One thing that's always interested me about this show is that fact that the first half of it is not told linearly, and I wonder why it is that why and if it would be more effective to put all the interview scenes into one episode rather than having them spread out in the beginning. I think you made some good points when talking about the timeline of the show which helps back up why the way they did it works.

I definitely think it aids the overall tension of the last two episodes, normally I don't like flashbacks in storytelling, but I really liked the way this show handled them.

Thank you so much! I'm glad it was up your alley! I think character development is easily the most crucial component in storytelling.

Hey, this video looks really great but I'm french so can you consider to add some english subtitles please ?

Correction: there is some problems with the subtitles at the beginning of the video

Both of them end up living such depressing lives by the end, but yeah, that scene especially got to me. Thank you for your comment!

Joshua Katinsky for sure man, very sad. Eating TV dinners, regretting his life. Missing his wife.

I felt for Marty in that scene because he was all alone didn't live with his family anymore. Seemed real lonely. Made me realize that's how I'ma end up 😂😭

Yeah shit made me sad lol

110%.

That's what Pizzolato doesn't seem to understand, or rather won't admit. TV is the Writer's medium (as opposed to Cinema being the director's) If Fukunaga wasn't as involved, and we can see that in Season 2, the Show would just be a dumb, typical cop drama. The fact to have One director allowed to have more visual storytelling, framing, motifs, etc

CrabTastingMan the writing is a little pretentious, but still good. Rust was a great character, if you want to pick him apart like that you can, but he lost a child, consider that. Maybe he is a sad man.

@@CrabTastingMan You sound panicked.

@@alexandredo5142 100% man, such a shame he didnt do the rest. You look at S2 then again at Maniac and it tells you all you need to know about how good Fukunaga really is.

close friends in real life both texans

He's a fascinating character to watch grow. The death of his daughter really messed him up, but he finally starts to find the light in the end, and I think that's beautiful.

Agreed. I think those of us in "death-haunted" professions will resonate strongly with Cohle and his worldview.

Torgo1969 definitely. If you’ve seen bodies, you get fucked up over time

It's gorgeous. Some of my favorite cinematography ever to grace the small screen.

Especially that one long cut scene doing the heist! I rewatched the whole series just because I had a hankering for that sequence again

Thank you! Right? I can see why he wouldn't, I can't imagine the stress of directing what basically amounts to an 8 hour film, but he's brilliant, and his direction really brought something to the show that seems like it's missing in season 2(though I haven't seen it yet).

From what I remember, Fukanga and Nic had a bit of falling out which almost torpedoed the last few filmed episodes of S1. A Fukanga-less S2, like a show like Breaking Bad, proves that the epic character development/studies in True Detective didn't stand alone; rather beautiful, aesthetically-pleasing directing and cinematography needs to come together with the arcs to make a beautiful art. For example, after a point, a lot of people don't even care all too much about the actual stories where a Fukanga, George Miller, Roger Deakins, Steven Soderbergh or, even at times, a Quentin Tarantino, are involved. If all you want is a great plot, go watch a play. Beautiful filmmaking that prioritizes the power and the beauty of the camera like this awesome, standalone season of television, will always have fans.

How can you make that judgement if you haven't seen it?

Does anyone know what the beef between Nic and Cary was all about?

probably jealousy :)

It's definitely up there!

The ending ruined it for me, it was so good and then it just abruptly turned supernatural for no reason. They were grounding it in religious belief and disbelief and decided to just say "its real" That just ruined it for me

Exactly, it was planned from the beginning so it wasn't tacked on, that was always the intended arc for the characters. Thank you so much! Glad you dug it!

While TDS01 is one of the best shows I've ever seen, I have to disagree with the ending. I don't believe that both characters should have died, but Cohle probably should have. I don't think that an anti-natalist/nihilist like Cohle would change his position after the events of the story and certainly wouldn't change them to the position he ends up taking. It just doesn't ring true for me. As in absurdism, suicide isn't the answer either and I feel that killing Cohle would have provided the release he desperately needed, without him having to do it himself. Not only would this have been highly compelling and emotional, but I think that Marty may have come to see at least a little of Cohle's position too, which would add to the poignancy. When you look at great stories, they often say more than the author intended. While some authors/directors intend a lot (eg. Scott & Bladerunner), the greatness lies in creating believable characters and/or stories. When this happens, those characters or stories can take on lives of their own. Sometimes this goes as far as defying what the author has expressly intended (think Milton and Paradise Lost). I believe that the character development in TDS01 is fantastic, hence this great video. But I do believe that the ending somewhat betrays the realism and power that the characters and story display throughout the series up to that point.

