The other category besides writing that is closest to a "best episode"
category is direction. The shows overlap much with the writing
category with the episodes abutting their writing nominee counterparts
in two cases.
Felina
One episode, Breaking Bad's "Felina"
overlaps, and is the only one to do so. Does that make it the default
choice for best episode?
I won't rehash "Felina" again. Instead, here are the other directing nominees that were featured on I Don't Own a Television.
Best Direction
"Farewell Daddy Blues"
Boardwalk Empire
When
this aired, I called it possibly Boardwalk Empire's finest episode.
The Season Four finale executed a lot of what made "The Children" so
good for Game of Thrones, probably because these two shows have a lot in
common.
"The Watchers on the Wall"
Game of Thrones
A big, singularly focused, episode
with lots of action, effects and battle sequences. I think there is a
lot more to the episode than bashing people in the head with swords and
axes, which is what elevates it to a higher level.
"Who Goes There"
True Detective
This
no doubt largely got the nomination for the six minute unbroken chaos
shot as Rust's undercover business goes pear shaped. There's a reason
this made the Internet explode Monday morning.
Fargo
I
did not post about Fargo because it was airing at the same time as Mad
Men and Game of Thrones, and three shows would simply have been too
much. That said, Fargo, while it submitted in the miniseries
categories, could just as easily have held its own as a regular series.
The three best seasons this year were Breaking Bad, Fargo and True
Detective and there's no wrong answer as to which came out on top.
Fargo featured two in the directing category "The Crocodile's Dilemma” and "Buridan's Ass" as well as
having "Crocodile's Dilemna" in writing, giving it the "Felina"
overlap. While the competition is much easier in the miniseries
category (getting harder each year though) the nominations are
noteworthy, much deserved and could easily have happened in the series
category.
"Crocodile's Dilemma" is the premiere and it wouldn't be right to discuss it further. "Buridan's Ass" left me thinking immediately that this is up there with "Farewell Daddy Blues" and "Secret Fate of All Things" and "Ozymandias" as the best episode of the year. I will forever have the snowstorm with the drums soundtrack implanted in my brain.
Others
Also featured for writing and directing: "Chapter 14" - House of Cards (Season Two premiere)
Get real. House of Cards is fun adn I love it, but it's pulp and it's clearly not in the top tier.
Also featured for directing:"Episode 1 - Season Four" - Downton Abbey
All that said, the Emmy voting process is rather unfair and insane
Showing posts with label TrueDetective. Show all posts
Showing posts with label TrueDetective. Show all posts
Saturday, July 12, 2014
Friday, July 11, 2014
Emmy Nominations - Writing
While I lament the lack of nomination for Pedro Pascal, I am rather
pleased with some of the nominations for writing and directing. There
is no Emmy for best episode, so these categories sort of combine for
that honor. Here are the nominees that have entries on here.
Writing
"The Children"
Thwunk
Game of Thrones Season Four episodes were often about moving storylines and characters into place, while punctuating it with a big scene. The nature of drawing source material from three books, plus the content of that material, plus original material, plus breaking ten episodes made this the natural way to plot the season. And with a cast of a billion or so, filmed across many continents, it's not surprising we don't see some characters for a week or two. Given that, this season didn't have as many fun character development scenes like Season Two's Arya and Tywin scenes (though Tyrion's and Jaime's in the dungeon were pretty good). "The Children" was a great blend of plot, character, source material and original material, all pulled together to move the story forward and perhaps for the first time end on an oddly hopeful note.
"Ozymandias"
Look upon my works, ye mighty and despair
I had occasion to visit Percy Bysshe Shelley's grave in May, and it says a lot my first thoughts go to Breaking Bad. All of Walt's work, manipulating, lying, ego puffing and violence comes crashing down as gets caught, is responsible for the death of his brother in law, is rejected by his wife and son and loses most of his money to boot.
"Felina"
Blacker than night were the eyes of Felina wicked and evil while casting a spell
...
Back in El Paso my life would be worthless, everything gone in life nothing is left
...
Maybe tomorrow a bullet may find me
Once everyone caught up on this show, it made this episode the event of the year. The only competition would be the "Reigns of Castamere" but that would be considered the previous "season". Walt seeks redemption to the fullest extent possible, able to put aside his ego for a minute to ensure some fraction of his money gets to his children via uber-Heisenberg methods. Always one to hold a grudge, Walt goes to settle some scores and in his last moments before taking the bullet that would allow him to escape before the coppers ever get him, he saves the life of the show's conscious.
"The Secret Fate of All Things"
Time is a flat circle
Featuring 1995, 2002 and 2012 storylines, the episode both closes and reopens the Reggie Ledoux/Dora Lange case. We've sensed we're not getting the whole picture and it's confirmed when Marty and Rust go full unreliable narrator as they relate the Ledoux compound firefight. Mixing in some rambling/Nietzsche and making as good of use as one can of different literary devices, we get as many questions as answers in these sixty minutes. Even more impressive, this follows "Who Goes There?" and delivers after expectations are raised incredibly high.
To choose is to choose a favorite child or pizza topping.
Writing
"The Children"
Thwunk
Game of Thrones Season Four episodes were often about moving storylines and characters into place, while punctuating it with a big scene. The nature of drawing source material from three books, plus the content of that material, plus original material, plus breaking ten episodes made this the natural way to plot the season. And with a cast of a billion or so, filmed across many continents, it's not surprising we don't see some characters for a week or two. Given that, this season didn't have as many fun character development scenes like Season Two's Arya and Tywin scenes (though Tyrion's and Jaime's in the dungeon were pretty good). "The Children" was a great blend of plot, character, source material and original material, all pulled together to move the story forward and perhaps for the first time end on an oddly hopeful note.
"Ozymandias"
Look upon my works, ye mighty and despair
I had occasion to visit Percy Bysshe Shelley's grave in May, and it says a lot my first thoughts go to Breaking Bad. All of Walt's work, manipulating, lying, ego puffing and violence comes crashing down as gets caught, is responsible for the death of his brother in law, is rejected by his wife and son and loses most of his money to boot.
"Felina"
Blacker than night were the eyes of Felina wicked and evil while casting a spell
...
Back in El Paso my life would be worthless, everything gone in life nothing is left
...
Maybe tomorrow a bullet may find me
Once everyone caught up on this show, it made this episode the event of the year. The only competition would be the "Reigns of Castamere" but that would be considered the previous "season". Walt seeks redemption to the fullest extent possible, able to put aside his ego for a minute to ensure some fraction of his money gets to his children via uber-Heisenberg methods. Always one to hold a grudge, Walt goes to settle some scores and in his last moments before taking the bullet that would allow him to escape before the coppers ever get him, he saves the life of the show's conscious.
"The Secret Fate of All Things"
Time is a flat circle
Featuring 1995, 2002 and 2012 storylines, the episode both closes and reopens the Reggie Ledoux/Dora Lange case. We've sensed we're not getting the whole picture and it's confirmed when Marty and Rust go full unreliable narrator as they relate the Ledoux compound firefight. Mixing in some rambling/Nietzsche and making as good of use as one can of different literary devices, we get as many questions as answers in these sixty minutes. Even more impressive, this follows "Who Goes There?" and delivers after expectations are raised incredibly high.
To choose is to choose a favorite child or pizza topping.
Wednesday, March 12, 2014
Form & Void - True Detective - Part 3
The format of True Detective, continued
We'll see the anthology format again this spring with Fargo on FX, featuring John Watson. And maybe it will be something that will become more popular in coming years, considering the success of True Detective.
One of the benefits of cable seasons is they are only thirteen episodes, freeing the actors to do other projects such as movies or other television shows. Allowing the freedom to move about, rather than lock someone into 22 episodes a year for multiple years has to be appealing to actors.
It will also allow the shows to recruit star power similar to the level of True Detective with McConaughey and Harrelson. McConaughey's television career consists of little more than a cameo on Eastbound and Down, plus some voiceover work and appearing on Unsolved Mysteries waaay back when. Woody's only has had one semi-regular role, on Will and Grace, since Cheers launched him into his movie career. Everything else is a one off guest spot or voiceover work. Understandable considering the monetary difference between television and movies over that time, as well as the stringent requirements of television.
Doing a show with one season and done will be appealing to actors, as it allows them to truly get into a character in a way not as possible with movies. David Fincher said it well when talking about the reason he wanted to do House of Cards, addressing both teh high quality, the freedoms it allows and why 13 episodes is a-okay:
If you're working in the movie business, you’re thinking in terms of you have this two-hour form that requires a kind of ballistic narrative that doesn’t always allow for characterizations to be that complex, or that deep, or that layered, or that you can reveal slowly and be as faceted. And I felt for the past ten years that the best writing that was happening for actors was happening in television. And so I had been looking to do something that was longer form. I never said I was going to hold my breath until somebody offers me 26 hours. And when they did it was sort of shocking when you try to kind of wrap your mind around the number of different storylines that it’s going to take to fill 26 hours. It can be a particularly daunting experience. But I had liked the idea of doing something either on premium cable that could be challenging to an audience of adults in terms of its drama and subject matter.
There's even other options now for the medium in which the art is shared. It requires thought about how best to view a show, and the acknowledgement that the best medium depends on the type of show.
For example, I love House of Cards. And I love the medium that it comes from, allowing me to watch all of Season Two over President's Day weekend, rather than my usual History Channel presidential marathon.
House of Cards is essentially pulp though. It doesn't take away from how fun or twisted or creative the show is, or how well Spacey and Wright act. But it is pulp. It can be consumed in large quantities very quickly. So making thirteen episodes available together works for the show. House of Cards is a page turner, but not an exercise in deep thought. Which is just an observation and not a judgement.* Another show that would lend itself to this format would be 24, which saw returns on its four episode mini-marathon years ago. As a page turner, something like The Davinci Code* would be a lot of fun for streaming relase as well. Not the Great American Novel, but a fun read. It is a bag of Doritos, which is completely delicious and gone in a single sitting and no I'm not sorry.
* If I watched nothing to True Detective, life would be rough.
