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[Megalosaro]

I didnt care for mcconaughey's final scene. Felt too cliche. The "worldweary atheist comes to terms with the afterlife" thing is overplayed. I want a show where the atheist osnt some smug damaged guy.

 

[Cornballer]

Content Roundup - Episode 8 - Form and Void

Reviews:

- Sepinwall's review
- IGN review
- MTV review
- The New Republic
- NY Times on the finale
- Rolling Stone review
- Onion A|V Club review
- Poniewozik
- NY Mag
- Slate.com
- Alyssa Rosenberg for the Washington Post
- Maureen Ryan
- Nola.com
- IndieWire
- EW
- Newsday
- Paste Magazine
- TV Overmind
- CraveOnline
- Daily Best
- The Atlantic
- SJ Mercury News
- Zap2It
- Variety, Variety #2
- The Wire
- Warming Glow
- Think Progress
- NPR review
- Collider
- Matt Zoller Seitz with a long look at TD: The 7 Things That True Detective Was About
- Emily Nussbaum
- Andy Greenwald and other Grantland writers on the finale​

Videos

- Inside the Episode (youtube)
- The Altar
- Episode clip: "I am not ashamed"
- Episode clip: "This is the place"
- Closing credits song: "The Angry River" - The Hat, Father John Misty, & S. I. Istwa​

Other

- Sepinwall Interview: 'True Detective' creator Nic Pizzolatto looks back on season 1
- HBO episode synopsis
- Final lines from the show:

"You're looking at it wrong, the sky thing. "
"How's that?"
"Well, once there was only dark. If you ask me the light is winning.”

- GIFs from Warming Glow
- GIFs from NY Mag
- Slate.com: Here Is Rust’s Final Speech From True Detective (transcription of the final scene)
- A few promo pics and other content from the darknessbecomesyou website
- Closing credits song: "The Angry River" - The Hat, Father John Misty, & S. I. Istwa (available on iTunes)
- Variety: True Detective Finale Overwhelms HBO Go
- Daily Beast: True Detective’s Red Herring: Actress Erin Moriarty, Who Plays Marty’s Daughter, Tells All
- IndieWire: Say Goodbye To 'True Detective' With All The Music From The Series
- Rolling Stone: 5 Things We Learned From 'True Detective'

Gifs:

- Onion A|V Club's "For our consideration" feature: Into the void: True Detective’s (completely necessary) ridiculousness
- Film Critic Hulk on True Detective
- NY Mag: Was There a Hidden Comic Book Homage in the True Detective Finale?
- NY Mag Interview: True Detective’s Glenn Fleshler on Playing Lawn-Mowing Monster Errol Childress
- NY Mag: True Detective’s Production Designer on the Finale’s Mazelike Fort
- NY Mag: True Detective Director Cary Fukunaga on the Season-1 Finale and Why So Many ‘Clues’ Aren’t Addressed
- Slate: Interview with the TD costume designer Jenny Eagan
- Variety: ‘True Detective’: Where Things Stand with Season 2​

 

[HalfBakedProphet]

Felt too cliche. The "worldweary atheist comes to terms with the afterlife" thing is overplayed.

name me five other tv shows main characters which are atheists, and which among them came to believe in the afterlife?

Edit: Greg House (first one that came to my head) was atheist but he sure as fuck didn't believe in an afterlife. Point is, I don't think its nearly as cliche as you claim. Atheist main characters on tv arent exactly a dime a dozen

 

[arab]

awesome show great job

very tight finale. had me on the edge of my seat, ending had some unexpected occurrences (figured rust would be ded) but i am satisfied overall.

 

[jvm]

The show was a real treat. Thanks to all the thread regulars for making this a fun season.

Thanks, of course, to our host Cornballer. Great job.

Finally, can someone tell me what the tune was that Childress was whistling? I saw a post by Vire early this morning asking, but didn't see a reply. Thanks.