I'm going to copy my response from another comment who had a similar complaint: Rust is a smart man, but I wonder how much of it he really believes. Even if you watch interviews with Nic Pizzolatto he talks about that pretty openly, it's all a facade to protect himself. One of the things about masculinity the show delves into is how men tend to stuff down their pain instead of talking about it, this is his way of doing that. Losing his daughter breaks him, as it would anyone, by taking on this nihilistic viewpoint, he removes the need to grieve for his daughter. Hell, she's lucky, she got to die happy and young instead of growing old in this horrible world. So he works in homicide, seeing all of the dead bodies, all of the autopsy and crime scene photos just reminds him of the fate that could have met his daughter had she been spared that day. In his mind, she got off easy, right? But there's always that part of him that hopes for more, hopes for justice, for peace, even maybe happiness someday. It's why he tries dating, gets closer to Maggie/etc. But then when he finds out The Yellow King is still out there he loses what little hope he had left and just isolates himself from everyone. He wants to punish himself for not catching him, even when they both earned a lot of notoriety for catching him. So in the end, finally succeeding, he felt a release, something changed in him. Couple that with a near death experience(notorious for changing people) and I don't see how it's hard to believe. And it's not that he "throws away" his beliefs, he just finally gets that different perspective of "Yeah, the world is a horrible place sometimes and maybe we are some cosmic mistake, but we can feel love, and that love is what can save us." You see him struggle with that throughout the show, he wants to love, but he's terrified of being hurt again. But in the end he realizes that Marty is actually a true friend, one of the few he's probably ever had in his life, and having that near death experience put him front and center in confronting his issues, he couldn't hide from his daughter or his father anymore, and he finally allowed himself to feel some real pain. There are definitely religious overtones to that final scene, but it's left open for interpretation in that regard, he mostly just shifts his perspective and gains a little bit of optimism.

Firstly, thanks for taking the time to reply. While I take your point (and Pizzolatto’s) about the classic male attempts to deny emotions, I still think that this position is predicated on questioning the beliefs of a character who gives us no real reason to do so. Cohle exhibits no contradictory behaviour or flawed understanding of his own position. While it’s always an interesting exercise to question underlying character motivations, Cohle’s position is an extremely complex one, not one easily arrived at, nonetheless one he articulates flawlessly - and the writers should be commended for creating such an engaging character capable of embodying/exploring concepts well beyond what is commonly portrayed. I still think that the ending is an example of a director pulling their punches. This happens regularly, either due to pressure to appease audiences, financial backers, the director’s unwillingness to conclude in a bleak manner or issues between directors/writers etc. I still think that killing Cohle acknowledges the bleak and horrific occurrences we witness in the show (and the world) and, as such, is a more fitting ending. As I previously stated, I also think it would have been more poetic and poignant. However, if they decided to keep him alive, in order to show character progression/change/overcoming important obstacle, then I just don’t think he’d come up with a line about feeling the love of dead people waiting for him on some other side. Cohle certainly achieves a much more positive outlook and states that anything he left back 'there' (hospital/netherworld) he no longer needs. This is a retreat from his earlier, truly nihilistic position, which I’m happy to see. While our pre-programmed capacity to feel is partly why I disagree with a truly nihilistic position and, while Cohle no longer needs the ‘safety’ of that position (as you rightly point out), it nonetheless represents a denial of what Cohle so accurately represented and what is till true: there is no overarching point and what good they have done pales in comparison to what still happens. That, to me, is an interesting idea and one that avoids any cliché. It also more confidently subverts the classic detective tropes in the same way Chinatown does. Subversion of the detective genre often looks at the inadequacy of the law, or the detective, to bring about 'justice' in the face of a corrupt system. Cohle's corrupt system is the universe itself and that idea is far more engaging and subversive in my opinion. Killing Cohle makes the point far more powerfully. Some people claim that the ending doesn’t revert to cliché, but I feel that the positive spin the show ends with IS the cliché. Regardless of whether or not it’s accurate or to what degree it’s positive. While it is left somewhat open, as you say, to me that lends weight to my argument: that a more bleak ending is available and they just couldn’t quite resolve themselves to go for it. It’s still awesome and in no way does it ruin the entire show, I just would have liked to see them go all the way. Much like the story of Pandora’s Box, True Detective ends with the introduction of hope. However, there are strong arguments supporting the idea that what the story of Pandora intended is that hope is the most painful affliction of all. That, to me, better represents the conclusion of a TRUE detective.

