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[potam]

lets get some theories on why rust would borrow the lawn mower. WHY'D U BORROW THE LAWN MOWER RUST!

1. rust actually still has a home but he chooses to live in a dumpy apartment. why? i don't know. maybe to concentrate on work or to punish himself for his daughters death.

2. rust has a small back area with grass on his apartment premesis. it looked to me like it was on the 2nd floor but i can't say for sure now!

3. rust has a family member who... needed him to mow the lawn?

4. rust had no need to borrow the mower except with the intention of returning it when marty wasn't home so that he could plant the seeds for operation "get inside martys wifes vag"

Pretty sure it's #4. You can tell Rust lost a lot of respect for Marty when he found out about his affair. He returned the mower in the middle of the day when Marty wasn't home, but I'm sure he had to know he'd be home soon. I took it as a sort of, "I want to fuck your wife, and I want you to know it. You're a piece of shit, so don't even try to act high and mighty."

Notice in the whole "don't mow my yard!" conversation, he never explicitly tells Marty that nothing is going on and there's nothing to worry about.

 

[kirblar]

Pretty sure it's #4. You can tell Rust lost a lot of respect for Marty when he found out about his affair. He returned the mower in the middle of the day when Marty wasn't home, but I'm sure he had to know he'd be home soon. I took it as a sort of, "I want to fuck your wife, and I want you to know it. You're a piece of shit, so don't even try to act high and mighty."

Notice in the whole "don't mow my yard!" conversation, he never explicitly tells Marty that nothing is going on and there's nothing to worry about.

Also, in that situation, if you're really being a nice guy, you bring beer for Marty.

 

[-Pyromaniac-]

Rust probably just trolling Marty like he did with the "I don't sleep. I just dream." line. Doing it just to piss him off lol.

 

[Extra Sauce]

Rust probably just trolling Marty like he did with the "I don't sleep. I just dream." line. Doing it just to piss him off lol.

"I doubt it" was another good line.

 

[ReturnOfTheRAT]

#4. Rust is a sly fella, he may not look at his arranged date while dancing with her, but he is intrigued by Marty's wife and she reciprocates that. I dont think its sexual at this point, just more along the lines of a woman who will actually engage in a conversation with him without thinking he's the craziest person she's ever met; a man that's a threat to her children, that kind of thing. They had a nice talk at the dinner table in ep1 and the counter in ep3. Based on what we learned about Rust in the first episode, the first dinner scene could have played out like they normally do with a wife showing a latent disgust for a wild looking man having a presence in her house. It doesnt play out that way at all. She was cordial to him again in the last episode. She probably also trusts him because he's husband partner and she needs to have faith in him too.

Marty is a delusional man. Hes a cheater and has his priorities all screwed up. The "dont mow my lawn" scene which is apparently similar to something Woody says in Kingpin, is just a man trying to mark his territory. It can also be taken as a sexual reference and a sign of fear that Marty is encroaching on his family life, a life that Marty doesn't seem all that interested since he's got a college girl on the side.

 

[Silh]

Rian Johnson should direct the next season.

Would love that.

Mmmhmm.

 

[HalfBakedProphet]

Marty is a delusional man. Hes a cheater and has his priorities all screwed up. The "dont mow my lawn" scene which is apparently similar to something Woody says in Kingpin, is just a man trying to mark his territory. It can also be taken as a sexual reference and a sign of fear that Marty is encroaching on his family life, a life that Marty doesn't seem all that interested since he's got a college girl on the side.

I think Marty was just scaried of the cat getting out of the bag. He didn't want his transgressions dragged out into the light, and Rust is one of the few people who could do just that. Had it not been for their confrontation in the locker room, Marty wouldn't have been nearly as shook up over Rust hanging out with his wife and family. Whether Rust was trying to send a message, I'm not sure.

Just a testament to how good this show is, it can be taken from many different angles

Edit: Also, Marty is really just paranoid as fuck. Its very possible Rust put the pieces together of who Marty is sleeping with, but he doesn't have proof or reason to blowup Marty's marriage.

 

[Socreges]

I think Marty was just scaried of the cat getting out of the bag. He didn't want his transgressions dragged out into the light, and Rust is one of the few people who could do just that. Had it not been for their confrontation in the locker room, Marty wouldn't have been nearly as shook up over Rust hanging out with his wife and family. Whether Rust was trying to send a message, I'm not sure.

