re: Re watching True Detective S1 for the first time (Spoilers)

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I remember people being mad about how it ended because it seemed to be leading up to some huge things, and in the end it sort of fizzled out. IIRC, I was good with how it ended because sometimes the bad guy gets away with it or justice isn’t quite served like it should be.

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The King in Yellow and Carcosa and all that stuff are old school horror that became part of Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos.

The heroes in those stories rarely survived, and, if they did, didn't keep their sanity. Those stories made it clear that humans were small, and that the universe was against them.





The first season reminded me of Acid Bath's music.

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I remember people being mad about how it ended because it seemed to be leading up to some huge things, and in the end it sort of fizzled out. IIRC, I was good with how it ended because sometimes the bad guy gets away with it or justice isn’t quite served like it should be.

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As I recall there were basically 2 camps of people that were disappointed:

1. People who saw the supernatural elements and cult shite and wanted it to take a supernatural horror turn into something more like a dark fantasy that instead saw it turn into more generic police procedural.

2. People who were upset that the grand conspiracy is exposed mostly off-screen (Rev Tuttle killed, videotape found, all the connections between the Church and missing kids, etc) and that the actual masterminds completely escape detection, let alone punishment.

As for the last 3 episodes thing, "Haunted Houses" shows the dissolution of Marty's marriage and his partnership with Rust - pivotal scenes that were done extremely well. The only drag is Marty banging the ex-prostitute. People excuse his infidelity with Tits McGee because she's a hot crazy freak thats throwing pussy at him but get grossed out by the implication that Marty is actually a creep.

"After You've Gone" is the closest thing to a filler episode in the whole show but was necessary to bridge the gap between their reconciliation and the finale.

The only way you could be disappointed in "Form and Void" is if you were angry that the plot didn't follow how you wanted it to. Yeah, the hospital scenes are corny, but they don't detract that much from an otherwise stellar finale.

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As I recall there were basically 2 camps of people that were disappointed:

1. People who saw the supernatural elements and cult shite and wanted it to take a supernatural horror turn into something more like a dark fantasy that instead saw it turn into more generic police procedural.

2. People who were upset that the grand conspiracy is exposed mostly off-screen (Rev Tuttle killed, videotape found, all the connections between the Church and missing kids, etc) and that the actual masterminds completely escape detection, let alone punishment.

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it was more that the show sucked people in based on the presentation of the mystery and everyone was invested in discussing that as part of the investigation in the show, and then it all was meaningless. then a great % of people who were previously invested in the mystery didn't want to admit they were let down and diverted that investment to the show in general and started using comments like "character study" to excuse the show's failed payoff

if you told people in episode 3 that the mystery would not pay off and it would be largely ignored, you'd have lost the majority of the support. i was telling people in real time around episodes 4-5 that there wasn't enough time to wrap up the story and people said i was crazy. then it wasn't wrapped up and they completely changed their commentary about the show. it was a crazy event to watch unfold in real time

I’m glad you liked it.

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Re watching True Detective S1 for the first time (Spoilers)
"Start asking the right frickin questions." What a way to end a pilot. Awesome

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Here are some true statements regarding Season 1 and the series overall:

--The first 4-5 episodes are stunning (same can be said of first half of Season 3, which I actually give the slight lean to)

--The depiction of South Louisiana is stunning - from the roadside bahn-mi stands to the accents (massive bonus points for just making Rust be from Texas and not have to labor through some false bullshite)

--The attention to detail is supreme (favorite example is the LSU basketball game on the TV in the background at Woody's house - at the time, I checked, and it was the correct game for that date)

--the whole Rust character is a bit overwrought and "written". It's hard to imagine a single human being - much less washed up Louisiana LEO - waxing so perfectly philosophical like that

--the D'addario sex scenes are the very definition of sublimity. I think there was a period of time there where you could just enter "internet" into a Google search and have it spit out those images

“You asked.”

“And now I’m begging you to shut the frick up.”

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So you didnt like the show.

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I did like it but it didn't come close to paying off as promised. The ending fizzled

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But don't act like you know what's going on in the minds of others

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We had EXTENSIVE threads on this board, which is what I'm basing my comments on. This isn't mind reading. People voluntarily posted their thoughts.

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The lack of exposing the entire conspiracy is critical to the payoff. It is critical to the entire theme of the story. If you don't get that, perhaps you are the one lacking imagination or comprehension

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It never committed to either path and ultimately failed at both because of this. Hence, the fizzle.

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Wouldn't change a single episode.

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The last two episodes were pretty horrific

It was fantastic acting, fantastic setting and score, a fantastic opening and middle, and a downright horrific final act

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I think his monologue in the 5th episode about the good years is the best in the entire series.

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Correct. If that one doesn’t hit you, check your pulse. Then it fades to his daughter getting older and slutty... total gut punch.