 

[big ander]

I didnt care for mcconaughey's final scene. Felt too cliche. The "worldweary atheist comes to terms with the afterlife" thing is overplayed. I want a show where the atheist osnt some smug damaged guy.

not what happened and it's not at all about "god"
Simply that nearly dying made him feel something again, and he realized that his armor of nihilism wasn't needed any longer. You can be spiritual without religion

 

[duckroll]

I didnt care for mcconaughey's final scene. Felt too cliche. The "worldweary atheist comes to terms with the afterlife" thing is overplayed. I want a show where the atheist osnt some smug damaged guy.

Any character which draws attention to the fact that he's an atheist and makes that a definitive part of his character trait, is generally by definition a smug damaged guy. It's the same for any belief system really. A character who is defined by their belief system and calls attention to it all the time, is going to be a judgmental person.

An atheist who is not a smug damaged person and functions normally instead would just be a normal person who never talks or thinks much about gods or the lack thereof. Since it wouldn't be a defining character trait, people would not view the character as an "atheist" even if it's a character who doesn't believe in religion.

 

[Ilúvatar]

Great show that stumbled hard right before the finish line. Was disappointed by what an elaborate background was established and never attended to. Did anyone pick up on the fact that one of the cops in '02 was a Childress?

 

[Cornballer]

- NY Mag Interview: True Detective’s Glenn Fleshler on Playing Lawn-Mowing Monster Errol Childress

Once you were cast, how did you start inhabiting Errol?

I think I first auditioned September of 2012, so it’s been about a year and a half of thinking about this guy, combing through the scripts and picking out all the information I could. [Series writer-creator] Nic [Pizzolatto] didn’t share an awful lot with me. I had started to Google all the Carcosa/Yellow King stuff, and a lot of video-game stuff came up, and I wasn’t familiar with those stories at all. He basically told me not to worry about it. The helpful thing he said was my mind was a hall of fun-house mirrors due to the years of abuse. So I tried to not think about the grand scheme too much and think about each individual moment and what was going on to make it as personal as I could. When I started to think about the actual life this guy lived, I remember working on the scripts late at night while my wife and baby were sleeping and crawling into bed with my wife and just being in tears 'cause it was so painful to think about the big picture.

But most of the work was spent on the detail. I did a lot of watching of the Andy Griffith shows, which were referenced in the original script, and some of the movies that were referenced. Those references changed as new drafts came in, but spending time on that and trying to hone the character. It’s this very tricky balance, because I think [series director] Cary Fukunaga was concerned it would come off like some classical actor, which I am. And as a kid, I was an impressionist, so I had that experience. And I think that’s very much the experience Errol has, a guy who had trouble speaking as a kid, who’s a product of inbreeding and a lot of abuse early in his life, so it was indicated that there was a cleft-palate kind of sound to his real speaking voice, so he probably spent a lot of time watching somewhat dated material. The original references in the script were piles of videotapes of things that were probably from the ’50s and ’60s, which is a sort of eerie touch, to keep him in another era.

Is Errol a more sophisticated psychopath or feral man-child?

It’s a combination of those things, because there is clearly damage there, and he is able to transport himself into different mythos. But he also has grown up in a culture of sexual abuse and ritualistic abuse, so it’s a labyrinthine mind-maze, if I can sound McConaughey-ish about it. To go into the details of what his life is like is like the Yellow King story itself. It’s too crazy.

It almost sounds as if you found sympathy for Errol.

Well, that’s the job. I had to get inside the guy’s skin, and I can’t judge him. And I think with [co-star in “Form and Void”] Ann Dowd, we found a childlike nature to [this] strange brother and sister living in this house, stuck in another era, full of rot. It’s like these two are kind of grown children left together, watching these old movies and living this perverse life. [Errol] isn’t the originator of this. I think that’s what’s implied in the line “My family’s been here a long, long time,” which ended the seventh episode, that this is a cycle of violence. That’s not to say he’s solely a victim, but that he is definitely a product of that cycle. And you can see by the scars on his face that he’s had it pretty bad himself. Not to say that justifies all of the behavior, but it’s definitely what he’s a product of. And the idea that he can kind of snap into different characters to be out in the world and hide in plain sight, those are things I do find relatable.

 

[The Artful Dodger]

- NY Mag Interview: True Detective’s Glenn Fleshler on Playing Lawn-Mowing Monster Errol Childress

Is anybody else still having a hard time hearing him speak in First person?

