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True Detective - McConaughey/Harrelson crime series - S2 starts June 21st

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It felt rather cheap to me, especially the article title which was something along the lines of "Why That Scene in True Detective was Overrated." Buzzfeed quality click bait tactics. Even if you were uncomfortable with the content, it was a great scene on a technical and narrative level - nothing she wrote addressed that, and instead focused on other stuff. If you've been to the projects, specifically a gang run project, you know that's how it looks. If Cohle had helped a black gang infiltrate the white biker gang's trailer park it would have looked quite similar - automatic weapons, drugs, etc.

Honestly her article really seemed like white guilt to me, as if she tried her hardest to find a way to be offended by the portrayal of a gang set that happened to be black.

Yup. There are a lot of problems with portrayals of gangs and blacks in the media that wasn't one of them, in my opinion.

The scene was a coked up gang invading a black project to steal drugs and getting the hell out when things went south. I just don't know what kinda depth she was looking for or really what the problem was. Those kind of places exist. Those kinds of things happen (though will less flare) Especially in South Louisiana. It read more like she was upset these kinds of people exist and the show used them, using that to attack the portrayal.
 
Content Round Up - Episode 6 - Haunted Houses

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Reviews:
Videos:
Other:
- NY Mag interview: True Detective’s Michelle Monaghan on Maggie’s Big Moment and Connecting With Cohle
- Emily Nussbaum on TD for The New Yorker
- YahooTV: 'True Detective' Star Michelle Monaghan on Maggie's Predatory Turn and the Show's 'Shocking,' 'Disturbing' Resolution
- Slate: The Horrible Things That Men Do to Women - Yes, True Detective treats its female characters badly. That's the point.
- Music listings
- Alyssa Rosenberg: Why Men Should Want ‘True Detective’ To Have Great, Nuanced Female Characters
- Molly Lambert for Grantland: Her Looming Shadow Grows: The Complex Women of ‘True Detective’
- Maureen Ryan: 'True Detective,' Flat Circles And The Eternal Search For Meaning
- LA Times: Music and 'True Detective': A playlist of grim songs score HBO drama (includes a Spotify playlist with most of the music)

 
Random thought but I am starting to believe that the murders might have nothing to do with Tuttle's possible pedophile ring. It could be two different entities. One is a group of rich men who abuse children as has been hinted so far. Rev. Tuttle is obviously involved and it all goes back to him. But he's dead and Stephanie Kordish was strung up in the air with antlers on her head.

What if...there's a theme of the abused becoming abusers here. I got the idea from the scene where Marty slaps his daughter, and she hits her own sister on the way to her room. The killer could be one of Tuttle's victims. One that is now doing to women, what was done to him/her before.

Now to get into promo discussions (Ep 7 promo spoilers)
We see pictures of little girls in the forest, blindfolded and/or with crowns of antlers. Seems to me that whoever is abusing these girls came up with these rituals, and now someone is killing adult women using these elements as their M.O. One of the girls in the photos look pregnant. Maybe that's why the killer stabs women in the abdomen as part of his/her IMO. A twisted reference to abortion, or mimicking something that was done to that girl in the past.
 
Yup. There are a lot of problems with portrayals of gangs and blacks in the media that wasn't one of them, in my opinion.

The scene was a coked up gang invading a black project to steal drugs and getting the hell out when things went south. I just don't know what kinda depth she was looking for or really what the problem was. Those kind of places exist. Those kinds of things happen (though will less flare) Especially in South Louisiana. It read more like she was upset these kinds of people exist and the show used them, using that to attack the portrayal.
pretty much. Marty and Rust are cops dealing with the impoverished, the uneducated, the infirmed. Shocklying enough, low income neighborhoods in the South might include a portion of the black population.

There is a real world phenomenon police encounter after an extended time on the force. They can develop an exaggeratedly negative view on humanity because they only see the worst side of it. We are seeing the part of society some people are uncomfortable with or would like to pretend doesn't exist.
 
My brain can't handle the fact there are two episodes left. At this point I care less about who did it or if they even get justice, it's more about Rust's redemption.

But I guess it's been about that since his daughter died. And knowing this show there is none. But it continually surprises.
 
Haven't had a sadistic smile on my face while Marty was beating up that statutory kid since some of Dexters first victims.
 
It's refreshing to read articles about these subjects that are clear and reasoned, without coming off as hostile towards the creators of the fiction and its fans.

Great articles, both of them.