Just a testament to how good this show is, it can be taken from many different angles

The "don't mow my lawn", for Marty, is a metaphor showing his insecurities of other men moving in on his women. That scene wasn't really about him being afraid that Rust would say something.

Also I love this avatar.

 

[JCreasy]

Hey guys, I think the real Nic Pizzolato joined twitter.

@nicpizzolato

He's followed by the verified account of Warren Leight, showrunner for Law & Order: SVU.

Nic isn't verified yet, though.

 

[biosnake20]

Yeah it looks like it might be him. Time to bombard him with questions about season 2.

 

[JCreasy]

Nic tweeted Paste Magazine's review of Episode 3.

http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2014/01/true-detective-review-the-locked-room-episode-103.html

This part seems ripe for discussion here:

But what of the hunger? The brilliance of McConaughey’s performance, over three episodes, is that we’ve gradually come to see the hollow nature of his words. The most misguided (and sadly recurring) critique of True Detective holds that the creators foist Cohle’s nihilism on the viewer. It’s an easy mistake to make, I guess, in conjunction with the show’s ominous tone and the depraved psychology behind the murders, but it’s unfortunate that writer Nic Pizzolato is being punished in some corners for trusting the intelligence of his audience. (And while we’re here, let’s be fair and qualify that complaint; the praise for this show has been almost universal.) Because slowly, subtly, the curtains have been raised. You have to pay attention, but when you do, the truth about Cohle emerges: There’s a spirit underneath the dire pronouncements, something that longs to live and experience happiness, even if the brain regulating the soul with such rigor doesn’t believe in the concept.

 

[HalfBakedProphet]

The "don't mow my lawn", for Marty, is a metaphor showing his insecurities of other men moving in on his women. That scene wasn't really about him being afraid that Rust would say something.

Also I love this avatar.

maybe. Hes definitely insecure, but Marty didn't come off so much like someone protecting his turf (literally!) as just panicked. If you were having an affair, would you be more worried about being outed and having your marriage ruined or someone stealing your wife away? Seems like the former would need to happen before the latter. Marty doesn't fully understand Rust, I think he saw that as a dangerous situation.

I'll need to watch it again. Marty is paranoid and maybe he's projecting his adulterous behaviors on his wife, but I think it was more an insecurity concerning Rust being in his personal space and might let something slip. As opposed to there being a real chance Rust was there to make a move on Maggie.

 

[Socreges]

It’s an easy mistake to make, I guess, in conjunction with the show’s ominous tone and the depraved psychology behind the murders, but it’s unfortunate that writer Nic Pizzolato is being punished in some corners for trusting the intelligence of his audience.

 

[HalfBakedProphet]

The most misguided (and sadly recurring) critique of True Detective holds that the creators foist Cohle’s nihilism on the viewer

get the fuck over it, critics. Go watch your easily digestible season 74 of CSI and let us have something complex and challenging.

 

[jonnyp]

"I doubt it" was another good line.

Yeah. Rust is all kinds of awesome.

 

[potam]

Fuck. It's 4:43 AM, I just got off work, and I probably have class tomorrow. And now I want to rewatch episode 3. I don't know what to do.

 

[Dennis]

The question is who committed the 2012 killing if it wasn't Rust? I'm with everyone else in thinking that he certainly won't be the one responsible simply because of how obvious it would be, but at the same time we're so far in and we're only getting to the character that they assume did it the first time around. With how well written this show is, I couldn't see them throwing out a character that hasn't been introduced yet to make him/her the killer, especially with the pace at which the show moves.

I'm going to say it goes unresolved or (screw it) Rust did it and confesses in the final episode as the culmination of an incredibly bleak and disheartening speech and cuts his own throat with the knife, having finally gotten over his inability to kill himself. Could definitely see the knife as a big old Chekov's gun. I don't know. Maybe it was actually Marty and the girl is Alexandra Daddario or some shit, considering that I doubt he ever actually gave the detectives her name and Rust wasn't aware of Marty's sidepiece's identity.

Edit: Nevermind, I'm throwing all my eggs in the Marty basket. Rust sleeps with his wife, Marty ends up divorced. Alone, angry, and drunk, he turns into a man beyond a certain age without a family. We've seen that he's prone to bouts of extreme and near-uncontrollable rage, he's "all fucked up", and even though he's "not a psycho", we all know he's full of shit. Snaps one day when he's drunk, kills a girl, does it up to look like the serial killer because he knows that everyone'll be looking at Rust (revenge!), especially when he gets the chance to play "stand by your partner" in the interview while still talking about what seems like underlying mental instability. Once again, full of shit.