* Dan Brown's book was a candidate for what a show like 24 would be about
True Detective, despite being a serial/novel/whatever, is still in my opinion best suited to the weekly format. The show, especially as it gained steam, benefited from digestion. And while it did not include supernatural elements, it did have a mystical tone to it, which is a quality that lends itself to discussion and going down those Internet rabbit holes. One of the best parts of shows like this are the conversations you can have about theories. Binge watching may be better suited for subsequent viewings of the show, which I no doubt will do.
Or, it could be the complete opposite. Going down those rabbit holes can affect ones expectations of a show by getting pulled into conversations that are way off base. Viewing the show in a vacuum could allow you to form your own opinion and expectations, free of some of the nonsense that a show like True Detective generates.
The Wire splits the difference, probably best viewed on DVD in short bursts, which is probably how most people became acquainted with it (based on the number of people who say they watched, and the ratings on HBO). Digestion is required but details are easy to miss over 13 weeks. The show gives you a lot to think about, and if you watch a season in a weekend, you may miss the forest for the trees. But if you spread it out over three months, some items in later episodes may not have the same impact due to a lack of remembering details from early episodes.
Lost is a victim of the format and was at its best in Season One, and then again later when seasons were shortened and more or less ran in consecutive weeks without breaking. There are so many episodes, that it is impossible now to space them out and still finish. It's also impossible to not get spoiled on the show if you were to do any research during intermission. The show benefited from character based flashbacks and plot based island action, which, by the end we realized thanks to the flashback revelations, was secretly character driven as well.
One of the big differences that may point a show in one direction or another is if it is plot based or character based. Despite the conspiracy sprawl, True Detective is character based. A show does not need to have loads and loads of characters in order to be character based, as it is quality not quantity. Everything in the True Detective universe exists to provide insight to Rust or Cohle, or to provoke a reaction by them. House of Cards is plot based, creating the page turning atmosphere of a Dan Brown novel. One is not better than the other, it may just depend on preference and mood.*
* An interesting case is Homeland, which in the first season seemed more character based, but moved to be more plot based in Season Two.
True Detective may tell a different type of story next year, and with a different director, may be best viewed in a different way. The tough part is, we can't know the best way until after we've viewed it. Another possibility is that the differences are marginal enough to make no difference, or that most viewers do not place a priority on it as much as weirdos like me. Probably the latter.
Two Players, Two Sides.
One is light, one is dark.
Pizzolatto told us the agenda would be clear by the end, and it was. The battle between good and evil, light and dark ( in this case, as told through Rust and Cohle's actions, catalyzed by the Lang investigation) is as old as time, but doesn't feel that way.
We've seen it in television before, whether via Jacob and his brother on Lost/by proxy Jack and Locke, or on Twin Peaks seeing the struggle between the forces of Mike and Bob.
The showdown happens in the arena/Carcosa/Civil War fort between Rust and Childress. Both willing if not expecting to die trying to attain their goal. For Rust, it is to take down the "bad man". For Childress, it is less clear, but here's one opinion.
The Yellow King mythos provided a mystical backdrop for Childress as a character and for the investigation as a story. Rather than be a simple devil worshipper, something already seen in stories, the Yellow King helps True Detective stand out as unique. The mystical nature let us run down rabbit holes and enjoy the show even more, but at the same time was not so dominant that it held the entire story hostage. Since the first episode, enough has been fleshed out so this story doesn't live or die on the quality of any single aspect. The last episode is when we get treated to the most clues.
The peek at Childress at the episodes open gives some insight into the final scenes. It's the first time, besides Maggie's sit down with Papania and Gilbough, that the story isn't told through Rust and Marty.
Childress said he hasn't made his mark, probably his literal spiral mark on the back of victims, in weeks. Probably three weeks because that was the last time he was "giving flowers" to his sister (and would also be approximately the time the last case surfaced).
He seems to be anticipating the showdown, and through those acts, attain some kind of higher plan. In preparation, he giving flowers again, which I bet is part of his preparation or ritual every time he does this.
Because Childress is so devout to his Yellow King cult he lives his life so that everything is done to advance his goal of attaining that higher plane, the goal of ascending beyond the disc in the loop, the flat circle. By ascending to that higher plane and breaking free of the loop, he can attain something. The domestic and the half sister speak about existing beyond life, being there before and after death. So perhaps Childress is seeking eternal life, gained through practice of these rituals and sacrifice, done in the name of the Yellow King. Everything he's done has bee in the name of this journey, the journey he allowed Reggie to be witness to. So, because it's time again, he "gives flowers" and prepares to ascend by meeting Rust in Carcosa.
We'll see the anthology format again this spring with Fargo on FX, featuring John Watson. And maybe it will be something that will become more popular in coming years, considering the success of True Detective.
One of the benefits of cable seasons is they are only thirteen episodes, freeing the actors to do other projects such as movies or other television shows. Allowing the freedom to move about, rather than lock someone into 22 episodes a year for multiple years has to be appealing to actors.
It will also allow the shows to recruit star power similar to the level of True Detective with McConaughey and Harrelson. McConaughey's television career consists of little more than a cameo on Eastbound and Down, plus some voiceover work and appearing on Unsolved Mysteries waaay back when. Woody's only has had one semi-regular role, on Will and Grace, since Cheers launched him into his movie career. Everything else is a one off guest spot or voiceover work. Understandable considering the monetary difference between television and movies over that time, as well as the stringent requirements of television.
Doing a show with one season and done will be appealing to actors, as it allows them to truly get into a character in a way not as possible with movies. David Fincher said it well when talking about the reason he wanted to do House of Cards, addressing both teh high quality, the freedoms it allows and why 13 episodes is a-okay:
f
you're working in the movie business, you’re thinking in terms of you
have this two-hour form that requires a kind of ballistic narrative that
doesn’t always allow for characterizations to be that complex, or that
deep, or that layered, or that you can reveal slowly and be as
faceted. And I felt for the past ten years that the best writing that
was happening for actors was happening in television. And so I had been
looking to do something that was longer form. I never said I was going
to hold my breath until somebody offers me 26 hours. And when they did
it was sort of shocking when you try to kind of wrap your mind around
the number of different storylines that it’s going to take to fill 26
hours. It can be a particularly daunting experience. But I had liked the
idea of doing something either on premium cable that could be
challenging to an audience of adults in terms of its drama and subject
matter.
Read more at http://www.hitfix.com/whats-alan-watching/house-of-cards-director-david-fincher-on-making-13-hours-for-netflix#cJuEPvSJ4i6mou42.99
Read more at http://www.hitfix.com/whats-alan-watching/house-of-cards-director-david-fincher-on-making-13-hours-for-netflix#cJuEPvSJ4i6mou42.99
If you're working in the movie business, you’re thinking in terms of
you have this two-hour form that requires a kind of ballistic narrative
that doesn’t always allow for characterizations to be that complex, or
that deep, or that layered, or that you can reveal slowly and be as
faceted. And I felt for the past ten years that the best writing that
was happening for actors was happening in television. And so I had been
looking to do something that was longer form. I never said I was going
to hold my breath until somebody offers me 26 hours. And when they did
it was sort of shocking when you try to kind of wrap your mind around
the number of different storylines that it’s going to take to fill 26
hours. It can be a particularly daunting experience. But I had liked the
idea of doing something either on premium cable that could be
challenging to an audience of adults in terms of its drama and subject
matter.
Read more at http://www.hitfix.com/whats-alan-watching/house-of-cards-director-david-fincher-on-making-13-hours-for-netflix#cJuEPvSJ4i6mou42.99
Read more at http://www.hitfix.com/whats-alan-watching/house-of-cards-director-david-fincher-on-making-13-hours-for-netflix#cJuEPvSJ4i6mou42.99
If you're working in the movie business, you’re thinking in terms of
you have this two-hour form that requires a kind of ballistic narrative
that doesn’t always allow for characterizations to be that complex, or
that deep, or that layered, or that you can reveal slowly and be as
faceted. And I felt for the past ten years that the best writing that
was happening for actors was happening in television. And so I had been
looking to do something that was longer form. I never said I was going
to hold my breath until somebody offers me 26 hours. And when they did
it was sort of shocking when you try to kind of wrap your mind around
the number of different storylines that it’s going to take to fill 26
hours. It can be a particularly daunting experience. But I had liked the
idea of doing something either on premium cable that could be
challenging to an audience of adults in terms of its drama and subject
matter.
Read more at http://www.hitfix.com/whats-alan-watching/house-of-cards-director-david-fincher-on-making-13-hours-for-netflix#cJuEPvSJ4i6mou42.99
Read more at http://www.hitfix.com/whats-alan-watching/house-of-cards-director-david-fincher-on-making-13-hours-for-netflix#cJuEPvSJ4i6mou42.99
If you're working in the movie business, you’re thinking in terms of you have this two-hour form that requires a kind of ballistic narrative that doesn’t always allow for characterizations to be that complex, or that deep, or that layered, or that you can reveal slowly and be as faceted. And I felt for the past ten years that the best writing that was happening for actors was happening in television. And so I had been looking to do something that was longer form. I never said I was going to hold my breath until somebody offers me 26 hours. And when they did it was sort of shocking when you try to kind of wrap your mind around the number of different storylines that it’s going to take to fill 26 hours. It can be a particularly daunting experience. But I had liked the idea of doing something either on premium cable that could be challenging to an audience of adults in terms of its drama and subject matter.
There's even other options now for the medium in which the art is shared. It requires thought about how best to view a show, and the acknowledgement that the best medium depends on the type of show.
For example, I love House of Cards. And I love the medium that it comes from, allowing me to watch all of Season Two over President's Day weekend, rather than my usual History Channel presidential marathon.
House of Cards is essentially pulp though. It doesn't take away from how fun or twisted or creative the show is, or how well Spacey and Wright act. But it is pulp. It can be consumed in large quantities very quickly. So making thirteen episodes available together works for the show. House of Cards is a page turner, but not an exercise in deep thought. Which is just an observation and not a judgement.* Another show that would lend itself to this format would be 24, which saw returns on its four episode mini-marathon years ago. As a page turner, something like The Davinci Code* would be a lot of fun for streaming relase as well. Not the Great American Novel, but a fun read. It is a bag of Doritos, which is completely delicious and gone in a single sitting and no I'm not sorry.
* If I watched nothing to True Detective, life would be rough.
