True Detective (HBO) TV Show • Page 16

Earlier in the season I was wondering if maybe certain things we were seeing happen in the two earlier timelines weren't actually shown as they occurred, but rather in the way that 2015 Hayes is telling the documentarian they occurred, either because he couldn't remember or was intentionally changing the narrative to aid in covering up whatever it is they did. That seems like a really cruel trick to play on the audience, but you never know.

Someone else pointed out that the drawings young Julie did of a/the pink room show the same layout as the kitchen in that farmer's house, the one who first mentioned the black man and white woman in a fancy car. It could be another red herring (like most of the show), or it could be something. The first time Cohle and Hart encounter Errol Childress in season 1 is via that child's drawing of him as the "spaghetti monster." Maybe the key to the case is once again right in front of them in the form of a child's drawing.

 

I was thinking this as well, actually. Would be interesting to have some events turn out not the way Hays had described, due to either memory loss or purposefully misrepresenting.

 

I believe there was confirmation from Pizzolatto earlier this season where he said everything we see happen on screen is as it actually happens. There is no unreliable narrator situation going on here which I personally think is a good thing for the story. They can't backtrack and change things around from when we saw them happen.

 

didn't know that, interesting.

 

in fairness now I think back I remember the FBI guys getting introduced, but I barely remember them going to the scene of the gunfight with Hays and West at the end of episode 4. it felt like they showed up outta nowhere in 5 just to die

but yeah, the standoff was really great. Ali's reaction to shooting him was some powerful acting

 

I'd also missed this, but I'm glad to know that. There's enough possibilities at play with the way they slowly unwind the story, so having to deal with an unreliable narrator would make it worse. Sometimes I wish they didn't withhold so much, but it's also kind of cool that we're 5/8 of the way through, and almost every scenario is still potentially in play.

 

Now that you mention it, doesn’t E1 start w Hayes narrating in the 90s about the 80s and him lying to the investigators about “being on patrol” or something while they were really just drinking in a parking lot?


Perhaps that’s the first clue to us that what he recounts from memeory in this show is always suspect.

EDIT: Scratch that. I just read the comments above.

 

He does like about being on patrol, though. It could be nothing, but then, maybe not.

They should change the name of the show to "Red Herring."

 

I think they have the potential to do something cool and meaningful if they tie the whole series up thoughtfully, but if they try to go the metaphysical “it doesn’t even matter anyway” route of season one it will be awful. This is a season where I want real answers and a satisfying conclusion. All the stuff about princesses and pink rooms and tons of primrose paths better be leading to an actual plan from the writers.

I’m not sure how we can believe that there is no unreliable narrator when we’ve already seen instances of it and the entire story is hanging on his memory (or lack thereof). The scene where he looks in on himself and the younger version reacts to the door opening struck me as especially close to this.

I also thought the sudden non-sex scene seemed kind of out of place, and I hope it ends up being justified as him closing off his memories or censoring himself in a discussion or something. Not that they need to be over the top with it of course, but it kind of took me out of the story to have a sudden “run in and close the door” to the audience in a show like this. I hope it will turn out to be really clever and poignant writing and not just random censorship for no reason.

Aaaaand Dorff’s makeup in the last scene was so awful that it kind of ruined it for me. Mahershala looks incredible and sounds incredible and he looks positively goofy. Will really hurt the episode on rewatches.

 

I do agree that Dorff's oldman makeup was pretty bad. My roommate even though they had CG'd it.

 

Honestly, I almost always think old age makeup looks TERRIBLE. Like absolutely atrocious. Mahershala Ali's old age makeup in this season is really the first time I have ever been impressed with it that I can remember. And his looks astounding. It really is uncanny. I don't think Dorff's is any more terrible than any other old age makeup, more just like par for the course with how it looks, which is usually not great or believable. I think his makeup definitely suffered by its proximity and playing opposite to Ali's absolutely incredible makeup.

 

I found the article I read before talking about the narrator stuff: Exclusive: 'True Detective' creator on season 3, being 'blown away' by Mahershala Ali

If you’re seeing it, it’s reliable. I’m not playing those sorts of games with the audience, where you find out what you saw didn’t really happen, or it was a dream within a dream or something. So he is a reliable narrator. When he doesn’t know something, we know it. The times when Wayne has a full-on episode of something uncanny, like the hallucination in episode 3, you know it. In order to tell such a complicated story across three timelines, you have to have those rules, otherwise there wouldn’t be anything for the audience to hang their hat on.

 

There's also a bit in there where he mentions he already has an idea that could become a fourth season. I hope it happens. He's earned my trust again with this season.

 

he'll earn my trust back when the credits roll on the last episode and I don't feel shortchanged

 

He has absolutely earned my trust back with this season, however, I do think he should keep bringing in directors to direct the episodes as opposed to him directing them himself. Preferably one director to do all of the episodes for the season, a la Season 1.

I am a fan of Pizzolatto's, but his shows definitely benefit from him collaborating with director(s) as much as it appears that he hates the process.

 

fwiw: I have faith

 

Random, but I think my favorite parts of S2 were the songs by Lera Lynn.

 

They were arguably the only good parts ha.

 

I think 75% of Season 2's lead actors are great actors who actually turned in impressive performances, especially given what they had to work with.

 

Give Ali the Emmy already

 

This season is way more cliffhanger-y.

 

God dammit

 

Killer episode

 

A double cliffhanger, no less! What exactly did Tom see, what what is Harris going to do to him?

I'll be honest, I wasn't expecting Tom and his actions to suddenly become such a big focus this week, even after that phone call last week. I'm guessing that Harris does kill him, and that maybe he (or someone else at Hoyt) is responsible for Cousin Dan ending up in that quarry. Old Wayne's conversation with Roland about being questioned regarding James' disappearance makes me think that yes, the two of them did kill him back in 1990. It's also interesting that when Roland looked out the window to see if there was a car outside, we didn't get to see whether he was lying or not. This could just be coincidence, and there really wasn't, but my guess is maybe the car isn't a hallucination. One of the scenes for next week shows a couple of cars outside Wayne's house, but in 1990 (and they're Cadillacs, rather than a Chevy like the 2015 car), so perhaps someone has been keeping tabs on him for a long time. My money in on a Hoyt connection there, too.

Speaking of cars, I'm pretty sure the irate attendee of Ameila's book signing is the man in the fancy brown car from 1980. The actor playing him is also credited with appearing in the final episode. He's definitely connected to the whole thing, but I think he (and maybe Lori, as I'm certain she's the white woman in the car with him) were befriending the Purcell children, rather than having a more malicious role in things. He reacts to Amelia in part because the idea of her profiting off of the case upsets him, but possibly also because he's disappointed the case isn't any closer to actually being solved.

 

What a horrendous shade of pink.