I watched the first two episodes. A few random observations: - It's good again - Mahershala Ali is a terrific lead - Carmen Ejogo is almost as good - After trying something new with season two that backfired Nic Piz has played it incredibly safe by returning to the rough outlines of the first successful series: two cops in a car, a weird crime with seemingly gothic elements to it, several time lines that are mixed in between each other through the edit - The point above - I think - means that the show has a ceiling in terms of how original they can be this time around - Sarah Gadon!
The first two episodes have kept me interested so far. And yeah, Ali is terrific. Is Gadon the documentary film maker/interviewer?
That she is. I still think she was robbed for the total lack of awards recognition she got for "Alias Grace". Certainly one of the best TV performances I saw in the last five years.
It would be pretty Nic Piz for a nutter phonein by a self-professed psychic to have been the answer all along.
@malby I only just realized you meant the location where the kid died? I guess it could be, but then why did the sister run away and why was the boy posed in that manner in the cave?
So between the little notes and what they found at that location, it's clear that the kids were meeting some sort of adult there to play D&D?
Yeah. That's why I think it could have been an accident. Maybe Julie suggested the death pose to the adult.
A few random observations at the halfway point of the season: - I think I now like this better than even season one - A big reason for the above is Mahersali Ali's electrifying yet very subtle performance as Wayne Hays - The climax of this episode with the Indian making his last stand was very Nic Piz - The documentary lady (played by Sarah Gadon) is sleeping with Wayne Hays' son, right? (between the two wine glasses that Wayne saw in her hotel room and his son's reaction when Wayne asked if he had talked to her again this is almost a certainty) - This season is certainly succeeding in making me even more curious about the true mystery behind the case with each new nugget of information revealed - There was a very David Milch feel about this episode, especially in the vernacular (which makes sense considering he co-wrote it)
I thought I recognized Jodi Balfour from Quarry as the pretty brunette Roland was chatting up after the church service and I was right! I guess the Cinemax connection is what gives some of its alumni gigs on HBO shows?
BTW, does anyone else think Rebecca Hays might be deceased and that Hays has somehow forgotten about it? There was something about that dinner conversation with his son and daughter-in-law when he brought up his daughter that kind of was off. I might be reading too much into it though and the intention of that scene might have merely been to showcase his family's unease with his hazy mind.
So apparently some people believe Amelia is the killer or is at least involved in the abduction. This seems to be centered around the fact that Julie had a new aunt (so a woman) and the fact that she is so mysterious about her time in Los Angeles (before she returned to college to finish her degree). So far, she hasn't told much to Hays about this time. One additional theory within this supposed reality is that Roland West hasn't yet been seen in the 2015 time line because he is dead. He was killed by Hays after Roland uncovered Amelia's part in the abduction/murder of the Purcell kids. I don't really buy much from this theory, other than I do think that Amelia's past in Los Angeles will somehow be connected to the mystery. They have spent too much time on that already for it not to matter. I don't believe all the real estate spent on that topic makes sense as a mere red herring.
Apparently one of the things that supports the Hays killed West theory is this image: Among all of the Vietcong in Hays delusion (supposedly all of the men he killed during the war) is a Westerner in a suit (who might be West since it's impossible to tell either way). I honestly hadn't even noticed this during the broadcast. Some of the people study this show like the Zapruder film quite obviously.
Well you know I'm not obsessive like that but a) I did notice the Westerner - never twigged it could be Roland. b) I did notice that Roland hasn't appeared in the recent timeline. c) Never would have put the son as the directors shag buddy - good call! d) Amelia involved? Nah. e) Amelia mentioned my theory which mean it certainly isn't true
I do think there might be truth to Hays' theory that the real target was Julie and Will Purcell died trying to protect his little sister.
Ohh gosh! Why did I open this discussion and start reading your theories? I've just begun to watch True Detective because I found a review of one writer from ukessay where he mentioned that it's the best TV show for the latest two years and it has received many awards and nominations. Hope I'll forget your spoilers till the end of this day
In retrospect, their regard for each other during those interview scenes earlier on in the season did hint at some sort of familiarity. A familiarity which in this new context can be reinterpreted at originating in the fact that they are knocking boots on the regular.
So much for my "Ronald West is no longer alive in the 2015 time line" theory. So the guy Julie Purcell is referring to in her phone conversation is not her dad but the D.A., right? The first three or so times, she refers to him merely as the man she saw on TV. The last time I think she also referred to him as her dad but I think that will end up a red herring. It would also explain why the D.A. is so very keen on the 1990 investigation pinning the murder and abduction back on the Indian (Woodard). On the subject of that scene, I thought it was very interesting that a very similar scene also occurred in Jeremy Saulnier's last movie (Hold the Dark). Saulnier directed the first two episodes of this season of True Detective and apparently he might have done more than that had he not gone through creative differences with Nic Piz. I think the similarities are probably a coincidence, but they are very similar indeed. A native american character standing up against the men who are besieging him (both cases they include law enforcement) with high-powered military grade weapons. On the subject of Nic Piz, I now think this is his very best writing since Galveston and I find the lukewarm critical reception a bit weird.
I just realized that there is a much darker reading still of Julie's talk of "the man pretending to be my father on TV" if we start from the idea that Kent was closely involved in her kidnapping and the subsequent ordeal she obviously went through.