* Dan Brown's book was a candidate for what a show like 24 would be about
True Detective, despite being a serial/novel/whatever, is still in my opinion best suited to the weekly format. The show, especially as it gained steam, benefited from digestion. And while it did not include supernatural elements, it did have a mystical tone to it, which is a quality that lends itself to discussion and going down those Internet rabbit holes. One of the best parts of shows like this are the conversations you can have about theories. Binge watching may be better suited for subsequent viewings of the show, which I no doubt will do.
Or, it could be the complete opposite. Going down those rabbit holes can affect ones expectations of a show by getting pulled into conversations that are way off base. Viewing the show in a vacuum could allow you to form your own opinion and expectations, free of some of the nonsense that a show like True Detective generates.
The Wire splits the difference, probably best viewed on DVD in short bursts, which is probably how most people became acquainted with it (based on the number of people who say they watched, and the ratings on HBO). Digestion is required but details are easy to miss over 13 weeks. The show gives you a lot to think about, and if you watch a season in a weekend, you may miss the forest for the trees. But if you spread it out over three months, some items in later episodes may not have the same impact due to a lack of remembering details from early episodes.
Lost is a victim of the format and was at its best in Season One, and then again later when seasons were shortened and more or less ran in consecutive weeks without breaking. There are so many episodes, that it is impossible now to space them out and still finish. It's also impossible to not get spoiled on the show if you were to do any research during intermission. The show benefited from character based flashbacks and plot based island action, which, by the end we realized thanks to the flashback revelations, was secretly character driven as well.
One of the big differences that may point a show in one direction or another is if it is plot based or character based. Despite the conspiracy sprawl, True Detective is character based. A show does not need to have loads and loads of characters in order to be character based, as it is quality not quantity. Everything in the True Detective universe exists to provide insight to Rust or Cohle, or to provoke a reaction by them. House of Cards is plot based, creating the page turning atmosphere of a Dan Brown novel. One is not better than the other, it may just depend on preference and mood.*
* An interesting case is Homeland, which in the first season seemed more character based, but moved to be more plot based in Season Two.
True Detective may tell a different type of story next year, and with a different director, may be best viewed in a different way. The tough part is, we can't know the best way until after we've viewed it. Another possibility is that the differences are marginal enough to make no difference, or that most viewers do not place a priority on it as much as weirdos like me. Probably the latter.
Two Players, Two Sides.
One is light, one is dark.
Pizzolatto told us the agenda would be clear by the end, and it was. The battle between good and evil, light and dark ( in this case, as told through Rust and Cohle's actions, catalyzed by the Lang investigation) is as old as time, but doesn't feel that way.
We've seen it in television before, whether via Jacob and his brother on Lost/by proxy Jack and Locke, or on Twin Peaks seeing the struggle between the forces of Mike and Bob.
The showdown happens in the arena/Carcosa/Civil War fort between Rust and Childress. Both willing if not expecting to die trying to attain their goal. For Rust, it is to take down the "bad man". For Childress, it is less clear, but here's one opinion.
The Yellow King mythos provided a mystical backdrop for Childress as a character and for the investigation as a story. Rather than be a simple devil worshipper, something already seen in stories, the Yellow King helps True Detective stand out as unique. The mystical nature let us run down rabbit holes and enjoy the show even more, but at the same time was not so dominant that it held the entire story hostage. Since the first episode, enough has been fleshed out so this story doesn't live or die on the quality of any single aspect. The last episode is when we get treated to the most clues.
The peek at Childress at the episodes open gives some insight into the final scenes. It's the first time, besides Maggie's sit down with Papania and Gilbough, that the story isn't told through Rust and Marty.
Childress said he hasn't made his mark, probably his literal spiral mark on the back of victims, in weeks. Probably three weeks because that was the last time he was "giving flowers" to his sister (and would also be approximately the time the last case surfaced).
He seems to be anticipating the showdown, and through those acts, attain some kind of higher plan. In preparation, he giving flowers again, which I bet is part of his preparation or ritual every time he does this.
Because Childress is so devout to his Yellow King cult he lives his life so that everything is done to advance his goal of attaining that higher plane, the goal of ascending beyond the disc in the loop, the flat circle. By ascending to that higher plane and breaking free of the loop, he can attain something. The domestic and the half sister speak about existing beyond life, being there before and after death. So perhaps Childress is seeking eternal life, gained through practice of these rituals and sacrifice, done in the name of the Yellow King. Everything he's done has bee in the name of this journey, the journey he allowed Reggie to be witness to. So, because it's time again, he "gives flowers" and prepares to ascend by meeting Rust in Carcosa.
Tuesday, March 11, 2014
Form and Void - True Detective - Part 2.....
The format of True Detective
The unique anthology format of True Detective allows for the close ended story that will avoid questions about creative direction or payoff for the viewers. The way it was executed was very similar to a novel, even more so than The Wire which may have been the first contemporary show to prominently use this technique.
Further into this is the meta-novel or meta-story of True Detective. One aspect that was featured often, particularly in early episodes, was the idea of story telling. So True Detective is a story about storytelling, or a meta-story*.
* Think about metadata
The point is driven home by the fact that Pizzolato wrote every episode and Fukagama directed every episode which would keep consistent the themes of the story, one of which is storytelling, in a way more pointed than other shows. With the show having shot for 100 days, and the scripts having been worked on by Pizzolato for several years, it will be interesting to see if they can continue this consistency next season, and if they will be able to secure the same director for all episodes, or even if this is something they desire to do.
Q&A
The unique anthology format of True Detective allows for the close ended story that will avoid questions about creative direction or payoff for the viewers. The way it was executed was very similar to a novel, even more so than The Wire which may have been the first contemporary show to prominently use this technique.
Further into this is the meta-novel or meta-story of True Detective. One aspect that was featured often, particularly in early episodes, was the idea of story telling. So True Detective is a story about storytelling, or a meta-story*.
* Think about metadata
The point is driven home by the fact that Pizzolato wrote every episode and Fukagama directed every episode which would keep consistent the themes of the story, one of which is storytelling, in a way more pointed than other shows. With the show having shot for 100 days, and the scripts having been worked on by Pizzolato for several years, it will be interesting to see if they can continue this consistency next season, and if they will be able to secure the same director for all episodes, or even if this is something they desire to do.
Q&A
- Ultimately, what is Carcosa? Is it a location?
- I think it is just the name for the location where they do the deeds.
- The domestic's cry about death not being the end is probably tied into the ritual
- The ritual may believe these girls pass on to another plan
- Carcosa, in the original Brose piece, is the setting for a being who returns to his town (I guess) after dying
- This all appears to be accurate, as Childress led Rust into the arena.
- What is the sheriff's connection to Fontaineau and the Tuttles?
- None apparently. He just didn't rock the boat when Childress altered the report
- Who is the guy cutting grass? Who is his family, the one that's been around these parts for a looooong time?
- Errol Childress. A part of the extended Tuttle family.
- What is Senator Eddie Tuttle's involvement at this point?
- The AG is a Tuttle and they still have enough juice to quash rumors about the Tuttles involvement
- Will Rust's hallucinations come back?
- Yep! Immediately before Childress plunged that knife into him
- What are the green ears?
- Leftover from a job, painting a house green. Last lead that allows Rust and Marty to connect Childress to the killings.
- What evidence has Rust gathered over the last ten years?
- Most notably, Rev. Tuttle's video tape and photos
- What did Rev. Tuttle know and when did he know it?
- All of it and probably forever.
- Just how Penn State are the Tuttle schools?
- They are branch campuses for the main campus, Penn State: Carcosa
- What is the connection between the Yellow King and Tuttle?
- It appears YK is the thing they worship
- Did Rust murder Tuttle?
- He says 'no'. Seems Rev. Tuttle's own people got to him
Monday, March 10, 2014
Form and Void - True Detective - Part 1....
2012
"Form and Void" takes place entirely in 2012, as we've caught up with all the other timelines. All that is left is for Rust and Cohle to connect what they have to Lawnmower Man, finding out exactly who he is.
What we know
The killer is most likely and illegitimate child from one of the Tuttles, possibly a Childress based on a common name between their interview with the domestic and tampered police records. It's apparent the Childress family has connections in law enforcement as well, just as the Tuttles have connections throughout the state, with resources to hide this practice that has gone on for, apparently, generations, by, ostensibly, many men in the Tuttle family and extended family. The killer likely collected the victims for the child sacrifices and whatever other unspeakable acts the Tuttles did to them, and may or may not have participated in the rituals himself.
For the first time in the series, we know more than Rust and Marty. Until this point, they've been doling out zero new information to Suck and Fuck, holding back things like the Ledoux murder and the reason for their split. Now, we know exactly who the killer is and what he looks like. We know he does landscape type work by contract for public entities and schools. It's time for Rust and Marty to catch the viewers, the Tralfamadorians.
Solving for Childress
The sheriff turns out to be a giant asshole but not more complicit in the YK killings than anyone else. He admits his reports were altered by Sheriff Childress, but Childress' death makes it a dead end for Rust and Marty.
Back to square one, Marty focuses on the green ears and notices the freshly painted house from their old casefiles. Going to the house, then to the grandmother who lived there, they get enough information to run down the lead. Using tax records again, they look up the woman's husband's records using his employer, finding the painters that did the house via the write off, then running down the painters via business license.
Lo and behold, it's Childress again.
I assume they get the address from the expired business license. Marty and Rust go there to apprehend him for the gruesome crime of operating without a license.
Rust's insurance policy is to mail his evidence, including copies of the tape, to local and national news outlets, as well as law enforcement agencies, should anything happen to him. If you're looking into police corruption, it never hurts to have a cop hating ex sniper on your side.
The Never Ending Loop
The raid on the Childress place brings to mind the raid on the Ledoux place. Again, Marty goes off on his own throughout the house and makes some gruesome discoveries. Only this time, the suspect makes off, leading him on a chase into Carcosa, which appears to be their home field for all the sacrifice. Again, the suspects gets his head blowed off. Again, they can't find all the answers they need. Again, they recover prisoners from the compound.