I am grateful for them because I've started to feel like the only woman (on tumblr, at least) who doesn't agree with the criticism that the show is misogynist and "problematic". Would I like it if the other female characters (aside from Maggie, who is a very rich and well-developed character) were more fleshed out? Of course. It's not like men are portrayed in a super positive light on this show, either. If anything, it's the opposite and that's part of the reason why I'm okay with it.

The New York Mag interview with Michelle Monaghan is great; I recommend reading it if you haven't.
 
I am grateful for them because I've started to feel like the only woman (on tumblr, at least) who doesn't agree with the criticism that the show is misogynist and "problematic". Would I like it if the other female characters (aside from Maggie, who is a very rich and well-developed character) were more fleshed out? Of course. It's not like men are portrayed in a super positive light on this show, either. If anything, it's the opposite and that's part of the reason why I'm okay with it.

The New York Mag interview with Michelle Monaghan is great; I recommend reading it if you haven't.

I think there is something to be said about the fact that the people behind the show see the women/victims as plot devices necessary to get the story moving.

But it's not really unique to this show. Every cop show uses women in the same way. Either they are nameless murder victims or they are traumatized rape victims who need the calm guiding hand of a male authority figure to save them.
 
does the lawn mower guy have scars on his face? hard to tell from the pic in that link.

I don't think the giant has scars on his face, she just freaked out when she started remembering what his face looked like. (And that Tuttle has to be the biggest guy we've encountered and has always been a no-brainer for obvious suspect #1).

But one of the great things about this show has been watching people try to turn the breadcrumbs back into bread and failing miserably. Myself included. So good.
 
Spoilers

Lawnmower guy is 100% involved since he's credited on imdb for 3 episodes: episode 3, 7 and 8 http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0281909/?ref_=tt_cl_t14

My general theory

Someone at that school involved the children in the class in their weird cult - this explains the old photos, why theyre all the way they are, finding all those old cobwebbed devil traps in the school. Tuttle shuts the school down to keep it under control. Going off the whole 'time is a flat circle, things are cyclical, etc', these people were so messed up by the events that they continued doing it to other kids - explains the two children found at the house. The girl that was sacrificed at the beginning was possibly wanting to get out or spill their secret so they killed her.
 
Who was that tall 'giant' important rich guy in the 1st episodes when the police chief is introducing him to Marty and Rusty? He was at least 4-5 incher taller than anyone in that group standing up. It was in the moment where he cites the anti-christian link the killings.
 
I'm generally a fan of the "less is more" / British approach to TV: less eps per season yields better quality overall.

But with two more eps to go, I'm wishing this show either had more eps per season or wasn't an anthology series. I think things could be expanded upon.

With that said, I am impressed with how smooth the writing moves between different years. There are several different years that the show discovers but I've never been confused about the chronology. I think that's harder to pull off than it looks.

Less challenging shows would flash the year on the screen during each scene, which is a cop out to make things easier on the viewer.

Serious McConaughey is best McConaughey
I know this has been repeated throughout this thread ... but it's crazy. I remember watching a bunch of romcoms starring MM a few years ago with my girlfriend. And I'd also groan when I found out he was in them. Just seemed like he was cashing in / totally uninterested in acting. And then something changed: Lincoln Lawyer, We Are Marshall, Mud. And within the past year: Dallas Buyers Club and True Detective.
He's a fuckinducking phenomenal actor.

It makes me wonder.

Did he just not care about serious acting until recently? Was it his agent's fault? Did he plan this all along?

I can't blame anyone for going for the money. But there are plenty of serious actors who've made money and become popular without selling out to rhe romcom genre.

The juxtaposition is just strange to me. Watch Failure to Launch and Fool's Gold and then watch True Detective.

What other actors have exhibited sudden changes in the quality and seriousness of their acting?
 
Who was that tall 'giant' important rich guy in the 1st episodes when the police chief is introducing him to Marty and Rusty? He was at least 4-5 incher taller than anyone in that group standing up. It was in the moment where he cites the anti-christian link the killings.

tuttle, the guy rust meets in 6
 
I'm generally a fan of the "less is more" / British approach to TV: less eps per season yields better quality overall.

But with two more eps to go, I'm wishing this show either had more eps per season or wasn't an anthology series. I think things could be expanded upon.

With that said, I am impressed with how smooth the writing moves between different years. There are several different years that the show discovers but I've never been confused about the chronology. I think that's harder to pull off than it looks.

Less challenging shows would flash the year on the screen during each scene, which is a cop out to make things easier on the viewer.


