True Detective
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Three episodes in, its apparent that this third season ofTrue Detectiveis telling two intertwined stories at once.
The second is the story of what obsession looks like at various stages.
The Purcell abduction begins as just another case for Wayne in 1980.
By 1990, its derailed his career and begun to sour him as a person.
Its also refused to go away.
And in 2015, it haunts his fractured memory and revisits him in dreams and hallucinations.
The crimes awfulness extends to its inability to let go of those it touches.
By 1990, Wayne hasnt had a crack at a major case in years.
He resents this, even if he cant fully articulate that resentment.
Like the older Wayne, were only seeing bits of the narrative at a time.
Will lines like Did you confuse reacting with feeling?
Did you mistake compulsion with freedom?
as delivered by Amelias specter in 2015 seem profound rather than discarded lines from Shine on You Crazy Diamond?
Maybe, but waiting for that feels like a big ask on the seriess part.
Even at a comparatively compact eight episodes,True Detectivestill has a lot of space to fill.
Fortunately, the central narrative remains pretty captivating.
Brooding time is over and now theres work to be done.
Rolands questioners demand a full accounting, but whos responsible for the first accounting for being less than full?
As Waynes son, Ray Fisher hasnt had that much to do yet.
With Jeremy Saulnier out, TV veteran Daniel Sackheim steps in to direct.
Hes fine, too.
(Or it might say nothing.)
The episode doesnt linger on the photo.
It just lets it make a disturbing impression and then moves on.
