This was the moment when I knew I truly wasn't just watching any ordinary cop show.

its great to see this again, but nothing beats watching it the first time.

One of the best scenes I´ve ever seen, the first time I saw it I was completely frozen when Rust says "There´s a monster at the end of it" and Reggie presents himself, and the director masterly freezes the frame, awesome. Off topic, the creator Nic Pizzolato says in the extra material an excellent phrase: "the reason why Rust drinks during the questioning is that since he's said everything under the influence of alcohol, it can't be used against him as evidence in court"

The end was brilliantly disturbing. There's something very "1967 original Bigfoot footage" about it in the way he comes lumbering out of the woods like that...only it's not Bigfoot. lt's a *real* fucking monster.

That sinking feeling you get once you realize you're seeing something you weren't supposed to see.

I think the thing that makes it truly creepy is how he stops and looks around. You feel like he's realized he's being watched, and you're about to be spotted. Nothing will beat the first time seeing this. Absolute chills.

Matthew mcconnaughy is bringing acting to a new level

This scene is so terrifying. The music is placed perfectly.

The scariest thing about this show is not the monsters in it but the fact that no one really seems to care that they exist, that true justice is blinded by so many procedures and requirements for a case to even be made. And that various character's socio-economical status almost leaves them predisposed to be helpless in the face of true evil. We see people in the bayou almost oblivious and powerless to the constant disappearances. Rust wasn't crazy, he just saw the world for what it really was, as the 'tagline' of the show said: Man is the cruelest animal.

Man I can say I ain't an easily-rattled kind-of-guy but this sent shivers down my spine first time I watched it. The seriousness in Rust's words, the slowness in the guy with the machete, the dark ambience with the frozen image in the end.. True Detective was the real deal..

Finally we arrrrrrrrrrrrive at reginald ledoux

This show really jumped between reality to true southern gothic horror. You know the rabbit hole keeps on going deeper, deeper and deeper. The evil they are pursuing is so much bigger than what both Rust and Marty can handle on their own. They took out a small chunk but this goes way higher, out of reach.

This was the scene that completely hooked me on the series

Just imagine how much worse TV would be without HBO...

One of the best conclusions to any episode of any TV series ever made? Definitely a very stronger contender....

hes asking brother mouzone if he has ever been in a gunfight

that ending... is so creepy!!! I love this show!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

good call leaving the credits

When he's talking about how he has realized in the victim's eyes that in their last seconds they actually welcome death, i got chills. some intense thoughts about humanity.

“To realize that in all your life all your love, all your hate, all your memory, all your pain, it was all the same thing - it was all the same dream, the dream that you had, inside a locked room. A dream about being… a person” This is just so, so heavy. I watched this series in 2014 and this quote has stuck in my mind ever since. What a series. So many profound moments, and the acting is just insane. Just.... wow.

Great bit of meta horror when Ledoux stops, and then looks into the camera, like he can see you watching. Really ramps up how surreal the Carcosa cult truly is.

This is the scene they should play when Matthew gets his lifetime achievement award .. amazing acting

love that ending.."a monster at the end of it" and you see reginald. walking in the woods and turning around to look back like the bigfoot famous video of 1967. it represents a monster

Was watching the show with my dad and he rarely swears, doesn't really react to stuff in movies or TV at all. When they cut to black after freezing on Ledoux he says "That's fucked up."

Masterful. Felt the goosebumps the first time. Don't share this with someone who hasn't watched the show, use other means to persuade them, you'll ruin it for them if they just see the ending like this. You have to have been watching at least this whole episode and immersed in the show to experience it right. It has such an impact because up until this scene, the killer was ghost, there was only mere speculation and not of his appearance but of his dark character. That's what gives this eventual revelation so much potential weight. And their execution of the scene fulfilled it. Quite possibly the most impressive moment in the season for me.

I was lucky enough to watch the series on its first run with my grandpa. He loved it. And I remember his exact words when he saw that guy. Just One notch above a whisper he said “oh my Jesus Christ.” His tone was a mixture of horror and incredulity.

I love that small freeze frame at the end

I dont know why but This shit creeped me out the last scene with the killer standing there and the music..damn

This shot reminded me of the footage of Bigfoot. Almost fitting into the whole monster theme.

It was great before this but this scene I think is when it became pretty clear to me that this show was gonna be one of the best things on TV ever. And then the next 2 episodes confirmed that.

Well, I've watched a lot of TV series. My favorite is Breaking Bad. I finished this show yeaterday and I can say that True Detective achieved in 8 episodes what Breaking Bad did in 5 Seasons: perfection.

When I saw this - the monologue, pointing at the photo - and the ending....the hairs on the back of my neck just stood up.

This scene scared the shit out of me. This show is fucking terrific.

The goosebumps were real when I first saw this

I've never seen any other media capture the pure existential dread of a Lovecraft story...

This scene is perfection. The music, the freezing of the scene.

one of the most profound and chilling pieces of storytelling I've ever seen.