I know this has been repeated throughout this thread ... but it's crazy. I remember watching a bunch of romcoms starring MM a few years ago with my girlfriend. And I'd also groan when I found out he was in them. Just seemed like he was cashing in / totally uninterested in acting. And then something changed: Lincoln Lawyer, We Are Marshall, Mud. And within the past year: Dallas Buyers Club and True Detective.
He's a fuckinducking phenomenal actor.

It makes me wonder.

Did he just not care about serious acting until recently? Was it his agent's fault? Did he plan this all along?

I can't blame anyone for going for the money. But there are plenty of serious actors who've made money and become popular without selling out to rhe romcom genre.

The juxtaposition is just strange to me. Watch Failure to Launch and Fool's Gold and then watch True Detective.

What other actors have exhibited sudden changes in the quality and seriousness of their acting?

Jim Carrey
Tom Hanks


hmmmmm....season 2?
 
I need to rewatch the episode like usual. But I didn't understand why
Rust was quick to bang his wife? Just cuz he was drunk? And she only did it to have a reason to go back to Marty and tell him off? Shady shit, but I felt that was sort of a rushed story element?
 
It makes me wonder.

Did he just not care about serious acting until recently? Was it his agent's fault? Did he plan this all along?
As much as I hate to admit it I watched the interview with him on the Latifa show and it sort of goes into it, basically he wanted to change the shows he was being cast in and planned it out with his agent saying that he realized that things would be 'slim' for a few years since his typical roles would no longer be there for him (turned down by his agent).

It's worked out for him I think, I agree with you, I hated him in pretty much everything until the last year or so where he finally got roles that were a lot more complicated.

nb: the queen latifa show interview is on one of the previous pages in this thread, I don't have it handy.
 
I need to rewatch the episode like usual. But I didn't understand why
Rust was quick to bang his wife? Just cuz he was drunk? And she only did it to have a reason to go back to Marty and tell him off? Shady shit, but I felt that was sort of a rushed story element?

Drunk, Emotionally vulnerable after suspension, Not seeing anyone in a while.
 
Spoilers

Lawnmower guy is 100% involved since he's credited on imdb for 3 episodes: episode 3, 7 and 8 http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0281909/?ref_=tt_cl_t14

My general theory

Someone at that school involved the children in the class in their weird cult - this explains the old photos, why theyre all the way they are, finding all those old cobwebbed devil traps in the school. Tuttle shuts the school down to keep it under control. Going off the whole 'time is a flat circle, things are cyclical, etc', these people were so messed up by the events that they continued doing it to other kids - explains the two children found at the house. The girl that was sacrificed at the beginning was possibly wanting to get out or spill their secret so they killed her.

You don't need to spoil the theory.

But again, what does this do to explain the Yellow King. Who is that? What does the lawnmower man have to do with this, and why would powerful people help him. He's a lawnmower man for God's sake. From Francis I got that powerful people were actively helping him, not just covering it up like what you're suggesting.

Also...the guy in Audrey's drawing with the neck beard looks like the lawnmower man.
 
I think there is something to be said about the fact that the people behind the show see the women/victims as plot devices necessary to get the story moving.

But it's not really unique to this show. Every cop show uses women in the same way. Either they are nameless murder victims or they are traumatized rape victims who need the calm guiding hand of a male authority figure to save them.

I was going to say, that's pretty much every crime drama out there. Is it a little disappointing that True Detective does the same thing? Well, yeah. But if I let myself get upset about stuff like that all the time, I couldn't continue to enjoy watching crime dramas. People have made the same criticism regarding Hannibal, too.

That tweet from Pizzolatto makes me thinks things may change with next season, which would be awesome. I guess I'm just super sensitive to the criticism since I've been beaten over the head with it on tumblr and made to feel like I'm crazy because I don't have a problem with the show itself. I think a lot of people are missing the point and have jumped on the "True Detective is a misogynist show" bandwagon.
 
You don't need to spoil the theory.

But again, what does this do to explain the Yellow King. Who is that? What does the lawnmower man have to do with this, and why would powerful people help him. He's a lawnmower man for God's sake. From Francis I got that powerful people were actively helping him, not just covering it up like what you're suggesting.

I think all that stuff is just cult nonsense. The Yellow King is just whoever is in charge, same with stuff like wearing a crown of thorns or black stars.

I dont think Lawnmore guy is the yellow king, he might just be the muscle
 
You don't need to spoil the theory.

But again, what does this do to explain the Yellow King. Who is that? What does the lawnmower man have to do with this, and why would powerful people help him. He's a lawnmower man for God's sake. From Francis I got that powerful people were actively helping him, not just covering it up like what you're suggesting.

