True Detective Season 3 Round-Up Review
True Detective (2019) created by Nic Pizzolatto
True Detective is an enjoyable show that is in quite a puzzling position. The crime anthology started in 2014 on HBO and quickly made a name for itself with stunning surreal visuals, storytelling, and acting. The first season which stars Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson is regarded as nearly flawless in my book, and while the second season was good it never got to the same heights. HBO and creator Nic Pizzolatto were very dodgy on if there was even going to be a third season after the mixed reviews of season two and Pizzolatto being burnt out after writing every single episode. Thankfully, all parties involved took their time to craft something satisfying and fresh with the third season.
Mahershala Ali plays Detective Wayne Hays, along with Stephen Dorff as his sometimes partner Roland West, and Carmen Ejogo as Amelia Reardon. This season follows Hays through different decades of crime work, all revolving around the disappearance of two children, Will and Julie Purcell. The first handful of episodes does a masterful job of setting up all the fleshed out characters, the crime, and the stakes of that crime to the community involved. Wayne is a hard-headed Vietnam veteran that succeeds in police work because he has a wide scope of thought process. Detective West is more interested in getting results and justice. Througout the years, we see Hays struggle with the details of the case, as well as his ego and more importantly his deteriorating mental health. This struggle will often have Hays cut from decade to decade, which offers a scattered snapshot just long enough to keep you intrigued.
Say what you will about the finale, True Detective is still one of the strongest shows on television that will haunt you after watching it. Sometimes that's because of the subject matter being so disturbing, but this season it's because of the craft that's been created. The story is zigzagged but it holds you until its satisfying conclusion. The spark that made its first season so magnetic is defintely still there.