quote:

---

Didn't he taste the aluminum in a previous episode right before having one of those visions?

---

The first episode in the car from leaving the scene.

I enjoyed. Incredibly intense moments when hunting the killer through Carcosa. Nice reveals with the Yellow King and the circle at the end. You can see how methed out addicts could have all kinds of crazy thoughts and experiences in that place.

And I enjoyed the growth of both the characters - Marty breaking down surrounded by his wife and kids, probably full of regret and longing; and Cohle, the pessimist, both philosophically and in the everyday sense of the word, feeling the warmth of his daughter and professing that the light is winning the war.

Very satisfying ending for me. I wasn't expecting a big twist and I'm kind of glad they didn't go that way with it. Just two deeply flawed characters, whose personal lives are terrible, making the world a little bit better for everybody else.

[This message has been edited by bendover (edited 3/9/2014 10:22p).]

I know individuals who have epileptic episodes ryoiw have a metallic taste in their mouth. Quite possible that Cohle has the same taste before his visions tske place. Usually this means something is going on with the synaptic neurons in your brain.

Loved it. Will probably re-watch Ep 8 tomorrow.

Cannot wait for season 2.

Wet fart for me...

I was hoping for something really mind bending....something to do with a MUCH bigger scale of involvement...a much more ominous ending.

I think it would have fit much better with the tone of the other episodes....rather than a hug it out ending.

Could not have asked for anything better.

From the chase through that stunning, haunting Carcosa set, to the showdown under the hole in the dome (where Rust's vision was so perfectly realized), to the final scene outside the hospital under the stars, I was just completely, utterly blow away.

For whatever reason, Fire in the Sky has always scared the living sh*t out of me. And that sweeping chase through all those tunnels felt so much like the abduction scene at the end of that movie. Had that same sense of heart-pounding creepiness, but in the best possible way.

The outcome of the plot/case itself didn't really surprise me, or anyone, it sounds like. What I didn't see coming, though, was where Rust's character arc ended. That was the surprise. And just so damn beautiful. I don't think I've ever teared up at a TV show, and I may or not have done so there at the end, as Rust was talking about feeling his daughter's warmth. What an amazing arc. At the very least, from a screenwriting perspective, it was a masterclass on how to write a character.

Eight episodes. After tonight, that's all it took for True Detective to become one of the greatest TV series I've ever seen.

The Golden Age of TV is over. Whatever's next began with this show.

[This message has been edited by TCTTS (edited 3/9/2014 10:46p).]

Really enjoyed the ending, was curious where it was going to go with the opening shots of Errol. Nothing too outlandish or ridiculous, I'm really interested to see what Season 2 has to offer as it'll have a lot to live up to and I can wholly imagine that a lot of people will be upset with the fact that it may be similar to this season or a completely different shift.

What was the song at the end? I loved it and want to hear more.

Cool show. Decent ending. I was hoping to see them take down Tuttle & Co. and get some justice done for the people they killed - that's just the way I like my shows/movies - but I get why it didn't end that way.

Geez. Season two is going to be a huge let down no matter who they cast.

How are they going to top those two?

I was let down. I don't understand Rust living. The real happy ending for him would have been death. Moreover, no real explanation as to all the followers of Carcosa and how they tie into this guy. Plus, if Marty's daughter wasn't involved, all of that sex stuff was too on point and trying too hard. Too many hard references to child predators to just throw away (ie Marty's wife saying girls had to learn about that stuff younger than boys IE LOTS OF PERVY OLDER DUDES THAT WILL DEFILE THEM). Liked the show overall, found the finale wanting. Def Lost like feeling.

Also, as promised, here's Pizzolatto's original 10-page pitch treatment for the series. Turns out, the descriptions for the final two episodes were pretty vague. But that "SEASON TWO AND FRANCHISE POTENTIAL" bit I mentioned earlier is pretty pretty interesting...

quote:

---

For example, season two could revolve around two female leads, say an I.A. investigator and a patrol officer, with two great film actresses, giving the narrative the chance to revisit its themes and concerns from the other side of the gender experience.

---

And just FYI, I'm not calling "exclusive" on this by any means, because who knows what they ultimately decide to go with, and a few others out there have this doc, but not many. Just making it clear that this info hasn't been widely circulated at all. It's just cool to see that's where Pizzolatto's head might be. Either way, the anticipation/hype for season two is going to be off the charts...

http://www.sendspace.com/file/k7r89n

[This message has been edited by TCTTS (edited 3/9/2014 11:09p).]