Could just be a random girl. I can't remember if they've given any specifics about her, but it would make sense for him to snap on Daddario years later after seeing her again. Her acting run is done on the show according to IMDB, but they could still throw a morgue photo in no problem. Rust wouldn't do it because he's not a dynamic character. He knows who he is and what he does, and he's not going to go through that sort of drastic change into a murderer, let alone that kind of murderer, so late in life. He's just gonna keep on being bleak and lacking the willpower to kill himself. Gonna be exciting seeing how wrong I am.

Ugh, this show.

I've never felt the urge to curse the game itself over the teams in it, but fuck you Superbowl.

I could see it.

 

[chicko1983]

The question is who committed the 2012 killing if it wasn't Rust? I'm with everyone else in thinking that he certainly won't be the one responsible simply because of how obvious it would be, but at the same time we're so far in and we're only getting to the character that they assume did it the first time around. With how well written this show is, I couldn't see them throwing out a character that hasn't been introduced yet to make him/her the killer, especially with the pace at which the show moves.

I'm going to say it goes unresolved or (screw it) Rust did it and confesses in the final episode as the culmination of an incredibly bleak and disheartening speech and cuts his own throat with the knife, having finally gotten over his inability to kill himself. Could definitely see the knife as a big old Chekov's gun. I don't know. Maybe it was actually Marty and the girl is Alexandra Daddario or some shit, considering that I doubt he ever actually gave the detectives her name and Rust wasn't aware of Marty's sidepiece's identity.

Edit: Nevermind, I'm throwing all my eggs in the Marty basket. Rust sleeps with his wife, Marty ends up divorced. Alone, angry, and drunk, he turns into a man beyond a certain age without a family. We've seen that he's prone to bouts of extreme and near-uncontrollable rage, he's "all fucked up", and even though he's "not a psycho", we all know he's full of shit. Snaps one day when he's drunk, kills a girl, does it up to look like the serial killer because he knows that everyone'll be looking at Rust (revenge!), especially when he gets the chance to play "stand by your partner" in the interview while still talking about what seems like underlying mental instability. Once again, full of shit.

Could just be a random girl. I can't remember if they've given any specifics about her, but it would make sense for him to snap on Daddario years later after seeing her again. Her acting run is done on the show according to IMDB, but they could still throw a morgue photo in no problem. Rust wouldn't do it because he's not a dynamic character. He knows who he is and what he does, and he's not going to go through that sort of drastic change into a murderer, let alone that kind of murderer, so late in life. He's just gonna keep on being bleak and lacking the willpower to kill himself. Gonna be exciting seeing how wrong I am.

Ugh, this show.

I've never felt the urge to curse the game itself over the teams in it, but fuck you Superbowl.

I did draft a long reply with reasons why I don't think Marty is the killer based on what is shown in the promo and trailers in the OP.

However, 90% of it was spoiler tagged.

So I'll just say that I believe the killer has been introduced based on what I have seen.

But I also believe there are three "killers". Don't read if you haven't watched the trailers/promo videos

Spoiler

The gas mask man - he is the killer that they convict for the 1995 murder to close the case. All the evidence connects him to all the murdered suspects.
The lawnmower man - he is the killer that Rust eventually thinks is the killer and so kills himself. He is connected to the gas mask man because he buys drugs from him.
The reverend Tuttle - the actual killer. He is connected to the lawnmower man through the foundation. The reverend gets the lawnmower man to drug and kidnap the girls for him.

That is just my own speculation.

 

[yuraya]

I've watched the first 3 episodes. And I must admit the show is really really good. At first the slow pace was kind of bothersome but eventually the strong character development and depth has really made it great. Definitely a must watch. I just have one question.

Spoiler

Who was the person they discovered spent last 4 months or so as a cell mate with the current suspect they are hunting?

 

[chicko1983]

I've watched the first 3 episodes. And I must admit the show is really really good. At first the slow pace was kind of bothersome but eventually the character development and depth has really made it great. Definitely a must watch. I just have one question.

Spoiler

Who was the person they discovered spent last 4 months or so as a cell mate with the current suspect they are hunting?