True, but he's been set in his ways for a while. Recall the line (paraphrasing)"I know who I am now, and after enough time, there's a victory in that". So it's not super obvious his contradictions, but they're there, Marty calls him out on it all the time. "For someone who sees existence as pointless, you sure fret about it an awful lot". If he was truly nihilistic, saw no point in anything, why would he put himself through hell to try and save innocent people? His whole life is a contradiction to what he espouses, Marty sees right through that, as does Maggie. Normally I'd agree with you, it is all too often the coward's way out, part of why people love so much about Breaking Bad or Game of Thrones. But Nic had the entire script written and approved before they even started shooting, the vision the entire time was to leave them alive and altered in some way. It had nothing to do with studio meddling or anything like that, it's the way he always intended the story to go. Have you ever had a near death experience? I haven't, but if you read about them, it changes people. I once read how Elon Musk came down with Malaria that almost killed him, and that served as a big motivation to start working as hard as he had to to get where he is. The way I read that final scene is that he's been holding those feelings inside for a really long time, he went numb after his daughter died and then spent years deep undercover on every drug you can imagine. He never gave himself proper time to heal, he just threw himself into his work and shut everyone out, but in the face of death he finally confronts the pain he stuffed down for so long, and it changed him. I think that subverting the genre is definitely part of the show's point, but I think the main message of the show is that we're all human, we're all fragile, and we all need to love and be loved. I think the show demonstrates just how bad things can get for you if you try and fight it, and both Rust and Marty fight it in their own different ways. It argues that you don't have to fix everything in this broken world to find happiness. You don't have to lighten up the entire sky and wash away all of the darkness, it's okay to be one of many smaller and dimmer lights helping in the fight.

That's what I had been thinking too, funnily enough, another MUCH bigger channel uploaded one just a couple of days after me. You should check it out though, it's from Lessons from the Screenplay and it's really good. But thank you for your comment, I'm glad you liked the video :)

That's a bingo!

Absolutely, the super creepy almost mythological vibe is very unique to the genre. Also, Rust is just one of the greatest characters ever written in my opinion.

Time is a flat circle.

People will quote that Bible verse again.... And again... And again... Forever.

Right? Honestly what bums me out about a lot of the blockbusters coming out these days, like, I know I'm watching the start of a multi-billion dollar franchise, let's not pretend that there's any chance you're killing off the main character XD Thank you so much!

Thank you! Couldn't agree more, and Matthew's performance just really sends it up to being one of the greatest things I've ever seen. Yeah...I mean, it was pretty, it was fun, but totally lifeless.

Film Radar Woody is equally as good, the season wouldn't have been the same without both of them

Totally agreed, I just think that Rust has more to work with, but oh yeah, Woody was absolutely crucial to the show.

I have to agree - Rust wouldn't have been half so effective a character without Marty played and written so well. An outstanding pair of characters that I feel genuinely wouldn't have had nearly as much impact without the two powerhouse actors at the top of their game feeding off each other.

They need great storytellers for Star Wars, Rian Johnson, Cary Fukanaga, Ava Duvrenay,etc. I believe Gareth said that he comes up with the scenes and makes them tie in together? Did I hear that right? Also could you imagine a Vader or Underworld Star Wars Movie directed by someone like Fukanaga???

Honestly I've considered revisiting the first season for another video. It's one of my favorite things in fiction.

@@daniel_netzel you're good at it. I'll watch it.

Thank you so much for the kind words! I'm really glad you enjoyed the video :D

Reading scripts can be super instructive, especially when you have the final product to compare it to. I'm glad you enjoyed the video!

Haha, thanks. Though I have to admit...it was just one of those happy accidents of editing ;) But we can pretend it was intentional right? XD

Hey thanks for saying so! I'm so glad you've been enjoying the content! Haha, yeah, my channel just never seems to get the right exposure, hopefully that can change one day.

Awesome, so glad you're digging the content! And thank you so much for subscribing!

One of the things I really loved about the show was how it played with the audience's imagination. All of the talk of Black Star, and Carcosa, it creates this really unsettling mythology that occupies the mind more than the real space that the characters exist in. My personal opinion is that the show was very grounded in the real world, and real people in our real world believe some pretty wild things, and that was always my interpretation. Though the show never explicitly states that what they believe in is bullshit, so I'd say if it makes the story more compelling for you that way, you have every right to see it that way.

Film Radar Dang.. great breakdown, as always! Even the simple fact that, out of all the content you could've made a video on, you chose the characters. That was a little enlightening to me, I get sidetracked by themes and form etc, but really, the show's about two dudes coping with their world. Sorry for ranting, you're just a smart dude lol thanks for being here, as always

It's really fantastic, one of the best in recent years.

Thank you kind sir!

Thank you so much! I think it's slowly becoming a more popular genre as time goes on, most people love movies, and who wouldn't want to learn more about them? If you're looking for other channels like mine, I have a whole list of them on my channel recommendations, every one of them is more than worth your time.

That's quite the compliment! Adam is terrific, he's a good buddy of mine and I love his videos! Yeah, he's definitely seeped in to my content a little bit, but I feel like I diverge further from him with each video...except for maybe the voice over :P Thank you very much!

Thank you, I'll certainly try!