I kept thinking of captain Dan when Cohle said he shouldn't be here. Then when he talked about the warmth of being with his daughter, it broke my heart. My cousin died a couple of years ago. I think my aunt is just fine with being with him than being here.

So Reggie and DeWall were part of Errol's group of pedophiles and after they were killed Errol kept on going with some other pedophiles or by himself. The Tuttle schools in the Wellspring program were their favorite hunting grounds but eventually they moved onto other areas.

and Carcosa was the old brick fortress on the Tuttle property built maybe 100 years ago. It became the primary killing spot. But since the domestic had seen it maybe at one time it was for gatherings and so forth

quote:

---

For example, season two could revolve around two female leads, say an I.A. investigator and a patrol officer, with two great film actresses, giving the narrative the chance to revisit its themes and concerns from the other side of the gender experience.

---

Cate Blanchet and Reese witherspoon

Jeez. Which of those links is the download, and which ones will install computer AIDS

Interesting. Just scanning the treatment, looks like the original plan was to focus much more on gender relationships/issues between men and women.

Not sure if I would say that is what I took away as the primary focus.

I think and hope that because of the brilliant writing and acting, A-listers will be jumping at the chance for the next run.

Great ending. Really entertaining and intriguing 8 hours of television. Worth the investment in the plot and characters.

What I liked - Rust's sniper friend from the bar and Hart's half smile when he started shooting.
Rust and Hart living.
Lawn mower man scouting next victim.
Lawn mower man dying.
Hart's scene with his family.
The Father in Law had nothing to do with it.
Rust and Hart outside the hospital.
Rust describing his near death vision of his daughter.

Issues -
The daughter's drawings - red herring that should have been explained.
Who was the dead man tied up - a Tuttle or Childress.
Wish they'd unmasked those wearing masks like Scooby Doo.
Explained who in the police was covering it all up.

Rust talking about feeling his daughter and Dad made him realize that there's something supernatural powers at play. Then talks about light and dark. Early in the series he tells Marty there is no God people just die.

The man tied up ( being mummified, I think) was lawnmower man's dad so he'd be both. A Childress but an illegitimate Tuttle.

We knew they weren't going to wrap everything up in a nice little package. I'm happy with what they chose to answer and what they left unexplained. The show was about the two main characters and they definetly answered their "character" questions, I thought. A surprisingly, but believable, "upbeat" ending for Rust.

[This message has been edited by Wes97 (edited 3/9/2014 11:38p).]

quote:

---

Who was the dead man tied up - a Tuttle or Childress.

---

I believe that was his father. He said something along the lines of "daddy" while in the room with him.

And I absolutely loved the ending. What an amazing show.

Great finale, and a spectacular show.

Don't understand some of the light criticism I've heard on here. If you didn't appreciate the finale, you never really immersed yourself into the series. I could go on about why (multiple points to be made) but I'll hear out some of the critique and get back here soon. I have my base points though.

fantastic season

I'll bite...

I've watched every episode 2-3 times. I've poured over this thread, related articles, and have spent countless hours pondering this story.

The acting, directing, and cinematography were superb. No complaints whatsoever on those accounts from me.

I just felt that the ending was a bit underwhelming.

Other than the chase scene, I felt that the carefully and expertly crafted sense of dread took the easy way out.

One crazy killer. He was definetely a great character, but I feel that it could've been so much more.

While I'm too creeped out to venture into the source material of the Yellow King, I think this episode could've been truly frightening if we'd gotten a glimpse of something profoundly more sinister...something or someone driving the Lawn Mower man.

Through most of the episodes, I was left with a sense of unspeakable dread lurking just out of sight. Although morbidly curious, I was afraid to "peer into the void"...as it were

In the end, it was just a sick, crazy guy...and one presumes...his extended family.

But the darker underpinning was left unexplored.

I didn't need Marty and Rust to stumble upon a ritual and unmask protected politicos.

What I hoped for was a glimpse of something as disturbing...and unanswerable...as the overarching plot seemed to hint at it.

In short...I thought we'd get a glimpse of the devil himself...the true Yellow King and consumer of souls.

Then again...perhaps it's best I didn't see him...and pray he forever lurks in the shadows rather than show his face.

tl/dr....the finale wasn't nearly as creepy as what it seemed to be building to



[This message has been edited by GasPasser97 (edited 3/10/2014 12:08a).]

"Once there was only dark. If you ask me, the light is winning."

Thank God for that.

Fantastic episode and series. The ending after the fight scene was indeed underwhelming though. I wish they had combined the closing scene outside the hospital with the death scene in Carcosa and ended there. They could have left it vague where we don't know if the police get to them in time before they bled out -maybe senator Tuttle manages to obstruct the search. They could have shown in real time what Cohle was was feeling as he faced death. Powerful acting by MM assures the Emmy. I'm glad they brought the memory of his daughter back in to close it out.

quote:

---

One crazy killer. He was definetely a great character, but I feel that it could've been so much more.

