At time of viewing, I thought he was multiple personality disorder, or some variant. That would explain some of the complexities involved with his crimes and elusiveness (one of the savvy personalities taking control).

But I read this and creator talked about the voice mimicry just being part of his fantasy escapism and interests -- he liked watching movies and learning characters.

http://popwatch.ew.com/2014/03/10/true-detective-post-mortem-creator-nic-pizzoletto-on-happy-endings-season-2-and-the-future-of-cohle-and-hart/

Rewatched with subtitles, made a big difference. MM has a tendency to mumble, and was able to hear what Errol was saying as he was drawing Cohle into his trap. Creepy stuff.

Second watching also showed both MM and WH putting on Emmy-worthy performances in the hospital. Everyone talks about MM's wheelchair scene, but WH's tranformation from emotionless tough guy trying to display that he has everything together to a broken, helpless, needful man who can now see that he's lost everything he cares about, was powerful.

I don't buy into Errol being an off-shoot of the legit family's rituals / cult / whatever. All those with memories of way back when remember the tall man with the scars. He was a major player back then (most likely the gatherer of sacrifices, due to access to schools and churches), and I think still is at time of his death. I think he was readying for another sacrifice while painting the school and got interrupted by Hart / Cohle's visit.

I was a little confused about one of his statements to his sister - he said "it had been weeks since he left his mark, should they have eyes to see it". Not sure what he is referring to since the scene at the bridge happened in 2010, hence the two detectives probing Cohle and Hart. Was it the mowing of the spiral / circle near the bayou, something else? Hart and Cohle came upon Errol through connecting the "green" dots, not from some clue left for them by Errol.

Returning yet again to the point of the daughter's sexual precociousness left hanging in the air: here is another inconsistency mentioned earlier in the thread--Why are some of the victims displayed in a public way? This conspiracy is supposedly all about hiding, covering up, concealing. The victims are "disappeared." So why are the crime scene in the first episode and the one from 2012 both public announcements that there is a crazy cult killer on the loose?

It is possible that Errol did those on his own, but the cult presumably would have killed him for that.

The only reason I can think of for the two public crime scenes is plot devices: the writer needed some way to start things off and then to restart things in 2012.

Mood and dialogue and (in terms of a very few of the characters) character development are the writer's strong points, but consistent plot development is not one.

Edit for wrong date.

[This message has been edited by OldArmy71 (edited 3/11/2014 10:36a).]

Can anyone explain the ending for someone that hasn't watched a second of the show? What's going on in the sky in that one picture people are posting everywhere? Did it suddenly turn into a sci-fi show?

No. Watch the show

OldArmy - I think the writer hinted that the public displays were done by Errol who wanted to get caught and killed, thus moving on to whatever cosmic dimension that the Yellow King had in store for the followers. It just took 17 years for the detectives to piece together his clues.

It's all a copy of E.T.

Rust saw something in outer space and Marty phoned home.

What crime scene from 2010? I thought lake Charles, the one the new detectives need help with was 2012? Cohle came back to Louisiana in 2010, before that they can't account for him for 8 years.

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I was a little confused about one of his statements to his sister - he said "it had been weeks since he left his mark, should they have eyes to see it".

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I figured he was foreshadowing the final encounter. That he was waiting for them. He starts his dialogue off talking about his ascension from the loop (flat circle of time), and at this point he's waiting and expecting the inevitable. It's almost like he knows what his fate is in the story, but believes that this time, he's going to be the victor.

I actually think that's why he drops the "take off your mask" line at the end. He's built this world based on being the Yellow King in Carcosa, and the story says that he would one day confront The Stranger. That's why he publicly killed some and not others. He was inviting someone to see the mark, and knew that those driven to obsession by it (Cohle, but I don't think he planned on Marty) would eventually find their way to him.

[This message has been edited by TelcoAg (edited 3/11/2014 9:28a).]

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Why are some of the victims displayed in a public way? This conspiracy is supposedly all about hiding, covering up, concealing. The victims are "disappeared." So why are the crime scene in the first episode and the one from 2010 both public announcements that there is a crazy cult killer on the loose?

It is possible that Errol did those on his own, but the cult presumably would have killed him for that.

The only reason I can think of for the two public crime scenes is plot devices: the writer needed some way to start things off and then to restart things in 2012.

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Thought this was strange as well

I actually just answered that, I think.

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Can anyone explain the ending for someone that hasn't watched a second of the show? What's going on in the sky in that one picture people are posting everywhere? Did it suddenly turn into a sci-fi show?

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Lolz

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I actually just answered that, I think.

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Yeah, I walked away from my desk while replying.

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Mood and dialogue and (in terms of a very few of the characters) character development are the writer's strong points, but consistent plot development is not one.

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Part of what makes this show interesting is us creating the narrative, but I'd agree that there were some parts that seemed to be handled lazily and we're forced to guess in spots like the time lapse where we shouldn't.