The End
Before the hand to hand combat in the arena, Childress confirms he was the ringleader back in 1995 as well with Ledoux and friend learning from him*. Amazingly, Marty and Rust survive, despite Childress plunging a knife into Rust and wailing a hatchet into Marty. Marty is even happy for the first time in the series when he sees his ex wife and daughters visit him in the hospital.
* I get the sense more and more that Ledoux was a 'wannabe' or 'poseur' in terms of the Yellow King worship. He was a meth cook who through his twisted family connection was brought into the circle as a pawn and bought into it hard. When he was kneeling on the ground, he spouted the Yellow King fact sheet and sounded more like a follower than a leader.
Regardless of how Rust obtained the rest of the evidence, the remains found on Childress' land, along with his imprisoned and stitched closed father are enough for the law and the media to close the case on a lot of these crimes. Unfortunately, the case still is not built out enough to solidly connect the Tuttles and extended family to these rituals, despite rumor and circumstantial evidence. Some of the evidence, obtained illegally and belonging to a dead man, is not enough to condemn them, and the remaining Tuttles, one as the attorney general, are able to quash it from at minimum a legal perspective. The birth records are no help either and were likely altered or destroyed by the Tuttles and blamed on a hurricane or two.
The Yellow King
It appears to be part of the ritual these Tuttles participated in, however, will go unexplained with the participants being dead or unknown. It's also entirely possible that the remaining Tuttles are far enough removed from this nonsense that they are not quashing it to save their hides, but to save the family name, sincerely believing this is the act of a few mad men tangentially connected to the family.
What I took it to be is that these guys practice devil worship, only instead of the devil they direct their worship to the Yellow King, whatever it is. It's less important to know the details of the ritual or of their beliefs than to know that they existed and were the impetus for the acts they committed.
The guy they ultimately get had to be incredibly creepy, and Childress was no disaapointment in that respect. With sister-wife living in filth, his father tied to a bed with his mouth stiched closed, and Chilrdess himself moving in and out of accents like James Moriarty, I had to brush away the imaginary ants crawling over my skin.
Reaction
My prediction was that this will be panned as the "worst" episode of True Detective. This is a prediction I made before watching a second of the episode.
I don't think there is a worst episode however. I think the first episode was the first episode and did what the first episode was supposed to do...a format that continued all the way until last night when the eight and final episode did what the eighth and final episode was meant to do. It is difficult to "grade" any episode against anything but itself, as each episode had its own purpose and goals to accomplish. So how anyone could rate and episode that aims to accomplish one set of performance metrics against an episode that aims to accomplish a different set of performance metrics seems unfair. But that is the state of television opinion having.
True Detective, more than any other show, subscribes to the beginning-middle-end format. Usually with a season finale, there are threads raised for where the characters will go in the coming season. For example, in the waning minutes of Game of Thrones Season One finale, Tyrion is made (acting) Hand of the King, something that will dominate not only his story, but much of the story in Kings Landing in Season Two. Here, the story is close-ened.*
* I would not be surprised if there are winks and nods to Season One in subsequent seasons, as a way of acknowledging the stories operate in the same universe. Stephen King does this throughout his works. For example, Apt Pupil makes note of an Andy Dufresne.
Much of the answers about the conspiracy were spelled out in Episode Seven, and for the finale's benefit. Rather than cram a lot into the final hour, we were treated to an incredibly suspenseful Buffalo Bill gladiatorial combat scene in Carcosa. The episode felt well paced, not feeling like time was wasted or rushed. It allowed viewers to take everything in, even if you watched certain sequences through your fingers like I did.
Anytime a show incorporates a mythology, it leaves itself open to criticism no matter how the series ends. I think the point of incorporating the Yellow King into True Detective is both functional and mystical. It is functional from the point of giving a reason for the killer(s) to commit these acts, and does it in the name of something besides "devil" worship. It is mystical in the sense that we don't completely understand it, without it being a supernatural element. As far as we can tell, the Yellow King worship is an unreal escape from the world, just as how Rust views religion in general.
The Yellow King drives readers insane in Chambers' works.
The Carcosa mythology extends decades, across multiple authors, and does not exactly connect. This is an extension of that.
It is going to be a lot of fun to watch these dvd commentaries.
The Internets love True Detective. (It also hates it, so don't worry, contrarians.) If you are looking for good sources on the show, read Andrew Romano of The Daily Beast* and Issac Chotiner of the New Republic both do deep analysis. Molly Lambert of Grantland does a fine job as well. I found myself referring to Den of Geek a lot for a lot of the straight of research involved with actively viewing the show. Tangentially, there is a lot of information on the Yellow mythology out there, including a wiki. You can also download Robert Chambers The King in Yellow for ninety nine cents to your Kindle.
* All of these are great, but Romano's posts are some seriously excellent television writing. It brings to mind Todd Vanderwerff's Deadwood posts.
"Form and Void" takes place entirely in 2012, as we've caught up with all the other timelines. All that is left is for Rust and Cohle to connect what they have to Lawnmower Man, finding out exactly who he is.
What we know
The killer is most likely and illegitimate child from one of the Tuttles, possibly a Childress based on a common name between their interview with the domestic and tampered police records. It's apparent the Childress family has connections in law enforcement as well, just as the Tuttles have connections throughout the state, with resources to hide this practice that has gone on for, apparently, generations, by, ostensibly, many men in the Tuttle family and extended family. The killer likely collected the victims for the child sacrifices and whatever other unspeakable acts the Tuttles did to them, and may or may not have participated in the rituals himself.
For the first time in the series, we know more than Rust and Marty. Until this point, they've been doling out zero new information to Suck and Fuck, holding back things like the Ledoux murder and the reason for their split. Now, we know exactly who the killer is and what he looks like. We know he does landscape type work by contract for public entities and schools. It's time for Rust and Marty to catch the viewers, the Tralfamadorians.
Solving for Childress
The sheriff turns out to be a giant asshole but not more complicit in the YK killings than anyone else. He admits his reports were altered by Sheriff Childress, but Childress' death makes it a dead end for Rust and Marty.
Back to square one, Marty focuses on the green ears and notices the freshly painted house from their old casefiles. Going to the house, then to the grandmother who lived there, they get enough information to run down the lead. Using tax records again, they look up the woman's husband's records using his employer, finding the painters that did the house via the write off, then running down the painters via business license.
Lo and behold, it's Childress again.
I assume they get the address from the expired business license. Marty and Rust go there to apprehend him for the gruesome crime of operating without a license.
Rust's insurance policy is to mail his evidence, including copies of the tape, to local and national news outlets, as well as law enforcement agencies, should anything happen to him. If you're looking into police corruption, it never hurts to have a cop hating ex sniper on your side.
The Never Ending Loop
The raid on the Childress place brings to mind the raid on the Ledoux place. Again, Marty goes off on his own throughout the house and makes some gruesome discoveries. Only this time, the suspect makes off, leading him on a chase into Carcosa, which appears to be their home field for all the sacrifice. Again, the suspects gets his head blowed off. Again, they can't find all the answers they need. Again, they recover prisoners from the compound.
The End
Before the hand to hand combat in the arena, Childress confirms he was the ringleader back in 1995 as well with Ledoux and friend learning from him*. Amazingly, Marty and Rust survive, despite Childress plunging a knife into Rust and wailing a hatchet into Marty. Marty is even happy for the first time in the series when he sees his ex wife and daughters visit him in the hospital.
* I get the sense more and more that Ledoux was a 'wannabe' or 'poseur' in terms of the Yellow King worship. He was a meth cook who through his twisted family connection was brought into the circle as a pawn and bought into it hard. When he was kneeling on the ground, he spouted the Yellow King fact sheet and sounded more like a follower than a leader.
Regardless of how Rust obtained the rest of the evidence, the remains found on Childress' land, along with his imprisoned and stitched closed father are enough for the law and the media to close the case on a lot of these crimes. Unfortunately, the case still is not built out enough to solidly connect the Tuttles and extended family to these rituals, despite rumor and circumstantial evidence. Some of the evidence, obtained illegally and belonging to a dead man, is not enough to condemn them, and the remaining Tuttles, one as the attorney general, are able to quash it from at minimum a legal perspective. The birth records are no help either and were likely altered or destroyed by the Tuttles and blamed on a hurricane or two.
The Yellow King
It appears to be part of the ritual these Tuttles participated in, however, will go unexplained with the participants being dead or unknown. It's also entirely possible that the remaining Tuttles are far enough removed from this nonsense that they are not quashing it to save their hides, but to save the family name, sincerely believing this is the act of a few mad men tangentially connected to the family.
What I took it to be is that these guys practice devil worship, only instead of the devil they direct their worship to the Yellow King, whatever it is. It's less important to know the details of the ritual or of their beliefs than to know that they existed and were the impetus for the acts they committed.
The guy they ultimately get had to be incredibly creepy, and Childress was no disaapointment in that respect. With sister-wife living in filth, his father tied to a bed with his mouth stiched closed, and Chilrdess himself moving in and out of accents like James Moriarty, I had to brush away the imaginary ants crawling over my skin.
Reaction
My prediction was that this will be panned as the "worst" episode of True Detective. This is a prediction I made before watching a second of the episode.
I don't think there is a worst episode however. I think the first episode was the first episode and did what the first episode was supposed to do...a format that continued all the way until last night when the eight and final episode did what the eighth and final episode was meant to do. It is difficult to "grade" any episode against anything but itself, as each episode had its own purpose and goals to accomplish. So how anyone could rate and episode that aims to accomplish one set of performance metrics against an episode that aims to accomplish a different set of performance metrics seems unfair. But that is the state of television opinion having.
True Detective, more than any other show, subscribes to the beginning-middle-end format. Usually with a season finale, there are threads raised for where the characters will go in the coming season. For example, in the waning minutes of Game of Thrones Season One finale, Tyrion is made (acting) Hand of the King, something that will dominate not only his story, but much of the story in Kings Landing in Season Two. Here, the story is close-ened.*
* I would not be surprised if there are winks and nods to Season One in subsequent seasons, as a way of acknowledging the stories operate in the same universe. Stephen King does this throughout his works. For example, Apt Pupil makes note of an Andy Dufresne.
