. It is the very disintegration of the nuclear family that every child of divorce spends their adult life worrying about. Marty commits adultery, drinks heavily, and exudes toxic masculinity.
He doesn’t understand how to keep his family together, how to raise his daughters, and ultimately his selfishness drives Maggie right into the arms of Cohle, which triggers the destruction of their marriage and the partnership between Rust and Marty for more than a decade.
Did Wayne Hays Forget Where He Was?
After reading a passage from Amelia’s book, Hays drives out to confront who he believes is Julie Purcell. While speaking with a mother and daughter, Hays (who is suffering from dementia) forgets where he is and calls for help. This is the most pivotal moment in the entire season. After three decades of investigation and obsession, Hays finally seems to have located Julie Purcell, only to lose it all in a split second of memory loss.
It’s all very convenient, and one could argue that Hays did not forget, and chose to not remind Purcell of the atrocities that have enveloped her past. She was drugged, forced to live with the mentally unstable Isabel Hoyt, and sold to her for money by Julie’s desperate mother. Perhaps Hays wanted to let Julie live her life and be happy, without drudging up the monstrosities that continue to haunt his own life.
The Sprawl
Although Cohle and Hart find and kill Errol Childress (Dora Lange’s murderer) and shine a light on those responsible for several disappearances in Lousianna, Cohle still believes that the “Sprawl” is much larger and still shrouded in mystery.
The Tuttle cult went as high as a senator and highly respected reverend; it’s impossible to know how big the Sprawl is and how powerful they are. The disappearances pepper the Lousianna bayous in a gargantuan way, and we never find out the full scale of cult activity. Here’s hoping that we get some more answers on future seasons of the show.
Does Cohle See Carcosa?
It is established that Cohle suffers infrequent hallucinations from years of drug use while working undercover, but just before he’s stabbed in the gut by Childress, he discovers a “yellow king” idol and hallucinates the formation of a giant blue vortex. Childress tells Cohle he is “in Carcosa now.”
Much of True Detective’s first season is drenched in supernatural mythos and Lovecraftian horror. It leaves us questioning, are these events all down to earth? Are they the just the result of a murderous, deranged cult of child killers and drug fiends, or is there a paranormal force at work?