 

[Solo]

The thing that is going to make it incredibly difficult for any future season to top S1 is the highly unusual manner in which S1 was crafted. A television show written entirely by one voice, directed entirely by one hand, shot entirely by one set of eyes, and shot all in one go? Such cohesion on a TV show is damn near unheard of. And this was all before anyone knew the show was a dynamite smash hit. S1 really exists in a bubble in a lot of ways.

S2 has it's back against the wall from the outset. Sure, they still have a singular voice writing the thing going for them. But now, they face the challenges of shooting like a more traditional show. Multiple directors, multiple DPs, etc. And of course the biggest hurdle: now the show has lofty expectations attached to it.

 

[Messypandas]

 

[HalfBakedProphet]

The thing that is going to make it incredibly difficult for any future season to top S1 is the highly unusual manner in which S1 was crafted. A television show written entirely by one voice, directed entirely by one hand, shot entirely by one set of eyes, and shot all in one go? Such cohesion on a TV show is damn near unheard of. And this was all before anyone knew the show was a dynamite smash hit. S1 really exists in a bubble in a lot of ways.

S2 has it's back against the wall from the outset. Sure, they still have a singular voice writing the thing going for them. But now, they face the challenges of shooting like a more traditional show. Multiple directors, multiple DPs, etc. And of course the biggest hurdle: now the show has lofty expectations attached to it.

for sure. I'm not too worried about multiple directors. Pizzolatto (

Spoiler

pizza man, lulz

) is still the driving force, so think we'll still see a high level of cohesion overall. However this season definitely had its own feel separate from anything I've ever seen before. Will be interesting to see the direction the go in terms of atmosphere because that is one area that might be untouchable.

Getting the right actors will be key. I'm surprised no one in this thread has brought up their potential candidates for season 2 at all

 

[Anton Sugar]

The Orange King.

 

[SamVimes]

I didnt care for mcconaughey's final scene. Felt too cliche. The "worldweary atheist comes to terms with the afterlife" thing is overplayed.

That's not what happened.

 

[TTG]

Another thing I liked about the final scenes was the camaradarie between Marty and Rust. I had the feeling that they weren't going to part with a, "see you around" at the end anyway, but that was good. Having Marty come up with the tax records last week and the painted house this time around was key.

 

[Solo]

Great show that stumbled hard right before the finish line. Was disappointed by what an elaborate background was established and never attended to. Did anyone pick up on the fact that one of the cops in '02 was a Childress?

I think that was kind of the point. Marty/Rust even addressed this in the hospital. Rust is upset that they only got Childress, not the "sprawl" (which includes the Tuttle/Childress legacy of abduction/rape/ritualistic murder that may very likely still be occurring), and Marty says they never will, but they at least got "theres" (in taking down Childress and finally solving Dora Lange's murder).

 

[desbrisay]

That's not what happened.

Right. They way I saw it was he had a near death experience, they way he described it was how many people describe them, and it clearly put him in touch with his emotions regarding his daughter. It's not like he said "Now I know Jesus died for my sins."

 

[Net_Wrecker]

After a few hours to reflect on the finale and series on the whole:

5 > 4 > 1 > 3 > 2 >>> 8 >> 6 > 7

The string of those first 5 episodes is superb culminating in the amazingly tense undercover job in ep 4, then the perfectly executed Ledoux confrontation, faked shootout, timeskips in and out of the police questioning, then finally the major timeskip to 2002. After the show completely catches up to the most recent timeline, it falters a bit keeping the same tone as those first 5 eps, and loses something as the framework of 2012 Rust and Marty being interviewed is put to rest. The Ledoux investigation felt a lot more intriguing and intense, and brought more out of the characters, who are ultimately the focal point, than the stuff with Childress did (aside from the final scene), which I actually think harmed the show more than anything. I especially dislike the more detailed look into Errol where the show tries to get across how screwed up he is, but only manages to fall into "psycho Southern evil dude" thriller territory, and even had him spout ominous lines to himself at the end of episode 7. Contrast that with the super weird shot of Ledoux in a gas mask to end episode 3 that was also ominous but without all dat cheese.