I don't think you need to spoiler tag the question but anyway:

Spoiler

The person was Dora Lang's husband. They interviewed him in the first episode and he was saying that the last time he spoke to Dora, she seemed under the influence of drugs. Red headed guy with beard

 

[yuraya]

I don't think you need to spoiler tag the question but anyway:

Spoiler

The person was Dora Lang's husband. They interviewed him in the first episode and he was saying that the last time he spoke to Dora, she seemed under the influence of drugs. Red headed guy with beard

Ah. Thanks for the response. I forgot all about him in the first episode. Now it makes sense.

 

[ЯAW]

edit. already answered.

 

[HalfBakedProphet]

The new detectives are at a dead end and Rust is strange enough to justify questioning given his work on the case in 1995. I think the new detectives are lost and grasping at straws at this point.

I agree with chickos theory of it being multiple people or a group. I could see the reverend being involved (Or the actual ringleader/killer) as the victims are prostitutes, like he's doing God's work by killing sinners or whatever. The gas man is making the drugs. Any number of the weirdos they've talked to could be connected at this point. The church community is shady as fuck.

Neither Rust or Marty is the killer. How unbelievably lame would that be, anyway? Jesus.

 

[chicko1983]

The new detectives are at a dead end and Rust is strange enough to justify questioning given his work on the case in 1995. I think the new detectives are lost and grasping at straws at this point.

I agree with chickos theory of it being multiple people or a group. I could see the reverend being involved (Or the actual ringleader/killer) as the victims are prostitutes, like he's doing God's work by killing sinners or whatever. The gas man is making the drugs. Any number of the weirdos they've talked to could be connected at this point. The church community is shady as fuck.

Neither Rust or Marty is the killer. How unbelievably lame would that be, anyway? Jesus.

Well my thoughts on why they are being interviewed (again this is my speculation but it is based on my thoughts after watching the promos so I will spoiler tag the whole thing):

Spoiler

Rust is being interviewed first because the new detectives believe that Rust continued the case after it was closed with the gas mask guy winding up dead in the shoot out (both him and Marty did continue the case but they think that only Rust did). They cant think that Rust did it because they showed him evidence.

Rust tells them his version of the story: how they tracked down the gas mask man, kill him in a shoot out (Marty shoots him before asking him questions) and officially closed the case to keep their boss happy. However, they kept working on it because they both thought it wasn't really him. Rust ends up going undercover investigating the drug community (who the gas mask man sells his drugs to) and ends up with the Lawnmower man and his associate (a bald man with a viking like red beard). There is a scene in one of the promos with Rust taking drugs sitting beside the lawnmower man.

Rust ends up killing the lawnmower man and possibly his associate, thus Rust thinks the case is really closed and eventually leaves the force.

How it ends is unclear to me, but I think Rust is helping the new detectives go back over his unofficial investigation. In the process of his interview, Rust realises that something doesn't add up and it turns out that Marty somehow convinced Rust the lawnmower man did it because he is actually covering for the real killer.

This explains why they interview Marty after Rust (I think someone pointed out that Marty is being interviewed after Rust at the start of episode 1).

When they are interviewing Marty, they are trying to work out who he is covering for: it turns out that he was/is covering for the Reverend or possibly the sherriff with the hunting trophies in his office (that was too obvious in the first episode to not be a clue).

In the end, Marty gets arrested for obstructing justice and Rust goes and lives a happy life knowing he solved the case.

I haven't watched any of the episodes more than once, but the promo trailers show a lot of unseen footage involving

Spoiler

the lawnmower man, a bearded man (friend of the lawnmower man) and Rust

that I have been going back over.

 

[TheOddOne]

- HBO: True Detective Season 1: Episode #4 Preview (Spoilers, please tag discussions about it)

 

[chicko1983]

- HBO: True Detective Season 1: Episode #4 Preview (Spoilers, please tag discussions about it)

Looks great, and I hadnt seen it before making my post above yours.

However, I dont think anything in it makes me want to change what I wrote above and how I think this will play out.

 

[ЯAW]

Well my thoughts on why they are being interviewed (again this is my speculation but it is based on my thoughts after watching the promos so I will spoiler tag the whole thing):

Spoiler

Rust is being interviewed first because the new detectives believe that Rust continued the case after it was closed with the gas mask guy winding up dead in the shoot out (both him and Marty did continue the case but they think that only Rust did). They cant think that Rust did it because they showed him evidence.

