From it’s very first episode to the most recent one this past Sunday, the smash hit “True Detective” has tantalized viewers with its dark and intriguing plot as well as its unique styles. So far, HBO’s new addition to its catalog of gritty and critically acclaimed shows has amassed a huge audience world-wide. Even President Barack Obama has been unable to avoid the dark crime drama’s touch, as he recently requested advance copies of it and many other Home Box Office projects.
So far, the show has chronicled a now 17 year manhunt for a ruthless and mysterious serial killer in Louisiana. After discovering a gruesome murder in a field of sugar cane, detectives Martin Hart (Woody Harrelson) and Rustin Cohle (Matthew McConaughey) are paired together to make sense of it all. The two detectives, both with very different but very prominent reputations, collide as they pursue multiple leads down avenues big and small to try and find this killer.
The show has been hailed as a true study of the nature of humans, as it shows the darkest and most uncomfortable habits that men are capable of. When Marty and Rust are on the job, you see the bleakest forms of existence there can be; prostitution, substance abuse and murder run rampant in the dark recesses of humanity they investigate. However, at home both of these men lead lives that can arguably exhibit an equal amount of darkness.
Both are very heavy drinkers, not to mention Marty is an adulterer and Rust has a drug problem. Through the past six episodes, the main three story lines have been the hunt for the killer, Marty’s home life and Rust’s home life. Rust’s life is easily presented, because he lives alone, with very little interactions with other people, while Marty’s family situation is the focus of the show quite often. “True Detective” has shown that it has great potential for being a show both about crime and the relationship between man and the inventions of man. Rust is often heard expressing thoughts on the futility of love, life and the pursuit of happiness; a very unusual and pessimistic stance on life. In return, Marty is there to inform him of how odd and uninviting it truly is to hear him say things like this.
Of the eight episodes in the season, the past six have revolved around an account of the search for the serial killer after over a decade of believing they had already caught him. The show switches back and forth between interviews of both Marty and Rust who describe their years working together and the circumstance of their supposed capture of the killer deep in the Bayou.
As opposed to many HBO programs, the substance of “True Detective” stems almost entirely out of dramatic police work and surreal plot developments. The typical violence of HBO dramas such as “Game of Thrones” and “Boardwalk Empire” is not as constant in “True Detective” (but believe us, it’s still there). So far, aside from some very stress-inducing shootouts and raids, the show has not shown a gratuitous amount of violence.
With the strange and Nietzsche-esque philosophical ramblings of Rust and the brute force mentality of Marty, the heated and unsteady dynamic between them is almost tangible. Fans have been transfixed by their strange yet entertaining relationship, as the show has gained a huge following. As for now, all we can do is wait for the last two episodes of this booming first season to air, as the plot thickens and the mystery slowly begins to clear.
