HOLLYWOOD – Actor Matthew McConaughey has had a phenomenal 2013 and early 2014. Not only did he star in some of the best films of the year, “Mud,” “The Wolf of Wall Street” and his Oscar-winning turn in “Dallas Buyers Club,” but he moved to TV also. His crime-thriller “True Detective” on HBO has been delivering some must-see TV moments, and it all culminated on Sunday night with the finale ‘Form and Void’ which culminated all the twists and turns this season.
First and foremost, our title characters Rustin Cohle (Matthew McConaughey) and Eric Hart (Woody Harrelson) found themselves in the clutches of the elusive killer that they had been tracking for years. The great concept about “True Detective” is its simplicity of storytelling that is so simple it immerses the audience into the story within seconds of each episode.
The revelation in the previous episode of the identity of the killer was a shocker to say the least, but the season finale more so focused on what would happen once Cohle and Hart cornered the elusive party that they’ve been tracking for nearly two decades. The biggest clue for our heroes was a house that had been painted a new color, thanks to Hart for figuring out that detail, that so many viewers overlooked. That clue led the partners to Errol Childress ‘The Green-Eared Spaghetti Monster.’ This was indeed a villain who oozes creepiness, and a look that can send chills down a person’s spine.
The fact that our protagonists tracked down the villain without alerting anyone else of the situation, spelt disaster in my opinion; the fact that it was leaked the previous week that Matthew McConaughey would not be returning to the series, already forced me to speculate, this season finale would not end happy. The scenery gave the perception of something out of the “Silence of the Lambs.” A dilapidated residence, a grassy fortress, not a person in sight, it was right out of a horror movie.
While Hart questioned Childress’ creepy aunt/cousin/girlfriend, Cohle spotted Errol from a distance attempting to escape. That’s where the mastermind of a serial killer emerged, as it was his goal to lead both protagonists through his maze of misery. When I say perhaps hundreds of bodies were strewn through this maze I meant it. I was on the edge of my seat seeing Cohle enter into this foray not being more cautious of the trap he was venturing into it.
Hart did his best to coerce the mystery lady to reveal Errol’s whereabouts, but she was just as elusive as our villain; if anything she forced a bit of fear into Hart regarding what they may have just walked into. With every move it appeared Cohle was closing in on the killer or in the audience’s perception, the killer was leading him into the ultimate trap. That trap culminated with a galaxy spectacle that diverted Cohle’s attention. His demise was in question after being stabbed by the big beast. While the attack seemed imminent the brutality of it was much more frightening. With a knife to the chest, Errol planned to finish Cohle with a small axe to the head, but our protagonist fought with every once of energy to stay alive by head-butting Childress multiple-times to free himself.
Just when he was about to finish Cohle, Hart rushed to his rescue gun in head, unaware that Childress had been expecting him. Without hesitation that axe pierced through Hart’s chest! Wow, is “True Detective” planning to wrap its season finale by killing both of our heroes? It sure looked like it. But as Cohle slowly laid bleeding to death, gunshots emerged, when it looked like Marty was about to meet his demise, Rust delivered the final bullet to the killer’s head putting him out of his misery.
In the end, both heroes survived their near death experiences, but it was Cohle who learned the biggest revelation of all in his time of crossing to the other side. That emptiness that he had been experiencing, no longer existed he knew there was more to life. The detectives who drifted apart were driven back together in a goal to solve a 17 year-long murder mystery. “True Detective” gave fans a stellar first season, for the first time in a long time, I can exactly say I was satisfied with not seeing a major character bite the dust as it happens so often in television to send a ‘shock’ to the viewer.
Shocks can be sent without them being overly evident, both Harrelson and McConaughey proved that with their characters who not only solved a crippling crime, but learned something about themselves in the process. We grow each day, the moment that we stop learning something about ourselves is the moment that we die. Until season two “True Detective” lovers, minds are already churning with ideas and possible candidates to star on the series.
