True Detective finale: all the clues, patterns and theories so far

The first season of HBO’s outstanding, bleak Louisiana drama comes to an end on Sunday. From the Yellow King to Carcosa, here’s everything you need to remember

Spoiler alert: this blog is aimed at US viewers who have seen up to and including episode seven.

Detective stories are supposed to give us clues to follow until we, along with the detectives, solve the mystery – whether potboilers, Sherlock or the dark, weird drama of True Detective. As the protagonists of that show, Marty Hart and Rust Cohle, have constantly informed us, the answers are “right under your nose” and the clues keep coming back, over and over, until you finally notice them.

Viewers noticed. Theorizing, research and speculation reached a fever pitch, and then a minor character, last seen cutting grass way back in episode three, drawled “My family’s been here a long, lo-ong, time,” and more appeared. (Chekhov’s lawnmower? Don’t forget that Rust mows the Hart family lawn and the preacher drinks from a John Deere mug … ) True Detective’s clues are patterns – a detail that appears in one episode will reappear, maybe literally, maybe figuratively, always importantly.

Other minor characters have changed the plot dramatically, too: the teenage prostitute from episode two, grown up in episode six, seduces Marty, who then wrecks his life with alcohol, violence and infidelity, just like he did in episode four. (When they first meet her in 1995, Rust cracks a cruel joke when Marty gives her money to leave a bunny ranch: “Is that a down payment?”) Remember that prisoner who told Rust about the “Yellow King” and then killed himself? The cop who locked him up was named Childress, which turns out to be the surname of the Tuttle family’s illegitimate branch, and of the scarred man who presides over the ritualistic killings.

Steve Geraci, a seemingly random coworker of Marty and Cohle in the pilot, turns out to be connected with the murderers – and it looks like he will serve the same role as Ginger, the biker in episode four, becoming an unwilling informant on his partners in crime. The evangelist preacher from episode three turns up a broken man in episode six; Dora Lange’s mom has a creepy photo, unmentioned by characters, that only makes sense after revelations in episode seven; and Carcosa, once just a scribble in Dora’s notebook, is the talk of unhinged characters all over the place.

Some of these repetitions come back in changed ways, more figurative or structural than literal. While episode two ends after Marty and Rust have discovered disturbing graffiti on the wall of a burnt out church, episode five ends with Rust discovering similar graffiti, in the eerily lit abandoned school, with sculptures of the virgin Mary watching. (Creepy church music makes a comeback when Maggie has sex with Rust in his den of obsessive policework.)

Episode three ends with the nightmare image of Reggie Ledoux, tattooed and trudging around the swamp in his underwear, wielding a machete; episode seven ends with Errol, the “tall man” with scars on his face and a reputation as the worst of the Carcosa murderers. Even the tree where it all began turns up again, adorned with a unnerving twig wreath.

Rust describes these cycles as “time [running along] a flat circle” – a line he picked up from the murderous Reggie Ledoux, and it looks like the call-and-answer structure of the series will follow through right to the end. The clues have been laid out for us. Despite Papania and Gilbough’s suspicions, it doesn’t look like Rust (or Marty) are culprits. We know the Tuttle family has been performing rituals of rape and murder for decades, and that somehow or other a place called Carcosa and a figure called the Yellow King are involved.

With only Sunday’s finale to go, what can we expect? Maggie’s parents, who briefly appear in episode two, are due for a return, as is Marty’s whole family, since one of his daughters seems to know about the crimes (at least subconsciously). Maggie’s father, as others have noted, fits the bill of a rich man with issues, as the gang of killers was described. Papania and Gilbough will have to finally reveal their agenda: what they know and what they’re after.

Given episode four’s controlled rush into the underworld – and that we haven’t seen a mirror for it yet – we should expect a wild ride, with Marty and/or Rust going undercover again. We can expect Carcosa and the Yellow King, too, though I suspect they’re part of a story that drove the Tuttles insane, and not a supernatural place or character. Finally, just as Marty and Rust made peace with each other, they will likely finally make peace with themselves. We can expect things to come full circle.

Contributor

Alan Yuhas

The GuardianTramp

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