Wow, thank you! I always feel like I can get it to sound better, but sound is a fickle mistress, and if anything gets picked apart about my videos more than anything else, it's the voiceover, so I really appreciate the compliment. Hahaha, you won't hear me complaining ;)

Thank you! I'll do what I can!

Thank you very much for the kind words! BO'S IN THE HOUSE.

*breathing heavily trying not to fangirl* Reverie by Claude Debussy. One of my favorites :)

Reverie

Listen also to Claire de lune

Thanks for your comment! It really is something incredible, here's hoping season 3 is something worthwhile.

Thank you kindly!

Thanks for saying so! :)

Thank you for saying so! :>

Thank you! Mine as well, really hoping the show can get back on its feet with the new season.

Film Radar I wasn't a fan of season 2. It's gonna be hard. I would love if they just stick with the two cops instead of focusing on multiple characters. Tom Hardy and Leonardo DiCaprio

Thank you :) It's up for there for me as well, right alongside my favorites like Game of Thrones and Breaking Bad.

Awesome! How'd you end up finding me? Thanks for subscribing! I hope you enjoy your stay!

Film Radar KZfaq suggestions. I'm a fan of LFTS and Nerdwriter1 as well. It would be awesome if you do a collab someday, with your level of quality.

Sweet, I'm glad KZfaq is helping me out! Oh man, I'd love to collaborate with either of them, I think I still have to earn some more stripes before that's a possibility though.

Thank you dude! It's absolutely incredible isn't it? Let's hope season 3 is the return to glory we're all hoping it will be.

I'm one of the few that enjoyed the second season. Obviously it doesn't compare to the original but it had some great moments imo. But yeah, fingers crossed.

You are quite welcome!

I always try and make my videos quick and easy to digest, so I'm glad you thought it was!

I appreciate you saying so!

I appreciate you saying so! I put a lot of thought into the music choices, especially when deviating from the OST, so I'm glad it didn't go unappreciated

Thank you kindly!

You wouldn't be the first one to make that mistake, but hell, I'll take it as a compliment! Thank you so much for the kind words!

Thank you! I completely agree. Killing them off would have worked if he was trying for a different ending, but he wanted to have that optimistic spin on it, which I loved. These days, cynicism has run rampant(which isn't a bad thing)but it's nice to see some honest sentiment every once in a while. It's possible, I haven't watched it yet, so I can't make any promises, but I'll check it out one of these days!

Thank you kindly!

Thank you very much! I get compared to him a lot for my voice, but I like to think our videos feel very different from one another. I appreciate the kind words, glad you liked the video

Thank you very much! Enjoy your stay!

Thank you so much for saying so! I wish you luck with your project!

Thank you! I shall!

Couldn't agree more! One of the greatest seasons of any television series.

Thanks dude! They definitely get better than this tbh

Thank you :D

Hahaha...yeah, we do sound alike at times :P

Thanks for saying so!

Thank you for subscribing!

Thank you!

Thank you for watching!

I really appreciate you saying so! Hopefully it continues to grow into a real grown up job someday xD

I have no doubt.

Thank you! Hey man, it's never too late ;) I honestly can't think of a single movie(that I adore) where the plot comes before the character, Shawshank is a great example. The plot could be summed up in one sentence "A guy gets wrongly convicted of a crime he didn't commit and spends the next few decades of his life in prison before ultimately escaping". Boom, that's the entire plot, the movie is a movie because of the relationship between the characters and man I need to watch that movie again soon xD Thank you for your comment :D

Thank you!

Thank you kindly! I'm glad I could do it justice :D

Same tbh

Thank you so much! I'll do what I can :)

Hahaha, you're quite welcome! Though, I should note, I LOVE the plot of Prometheus and Covenant, honestly, they had potential to be some of the best sci-fi films of all time, they just reallllllly needed some re-writes from someone who understands characters better. But man they were close to being masterpieces.

Prometheus and Covenant tried so hard to appear deep and smart instead of actually being deep and smart... Also both add new elements in an inflationary manner. The characters really were a minor problem, as pretty much everything about that movie betrayed the classic Alien movies. In that way, Rogue One seemed much more honest to me. Really just playing around with what was there already and allowing the universe to have an inner coherence. If the price for that is to have paler characters, I am fine with that. I have seen too many movies breaking their reality and failing to generate any dynamic by just following the characters, or simply overstaying their welcome just in order to add that one more dimension I could have done without.

I definitely picked up some habits from him, I try and put my own spin on it of course, but sometimes it really comes through and even I'm like "When did Evan switch my voiceover with his?". If you go back and watch older videos my voice used to sound pretty different as I was figuring out how the hell to do this whole thing, and the way I do it these days is just what feels most comfortable to me, hopefully it's not too off-putting though!