Much of the answers about the conspiracy were spelled out in Episode Seven, and for the finale's benefit. Rather than cram a lot into the final hour, we were treated to an incredibly suspenseful Buffalo Bill gladiatorial combat scene in Carcosa. The episode felt well paced, not feeling like time was wasted or rushed. It allowed viewers to take everything in, even if you watched certain sequences through your fingers like I did.
Anytime a show incorporates a mythology, it leaves itself open to criticism no matter how the series ends. I think the point of incorporating the Yellow King into True Detective is both functional and mystical. It is functional from the point of giving a reason for the killer(s) to commit these acts, and does it in the name of something besides "devil" worship. It is mystical in the sense that we don't completely understand it, without it being a supernatural element. As far as we can tell, the Yellow King worship is an unreal escape from the world, just as how Rust views religion in general.
The Yellow King drives readers insane in Chambers' works.
The Carcosa mythology extends decades, across multiple authors, and does not exactly connect. This is an extension of that.
It is going to be a lot of fun to watch these dvd commentaries.
The Internets love True Detective. (It also hates it, so don't worry, contrarians.) If you are looking for good sources on the show, read Andrew Romano of The Daily Beast* and Issac Chotiner of the New Republic both do deep analysis. Molly Lambert of Grantland does a fine job as well. I found myself referring to Den of Geek a lot for a lot of the straight of research involved with actively viewing the show. Tangentially, there is a lot of information on the Yellow mythology out there, including a wiki. You can also download Robert Chambers The King in Yellow for ninety nine cents to your Kindle.
* All of these are great, but Romano's posts are some seriously excellent television writing. It brings to mind Todd Vanderwerff's Deadwood posts.
Monday, March 3, 2014
After You've Gone - True Detective
2010
Rust returns to Louisiana after an eight year hiatus in Alaska working fishing boats and bars. He picks up the Lang investigation again with one of the boys suspected of being molested. Several things:
2012
Hart's skeptical and ornery, but his indebtedness to Rust for the '95 shooting pulls him into Rust's investigation. Rust goes to the board of exposition for Marty's and our benefit....just long enough for Rust to share what he found in Tuttle's safe, pictures of blindfolded women in the woods surrounded by men in animal masks. Not only that but he shows Marty the video tape of something so gut wrenching that Cohle gives Marty the flask to steel himself before Marty yells and shuts it off before getting to the end.
Marty says a de facto farewell to Maggie. It's clear he doesn't have any connection to his daughters.
The video is enough for Marty to go full bore into the investigation, calling old friends, using his PI resources. They get another reference from a distantly related Ledoux to the scarfaced man. An older woman, possible a Tuttle domestic servant, implies spaghetti monster may be an illegitimate child from one of the Tuttle (Sam's granschild), given the scars by his father. She provides the name Childress as a possibility for the bastard. It's unclear if Sam is the father of Billy Lee.
The reports related to the Fountaineau case are signed off by a deputy who is now the sheriff of another parish, who also mentions a Childress (a sheriff invovled to the Fontaineau case) name in conversation with Hart. He stonewalls Hart from there, but Cohle takes over for some enhanced interrogation.
Papania and Gillbough (henceforth known as Fuck & Suck, per Marty) are driving around the bayou and encounter a man cutting the grass in a cemetary who they ask for directions. You can't help but think Cohle would have talked to this guy a bit longer. I wonder if this is the same guy Cohle and Hart talked to outside the school way back in the season. That guy also l had contracts to do the cemeteries and schools. (!)
(!)
First viewing: got an unsettled feeling about this, an I knew for sure Rust would've spent some time with this guy.
Second viewing: I almost missed it. I think we just met the killer (possibly the Yellow King if the YK is a human, rather than something they all worship). I thought that was a light blonde stubble on his face, but practically by accident I noticed it was scars.
I am cheating here, but I had to look it up. Lawnmower Man was indeed the same guy cutting grass from earlier in the season. The difference? He had a beard then.
Old Questions
A lot has been made about the female characters of True Detective, or lack thereof. I think the environments the show is about and that the characters look naturally tend to be male dominated, especially in the 1995 flashbacks, so it would stand to reason that most significant characters are male.
Rust keeps bringing up "dead/missing women and children". True Detective has so far been a story about invisible victims, people who nobody cares about. Rust has been trying to "speak for those dead" to quote Homicide. It's a population that doesn't get attention because of poverty or location or both. It's difficult for a television show to explain the absence of something or show a negative. It's the notes you don't play, as Miles Davis says. It's the same problem Season Five of The Wire ran into. So while it's difficult to explain absence and show a negative, it's even harder for the audience to pick up on it, even when done correctly.
Additionally, it's no secret the show is about Rust and Marty. I believe everything else in the show is in the service of telling us about Rust and Marty. So the explanation for why a particular character may not receive as much attention as Rust or Marty is probably because the show is about Rust and Marty, rather than that character.
In short, if you are the sort of person who viewed The Wolf of Wall Street (or Goodfellas for that matter) as a glorification of the life, rather than an indictment via realistic depiction, then this is not the show for you.
Mini Mysteries
The show has done a good job since the first episode of putting out enough plot lines, raising enough questions and developing the two main characters enough that the show does not wholly hang on Who Killed Dora Lang? much like Twin Peaks built up enough story around Who Killed Laura Palmer? and the opposite of what The Killing did with Who Killed Rosie Larsen?
Every few episodes has had a mystery unfold for us. With the overarching question of these murders obviously spanning the series, though broken into two part, pre and post Ledoux, we've had other questions raised and answered such as
Who do they like for the murders? Ledoux
What was the showdown in the woods? Hart murdering Ledoux then Cohle covering up for him
What ultimately separated Hart and Cohle? Maggie
Who broke in to Rev. Tuttle's place and killed him? Cohle for the former, and likely his weird pagan circle for the latter.
And finally, we come to episode eight with much filled in, but enough questions raised to pieque interest, prominently, what causes the Spaghetti Monster to do these things, and can Cohle and Hart stop it?
Odds and Ends
Rust returns to Louisiana after an eight year hiatus in Alaska working fishing boats and bars. He picks up the Lang investigation again with one of the boys suspected of being molested. Several things:
- Another reference to the spaghetti monster with scars on his face
- Marie Fontenault saw the animal faces
2012
Hart's skeptical and ornery, but his indebtedness to Rust for the '95 shooting pulls him into Rust's investigation. Rust goes to the board of exposition for Marty's and our benefit....just long enough for Rust to share what he found in Tuttle's safe, pictures of blindfolded women in the woods surrounded by men in animal masks. Not only that but he shows Marty the video tape of something so gut wrenching that Cohle gives Marty the flask to steel himself before Marty yells and shuts it off before getting to the end.
Marty says a de facto farewell to Maggie. It's clear he doesn't have any connection to his daughters.
The video is enough for Marty to go full bore into the investigation, calling old friends, using his PI resources. They get another reference from a distantly related Ledoux to the scarfaced man. An older woman, possible a Tuttle domestic servant, implies spaghetti monster may be an illegitimate child from one of the Tuttle (Sam's granschild), given the scars by his father. She provides the name Childress as a possibility for the bastard. It's unclear if Sam is the father of Billy Lee.
The reports related to the Fountaineau case are signed off by a deputy who is now the sheriff of another parish, who also mentions a Childress (a sheriff invovled to the Fontaineau case) name in conversation with Hart. He stonewalls Hart from there, but Cohle takes over for some enhanced interrogation.
Papania and Gillbough (henceforth known as Fuck & Suck, per Marty) are driving around the bayou and encounter a man cutting the grass in a cemetary who they ask for directions. You can't help but think Cohle would have talked to this guy a bit longer. I wonder if this is the same guy Cohle and Hart talked to outside the school way back in the season. That guy also l had contracts to do the cemeteries and schools. (!)
(!)
First viewing: got an unsettled feeling about this, an I knew for sure Rust would've spent some time with this guy.
Second viewing: I almost missed it. I think we just met the killer (possibly the Yellow King if the YK is a human, rather than something they all worship). I thought that was a light blonde stubble on his face, but practically by accident I noticed it was scars.
I am cheating here, but I had to look it up. Lawnmower Man was indeed the same guy cutting grass from earlier in the season. The difference? He had a beard then.
Old Questions
- Did Marty and Rust arrest the right guy?
- Didn't arrest anyone. Shot the dude.
- Looking more and more like a big 'no'. And by arrest, we mean murder
- Rust points out Marty caused a lot of this by not murdering Ledoux
- What happened with Rust to put him where he is now?
- See above. Also ingesting drugs, chemicals via his undercover and narco work.
- I'm sure eating all those drugs with the biker gang didn't help
- Ending his partnership with Marty, frustrated at the roadblocks to what he believes is a case that should be reopened
- Drank and spent eight years of boats in Alaska
- What's the revival minster's involvement with the task force?
- Working for the Tuttle school/task force is spurned by Tuttle. They ended their relationship shortly after due to the photos he finds, and the Penn State-ish investigation
- It's more about the task force's connection to Tuttle to the Tuttle family to these rituals
- Oh, also, who is doing the murdering? Both in 1992 and 2012?
- Reggie Ledoux?
- Maybe not?
- Lawnmower man
- When will they reveal to us the 1992 murderer?
- It could be next week, it could be the finale, the way this is set up
- Episode Five. Maybe
- Thought we had it. But the end of episode seven appears to have shown us for real
- Is Marty's daughter going to bite it? Or disappear/get murdered by Ledoux 2012?
- Probably not. Marty has little to no contact with them and they seem to be leading relatively successful lives so far as a (medicated, but not starving) artist and an AmeriCorps volunteer.
- What seems more important is what happened to her when she was younger, and it increasingly seems like her grandfather molested her, being one of the "rich men who go to devil worship" and causing the drawings, Barbie placement, and her need for medication later in life.
- Are the new investigators looking into the shootout in the woods, or are they primarily focused on Cohle?
- It seems like the lie has little to do with the story going forward, except that the result is Ledoux is dead.
- This is what leaves the case open enough for Cohle to revisit it, and the cover up is what pulls Marty in long enough to show him what he has.
- What are the paper stocks in Rev. Tuttle's safe?
- Who is the father of the spaghetti monster?
- Ultimately, what is Carcosa? Is it a location?
- I think it is just the name for the location where they do the deeds.
