At the start of 2014, HBO’s True Detective hit our screens with a bang and over the course of the past year it has become a critically acclaimed series which has culminated in an Emmy Award nomination for best drama.
Fans of the show will need no reminding of the first season’s storyline but for those who haven’t yet had the pleasure of watching it, perhaps a whirlwind re-cap of the first eight episodes is in order.
Be warned, the following summary will spoil the surprise of True Detective for anyone who hasn’t yet watched it on HBO.
Episode One – The Long Bright Dark
Detectives Rust Cohle and Martin Hart are told to review a homicide case that they had previously been investigated back in 1995. The victim, Dora Kelly Lange – a former prostitute – was discovered dead in very peculiar circumstances. On her back there was a painted symbol and Lange was also blindfolded and sporting a dear antler crown. Hart has doubts whether this is the first time the killer has killed, but Cohle is convinced that it isn’t.
Episode Two – Seeing Things
Our two main protagonists Cohle and Hart continue to investigate the murder of Dora Lange and their investigations lead them to discover that the victim was attending church prior to her death. Friction is created between the duo when Cohle thinks that Hart is having an affair behind his wife’s back. This situation is compounded by Cohle’s on-going substance abuse. However, more clues as to Lange’s death are revealed when her diary is discovered.
Episode Three – The Locked Room
Under increasing pressure to give up the case, Cohle and Hart (played by Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson respectively) find the pastor of the church that Lange used to visit. A search of historical murder cases reveals another death with striking similarities to Lange’s. The episode finishes with a half-naked, machete-wielding man wearing a gas mask wandering a remote bayou compound.
Episode Four – Who Goes There
The detectives question Lange’s ex-husband Charlie in an attempt to turn up more clues about one of his former cellmates. The former associate tells Cohle and Hart about an odd group of men who used to meet up for devil worship. Rites would sometimes involve women and children being sacrificed.
Episode Five – The Secret Fate of All Life
Cohle and Hart make their way to an underground meth lab in the bayou. Managing to avoid all manner of booby traps to prevent any intrusions, the pair make a grim discovery: two kidnapped children who have been abused – unfortunately one of them is dead. Hart’s emotions get the better of him and he executes one of the meth lab cooks, Reggie Ledoux. To confuse the crime scene Cohle sprays the area with bullets to give the appearance of a shoot-out.
Episode Six – Haunted Houses
Cohle seeks to get more information from the surviving victim of the meth lab kidnapping but discovers she is now institutionalised suffering from regressive catatonia. Upon being asked to describe her other kidnapper, the girl screams hysterically when recalling the man’s scarred face. Cohle is ordered by his superiors to halt his investigations.
Episode Seven – After You’ve Gone
Despite being disinclined, Hart is cajoled by Cohle into searching for the man with the scarred face. A relative of Ledoux’s confirms that there was indeed a scarred man. This leads to the discovery that the former head of a defunct religious school, Reverend Tuttle, had a half-brother with scars on his face from his father’s illegitimate ‘other’ family.
Episode Eight – Form and Void
In the HBO True Detective season finale, we are shown the scar-faced man in his unorganised home where he lives with and abuses his half-sister, who is mentally retarded. If that’s not enough, the man keeps his father in a shed outside which is covered in arcane paintings. Moreover, the man’s father’s mouth is sewn shut and he is depicted painting – something that is later very significant.
Karen Woodham is the founder and owner of the Blazing Minds. She is also a Cinema reviewer and works with RealD 3D reviewing the latest 3D releases and IMAX, she has also had several articles published in various publications including the first edition of SFW Magazine. In 2015 she became an Award Winning Blogger and also has her website listed as one of the UK’s Top 10 Film Blogs.