Rust tells them his version of the story: how they tracked down the gas mask man, kill him in a shoot out (Marty shoots him before asking him questions) and officially closed the case to keep their boss happy. However, they kept working on it because they both thought it wasn't really him. Rust ends up going undercover investigating the drug community (who the gas mask man sells his drugs to) and ends up with the Lawnmower man and his associate (a bald man with a viking like red beard). There is a scene in one of the promos with Rust taking drugs sitting beside the lawnmower man.

Rust ends up killing the lawnmower man and possibly his associate, thus Rust thinks the case is really closed and eventually leaves the force.

How it ends is unclear to me, but I think Rust is helping the new detectives go back over his unofficial investigation. In the process of his interview, Rust realises that something doesn't add up and it turns out that Marty somehow convinced Rust the lawnmower man did it because he is actually covering for the real killer.

This explains why they interview Marty after Rust (I think someone pointed out that Marty is being interviewed after Rust at the start of episode 1).

When they are interviewing Marty, they are trying to work out who he is covering for: it turns out that he was/is covering for the Reverend or possibly the sherriff with the hunting trophies in his office (that was too obvious in the first episode to not be a clue).

In the end, Marty gets arrested for obstructing justice and Rust goes and lives a happy life knowing he solved the case.

I haven't watched any of the episodes more than once, but the promo trailers show a lot of unseen footage involving

Spoiler

the lawnmower man, a bearded man (friend of the lawnmower man) and Rust

that I have been going back over.

Good stuff. But I have to disagree reason why they are interviewing Marty.

Spoiler

From Rusty they want to know step by step how the case was solved.

From Marty they want to know if Rusty's word and police work (with all the pill popping and whatnot) can be trusted.

I also think that Rusty never bought that they got the right guy in 1995. I suspect the case was closed because of pressure from the superiors and from Marty. Rusty knows they never got the real killer and killer is still out. Marty probably knows they didn't catch the real killer, but doesn't want to admit it.

 

[HalfBakedProphet]

Good stuff, chicko.

I won't get in too much speculation on where the story goes, but I do hope there is some redemption for Rust. Maybe that would take the form of (re)solving this case.

 

[Kadayi]

- Alyssa Rosenberg on True Detective: Two New Shows That Prove Audiences Are Ready For Leading Men Who Are Total Disasters

Man there is some presumptive writing on her part about both the competences of the characters as well as their beliefs about themselves tbh. Not entirely off point in places, but she really pushes this idea of them being incompetent with really no actual basis to work off of save the notion that the killer(s)? is/are still loose in 2012 even though we're only 3 episodes in. Despite everything there's not necessarily any evidence that their suspect is the end of the line, merely a stepping stone to them. However it might well be the case that that's enough for the top brass to fly with publicly, especially if its a matter of there having been a big firefight out in the woods.

Also an an aside I'm kind of amazed that seemingly none of the reviewers have yet picked up on the literary reference back to the 'King in Yellow' by Robert.W.Chambers so far.

 

[chicko1983]

Good stuff. But I have to disagree reason why they are interviewing Marty.

Spoiler

From Rusty they want to know step by step how the case was solved.

From Marty they want to know if Rusty's word and police work (with all the pill popping and whatnot) can be trusted.

I also think that Rusty never bought that they got the right guy in 1995. I suspect the case was closed because of pressure from the superiors and from Marty. Rusty knows they never got the real killer and killer is still out. Marty probably knows they didn't catch the real killer, but doesn't want to admit it.

Spoiler

Yeah, it's pretty clear that they unofficially continue the case after they capture/kill the gas mask guy.

But watching the trailers and promos it looks like that Marty happily assists rust with his unofficial investigation and may even go undercover himself. So I think that Marty is being interviewed for more than just to see if rust's story checks out and he also agrees the case wasnt solved properly in 1995.

The new detectives also haven't told him about the new murder or shown him any evidence, which makes me think they think are interrogating him as a suspect for something and not as an innocent person.

Maybe Marty isn't knowingly covering for someone but he did something which led him and rust to kill the wrong person/people for the crime. Like he convinces rust that the law mower man was the killer but because of the interviews they realise that the lawn wore man was working for the reverend.

Good stuff, chicko.

I won't get in too much speculation on where the story goes, but I do hope there is some redemption for Rust. Maybe that would take the form of (re)solving this case.

I just like rewatching the promo trailers in the op which has got me speculating. I love the show and also hope rust somehow gets some redemption, which is why I think my ending gives him some kind of closure for him.

