Like adding a new workout at the gym to give the body's muscle cells something different to consider, last Sunday night's "True Detective" went away from its format for the first time all season. We didn't need the switch -- the show had been enrapturing since episode one and even gave us its first action sequence during week 4 -- but eventually we were. Why not defy expectations and give us the shake-up before we expect it?
Because "True Detective" is tackling a subject -- detectives tracking a sexual sadistic serial killer -- done hundreds if not thousands of times in movies, books, and television. What separates it as unique is its exotic location, the acting chops of McConaughey and Harrelson, the character of Rusty, and its implied twist since day one, now confirmed: the case that defined their careers may have been prematurely closed, and wrongly attributed. More disturbing is the possibility that Rusty is somehow connected to the killer, or that he was it all along, the Yellow King.
Most wizened television watchers, of which there are likely many following a show as literary as "True Detective," don't believe Rusty is the Yellow King. Unlike the two detectives investigating the case in the present day, we saw the risks he took to get Reggie Ledoux. We also saw his intention to apprehend Ledoux and his co-cook before Marty shot him through the head. My only concern is when he slightly misled Marty about the effectiveness of his meeting with his wife (in order to get his head right for their undercover work at the biker bar). As brutally honest as Rusty had been until that point, here was an example of his lying, manipulating side. For now, I'll take it at face-value: He lied to fuel his obsession, catching Reggie Ledoux.
The most likely story explaining why Rusty is now a suspect in the murders and the reason for his fallout with Marty begins with the interrogation of the drug-induced double-murderer. His mention of the "Yellow King" plants the seed of doubt, which he insists upon Marty, who, being the smart but stubborn guy he is, likely vehemently denies the possibility. They fight and Rusty leaves, presumably to catch the true killer without the tangles of police bureaucracy.
At this point, we're left to wonder the definition of "True Detective." Is it leaving the force and catching an otherwise untraceable serial killer on one's own? Or is it meant ironically, how Rusty became the detective of his own murders, solved them, and is now killing again?
Unless more convincing evidence is presented, the former seems like the most realistic explanation. In a show that treats itself rather seriously, I couldn't imagine the latter, more fantastical scenario. I think that angle ends next episode, at least among the fans, when we hopefully get a detailed flashback of what, exactly, Rusty has been doing from 2002 to the present day. Only three episodes left.