- The domestic's cry about death not being the end is probably tied into the ritual
- The ritual may believe these girls pass on to another plan
- Carcosa, in the original Brose piece, is the setting for a being who returns to his town (I guess) after dying
- What is the sheriff's connection to Fontaineau and the Tuttles?
- What caused the scars?
- Who is the guy cutting grass? Who is his family, the one that's been around these parts for a looooong time?
- What is Senator Eddie Tuttle's involvement at this point?
- Will Rust's hallucinations come back?
- Did the YK folk do something to the boy that rendered him immobile? Or was this sleep paralysis?
- What are the green ears?
A lot has been made about the female characters of True Detective, or lack thereof. I think the environments the show is about and that the characters look naturally tend to be male dominated, especially in the 1995 flashbacks, so it would stand to reason that most significant characters are male.
Rust keeps bringing up "dead/missing women and children". True Detective has so far been a story about invisible victims, people who nobody cares about. Rust has been trying to "speak for those dead" to quote Homicide. It's a population that doesn't get attention because of poverty or location or both. It's difficult for a television show to explain the absence of something or show a negative. It's the notes you don't play, as Miles Davis says. It's the same problem Season Five of The Wire ran into. So while it's difficult to explain absence and show a negative, it's even harder for the audience to pick up on it, even when done correctly.
Additionally, it's no secret the show is about Rust and Marty. I believe everything else in the show is in the service of telling us about Rust and Marty. So the explanation for why a particular character may not receive as much attention as Rust or Marty is probably because the show is about Rust and Marty, rather than that character.
In short, if you are the sort of person who viewed The Wolf of Wall Street (or Goodfellas for that matter) as a glorification of the life, rather than an indictment via realistic depiction, then this is not the show for you.
Mini Mysteries
The show has done a good job since the first episode of putting out enough plot lines, raising enough questions and developing the two main characters enough that the show does not wholly hang on Who Killed Dora Lang? much like Twin Peaks built up enough story around Who Killed Laura Palmer? and the opposite of what The Killing did with Who Killed Rosie Larsen?
Every few episodes has had a mystery unfold for us. With the overarching question of these murders obviously spanning the series, though broken into two part, pre and post Ledoux, we've had other questions raised and answered such as
Who do they like for the murders? Ledoux
What was the showdown in the woods? Hart murdering Ledoux then Cohle covering up for him
What ultimately separated Hart and Cohle? Maggie
Who broke in to Rev. Tuttle's place and killed him? Cohle for the former, and likely his weird pagan circle for the latter.
And finally, we come to episode eight with much filled in, but enough questions raised to pieque interest, prominently, what causes the Spaghetti Monster to do these things, and can Cohle and Hart stop it?
Odds and Ends
- Rust makes a few more references to life being a circle, except now he's looking to tie it off
- The sheriff golfs with a gun strapped to his back
- Marty says he doesn't drink much anymore but we see him surfing Match.com with Jameson, or watching tv with a beer.
- Cohle and Hart have always been very different but they are living very similar lives at this point in 2012, shuttling themselves between work and home, without anyone else in their lives.
- Hart is doing a lot of Rust-esque investigations. Last week we saw a lot of characters resurface giving the series symmetry. This is another type of symmetry, if not tessellation.
- Hart's daughter and Rust both express interest in painting
- Treme had a Mardi Gras episode where Annie went into a rural area and it was all a bit weirder and creepier. It seems like it has some kissing cousin relationship to the sort of Mardi Gras that spurned these rituals apparently practiced by the Tuttle extended clan
- Hart & Cohle take a page from Tony Soprano and the Stugots from "Funhouse"
- Hurricanes again lead to chaos, lead to opportunity for these acts
- Rust is going to the electric chair if anyone gets hold of his storage locker, due to the Tuttle photos and video
- The former domestic servant flips out at the mention of Carcosa, not unlike other characters we've seen, and not unlike Chambers' characters who go insane after reading The Yellow King
- Him that eats time, hims robes it's a wind of invisible voices
- Death is not the end, rejoice.
- Parliament of Owls is one of the production stickers are the end. I've been into Twin Peaks lately
- The preview has a voice over "take off your mask" a quote from The Yellow King. The response is "I wear no mask". The implication is the YK's face is so horrifying that surely it must be a mask. Mr Spaghetti Monster Grass Cutter has quite a few scars.
- Marty never wanted to see something like the baby in the microwave again. But the video does just that
- The show, while being super weird and creepy, does not get gratuitous with these shots. The important thing in the scene is Marty's reactions, not the grotesque scene he is seeing. For all the grief True Detective gets about being gratuitous, this is a good counterargument
- Cohle has talked about the end of human existence and tying off the circle. Marty said so long to his wife. Reason enough to believe one or both will not make it out alive next week.
- Rust has some sort of knife/leatherman type thing hanging from his belt where his badge would be.
- When they're questioning the mechanic, Rust and Marty are back to looking like cops, talking to this guy, and Rust has his ledger. Just like old times.
Monday, February 24, 2014
Haunted Houses - True Detective
Okay here we go. Episode Six. The dots aren't so much connecting as converging.
2002
Marty and Rust are diverging at this point already, as indicated in the previous episode, and this week we see the events leading up to their split. A lot of characters from the first half of the series pop up again, creating a symmetry to the series.
Cohle
Cohle is still digging for information to see if the Yellow King killings are still covertly happening, and still pissing off everyone within the state of Louisiana. He questions
1) Father of a missing boy Rust suspects may be another victim of the Yellow King. The boy went to a Tuttle school which causes Rust to look into further
2) The, now former, currently alcoholic, tent revival preacher we saw in Episode Three, who lets him know he parted ways after finding photographs indicating boys are being "interfered" with, which the leadership (Tuttle) decided to handle internally, i.e. not handle.
3) The surviving girl who they pulled out of Ledoux's hideout in Episode Five. She is now mostly catatonic, but she responds to Rust enough to indicate there is a third man, a giant, who was the worst of all when it came to torture. This makes Rust think more than ever that the Yellow King is still out there.
3A) Cohle gives his theory to Marty and the major, linking Tuttle schools to the murders. The major tells him to steer clear of victims families. No need to create murders where there are no murders. Which Cohle technically follows. But, he goes and sees
4) Tuttle, who we saw trample on the original investigation under the guise of pulling it under the umbrella of anti-Christian crimes back in Episode Two. Rust speaks to Tuttle under the auspices of digging up some records he was unable to find from the individual administrators of the Tuttle schools. Rust knows he's not doing to get anything of use from Tuttle, and confirms this when Tuttle pretends to offer a clerk to help him under the caveat that they conveniently lost some records to flooding. Rather than be there to get records, Rust is probably there to get a read on Tuttle
When Cohle, having done the opposite of the spirit of the major's orders, is suspended for 30 days and 30 hours of counseling, which even Marty thinks his harsh. Rust goes on hiatus from the Five O.
Marty
Marty beats up the boys his daughter was with, telling them prison is not going to treat them well.
Living the family life and running running family-type errands, he runs into the girl from the Bunny Ranch back in Episode Two, now a sales associate at T-Mobile, and looking remarkably like Lisa. She sees him at the bar across the strip mall, probably not coincidentally, which leads to them talking, catching up, and banging.
His brand new T-Mobile phone accepts pictures because its 2002. Unfortunately it does not have a keyguard and Maggie finds the pictures after she becomes suspicious about Marty washing his own clothes. She goes to revenge bang some dude in a bar. She can't go through with it.
Final Countdown
Rust gets a confession from a mother who keeps killing her kids. He helpfully suggests she commit suicide, as prison will not treat her well.
Maggie settles on revenge banging Rust instead in a setting that recalls Rust mowing the lawn. She tells Marty.
Marty attacks Rust, currently suspended, in the parking lot. They have it out. The post fight breakdown in the major's office concludes with Rust resigning.
2012
We get a POV from Maggie as well, as the detectives try to get to the root of the Rust-Marty split. She doesn't provide any information. Nor does Marty. The only thing Maty gives the detectives is he mentions a case that may speak to Rust's state of mind (the aforementioned mother). It seems like the sort of thing that may be plausible enough for a cop to believe, without giving them any useful information.
We find out that Tuttle overdosed in 2010, following two unreported break ins at his residences.
Marty winds up leaving the interview unimpressed and tired of these detectives. Rust catches up with Marty on the side of the road and they go off to get a beer.
Thoughts
2002
Marty and Rust are diverging at this point already, as indicated in the previous episode, and this week we see the events leading up to their split. A lot of characters from the first half of the series pop up again, creating a symmetry to the series.
Cohle
Cohle is still digging for information to see if the Yellow King killings are still covertly happening, and still pissing off everyone within the state of Louisiana. He questions
1) Father of a missing boy Rust suspects may be another victim of the Yellow King. The boy went to a Tuttle school which causes Rust to look into further
2) The, now former, currently alcoholic, tent revival preacher we saw in Episode Three, who lets him know he parted ways after finding photographs indicating boys are being "interfered" with, which the leadership (Tuttle) decided to handle internally, i.e. not handle.
3) The surviving girl who they pulled out of Ledoux's hideout in Episode Five. She is now mostly catatonic, but she responds to Rust enough to indicate there is a third man, a giant, who was the worst of all when it came to torture. This makes Rust think more than ever that the Yellow King is still out there.
3A) Cohle gives his theory to Marty and the major, linking Tuttle schools to the murders. The major tells him to steer clear of victims families. No need to create murders where there are no murders. Which Cohle technically follows. But, he goes and sees
4) Tuttle, who we saw trample on the original investigation under the guise of pulling it under the umbrella of anti-Christian crimes back in Episode Two. Rust speaks to Tuttle under the auspices of digging up some records he was unable to find from the individual administrators of the Tuttle schools. Rust knows he's not doing to get anything of use from Tuttle, and confirms this when Tuttle pretends to offer a clerk to help him under the caveat that they conveniently lost some records to flooding. Rather than be there to get records, Rust is probably there to get a read on Tuttle
When Cohle, having done the opposite of the spirit of the major's orders, is suspended for 30 days and 30 hours of counseling, which even Marty thinks his harsh. Rust goes on hiatus from the Five O.
Marty
Marty beats up the boys his daughter was with, telling them prison is not going to treat them well.