So as much as True Detective wasn't about the case, it's the execution of the case in the final 3 episodes that tripped it up towards the end IMO. The saving grace is that through it all, Rust and Marty never became boring, and McConaughey and Harrelson never stopped delivering A+ performances. Tracking down Childress through Carcosa in the finale also brought everything back up to greatness dedicating a large part of the episode to simply following Rust through his wormhole, then ending on an great note outside of the hospital. ("Great" meaning the acting and wrapping up of the arc, not however I perceive the tone/message of the final scene to be)

I don't mind that they left parts of the overall case hanging in the air (as Marty says, they caught their guy), and I definitely was not looking for a twist (supernatural or otherwise), but it was more of a fancy lay-up than a monstrous dunk to end the season.

 

[TTG]

I think that was kind of the point. Marty/Rust even addressed this in the hospital. Rust is upset that they only got Childress, not the "sprawl" (which includes the Tuttle/Childress legacy of abduction/rape/ritualistic murder that may very likely still be occurring), and Marty says they never will, but they at least got "theres" (in taking down Childress and finally solving Dora Lange's murder).

I don't think anyone directly says that lawnmower dude is the last active remnant of the whole thing, but he is. The interval of time isn't obvious, so maybe that's where people are getting hung up. Marty and Rust didn't get everyone and Rust is upset about walking away from the killer in 1992(I think if he hadn't had that little ray of optimism this would really drive him up the wall), but they put a stop to the present day murders.

 

[Cornballer]

Joe Adalian:

BOOM: TRUE DETECTIVE ends with a series best 3.5M viewers-- up more than 50% from series premiere of 2.3M viewers. With replays: 4.9M

 

[NotTheGuyYouKill]

Joe Adalian:

Nice.

I think that was kind of the point. Marty/Rust even addressed this in the hospital. Rust is upset that they only got Childress, not the "sprawl" (which includes the Tuttle/Childress legacy of abduction/rape/ritualistic murder that may very likely still be occurring), and Marty says they never will, but they at least got "theres" (in taking down Childress and finally solving Dora Lange's murder).

I think there will be more repercussions after as well, if you think about it. The video tape of the murder is still out there. Errol is connected to law enforcement through his family. The Tuttle name is still linked to this case. For all we know, it's now permanently stained via the court of public opinion.

I'm reading the EW post-mortem with Nic. It's cool that he has the literary rights to Cohle and Hart. Maybe we'll see a novel with them one day. Also, it's interesting that Errol was leaving the messages on purpose for Rust and Marty so that they would find him and have a showdown with him. He wanted to die the entire time, and expose the Tuttles, and was still a complete psycho about it.

 

[trab pu kcip]

I didnt care for mcconaughey's final scene. Felt too cliche. The "worldweary atheist comes to terms with the afterlife" thing is overplayed. I want a show where the atheist osnt some smug damaged guy.

felt the same. I was a bit disappointed, not necessarily because he somehow managed to gain a more positive outlook concerning life/afterlife or whatever but this whole light/dark thing really came on a bit like standard hollywood crap, especially since all those clever and deep metaphors and themes the show had established before. I guess I was just expecting a bit more, or perhaps something a bit more subtle.
I can't say I didn't like the episode overall but it felt really different to me. build-up + contentwise.

 

[kmax]

Joe Adalian: BOOM: TRUE DETECTIVE ends with a series best 3.5M viewers-- up more than 50% from series premiere of 2.3M viewers. With replays: 4.9M

Season 2 can't come any sooner.

Come on Pizza, make it epic!

 

[Future PhaZe]

The thing that is going to make it incredibly difficult for any future season to top S1 is the highly unusual manner in which S1 was crafted. A television show written entirely by one voice, directed entirely by one hand, shot entirely by one set of eyes, and shot all in one go? Such cohesion on a TV show is damn near unheard of. And this was all before anyone knew the show was a dynamite smash hit. S1 really exists in a bubble in a lot of ways.

S2 has it's back against the wall from the outset. Sure, they still have a singular voice writing the thing going for them. But now, they face the challenges of shooting like a more traditional show. Multiple directors, multiple DPs, etc. And of course the biggest hurdle: now the show has lofty expectations attached to it.