There is some great dialogue in those trailers and the music is great too. I could watch them over and over again all day.

 

[Bloodrage]

- LA Magazine on True Detective

The accompanying illustration:

That's a badass illustration, man. Avatarized.

 

[Alpende]

Good episode, the pacing was pretty great. That last scene gave me the shivers, that guy is creepy.

Can someone recap how they got to that guy? He's the Leboux(?) guy right. Was he the tall man that was talking to Lange? How did they figure out Leboux was the tall man?

I kind of missed that.

 

[nilbog21]

Would you guys say Rust is a nihilist, or is it more complicated than that?

 

[Ranger Taffles]

I'm glad that there is some character development in this. Also the dialogue is just hnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnng!

 

[mre]

Well my thoughts on why they are being interviewed (again this is my speculation but it is based on my thoughts after watching the promos so I will spoiler tag the whole thing):

Spoiler

Rust is being interviewed first because the new detectives believe that Rust continued the case after it was closed with the gas mask guy winding up dead in the shoot out (both him and Marty did continue the case but they think that only Rust did). They cant think that Rust did it because they showed him evidence.

Disagree with that last sentence.

Spoiler

Just because they showed him a picture of the victim doesn't mean they've shown him "evidence." They showed him a picture of the victim, but they were clearly more interested in his reaction than anything he could have told them about her.

 

[BertramCooper]

I'm really enjoying this show, despite the fact that I haven't found the investigation aspects all that compelling yet.

The character stuff is just brilliant. These guys are fascinating, Rust especially.

 

[The Artful Dodger]

I'm really enjoying this show, despite the fact that I haven't found the investigation aspects all that compelling yet.

The character stuff is just brilliant. These guys are fascinating, Rust especially.

Agreed. This show is amazing, and even though I do wish there was more detective stuff I am in no way dissatisfied with what is being shown.

 

[HalfBakedProphet]

Spoiler

....they were clearly more interested in his reaction than anything he could have told them about her.

yup. After rewatching ep 1, I think they are more concerned specifically with Rust, how he handled the case and why he did things the way he did. I won't be surprised if they get more antagonistic and accusatory with their line of questioning later on.

 

[bud]

the last shot is good. i just hope that person doesn't end up having the mental capacity of a four year old.

 

[Burt]

the last shot is good. i just hope that person doesn't end up having the mental capacity of a four year old.

I doubt they'd cop out so hard with the quality of writing on this show and how elaborate the murders are.

Also, saw this brought up somewhere else and don't know if it's been mentioned here, but gas mask machete wielding meth cooker = big green spaghetti monster that the girl says chased her. Hate when I miss stuff like that that seems so obvious in retrospect.

 

[Clear]

the last shot is good. i just hope that person doesn't end up having the mental capacity of a four year old.

I just figured he was dressed that way because he was cooking meth.

 

[Blader]

Nic tweeted Paste Magazine's review of Episode 3.

http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2014/01/true-detective-review-the-locked-room-episode-103.html

This part seems ripe for discussion here:

I could understand criticisms of overly philosophizing (though I think it's actually pretty well-balanced here, which is rare) but the idea that the show is forcing a nihilistic worldview on viewers seems like a huge misreading of Rust's character. Seemed clear to me that his take on life, death, etc. are all pretty firmly rooted in his daughter's death and, had his family life gone in another direction, he'd be more like Marty. He's not intrinsically nihilistic, that's just the conclusion he came to to cope with his loss.

 

[Real Hero]

He's not intrinsically nihilistic, that's just the conclusion he came to to cope with his loss.

totally and his interactions with Marty's family back this up.

 

[ezekial45]

If you guys want some clips of the upcoming episodes, just rewatch the trailers they released a few months ago. They're pretty interesting to watch now that we have context.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXG1netn9_g
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roiKrE5KLbk

 

[lamaroo]

Not sure if this has been posted yet, via reddit a bunch of high res screen caps from the intro:

http://imgur.com/a/NUiqh

Some beautiful images in there, and lots would make great wallpapers.

Gorgeous, this shot is awesome:

 

[Kadayi]

Can someone recap how they got to that guy? He's the Leboux(?) guy right. Was he the tall man that was talking to Lange? How did they figure out Leboux was the tall man?

I wouldn't presume anything in truth. Rust & Cohle have found a connection with the ex-husband of Dora Lange that identifies Leboux as a person of interest, but whether he's the tall man or the guy in the gas mask is something we're going to have to wait on.

