*** TRUE DETECTIVE: NIGHT COUNTRY ***

92,199 Views | 900 Replies | Last: 8 mo ago by amg405
Prosperdick
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I'm just glad the ONLY interesting character on this show, Eddie Qavvik, got his SpongeBob SquarePants toothbrush back! That really was the sole satisfying closure in the finale. Good job everyone!!!

Oh and I'm SOOOOOO glad Navarro found out her native name, that was really helpful and provided such a deep meaning to the show. Did you know it means the sunlight after a long darkness or something so on the nose it would roll the eyes of a high school creative writing teacher?
Brian Earl Spilner
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People love to **** on Lost as a terrible series finale, which I have always disagreed with.

But to make an apt comparison, this finale was as if Lost never answered --

what the smoke monster was, what the voices on the island were all about, why the island had magical properties, where the polar bears came from, why the plane crashed, or who the Others were.
Anagrammatic Nudist
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Anagrammatic Nudist said:

Anyone else think it was super odd when they asked that one worker in the factory or whatever it is if she recognized the image in the photo? The manager lady just asks her while she was walking past them, she gives a super weird "No", walks on, and then we're on to the next scene...

That seemed like the perfect initial introduction to our new lawnmower man that comes out of the blue later on after not being an integral part of the story at all up until then. Hope I'm wrong.
Bingo.
TAMUallen
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Prosperdick said:

I'm just glad the ONLY interesting character on this show, Eddie Qavvik, got his SpongeBob SquarePants toothbrush back! That really was the sole satisfying closure in the finale. Good job everyone!!!

Oh and I'm SOOOOOO glad Navarro found out her native name, that was really helpful and provided such a deep meaning to the show. Did you know it means the sunlight after a long darkness or something so on the nose it would roll the eyes of a high school creative writing teacher?


And she found the name by having a vision but we never really got anything about that beyond the fact that she's having visions. Did Danvers have a worthless one that almost killed her? Or what was that whole thing with her getting saved?
Prosperdick
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Anagrammatic Nudist said:

Feel I should take a bow for Blair. Like I said at the time, it was so glaringly obvious that it was our "Lawnmower Man".
Yet even that was botched...she was just part of the larger group of pissed off native protesters. We never even got to find out anything about her. Not that I wanted to know a lot about the "Lawnmower Man" but they took a few beats to show how truly f***ed up he and his "girlfriend" were and did it in an interesting way.

Her only interesting characteristic....missing part of two fingers. Wow...riveting!
BowSowy
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Anagrammatic Nudist said:

Anagrammatic Nudist said:

Anyone else think it was super odd when they asked that one worker in the factory or whatever it is if she recognized the image in the photo? The manager lady just asks her while she was walking past them, she gives a super weird "No", walks on, and then we're on to the next scene...

That seemed like the perfect initial introduction to our new lawnmower man that comes out of the blue later on after not being an integral part of the story at all up until then. Hope I'm wrong.
Bingo.
Congrats, you share the same wavelength with these terrible writers.

(But seriously, that was a good call)
AJ02
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What was even the point of introducing "Tuttle", the spirals, Cohle....none of that played into it ANYWHERE!!!

And if the women just told the men to take off running, why were they found in a pile with looks of terror on their faces?

Why did that one scientist who was in love with Annie (can't think of his name) start convulsing right before all hell broke loose at the station? What was the point of his trailer filled with spirals and those weird stick things?

And how does pollution help thaw permafrost? How could Annie just interpret so easily whatever incriminating paperwork was left out? I can't imagine it was a bullet list like 1. Tell mine to increase pollution. 2. Let pollution melt permafrost. 3. Harvest microorganism DNA that is easier to get to with melted permafrost.

What was Navarro's flashback/flashes to an alternate universe? Where were Danvers and Navarro at the end?
AJ02
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Oh, and why did the caribou jump off the cliff in the first episode? We just blaming that on "pollution" too?
C@LAg
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Season Four finale of HBO's crime-drama anthology not only sticks the landing it sets the standard for how to close a 'True Detective' case

C@LAg
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Anagrammatic Nudist
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BowSowy said:

Anagrammatic Nudist said:

Anagrammatic Nudist said:

Anyone else think it was super odd when they asked that one worker in the factory or whatever it is if she recognized the image in the photo? The manager lady just asks her while she was walking past them, she gives a super weird "No", walks on, and then we're on to the next scene...