Mcconnaughey is going to get the Oscar for Dallas Buyers Club and the Emmy for this, no doubt. Amazing actor.

I thought about Reggie and that mask for the ENTIRE 7 days between episodes. So damn good.

1:15 is just yet another in a laundry list of meticulous detail that makes this show so immersive and great. When Papania suddenly straightens up and glances uneasily at Gilbough, it almost works as a signal to the audience. Like a, “hold on, we should be listening to this.” It catches your attention as the viewer because clearly Papania is trying to pay closer attention, so we should too. And that’s when Rust delivers the best part of this monologue. So brilliantly done, so layered and detailed.

This was probably one of the best ending scenes in an episode I've seen from any TV series. As a huge fan of William Faulkner, the show has Southern Gothic sensibilities and Matthew McConaughey remains to be in top form. He reminds me of Faulkner's Quentin Compson. He is both highly intelligent and highly neurotic, and this closing monologue was so beautiful because it showed both of that intelligence and that madness. I've watched this scene about four times and I still can't help but shiver at its brilliance. I am in love with this series.

Jeesus, LeDoux just casually strolling thru the bayou mid cook always gets me, we get to see a monster wild and free of this world's judgement. He's seen Carcosa. He knows. Fucked up that only the deranged see behind the curtain, but that's Lovecraft I guess

The end and the music creeps the hell out of me so much that i get goosebumps. I'm loving this show so much, i'm obsessed. Now we have to wait to weeks. omg.

What I got from this scene and what was so unsettling about it is that such a vague and even seemingly peaceful set of buildings with the context that it was a place of horrors, a place that is isolated and disconnected from the world. Our minds fill in the terrifying blanks and transforms a few sheds in a swamp into a place of terror and the isolation traps our imagination into a place where you and you alone experience such dark deeds and no one else knows of it, that is very unsettling. A very good play on psychological horror in this series.

True detective isn't the greatest show of all time, that could be the wire, breaking bad etc, any of your favourite series. But I truly believe there is an argument for season 1 being the greatest single season of television.

Fukunaga is a master filmmaker.

insane scene. One of my favourites of all time.

This is how you introduce a villain in a show/movie. This scene sets the scene and tone for who is about to show up at the end. Love it

The sense of foreboding that comes before this scene is brilliantly realized when you actually see this "Monster at the end of the Dream!"

Best moment in TV history for the past decade.

I remember watching this for the first time, too.. The inevitable fight-or-flight rush that surges through you at that moment is a true testament to mastery of this show’s creators

Reggie in that scene is a reference to Cthulu. The mask mimics the tentacles and ominous eyes. And the trees behind him are shaded differently than the others, and appear like giant spread wings.

"A dream you had inside a locked room"

That fade cut to the dance 17 years prior with Rust's narration is probably the most amazing thing I've ever seen on a TV show

this is how you end a fucking episode, one of the greatest episode endings ever produced. i think i saw this at the stroke of 1am on a workday and ended up binging the entire rest of the season because there was no putting it down for the night after seeing this

That outro music was so perfect it gave me chills! 😵

I've watched Twin Peaks, Deadwood, The Sopranos, The Wire and Boardwalk Empire and THIS is the best scene I have ever seen in a t.v. series.

The music in the end is what brings this all together, and creeps me the hell out

Definitely one of the most amazing endings to... anything really. The monologue with flashbacks of the dead bodies and the dance in the bar leading up to Reggie and the cut to black plus the music.. just incredible. The first time I saw it I was frozen and mind blown also creeped out like what the hell did I just watch.. phenomenal

This is the turning point in the show. It was already so good and had me hooked but after this scene I was obsessed for the rest of the season

This whole season, the scene… its just the best i have ever seen. Everything about it is just pure perfection.

Oh boy, the first Time i saw this scene with rust's monologue and that men holding a huge knife with that deadly music, pure nightmare.

“You sure I need to be in just my underwear and a gas mask for this?” “Trust me, it’s gonna be super scary.”

Since we are using Lovecraftian symbolism in this show the guy stumbling around with the gas mask on reminds me of another Mythos deity called Chunger Faughn.

Time is a circle and it keeps me coming back to watch this masterpiece of a scene. I will never forget what it felt like the first time. ❤️😱

Love how self conscious Marty is, thinking they're interrogating him about Ledoux' execution when they're actually after Rust. The benefits of watching this season again and again...

To watch this series when it first aired was magical!! We weren’t prepared for what we were watching and it was masterfully done. NOTHING has compared to Season 1 since.