Living the family life and running running family-type errands, he runs into the girl from the Bunny Ranch back in Episode Two, now a sales associate at T-Mobile, and looking remarkably like Lisa. She sees him at the bar across the strip mall, probably not coincidentally, which leads to them talking, catching up, and banging.
His brand new T-Mobile phone accepts pictures because its 2002. Unfortunately it does not have a keyguard and Maggie finds the pictures after she becomes suspicious about Marty washing his own clothes. She goes to revenge bang some dude in a bar. She can't go through with it.
Final Countdown
Rust gets a confession from a mother who keeps killing her kids. He helpfully suggests she commit suicide, as prison will not treat her well.
Maggie settles on revenge banging Rust instead in a setting that recalls Rust mowing the lawn. She tells Marty.
Marty attacks Rust, currently suspended, in the parking lot. They have it out. The post fight breakdown in the major's office concludes with Rust resigning.
2012
We get a POV from Maggie as well, as the detectives try to get to the root of the Rust-Marty split. She doesn't provide any information. Nor does Marty. The only thing Maty gives the detectives is he mentions a case that may speak to Rust's state of mind (the aforementioned mother). It seems like the sort of thing that may be plausible enough for a cop to believe, without giving them any useful information.
We find out that Tuttle overdosed in 2010, following two unreported break ins at his residences.
Marty winds up leaving the interview unimpressed and tired of these detectives. Rust catches up with Marty on the side of the road and they go off to get a beer.
Thoughts
- Marty and Cohle have been together in the past and separate in the future. At this point in the story, that is reverse, as their partnership ends in 2002, and they meet back up for the first time in 2012.
- I think 2002Marty's daughters are watching The Simple Life (Dumb blondes in cracker country) EDIT: Probably not, that show debuted in 2003
- Marty gave the girl (Beth) at the Bunny Ranch $20, which Rust posited was a down payment. Turns out, that was the case. She clearly feels indebted to him, along with some other issues. Beth is aware of Marty's family because of his errands
- Two very clear shots of devil and angel figurines in Beth's apartment
- We as the Tralmafadorians viewing this get to see Rust's suggestion to the SIDS mother, something no one else is aware of besides Rust. We don't know if the mother followed through or not, but it brings to mind the secret phone call that leads to the Yellow King informant-wannabe killing himself (which the 2012Detectives believe Rust made).
- Where do they find these girls?
- I hope we get to see The Giant. Perhaps a nod to Twin Peaks?
- Sad to see the captain replaced by the major. Big fan of the actor,Kevin Dunn. But there needs to be someone who likes Cohle even less to jump to the suspension.
- Man, Marty got that mad about Rust mowing his lawn. No surprise he lost his mind.
- Rust's tailight which was broken during the fight with Marty is still broken, ten years later, when we see him drive off at the end of the episode.
- Those wounds are still open
- Reggie Ledoux is not even mentioned by name.
- Rust could actually think he is looking out for the SIDS mom in a twisted way. But there's also always been a premium placed on saving kids in this series, and this could be just an unforgivable sin in Rust's eyes, wanting to exact justice, her death, in some direct way.
- They way he says it is so unexpected
- Both Beth and Maggie order dirty martinis. Maggie's is "extra" dirty
- Will the show stick with this format, telling the story entirely through interviews with Marty and Rust?
- So far, but if we wrap up the old case next week I wouldn't be surprised if there's a shift afterwards.
- Would not be surprised is Marty walks out of the interview. He seems more uneasy with everything. Cohle seems to be more at peace and willing to stick to his story, even as they catch some lies, willing to accept whatever consequences come his way...even though he's the one they're looking at.
- Turns out it is Cohle who walks out once he sees the thin file and learns he is a suspect. Nothing more for him to gain. Cohle went in there with a specific objective, and accomplished it
- Marty and Rust have both ended the interviews. Maggie is interviewed, but not taped, so we don't get a date stamp. She's as reticent as Rust and Marty to tell them anything they don't already know, including her relations with Rust.
- Who is the mean looking old man uniform cop? He stormed into the major's office (through Marty who muttered "...dick...") and slammed the door, stood prevalently at the press conference and ushered the reverend around.
- Still unnamed, but he is in the room when Rust is suspended. It's unclear his actual rank, but his pull and political positioning is enough to put him there, unquestioned by anyone.
- This is the second time he's popped up in a situation directly related to Tuttle.
- I've been wondering what he's said to the captain when he ran in after Marty, and now I imagine it was something about Tuttle.
- Did Marty and Rust arrest the right guy?
- Didn't arrest anyone. Shot the dude.
- Looking more and more like a big 'no'. And by arrest, we mean murder
- What caused the split between Marty and Rust after a seven year partnership?
- Ultimately, the fist fight in the parking lot, directly spurned from Maggie banging Rust and telling Marty, spurning from Marty banging Beth. spurning from him giving her a twenty seven years prior
- What happened with Rust to put him where he is now?
- See above. Also ingesting drugs, chemicals via his undercover and narco work.
- I'm sure eating all those drugs with the biker gang didn't help
- Ending his partnership with Marty, frustrated at the roadblocks to what he believes is a case that should be reopened
- Where is Marty's wife in 2012?
- Not with Marty, fo sho.
- What's the revival minster's involvement with the task force?
- Working for the Tuttle school/task force is spurned by Tuttle. They ended their relationship shortly after due to the photos he finds, and the Penn State-ish investigation
- What evidence has Rust gathered over the last ten years?
- What did Tuttle know and when did he know it?
- Was the boy found at Ledoux's connected to the Tuttle schools?
- Just how Penn State are the Tuttle schools?
- What is the connection between the Yellow King and Tuttle?
- Did Rust murder Tuttle?
- More from last week's episode, but what was it that happened with Marty's daughter to result in the drawings, Barbies and now the dudes in the car?
Tuesday, February 18, 2014
The Secret Fate of All Things - True Detective
Episode Five (only three more!)
"The Secret Fate of All Things"
I write these timeline updates for my own sake more than anything, as I find it helps me put the pieces together.
1995
A meeting brokered by Ginger with the Jesse Pinkman of mid 90s Louisiana, Reggie Ledoux's assistant cook, renders little. Except for the chance to tail the guy to his hideout. Cohle irritates Hart even as they dodge booby traps surrounding the stick sculpture laden hideout. Getting the drop on Ledoux, Cohle identifies himself as a police officer, gets Ledoux on the ground and handcuffs him, while Ledoux spouts some Carcosa-related nonsense. Cohle asks him about the antlers to which he gets no response.
Hart pokes around until he finds some starving slave children locked away and decides to blow Ledoux's head off, circumventing the judicial system. This is unfortunate. Jesse Pinkman tries to escape but trips his own booby trap and his body is separated into two large parts, with many other smaller parts, rather than the normal version of his body which is one large structure.
Hart and Cohle go about setting the scene to make it look like they faced heavy fire to justify the shooting, along with concocting the plan for why they could not call for back up and generally getting their stories straight. They are greeted as heroes and even the CO is congratulatory of Cohle. No one thinks twice about it.
Marty and his wife begin to reconcile. Cohle meets a woman who manages his nonsense well.
2002
We have a new timeframe to add to the mix. This may be in addition to 1995 or it may be in place of 1995 going forward.
Marty's oldest daughter is dressing very goth-ish and being a general pain to him.
Cohle's reputation as the master interrogator brings him to be called in like a closer in a baseball game to get a confession out of whoever the cops can't get over the hump for the admission of guilt. One subject in a double murder confesses and then immediately looks to make a deal in exchange for telling Cohle about the real Dora Lang killer who is, according to him, still out there murdering. Cohle brushes this off but when the guy mentions the Yellow King, it opens the old wounds and Cohle begins smacking the guy around until the other cops pull him off.
Cohle enlists Marty to help him run down this lead. It appears they are still partners, as their desks remain across from one another. The suspect commits suicide shortly thereafter. He opens his wrists on his cell's bed frame after fielding a call from, ostensibly, his lawyer. Which is obviously a lie as the call is from a payphone in the middle of no where.
Cohle begins retracing his steps through the investigation, going back to the shuttered school where they got some guidance from a guy cutting the grass. He finds that either someone has returned to this location or the stick sculptures are breeding.
2012
The questions from the detectives get more pointed and they get more dialogue than ever before. Rust continues to push to see their file on the new murder and they continue to push Rust about his comings and goings. The barren file leaves Rust dissapointed and feeling his time is wasted. This coincides with the detectives actively pointing the finger at him. With nothing else to gain, Rust walks out.
This was more a background interview than interrogation considering how little they have to go on. But it's clear they find Cohle's tale more specious than anyone ever before. The detectives are trying to feel Cohle out and hope he messes up, while Cohle is trying to pull any information possible from the detectives about the fresh case.
In the end, Cohle spends a day talking a lot about nothing and giving the detectives nothing. Not that it would be admissable anyways, dudes been pounding beers all morning*. However, he now knows exactly how lost and hopeless they are on this case, and they they like him for the murders. The big reveal before he walks is that he's been hanging around murder scenes a lot lately. Cohle 1, Detectives 0.
* For those criticizing the dialogue in these scenes, Cohle is basically filibustering without letting them know he is filibustering. One of those criticisms where what you see on screen is clearly a conscious choice of the author, done to bring about a certain result. Criticizing before seeing the picture is one of the biggest faults of television writing there is. The criticisms of the show in general seem to be a result of it not being in line with the the preferences of the individual, rather than stemming from well founded opinions on the state of the storytelling or development of the characters. It harkens back to my biggest criticism of television discussion: a show/series not meeting your personal expectations or taste is in no way indicative of the quality of the show/series. It is why I don't presume to review or critique (both are prone to bias of personal opinions/preferences, as well as difficult to do piecemeal) shows, but rather observe and discuss. Besides, some people are only happy when their miserable. A friend and former food server, commented once about complaining restaurant diners, stating simply "some people go out to have a bad time" and I think that's the crux of much criticism directed at a show like this.
The interview with Marty goes similarly, and he resists any suggestion that Cohle may have something to do with the murders. But he stays. And chuckles, letting the detectives know Cohle got one over on them.
Odds and Ends
Ahhhhhhhhh!
