True Detective (HBO) TV Show • Page 15

He’s good, but cmon now.

 

I have to admit, this is the first episode of this season that has been less than stellar for me. I agree that the acting by Ali and Dorff was fantastic during the closing scene, and the shootout was intense and heartbreaking, but overall I came away a little disappointed. I did very much like that their relationship did not play out the way I was anticipating across all of the timelines, even though we don't know everything yet. For the first time this episode I found the willful holding back of information extremely frustrating and annoying. I think this episode needed to deliver a few more answers for where we are at in the season.

Granted, I didn't start the episode until almost midnight last night after working all day, so it could've been my frame of mind.

 

That final scene really got me. Other than the "can't remember my life" line, this one hit me hard.

"I'm fine... alone out here. No woman, no kids... and no old friends."

 

That was my only criticism of this episode and the season thus far too. I'm hungry for some answers. But maybe its a nice slow build up to a lot of heavy hitting episodes towards the back end of the season. Just hoping that nothing feels to rushed or crammed in.

 

One thing ep 5 did give us is credence to the theory that Wayne did something to affect the trajectory of the case. Right?

 

And killed someone or got them killed as a result

 

definitely interrogate and kill that guy that found the evidence that framed Woodard

 

I think he might have also been responsible for planting the evidence in the first place, and also removed the prints from the box of files before 1990. Probably all at the behest of Hoyt. And yeah, I definitely get the feeling they may have killed him.

 

Yeah for sure.

 

Sucks there are only three episodes left now.

the little detail about her being a “secret princess in the pink room” or something to that effect could have a lot of meaning. The 911 call was confusing as hell. There were a few different people we saw speak during the press conference, so who knows which guy she was referring to - but I just have a hard time believing their dad has anything to do with it.

 

I think she was talking about Tom, and that maybe he actually isn't her dad. He'd mentioned to Roland that Lucy had been having an affair with her boss, so maybe Mr. Hoyt is Julie's real dad. It's also very possible that Tom had never known for sure, and so his reaction to the recording was even stronger because of that.

 

I thought that was by far the best episode of this season; it honestly might be my favorite episode of the series.

 

Wow. That surprises me a lot. I watched it again and I still feel the same way about it. This article sorta sums up some of the problems I had with this episode -->

https://www.avclub.com/true-detective-is-playing-with-puzzles-instead-of-explo-1832309749

I will say though, I believe I watched Season 1 in quicker succession after it was all available, and I remember being frustrated with an episode or two before the whole thing finished, but then in the end looking back I loved the whole thing. A lot of this could be down to me not liking having to wait a week plus between episodes.

 

Yep

 

This last episode was pretty incredible. The scene at Woodard's was season one tracking shot level good. And the last scene with old Hayes and Roland was heartbreaking.

I'm doubling down on my theory that Julie is the child of an affair with the Hoyt boss. I'm also thinking Hayes and Roland have something to do with the other detective that went missing working the case in '90. As some of you had speculated, my guess is that's the guy who framed Woodard.

 

eh sorry I'm gonna strongly disagree with that bit, the standoff between Woodard and Hays was pretty well framed but other than it was your bog-standard TV shootout (complete with random FBI dudes I didn't even know were there getting killed to "up the stakes" which just felt cheap tbh). nowhere even near the Fukunaga tracking shot

having said, the last scene was gorgeous and some of Pizzo's best ever writing. "it's alright, man"

 

The bromance between Hayes and West is great. Maybe even better than Cole’s and Hart’s from the first season

 

Don't forget the Walking Dead-levels of headshots, either.

 

To be fair we were introduced to those other detectives before hand. They’ve been on the case with them.

 

Mahershala absolutely nails the old man role. He plays it perfectly and is thoroughly convincing.

The final scene of episode 5 with Roland and Hays was incredible. The “come on, stir some shit up with me” line was emphatic and really drove home their relationship.

 

I watched the first episode of season 2 (featuring the infamous Colin Ferrell line about doing stuff to that bully's parents while he watches) immediately after finishing this one, and the difference in writing quality between the two is pretty dramatic. One of my favorite parts of the current season is that Pizzolatto really seems to have listened to the criticism of the second season. Like when Roland points out how unnecessarily over-the-top some of the stuff Hayes said to Freddy Burns was. I think that was Pizzolatto's way of acknowledging that maybe some of the dialogue in the previous season was a little too much.

I think that maybe there's a chance Julie wasn't abducted at all, but instead went willingly. Things at the Purcell house were far from ideal. Also, Freddy mentioned that Will was looking for his sister when he (Freddy) encountered him. Perhaps the people responsible for Will's death aren't the same one Julie was involved with at all. Or maybe Will actually fell and hit his head, and wasn't killed by anyone at all. It's possible that Hayes and West are just chasing ghosts, and there's no actual killer at all. That would be quite the twist. Speaking of twists, I'm pretty sure that Roland's fiance Lori is the white woman seen riding around in the fancy car with the scarred man, and that she's very connected to the whole situation.

 

Interesting theory.

 

Maybe hyperbole on my part coupled with recency bias, but it felt just as tense

The FBI guys were a bit part, but they weren’t introduced out of nowhere. I just kind of loved the “count in my head” moment between Woodward and Hays. That moment (and the episode as a whole) served as great character development for Hays.

I’m planning to rewatch season one after season three, so it’s likely I’ll change my mind. But I loved it.

 

just really glad this season doesn't suck

even though I don't think season 2 was as bad as most people make it out to be

 

I'm kind of wondering if a lot of that interaction between Woodard and Hays was Hays changing his memory to suit his own narrative. Like maybe Woodard didn't actually say "I'm going to count in my head" but Hays actually just shot him and he's filling in that part of his memory to make him feel more justified in his decision.

Then again, Hays did seem sympathetic towards Woodard when they were interrogating him earlier in the season, so I could see it actually playing out the way we saw. It's likely that I'm reading too much into it, but the unreliable narrator thing is still one of my favorite aspects of the show. I'm hoping it'll be explored a little more now that old Rolland is around.