I'd argue that Matt and Woodey were responsible for a huge chunk of the shows quality. As cohesive a project as it was--none of it means anything without Matt and Woodey killing it.

I'd actually argue that from a simple plot standpoint they can likely find more intriguing and engaging storylines.

If S2 suffers at all it will almost certainly be due to a significant decrease in acting talent imo

 

[trab pu kcip]

I'd argue that Matt and Woodey were responsible for a huge chunk of the shows quality. As cohesive a project as it was--none of it means anything without Matt and Woodey killing it.

I'd actually argue that from a simple plot standpoint they can likely find more intriguing and engaging storylines.

If S2 suffers at all it will almost certainly be due to a significant decrease in acting talent imo

agreed.

 

[Cornballer]

- HBO via TVbtN:

Last night's True Detective finale earned a series-best 3.5 million viewers for its 9PM airing. Across two plays, the finale drew 4.9 million for the night. Per HBO, True Detective averaged 11 Million total viewers over the season across all airings plus DVR and On Demand.

Also:

@TVMoJoe: From HBO: Across all platforms and with replays, TRUE DETECTIVE averaged 11M viewers-- the best for a frosh HBO series since SIX FEET UNDER

 

[HalfBakedProphet]

I'm reading the EW post-mortem with Nic. It's cool that he has the literary rights to Cohle and Hart.

The way McConaughey was talking (and the foreshadowing in ep 7), I was sure Rust was a goner. I'm really happy that wasn't the case. I'd love to get more of the character in a different medium.

Spoiler

a Telltale game akin to The Wolf Among Us featuring Rust

 

[not psycho]

I didnt care for mcconaughey's final scene. Felt too cliche. The "worldweary atheist comes to terms with the afterlife" thing is overplayed. I want a show where the atheist osnt some smug damaged guy.

I didn't see it that way. I saw it as Rust being honest with himself, as usual. It's like when some people thought Maggie was being treated as though she caused what happened all on her own, and then Rust himself said it was his choice instead of shirking responsibility. It would be dishonest for him to deny his experience. So he felt a sense of love and didn't want to wake up. That doesn't say there is an afterlife. And even if he did end up believing in an afterlife (my take is that he still doesn't at all) he's the kind of guy who could simultaneously analyze that belief as being the product of powerful emotions (which he never pretended to be immune to).

 

[Solo]

Joe Adalian:

We are in Carcosa now. All 3,500,000 of us.

 

[btrboyev]

I didnt care for mcconaughey's final scene. Felt too cliche. The "worldweary atheist comes to terms with the afterlife" thing is overplayed. I want a show where the atheist osnt some smug damaged guy.

That's not what that was at all. He didn't all of a sudden believe in an afterlife. He had years and years of built up shit going on and ending this case and almost dying broke him. It's not anything more than that. He clearly didn't deal with the death of his child the way normal people would.

 

[Solo]

I'd argue that Matt and Woodey were responsible for a huge chunk of the shows quality. As cohesive a project as it was--none of it means anything without Matt and Woodey killing it.

No doubt about it - I didn't even feel the need to state that point. We all know it and have been waxing poetic about their work for 2 months now.

Fukunaga is going to get HUGE after this too if there is any justice in this world.

 

[theaface]

All in all, a pretty fantastic series. McConaughey nailed his performance from start to finish.

Very much looking forward to the arrival of these to commemorate a great show...

 

[HalfBakedProphet]

Fukunaga is going to get HUGE after this too if there is any justice in this world.

worth noting that he's still planning on doing Stephen Kings IT. That shit could be bonkers with him at the helm

 

[NotTheGuyYouKill]

I figured it out.

Nic Pizzolato is the Yellow King.

 

[Nuke Soda]

Everything involving

Spoiler

the house

in last nights episode was super creepy, really great atmosphere.

 

[NotTheGuyYouKill]

Tumblr Round Up:

So many fucking feels

 

[TheOddOne]

Cary Grant really let himself go.

 

[The Artful Dodger]

Fukunaga is going to get HUGE after this too if there is any justice in this world.