Questions/Answers
"The Secret Fate of All Things"
I write these timeline updates for my own sake more than anything, as I find it helps me put the pieces together.
1995
A meeting brokered by Ginger with the Jesse Pinkman of mid 90s Louisiana, Reggie Ledoux's assistant cook, renders little. Except for the chance to tail the guy to his hideout. Cohle irritates Hart even as they dodge booby traps surrounding the stick sculpture laden hideout. Getting the drop on Ledoux, Cohle identifies himself as a police officer, gets Ledoux on the ground and handcuffs him, while Ledoux spouts some Carcosa-related nonsense. Cohle asks him about the antlers to which he gets no response.
Hart pokes around until he finds some starving slave children locked away and decides to blow Ledoux's head off, circumventing the judicial system. This is unfortunate. Jesse Pinkman tries to escape but trips his own booby trap and his body is separated into two large parts, with many other smaller parts, rather than the normal version of his body which is one large structure.
Hart and Cohle go about setting the scene to make it look like they faced heavy fire to justify the shooting, along with concocting the plan for why they could not call for back up and generally getting their stories straight. They are greeted as heroes and even the CO is congratulatory of Cohle. No one thinks twice about it.
Marty and his wife begin to reconcile. Cohle meets a woman who manages his nonsense well.
2002
We have a new timeframe to add to the mix. This may be in addition to 1995 or it may be in place of 1995 going forward.
Marty's oldest daughter is dressing very goth-ish and being a general pain to him.
Cohle's reputation as the master interrogator brings him to be called in like a closer in a baseball game to get a confession out of whoever the cops can't get over the hump for the admission of guilt. One subject in a double murder confesses and then immediately looks to make a deal in exchange for telling Cohle about the real Dora Lang killer who is, according to him, still out there murdering. Cohle brushes this off but when the guy mentions the Yellow King, it opens the old wounds and Cohle begins smacking the guy around until the other cops pull him off.
Cohle enlists Marty to help him run down this lead. It appears they are still partners, as their desks remain across from one another. The suspect commits suicide shortly thereafter. He opens his wrists on his cell's bed frame after fielding a call from, ostensibly, his lawyer. Which is obviously a lie as the call is from a payphone in the middle of no where.
Cohle begins retracing his steps through the investigation, going back to the shuttered school where they got some guidance from a guy cutting the grass. He finds that either someone has returned to this location or the stick sculptures are breeding.
2012
The questions from the detectives get more pointed and they get more dialogue than ever before. Rust continues to push to see their file on the new murder and they continue to push Rust about his comings and goings. The barren file leaves Rust dissapointed and feeling his time is wasted. This coincides with the detectives actively pointing the finger at him. With nothing else to gain, Rust walks out.
This was more a background interview than interrogation considering how little they have to go on. But it's clear they find Cohle's tale more specious than anyone ever before. The detectives are trying to feel Cohle out and hope he messes up, while Cohle is trying to pull any information possible from the detectives about the fresh case.
In the end, Cohle spends a day talking a lot about nothing and giving the detectives nothing. Not that it would be admissable anyways, dudes been pounding beers all morning*. However, he now knows exactly how lost and hopeless they are on this case, and they they like him for the murders. The big reveal before he walks is that he's been hanging around murder scenes a lot lately. Cohle 1, Detectives 0.
* For those criticizing the dialogue in these scenes, Cohle is basically filibustering without letting them know he is filibustering. One of those criticisms where what you see on screen is clearly a conscious choice of the author, done to bring about a certain result. Criticizing before seeing the picture is one of the biggest faults of television writing there is. The criticisms of the show in general seem to be a result of it not being in line with the the preferences of the individual, rather than stemming from well founded opinions on the state of the storytelling or development of the characters. It harkens back to my biggest criticism of television discussion: a show/series not meeting your personal expectations or taste is in no way indicative of the quality of the show/series. It is why I don't presume to review or critique (both are prone to bias of personal opinions/preferences, as well as difficult to do piecemeal) shows, but rather observe and discuss. Besides, some people are only happy when their miserable. A friend and former food server, commented once about complaining restaurant diners, stating simply "some people go out to have a bad time" and I think that's the crux of much criticism directed at a show like this.
The interview with Marty goes similarly, and he resists any suggestion that Cohle may have something to do with the murders. But he stays. And chuckles, letting the detectives know Cohle got one over on them.
Odds and Ends
- Robert Chambers' Yellow King causes insanity and suicide to many who encounter it.
- The mention of the Yellow King drives Cohle to immediately assault the suspect.
- The suspect commits suicide shortly after a phone call, perhaps from the so-called Yellow King
- Interestingly, it does not appear the detectives are going to pursue the largest lie of all, that Marty murdered Ledoux and he and Cohle covered it up.
- The 2012 detectives are constructing a narrative and asking them to buy in. A few episodes back Cohle commented on how their 1995 investigation was about constructing a narrative.
- The lack of response on the antlers is telling
- Ledoux sounded more like a follower than a leader when spouting his nonsense.
- The Ledoux shooting doesn't get a Rob Riggle "in the faaaace!" because his face was completely blown off. I don't think it can be in the face when the face is now gone. The face has to still be in place.
- Cohle isn't even upset at Marty, he's just kind of like "Well get the cuffs off him, let's figure this out"
- There is something to be said for their partnership, despite all their sniping. Even as they get going, Cohle irritates Hart to no end by putting down his "hunting".
- Hilarious moments like that are made more hilarious by the placement of a joke in such a non-jokey show.
- The King in Yellow wasn't enough. I have some physics reading to do.
- I vehemently do not believe there is any sort of 1:1 connection between Chambers' (or Bierce's or Lovecraft's) work, and the series. If the strongest connection is the oblique, vague references Chambers makes to the Yellow King and the oblique vague references Pizzolatto makes to it.
- Ledoux has to be dead in order for the new killings to be a mystery
- Reading Chambers has brought to mind Vonnegut, as has this series on occasion. Cohle is getting into the fourth dimension and multiple existences and the role time plays in that. I think he is a Tralfamadorian
- No one would doubt this guy is an alien
- Or maybe WE ARE THE TRALFAMADORIANS!*
- Possibly Rust knows he's a fictional character? Living the same story over and over, in syndication?
Ahhhhhhhhh!
Questions/Answers
- Will the show stick with this format, telling the story entirely through interviews with Marty and Rust?
- So far, but if we wrap up the old case next week I wouldn't be surprised if there's a shift afterwards.
- Would not be surprised is Marty walks out of the interview. He seems more uneasy with everything. Cohle seems to be more at peace and willing to stick to his story, even as they catch some lies, willing to accept whatever consequences come his way...even though he's the one they're looking at.
- Turns out it is Cohle who walks out once he sees the thin file and learns he is a suspect. Nothing more for him to gain. Cohle went in there with a specific objective, and accomplished it
- Is there a cover up that Marty and Rust are complicit in?
- They surely fed some lies to people to do Rust's UC work, and I'm sure they weren't the last fibs they spread in the interest of solving the case.
- Murdering Ledoux. They have a wild tail to cover that.
- What happened with Rust to put him where he is now?
- See above. Also ingesting drugs, chemicals via his undercover and narco work.
- I'm sure eating all those drugs with the biker gang didn't help
- Maybe this is an act? He's going on and off the grid conducting his rogue investigation. Maybe he is under freaking cover again. It could be anything.
- Will Marty and Rust have differing accounts?
- So far they are covering different ground it seems, rather than giving accounts from different perspectives on the same particular events.
- Even as they start to point the finger at Cohle, it seems like Marty will stick to the story. If not for some shred of loyalty remaining to Cohle, but to avoid implicating himself.
- Nope! They have this practiced. They practically make the same sound effects.
- It seemed like we should take what they are saying at face value. How reliable are the narrators?
- Hmm. Well we have the first fib we're aware of, with Cohle's alibi. Now he's getting into his survivalist dad, and while it sounds plausible it seems like anything related to this has to be taken with a grain of salt
- Reading The King in Yellow, particularly the first story "The Repairer of Reputations", unreliable narration has to be considered. The narrator in that story makes Arthur Anderson accounting look legit.
- Very unrelated, but making my way through this book it seems like Vonnegut took a lot of inspiration from it
- Little lies crack the stories throughout, until the big one where the dialogue from Hart and Cohle completely detaches from reality. They are in no way reliable narrators at this point.
- Many of the lies are based in truths. Cohle tells them he got a tip from an old CI on Ledoux's twenty. Which he did. Except he doesn't tell them about the rouge undercover stash house heist and Ginger kidnapping which led to it.
- What does the "throwdown in the woods" refer to?
- Apparently the marshals, troopers and Rust and Marty heading down to this meth lab of Reggie Ladue. Nothing like a Walter White whitey tightey gas mask get up to set the scene
- Nerp. Just Hart and Cohle sidestepping booby traps, murdering Ledoux, and covering their tracks with and epic story
- When will they reveal to us the 1992 murderer?
- It could be next week, it could be the finale, the way this is set up
- Unless there's some interesting timeline adjustments, Episode Four is a big week
- The revealed who is named as the murderer in 1992, Ledoux
- As far as everyone except for the two detectives, Cohle, and maybe Hart who simply doesn't want to believe it,this is the accepted truth
- The two detectives may not believe it was Ledoux, but that doesn't mean they have the right suspect now
- Oh, also, who is doing the murdering? Both in 1992 and 2012?
- Reggie Ledoux?
- Maybe not?
- Did Marty and Rust arrest the right guy?
- Didn't arrest anyone. Shot the dude.
- What caused the split between Marty and Rust after a seven year partnership?
- An 'altercation'. Possibly either staged by Cohle to give him a reason to go rogue, or sincere parting, possible due to Cohle's desire to re-open the case
- When will they reveal to us the 1992 murderer?
- It could be next week, it could be the finale, the way this is set up
- Episode Five. Maybe
- What does the crown symbolize?
- Are Cohle's hallucinations going to reappear?
- Is Marty's daughter going to bite it? Or disappear/get murdered by Ledoux 2012?
- Are the new investigators looking into the shootout in the woods, or are they primarily focused on Cohle?
- It seems like the lie has little to do with the story going forward, except that the result is Ledoux is dead.
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