True Detective

As you may surmise from the title, today I want to talk about the show TrueDetective.

I became vaguely aware of the show through the internet, but I started watching after being encouraged to do so by a good friend.

I was hesitant going in, mainly due to the main cast namely MatthewMcConaughey and Woody Harrelson, but also because I'm a bit bored with police procedurals and serial killer shows.

Now, I like Mr. Harrelson well enough, but his roles tend towards either hippie weirdos or macho uber-men. Mr. McConaughey on the other hand is very well known for his many romantic comedies, which I really can't watch. His role in U-571 was pretty non standard for him at the time, but my friend urged me to put Mr. McConaugheys romcoms in the past and give True Detective a shot.

Boy am I glad I did. There is no romance or indeed any comedy anywhere to be seen.

Mild Spoilers Ahead

At it's most basic, True Detective is about two police detectives in Louisiana hunting an occult serial killer. The story is told in two time frames, 1995 and 2012. The main characters Rust Cohle (McConaughey) and Marty Hart (Harrelson) are being interviewed by other detectives in 2012 concerning their work hunting the killer back in '95. This is an unusual (at least for me) technique but it works very well, in a sense allowing the same characters to speak with two voices. Both Rust and Marty change considerably during the show, and this juxtaposition showcases the changes without resorting to info-dumping or leaving the viewer behind.

Another thing I should point out is that we have a strong case of Unreliable Narrator here. Both characters tell things from their perspectives and this can confuse things, particularly when they lie.

Now, you can watch True Detective just like any other cop show, but that would be foolish. This is not a show that should be watched casually. There are clues and foreshadowing aplenty throughout the season, and the more you notice the scarier it gets. I wouldn't go so far as to call this a horror show, but it's damn close.

You see, the occult part of the show concerns the Yellow King and Carcosa. If you've never read Robert W. Chambers book The King in Yellow and/or read the expanded Cthulhu Mythos started by H.P. Lovecraft, these names will mean nothing to you, but if you have, this show quickly gets really unnerving.

I'm not going to explain it all here, but the creator Nic Pizzolatto has created a show that works both as a regular TV show, but also as a “Cthulhu Investigation” familiar to fans of Lovecraft and Call of Cthulhu in all it's forms and shapes.

True Detective runs on two levels. One one hand it's about deranged people in a cult “just” molesting children and committing horrible murders, but on the other hand the whole cult part is real. They really are sacrificing people to otherworldly entities. Basically it's up to you what is true and what's not.

This reality blur is mainly expressed through Detective Cohle who sees things due to a damaged nervous system from his days deep under cover as a narcotics cop. In order to keep his cover intact he had to take copious amounts of drugs, which has either damaged his brain enough to make him hallucinate, or the drugs have enhanced his mind enough to see hidden things like ancient shamans. Again it's your call which reality is true.

This is a show that I'm going to have to re-watch just to see what I missed. Even a cursory search on this show will net you several pages of analyses and Easter eggs that are easily over looked.

As an example I completely failed to grasp the possible meaning behind Marty’s oldest daughter and the drastic changes she goes through, even though they are pretty text-book.

The over all feel of the show is oppressive, gloomy and spellbinding. The score is at times truly haunting and at no time did I get the feeling that I'd rather be doing something else. That said, this is a very heavy show, and not one to be taken lightly.

So, if this sounds appealing, go watch True Detective. Hell, even if you think I've just written seven-hundred plus words of complete drivel, go watch it anyway. Just keep kids away. This is Adult Country and not just for the nudity.

Until next year, take it easy!