I thought he was gonna blow up after Sin Nombre.

worth noting that he's still planning on doing Stephen Kings IT. That shit could be bonkers with him at the helm

Yeah it really can be. I think he's the kinda guy who isn't really motivated by the money, he's gonna pick projects that interest him, and good for him. We could use more big name filmmakers of that type.

 

[Count of Monte Sawed-Off]

Yeah it really can be. I think he's the kinda guy who isn't really motivated by the money, he's gonna pick projects that interest him, and good for him. We could use more big name filmmakers of that type.

Speaking of IT and your Avatar, when I finally read IT about 9 years ago I saw Walton Goggins as an adult Ben.

 

[Moppeh]

for sure. I'm not too worried about multiple directors. Pizzolatto (

Spoiler

pizza man, lulz

) is still the driving force, so think we'll still see a high level of cohesion overall. However this season definitely had its own feel separate from anything I've ever seen before. Will be interesting to see the direction the go in terms of atmosphere because that is one area that might be untouchable.

Getting the right actors will be key. I'm surprised no one in this thread has brought up their potential candidates for season 2 at all

Was this said in an interview or something? That's a uber bummer if that's true.

 

[trab pu kcip]

different theory:
when engulfed by darkness he felt this omnipresent force of love, right? so that makes death (=darkness) actually look quite positive, regardless of the more precise notion of an afterlife or not. so when referring to light (=life?), would it actually be possible that he meant it in a neutral or negative way? I mean he basically also said twice that he really shouldn't be "here" and so on. just because light (or life) is winning, doesn't mean it's a good thing per se, especially for someone as conflicted as rust.
but maybe that's just me digging to deep.

 

[-griffy-]

So what was the deal with the missing girl on the highway billboard? Misdirection?

What do you mean? That was one of the missing girls from the case. It was used as a visual for passage of time, appearing new in 1995, and old and worn down in 2002 (?). Also symbolising how the case had been forgotten and abandoned.

 

[HalfBakedProphet]

Was this said in an interview or something? That's a uber bummer if that's true.

Yeah. He said they would probably do the production in a more traditional manner with a different director for each episode.

Edit: cornballer has a link handy for EVERYTHING

 

[Cornballer]

Was this said in an interview or something? That's a uber bummer if that's true.

Yes. Buzzfeed interview.

Do you imagine working with one director again, and plot aside, can you give us any hints about a changed aesthetic?

NP: We don’t have any plans to work with one director again. It would be impossible to do this yearly as we need to be able to do post while we’re still filming, like any other show. There’s some great guys I’ve consulted, and we’re all confident we can achieve the same consistency. Going forward, I want the show’s aesthetic to remain determinedly naturalistic, with room for silences and vastness, and an emphasis on landscape and culture. And I hope a story that presents new characters in a new place with authenticity and resonance and an authorial voice consistent with this season. Dominant colors will change. South Louisiana was green and burnished gold.

 

[dead souls]

I'm reading so many troll comments like this all over the internet. It seriously bums me out.

First with Breaking Bad and now this show.

I hate people some times.

It's not a troll comment. I enjoyed parts of all the first seven episodes of this show and found the finale to be incredibly weak. It was a complete mess and makes me think less of the entire show.

 

[Socreges]

To those using the word "afterlife":

"And we were all, the three of us, just fading out. And all I had to do was let go. I said 'Darkness, yeaah.'"

Near-death experience, yes, but not a religious experience.

 

[The One Who Knocks]

I must say that I found the finale excellent in its execution. The lack of any unnecessary twists, the tight focus, and the adherence to the characters' arcs and show's themes resulted in this being extremely satisfactory for me.

 

[BenjaminBirdie]

All in all, a pretty fantastic series. McConaughey nailed his performance from start to finish.

Very much looking forward to the arrival of these to commemorate a great show...

AUGH HOW DID I MISS THESE

 

[Socreges]

It's not a troll comment. I enjoyed parts of all the first seven episodes of this show and found the finale to be incredibly weak. It was a complete mess and makes me think less of the entire show.

Drive-by posts like this, and especially the one he was responding to, can look like someone just wanting to draw a reaction. I'm curious, though, why you felt this way.