Rust is frustrated in the interview because he's not just a detective, he is also a philosopher. For him, it's not just about catching the suspect, it's about catching the erroneous patterns and behaviors in the mind that can lead people down paths of evil. That is how he intuits the thoughts and intentions of killers. Also, I think that by poetically explaining what he sees looking at dead faces he's trying to infuse some kind of beauty and order back into what seems like hopeless horror. He's trying to explain that he sees things in deeper ways. It's his way of transcending the pain and sadness. Reggie sure looks like a monster but Rust also sees him as a metaphor for society. When people are out of touch with themselves and their place in the universe then we create a false dream and there will always be a monster at the end to wake us up. It is how we collectively fear death and manipulate that fear of death that we create monsters. Society is a machine that is going to bring ALL society face to face with a monster at the end. Unless we start realizing that we are all just in a locked room and when we die, we are finally free again. Brilliant show! Great writing and acting. Amazing final scene.

Still one of the greatest scenes ever produced on television in a show full of them, Seasons 2 and 3 are good, but the first is an absolute masterpiece.

After 10 years I still have goosebumps

The best show ever to exist in human history.

Am I the only one that wanted to know more about Reggie LaDoux? I just feel like watching a longer conversation between him and Rust (where Rust actually tried to read him instead of just telling him to shut up) would be some of the scariest, psychotic, cryptic shit. And that's the kind of shit I like in a psychological thriller. Still, the line "the black star rises" sticks with me when I think about the show.

The only show I have seen that talks about existence and death that way. Stating the painful truth that we all know but dread to hear.

Fucking LOVE how Marty's "ever been in a gun fight?" douchebag macho posturing was really just him detonating a handcuffed man's face LOL

This season was the season. Most brilliant acting, writing and portrayal I’ve ever witnessed in cinema.

Rust speech was truly amazing....Many of his ideas have been around for hundreds of decades especially by Indian Gurus....Like Rust says....there is no duality in the world - anger....feeling good - its all the same thing and our mind simply categorizes it for us....But at its essence they all form the same idea....and the idea is that our true spirit is not a tangible person in the real world.....but that at our essence we are a witness....a witness that is witnessing himself and their bodies and emotions , that there is no physical person , and that we are witnessing the world , as only each of us can , and we are viewing this world , each of us in our Locked Room....I personally agrree with his view , and I think its the closest you can ever get to the true meaning of life..

There was a seldom seen supernova of genius in this show from the tiniest detail to the grandest result; it also brought back the art of the soliloquy handled so masterfully by the maestro McConaughey. We the audience were the black detectives, innocent and naive, being lectured to by Hamlet.

I love how they didnt keep cutting to the two cops looking at each other like “This mf out of his mind”, instead they just let Rusts vision unravel with imagery. It was hypnotic and it was beautiful. Best TV ive seen.

what freaks me out the most is sometimes i see eye to eye with what rust says

to this day this show is levels above anything else ive ever seen

TD Season 1 is the single best season of any show. I’ll die on this hill.

The fact it freezes on the final frame somehow makes it so much more terrifying.

i could watch this series a million times and every time i would gain knowledge

I am so blessed that i was able to watch this when it first was released.

The first time I saw this scene a cold shiver went down my back. So ominous. Great show that stand the test of time; you can tell they have a great director

First time I saw this, I felt the fear. This is a literal human monster. One that preys upon children. This is not just fantasy. It happens in real life.

This hits so differently when you're a parent. I cant explain it but life is somehow more in context when you've created it - so to speak

It's the moment at 2:23 where he nearly breaks down that gets me every time.

This ending especially with the "There's a monster at the end of it line" with the shot of Reggie Ledoux walking was what made this show next level for me. The next episode with the 6 minute tracking shot sealed it but something about this clip just gives you goosebumps.

The best characters I have ever witnessed, the greatest suspense I have ever endured, the best ending I have ever felt and the best TV series I have ever watched. Thank you for the journey! A fantribute will soon be at hand.

The cosmic horror of this show made it a 10/10

Best 3 minutes of a show ever. Watched it 3x.

I called into the work the next day after watching the last scene to finish the season. One of the best ever

This scene is right up there for me along with the end scene in "Crawl Space" from Breaking Bad as one of the most bone-chilling clips I've ever seen on TV. Truly brilliant.

I just realized why this scene is so creepy: it references that old Sesame Street book called _The Monster at the End of This Book,_ which, despite being a picture book for young children, is a masterclass in building suspense and has fundamentally instilled the concepts of dread and jumpscares in millions of children since it came out in 1971. Viewers of this series instinctively respond with the same fear they had with that book, even if they don’t quite remember reading or being read it as small children.

The subtlety of rust head shake after he picks up that last can, right before he cuts it.........

The buildup to this ending was amazing. When I saw the underwear machete gas mask freak at the end it was nails in the coffin. I thought I would have nightmares. Cannot wait to see the next episode.

Even more than the monster, what strikes me in this scene is the face Cohle makes when he cuts the can open. For maybe the first time he shows real emotions. And they are bad ones. It makes the scene after even more creepy. Just a great show!

Such a brilliant move to end that episode with that guy, looking like old grainy bigfoot footage, with the tattoos and the gas mask, and you can tell he's a big fellow. They set it ups so nicely!

The ending is as if one of the modern day resident evil games, truly creepy