True Detective: Back To Black

With news that a new season of True Detective is on the horizon with actor Mahershala Ali, it got me thinking about past seasons and what made the show so special the first time around. When I first watched season 2, like everyone else I was disappointed. 3 detectives who are about as exciting as a log on a beach try to solve a murder around a complicated and bloated plot about land deals while Vince Vaughn's character goes around the city for 5 episodes demanding money. But re-watching it years later (with captions on) some interesting elements started to shine through that California Vinci smog that I hardly noticed the first time around. It really isn't a bad season. Still better than most shows on T.V.  The first episode, The Western Book Of the Dead, is fine television with memorable moments such as Colin Farrell's character Ray Velcoro beating the shit out of a bully's dad on his front lawn. Who can ever forget the immortal words "I'll come back and buttfuck your father with your mom's headless corpse on this goddamn lawn." Timeless. But something was missing. I don't know whether because Season 2 was so much change so quick or everyone still wanted more of Rust and Marty's adventures. Sometimes it feels like if Season 1 never existed Velcoro and his team would of been more welcomed. I'm guilty of this T.V. sin. Not being able to separate seasons from what was always reported to be anthology. But is it more than just wanting a second dose of Rust philosophies? I think so.

In my humble opinion what was missing from season 2 is that feeling that roped everyone up the first time around. Dread. The fear of not knowing what's around the corner. At the end of each episode you're sitting with your bowl of cereal and asking yourself "How deep does this rabbit hole go?" IMDB forums filled with theories and conspiracies, photos of episode stills shot with viewers iPhones popping up on websites to decode every clue people might of missed. The sheer terror that this might be more than a simple detective story. The crime, the murder inching towards something else. Something wicked. It was the horror, the horror. What started as a regular detective show with incredible chemistry between the two leads slowly began to veer off and transform itself into a horror movie. From when my heart dropped as the picture of the creepy "spaghetti monster" showed up on screen to Rust showing off the disturbing Mardi Gras pictures in the storage shed to Marty watching a satanic-like Illuminati ritual on video ending with a small girl being raped, every episode went deeper and deeper into a black hole you never found yourself in watching a show. The setting of the show itself set the mood for a dark conspiracy so well that looking at birds creating a formation in the back ground sent chills down your spine. You didn't know if it was a hallucination and you were getting just as crazy as Rust or nothing at all. Don't even get me started on Carcosa.

Black staaaaarrss. Ok let me stop.

I'm all for True Detective being an anthology. It sort of feels like a moving pulp magazine. But every franchise needs a theme right? Something it's known for. A trademark. It's the back drop people can count on. That even when everything is rebooted the soul that makes it truly unique remains. For True Detective it's horror. That's why most people were drawn to it in the first place. The uniqueness of merging detectives with a force of nature they can't comprehend is intriguing. Cops who are used to solving things clue by clue can't account for spiritual manifestations with ties to other worlds. Going up against immoveable rich institutions who throw their weight around like 10 ton money bags is one thing, but when you add the element of true darkness it sets the stage for something strange and welcomed in the tired detective genre.

Nic Pizzolatto pitched the show as an anthology and when talk of season 2 came around HBO rushed the process. Who can blame them? So much prestige, so fast they probably didn't even have time to think about adjusting plans for the show. Think about what really made it special in the first place. But was such a strong reboot really the smart way to go? I know connective tissue between seasons probably wasn't in the plans, you signed on for an ever changing cop show, but when you see the audience having such a strong reaction to parts of your work you don't tune it out you turn it up. Why change the mood? Why get rid of the horror elements? Why not have little new clues about the Yellow King in Season 2 just for fans to play with? You created something special. Why just throw all that away? It's nobody's fault really. It was so much success, so quick it was almost impossible at the time to figure out the next logical step. So show business did what it does best. Push out the next installment as fast as possible without realizing what made it work in the first place. But season 3 is a chance to change all that. A chance to start fresh but return to the roots. To once again give fans goosebumps across their skin as they take another trip down the rabbit hole. You don't have to try to catch lightning in a bottle again if you get the storm brewing. You just need to give your audience a small and brief taste of what once was and the bottles will fill itself.

EXT. TRAILER PARK - EVENING

Mahershala exits his vehicle and looks upon a deserted trailer park.  As his eyes shift across the landscape he glimpses upon a WORN DOWN SHACK sitting upon the only green hill in the valley. He slams his car door shut and walks up the worn out path laid before him kicking EMPTY BEER CANS along the way. He stops front and center at the shack's only door and KNOCKS.

The door opens. RUST COHLE appears. Cleanly shaven. Weight gained. Looking healthy and determined.

Mahershala

What do you know about a place called Carcosa? 

Rust smiles.

END SCENE


Chills ensues.