Also...the guy in Audrey's drawing with the neck beard looks like the lawnmower man.

But is he just a lawnmower man? Maybe it's just a hobby of his.
 
Someone at that school involved the children in the class in their weird cult - this explains the old photos, why theyre all the way they are, finding all those old cobwebbed devil traps in the school. Tuttle shuts the school down to keep it under control. Going off the whole 'time is a flat circle, things are cyclical, etc', these people were so messed up by the events that they continued doing it to other kids - explains the two children found at the house. The girl that was sacrificed at the beginning was possibly wanting to get out or spill their secret so they killed her.

That's what I think. Tuttle and his powerful friends abused children. And one of them became a serial killer because of it. Shit that could be why he and Ledoux knew each other. And these rich people had to protect him because they saw what he did, and that's why they kept it away from the public eye.
 
I think all that stuff is just cult nonsense. The Yellow King is just whoever is in charge, same with stuff like wearing a crown of thorns or black stars.

I dont think Lawnmore guy is the yellow king, he might just be the muscle

True

I am really hoping they actually explain the obsession with the antlers, black stars, devil traps, Carcosa, etc. I need to know.
 
That tweet from Pizzolatto makes me thinks things may change with next season, which would be awesome. I guess I'm just super sensitive to the criticism since I've been beaten over the head with it on tumblr and made to feel like I'm crazy because I don't have a problem with the show itself. I think a lot of people are missing the point and have jumped on the "True Detective is a misogynist show" bandwagon.

The next season is going to have nothing to do with this season. Its an anthology show. Each season is a separate story with similar themes and structure
 
That's what I think. Tuttle and his powerful friends abused children. And one of them became a serial killer because of it. Shit that could be why he and Ledoux knew each other. And these rich people had to protect him because they saw what he did, and that's why they kept it away from the public eye.

Wouldn't it be more logical in that case to get rid of the killer instead? Why protect him? If they're abusing children and covering it up, and one of the victims are starting to draw attention to this fact by murdering people in disturbing ways, why wouldn't they just secretly kill him and be done with it?
 
So a guy on Something Awful put this together: http://imgur.com/a/x4PSW

I think all the ties make a lot of sense, especially because all these things are found on Rust's wall of evidence in the preview.

SHIT-JUST-GOT-REAL-GIF.gif~c200


can't wait to see lawnmower man all sick and twisted, and his evil ass hideout. I think it be kind of cool if it turns out this way though it wouldn't shock me if the connections that make sense are just to take people along for a ride. We've seen Rust have a great read on people yet he passed over lawnmower quickly and without much thought.
 
SHIT-JUST-GOT-REAL-GIF.gif~c200


can't wait to see lawnmower man all sick and twisted, and his evil ass hideout. I think it be kind of cool if it turns out this way though it wouldn't shock me if the connections that make sense are just to take people along for a ride. We've seen Rust have a great read on people yet he passed over lawnmower quickly and without much thought.

Detective's curse.

I don't think that its just him though. I think there is a wider cult and abuse ring.

. The killer could be one of Tuttle's victims. One that is now doing to women, what was done to him/her before.
That just seems such like a law and order cliche
 
Wouldn't it be more logical in that case to get rid of the killer instead? Why protect him? If they're abusing children and covering it up, and one of the victims are starting to draw attention to this fact by murdering people in disturbing ways, why wouldn't they just secretly kill him and be done with it?

With all the victims they had, maybe they have no idea which one it is/lost track of them once they became adults. And that's why Tuttle created the taskforce. To try to find The Yellow King before anyone else.
 
Wouldn't it be more logical in that case to get rid of the killer instead? Why protect him? If they're abusing children and covering it up, and one of the victims are starting to draw attention to this fact by murdering people in disturbing ways, why wouldn't they just secretly kill him and be done with it?

Dead man's switch maybe? If he's killed, perhaps blackmail material he's got locked away becomes exposed.
 
Honestly, if the lawnmower man is involved...I may think a bit less of the show, simply because Rust was already with him, face-to-face, and didn't get any kind of bad read on him. He would have been close enough to see facial scarring, and if us mopes can make visual connections between the drawing and the lawnmower man, Rust should have had him locked up by now.
 
SHIT-JUST-GOT-REAL-GIF.gif~c200


We've seen Rust have a great read on people yet he passed over lawnmower quickly and without much thought.

It's a combination of luck and skill from the lawnmower's part. Rust got a pretty robust bs detector, but he didn't have enough time to grill the guy before he was called by Marty. Besides, the lawnmower's good at playing clueless.
 
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