The grim side of the bayou

Shoutout to RottenTomatoes

In this article you'll find:

• Introduction
• Plot
• The Acting
• The Soundtrack
• Conclusion

A great amount of media depict the South of the US as a folksy fairy tale land, where everyone knows each other and wears country hats. Well, this series shows us the dark side of the "wilderness", where vast amounts of land and vegetation cover the atrocities committed in Louisiana during the 90s and 2000s.

This intriguing premise is backed up by an S-Tier cast of actors, who you'd be accustomed to seeing in a Hollywood Blockbuster rather than an HBO series.

Dialogue that sounds almost like literature, excellent cinematography and cliffhangers at the end of each chapter leave you craving for more. You'll see this and much more in a story that seems much more than something thought for the small screen.

Let's dive Into True Detective, the Peak Achievement of TV Crime Thrillers.

PLOT

Shoutout to Men's Journal

This season covers the story of two Louisiana State Police homicide detectives: Rustin "Rust" Cohle and Martin "Marty" Hart over two periods of time: 1995 and 2012, while they investigate the murder of prostitute Dora Lange in a paganic ritual and how It all connects to something much, much bigger than anyone thinks.

This plot got me from one of the first scenes, where the Lousiana State Police (LSP) Homicide Unit gets to a crime scene as they have never seen before. The lifeless body of a naked woman is found in a kneeled position with her hands tied and weird symbols on her back.

Perhaps the more disturbing elements of this image are two things: The antlers put on the head of the victim and a wooden artisanal figure, all taken from a Paganic Ritual. From just this, you might expect what the rest is going to be like.

From this point, the story leaves us with a lot of questions:

• Who's the killer?
• Who's the Victim?
• Why?
• When?
• WHAT?

But even with so many pieces of the puzzle missing, It manages to make the
hunt of the murderer natural, with detectives that are as proficient as they're flawed, and how life and work often intertwine.

Don't expect to see a shootout every episode, but when all hell breaks lose, this series is as unforgiving as It is with Its depictions of unpleasant images. You can feel the tension, the chaos and you might even let a couple chuckles slip by hearing the witty comments of our main characters.

This series has us guessing from the beginning to nearly the last act, and even when we think they have the answer, we find there's a piece of the puzzle missing. A great argument nonetheless.

THE ACTING

Shoutout to EW.com

Perhaps the main source of accolades for this show. Here you can see the difference between what TV stars and Oscar-winning actors can do.

From "Rust" (McConaughey's Character) nihilistic dialogues to Harrelson's ambivalence towards family and infidelity, all the performances are carefully crafted and interpreted, making for the most fascinating clashes of personalities I might have seen.

Examples of these displays of fine acting can be seen in different moments, such as when Marty goes to a bar and sees his recurring affair (played by Alexandra Daddario), with another man and displays his anger in a not-so-subtle sign of jealousy.

Another one of these scenes comes when this honed detective gets a taste of his own medicine: His wife (Michelle Monaghan) cheats on him with none other than his partner Rust. In the chair of their dining room, she tells him the truth in an unapologetic fashion, which sends the police into a fit of rage that would fracture our heroes' relationship.

These moments, coupled with the fact that nearly every scene McConaughey was in became an instant classic, makes this series a pinnacle of TV acting, competing even with the likes of The Sopranos and Breaking Bad.

The Soundtrack

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Who knew that country, gospel and blues could sound so depressing and haunting? After hearing the intro song: Far from Any Road by The Handsome Family, we instantly know this show isn't going to be about cowboys and bandits.

These cynic sounds turn into darker instrumentation when moments of either suspense or horrific realizations come, giving us some pitched-down classics from Bo Diddley, The Staple Singers and even Wu-Tang Clan during an action sequence.

Whatever scene It is, this score goes perfectly with the characters and the situations they find themselves in, making us more immersed in the story.

CONCLUSION

Shoutout to emmys.com

While the art direction of True Detective was subtle at times, at other points It got seriously dark, with the twig figures made by the killer and the really realistic death scenes.

Looking in retrospect, there wasn't a moment where I didn't feel deeply engaged by what was happening in the screen, keeping me guessing what would happen next and even making me imagine the possibility of the worst-case scenarios.

A combination of perfect story, characterization and setting make up for some of the best roles of actors no strangers to praise and accolades, with roles that seem perfectly tailored for them. If you want another reason to watch an HBO Series, this is one.

That's why, I give this a 5/5 Stars.

I hope this article could have shed some light to this series, dark and beautiful in Its own way, giving you something to watch this weekend. Thank you for your support and good luck!