While I'm too creeped out to venture into the source material of the Yellow King, I think this episode could've been truly frightening if we'd gotten a glimpse of something profoundly more sinister...something or someone driving the Lawn Mower man.

---

I get where you're coming from, but that's never what the show was truly about. Even before the pilot aired, Pizzolatto made it clear he wasn't interested in showcasing/examining that kind stuff. It wasn't about serial killers or mysterious cults. It was about two detectives; their journey as partners and their journey as individual characters. Plain and simple. In that sense, they absolutely stuck the landing.

quote:

---

Jeez. Which of those links is the download, and which ones will install computer AIDS

---

Sorry, it was the easiest / most hassle-free way of posting it. But it's pretty simple to figure out: "Click here to start download from sendspace."

[This message has been edited by TCTTS (edited 3/10/2014 12:33a).]

Wow. Sepinwall just put up a phenomenal post-finale interview with Pizzolatto. Some really great stuff in here, including an awesome little season two nugget (which sounds really cool, basically confirming the stuff in the treatment)...

http://www.hitfix.com/whats-alan-watching/true-detective-creator-nic-pizzolatto-looks-back-on-season-1/1

Honestly, Pizzolatto is starting to feel like he's cut from the same cloth as David Simon (creator of The Wire). Not as experienced, but just as smart, a little more pulpy, and maybe even a little more accessible, in his own strange way. Consider me a HUGE fan now. Will be following every move of this guy's career from here on out...

[This message has been edited by TCTTS (edited 3/10/2014 1:03a).]

From the Sepinwall interview. :

quote:

---

I don't know where you are in working on season 2, but has any of the reaction to this season informed what you're doing with the next?

Nic Pizzolatto: It's informed exactly one thing. It's that I realize I need to keep being strange. Don't play the next one straight.

Can you tell me anything at all about season 2?

Nic Pizzolatto: Okay. This is really early, but I'll tell you (it's about) hard women, bad men and the secret occult history of the United States transportation system.

---

In! Go ahead and start a season 2 official thread!

[This message has been edited by Internetfan02 (edited 3/10/2014 1:05a).]

And Pizzolatto directly smacks down my complaints on the ending. Whatevs. I still prefer a dark, mysterious ending but he makes his point.

quote:

---

The structure of the series means you could have done anything with the ending, up to and including killing the two leads, because you get a clean slate with the next season. Why did you choose this particular way to end the story?


Nic Pizzolatto: This is a story that began with its ending in mind, that Cohle would be articulating, without sentimentality or illusion, an actual kind of optimism. That line, you ask me, the light's winning, that was one of the key pieces of dialogue that existed at the very beginning of the series' conception. For me as a storyteller, I want to follow the characters and the story through what they organically demand. And it would have been the easiest thing in the world to kill one or both of these guys. I even had an idea where something more mysterious happened to them, where they vanished into the unknown and Gilbough and Papania had to clean up the mess and nobody knows what happens to them. Or it could have gone full blown supernatural. But I think both of those things would have been easy, and they would have denied the sort of realist questions the show had been asking all along. To retreat to the supernatural, or to take the easy dramatic route of killing a character in order to achieve an emotional response from the audience, I thought would have been a disservice to the story. What was more interesting to me is that both these men are left in a place of deliverance, a place where even Cohle might be able to acknowledge the possibility of grace in the world. Because one way both men were alike in their failures was that neither man could admit the possibility of grace. I don't mean that in a religious sense. Where we leave Cohle, this man hasn't made a 180 change or anything like that. He's moved maybe 5 degrees on the meter, but the optimistic metaphor he makes at the end, it's not sentimental; it's purely based on physics. Considering what these characters had been through, it seemed hard to me to work out a way where they both live and they both exit the show to live better lives beyond the boundaries of these eight episodes. Now they are going to go on and live forever beyond the margins of the show, and our sense, at least, is they haven't changed in any black to white way, but there is a sense that they have been delivered from the heart of darkness. They did not avert their eyes, whatever their failings as men. And that when they exit, they are in a different place.

---

quote:

---

and the secret occult history of the United States transportation system.

---

Male or female protagonist, I am ALL IN on that premise. I doubt they'll ever top Rust and Marty, but that backdrop, at least, definitely has the potential to eclipse the Louisiana stuff.

quote:

---

and the secret occult history of the United States transportation system.

---

What?