Would you guys say Rust is a nihilist, or is it more complicated than that?

I don't think one can be absolute in regard. Cohle talks the talk, but its clear from his interactions with Maggie and his regard of the children as a perhaps a reflection on better times that he at least in 1995 isn't quite prepared to walk the walk.

I just figured he was dressed that way because he was cooking meth.

In the tracking shot just beforehand you actually see the figure emerge from what looks like a steel shack or some such on the left, so definitely probably the case of cooking meth and wearing underwear only to stay cool. No fancy high tech meth labs for these guys ala breaking bad.

I could understand criticisms of overly philosophizing (though I think it's actually pretty well-balanced here, which is rare) but the idea that the show is forcing a nihilistic worldview on viewers seems like a huge misreading of Rust's character. Seemed clear to me that his take on life, death, etc. are all pretty firmly rooted in his daughter's death and, had his family life gone on another direction, he'd be more like Marty. He's not intrinsically nihilistic, that's just the conclusion he came to to cope with his loss.

I suspect probably for a certain sub-set of the audience the rawness as to what the character is saying probably doesn't sit that comfortably with them in terms of their own worldviews, so I can understand why they might see the presentation of those ideas as promotion, when the reality is they're merely a reflection of the characters belief systems.

more thoughts below spoiler tagged for those who aren't into character assessments

Spoiler

What is important to focus on is not what Cohle necessarily says, but how he acts. Despite the nihilism running through his commentaries I think in large part I suspect this is a coping mechanism to distance himself from the unthinkable reality of the truth of his daughters death and his own role in it (the way his skipped over the exact details of her death points heavily to it being his fault). By denying meaning to everything, and framing death as a release from the aberration of nature that is humanity (his words) he is in many ways absolving himself of the burden of his own guilt. I think for Cohle every crime solved is a way of confirming his beliefs that the victims are in many ways rushing to their own release.

 

[HalfBakedProphet]

I could understand criticisms of overly philosophizing (though I think it's actually pretty well-balanced here, which is rare) but the idea that the show is forcing a nihilistic worldview on viewers seems like a huge misreading of Rust's character. Seemed clear to me that his take on life, death, etc. are all pretty firmly rooted in his daughter's death and, had his family life gone on another direction, he'd be more like Marty. He's not intrinsically nihilistic, that's just the conclusion he came to to cope with his loss.

good post. Some of the things I've read, people seem outright offended by the character as if the show is dragged down because of him. Rust hits a nerve with people, which is good I suppose, but I think some folks can't look past their personal beliefs to really understand why he is the way he is. He isn't an arbitrary nihilist tossed in to throw big words around and make people feel stupid.

I'm also never reading the comments section of any True Detective review page ever again. Fool me once...

 

[SCHUEY F1]

Gorgeous, this shot is awesome:

Like that one a lot. One of the better openings I have seen for sure.

 

[EverythingShiny]

more thoughts below spoiler tagged for those who aren't into character assessments

Spoiler

What is important to focus on is not what Cohle necessarily says, but how he acts. Despite the nihilism running through his commentaries I think in large part I suspect this is a coping mechanism to distance himself from the unthinkable reality of the truth of his daughters death and his own role in it (the way his skipped over the exact details of her death points heavily to it being his fault). By denying meaning to everything, and framing death as a release from the aberration of nature that is humanity (his words) he is in many ways absolving himself of the burden of his own guilt. I think for Cohle every crime solved is a way of confirming his beliefs that the victims are in many ways rushing to their own release.

I agree with this assessment. I hadn't considered that Cohle himself was the reason (or at least, somewhat at fault) why his daughter died, but after reading some of the comments here on GAF I think it's one of the best explanations for his philosophy. As Blader and others have said in this thread, he talks a big game but, like you posit, it's a coping mechanism. His behavior around Maggie and her/Marty's children solidifies this for me.

I forget which review it was, but the reviewer said that Cohle didn't understand small town politics and was unaware of the potential backlash caused by mowing Marty's lawn while he wasn't home and thus was surprised by how upset Marty got. I almost laughed out loud. Cohle knows exactly what he's doing. I'm really amazed that they worked together for 7 years after all this shit went down.

 

[Blader]

I'm also never reading the comments section of any True Detective review page ever again. Fool me once...

As a general rule of thumb, I tend to avoid comments sections of any website for any reason... sometimes I give in and then immediately remember why I had the rule in the first place. :lol