My best guess there would be that, after the first public display, Tuttle put some handcuffs on Errol to stop that. Errol wanted the confrontation, but the Tuttle's didn't.

So, Rust comes back in 2010, and in that time he finds the tape in Tuttle's house. We presume he was killed by others in the cult, or it was suicide. Either way, Tuttle's death is what I believe opened the door for Errol to go public again.

Unless I missed a line that hinted at that from Errol, then yeah, the writer screwed up a bit.

Rust's vision of the wormhole probably has something to do with the fact that 400 year from now, one of the Prophets will take human form, come to Louisiana, and give birth to their Emissary, Benjamin Sisko.

I assume the Tuttle clan is in league with the Pah Wraiths and the child murders are part of the plan to prevent the birth of the Emissary.

[This message has been edited by mgs (edited 3/11/2014 9:55a).]

Mazzag - looked back and you are right. Lake Charles happened in 2012, Rust returned to LA in 2010.

So maybe there was a short period of time (few weeks) between the Lake Charles crime scene and the Cohle/Hart interviews and then the final confrontation.

Thanks, Mazzag, I corrected the date.

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Rust's vision of the wormhole probably has something to do with the fact that 400 year from now, one of the Prophets will take human form, come to Louisiana, and give birth to their Emissary, Benjamin Sisko.

I assume the Tuttle clan is in league with the Pah Wraiths and the child murders are part of the plan to prevent the birth of the Emissary.

[This message has been edited by mgs (edited 3/11/2014 9:55a).]

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Dude that's the stupidest thing I ever heard. It's not a vision of one of the Prophets, it was Zuul, the Gatekeeper. He asked Cohle to choose the form of the Destroyer. Cohle tried to wipe his mind but all he could think about was the one thing from his childhood that could never hurt him. Hence why Gozer appeared in the form of the Redneck Marshmallow Man.

The Yellow King:



[This message has been edited by free_mhayden (edited 3/11/2014 10:05p).]

For those wanting more episodes like the biker gang episode, or those wanting Erol's character fleshed out more, those weren't what the show was about. It wasn't about action and it wasn't about a villain who needed lots of background. It was about the partnership, fake appearances, evil lurking among us, redemption, trust, evolution ( both good and bad) among other things. The villain and the action sequences were just vehicles to get through those themes. The thing that made the show great was that it was a psychological drama that effectively used crime as it's backdrop, because a twisted crime story was the best way to bring it all out.
Excited for another season.

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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.

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Couldn't have really said it better myself. Agree wholeheartedly. Will have to rewatch like others have mentioned with subtitles on for the Carcosa scene. Very gripping and very real. I'll have to see how Marty made the Green house/ green ears connection- I guess he was dirty from the paint?

And we did (briefly) see a bottle of LoneStar in the Marty's PI office when he made the green house connection.

I also find it unfathomably funny some of you are still discussing FIL, Cell phone coverage in LA, and the daughter. That's what reading every possible theory on the internet does. There are some interesting theories on 9/11 out there too...

Semi wrong emoticon- but that's ok

I also thought it was really poignant that as Cohle always reiterated that time was a circle and we would all continue in this cycle of pain, Cohle had the chance to completely feel his daughter's love again, only to have it taken it away again. The pain he feels outside the hospital at the end was like he was genuinely reliving the pain of losing her all over again....

dp....

Everything posted will be posted again....

[This message has been edited by Professor Frick (edited 3/12/2014 12:22a).]

@professor. Nice one.

The world needs bad posters...

An awesome compilation of Rust quotes.

http://m.ign.com/articles/2014/03/12/true-detective-13-rust-cohle-quotes-for-the-ages

Nice link, oragator.

At my kids field day. There is a dude mowing the yard on riding mower. Lawnmowerman?!

Ha...from oragator's link:



[This message has been edited by Baskin (edited 3/13/2014 3:12p).]

Loved the show! Best show I've seen by FAR! ...but I was underwhelmed by the ending as well.

I've read through every response here & I agree to an extent with some but disagree with some as well, my random thoughts here

The last 2 episodes were rushed IMO. Throughout the entire series we're being told about a "yellow king" with religious cult going on, "the carcosa", etc. There's so much mystique, depth & wonder of who is the Yellow King but in the end all we get is a dirty laborer that is a ******* child of a connected family that did the kidnapping/killings...whatever. That's it. Nothing else. He was the ONLY one that didn't wear a mask but that's all we get. (unsatisfying)

Rust was driven the entire series by the cover up. Who is behind it and why? THAT is what kept him going but in the end all we get is the dirty fat guy. There's no way Rust is 100% satisfied with that outcome. Marty? Maybe. Simply because he left something "undone" when they got the wrong guy.

With the whole daughter storyline. I'm in the group that was upset that we got no explanation. This ENTIRE show has shown clues and used symbols. If the writer wasn't trying to trick anyone then why the emphasis on the gang bang doll scene. Look I'm for trying to build the "terrible father" character but the writer specifically misled us with that scene.

In the end I still loved the show and cannot wait for Season 2!