That seemed like the perfect initial introduction to our new lawnmower man that comes out of the blue later on after not being an integral part of the story at all up until then. Hope I'm wrong.
Bingo.
Congrats, you share the same wavelength with these terrible writers.

(But seriously, that was a good call)
I share the same sentiment as all the comments on here... just a mess of what was supposed to be a good season. I'm actually perturbed at how obvious that Blair thing was, and mad at the fact now. Overly-formulaic to a fault, amongst many other faults in this one.
TAMUallen
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Weird, I sure thought worst not best
AJ02
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And her tongue. Where did her tongue come from? Cleaning ladies said it wasn't them. So did the scientists cut it out after they murdered her? Why would they do that and keep it? If it was Hank, why would he have planted it at Tsalal, which would then link Annie's death to the death of the scientists?
Old Tom Morris
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I think we can assume that Annie NoTongue and Sally Threefingers were into some kinky ****
Brian Earl Spilner
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C@LAg said:


Season Four finale of HBO's crime-drama anthology not only sticks the landing it sets the standard for how to close a 'True Detective' case



TAMUallen
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AJ02 said:

And her tongue. Where did her tongue come from? Cleaning ladies said it wasn't them. So did the scientists cut it out after they murdered her? Why would they do that and keep it? If it was Hank, why would he have planted it at Tsalal, which would then link Annie's death to the death of the scientists?


Well what was the random ice forming on the floor under the table about? Just another cool unexplainable thing to make it so mysterious but empty?
ExpressAg11
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All those native women watched one episode of The Cleaning Lady and said "hold my beer"
MROD92
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Absolutely BEYOND horrible, just laughable. Reminds me of when I was in grade school and told to write a story x number of pages, so just kept writing " and this happened, then that happened, followed by……" simply to achieve the required length even though none of it makes sense. Add in some tough women that can say the F word over 50 times an episode (I actually counted on the finale) tie in some loose connections to the season 1 classic, and baby you got yourself a stew going.
Brian Earl Spilner
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AJ02 said:

Oh, and why did the caribou jump off the cliff in the first episode? We just blaming that on "pollution" too?


To get off that ****ing show.
Prosperdick
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Welp, that's it. I was starting to doubt Alan Sepinwall, who I used to trust a lot with his reviews of previous shows, but his ridiculous pom pom cheering over this abortion of a show officially makes him persona non grata.

I will no longer read or trust any of his future reviews of any shows. Way to sell out Alan, pathetic.
TCTTS
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I physically cringed at "Time is a flat circle."

Was completely bored/frustrated by the rest.

(I paused it at one point, after what felt like an hour, saw that there was somehow 30 minutes left, and wondered how I was possibly going to make it though that much more of the episode.)

I alluded to this a few weeks ago, but now that we know what actually went down, the biggest mistake this season made was not having an actual serial killer, and not having he/she still being on the loose. It's not my job to define what True Detective should or shouldn't be, but if I were in charge, a staple/prerequisite of the show would be that each season HAS to orbit around an actual serial killer in some way, shape, or form. Because without one the whole thing just falls apart. There's no threat beyond the initial murder, no ticking clock until the next murder, and no one actively trying to kill our detectives the closer they get to uncovering the truth. Without the "serial killer" device, there's just simply nothing to sustain six, much less eight, episodes of a detective crime drama.

If for whatever reason this basic scenario absolutely had to be the plot for season four, though, there AT LEAST should have been a sinister character cleaning up loose ends. One who's willing to kill to protect Silver Sky's interested, who essentially plays the role the "serial killer" would, in terms of it feeling like someone's lurking out there who could strike at any minute, is constantly causing the stakes to raise, stalking/hunting our heroes, etc. There was the faintest flicker of that character in Hank, but he the absolute laziest, most pointless version.

Anyway, this could and should have been a movie and, like others have said, under no circumstances should have been a season of True Detective. I'm so glad it's over, though, because that means I can finally start my rewatch of season one, which now serves the dual purpose of also washing the horrible taste of this season out of my mouth.
ExpressAg11
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So he not only thought the finale was good but says it's better than the Rust/Marty finale in Carcosa from season 1? Wow…well hope HBO paid him well for that review because his credibility is gonna take a hit. I get posting to get clicks but that's just bad.
TCTTS
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Prosperdick said:

Welp, that's it. I was starting to doubt Alan Sepinwall, who I used to trust a lot with his reviews of previous shows, but his ridiuclous pop pom cheering over this abortion of a show officially makes him persona non grata.

I will no longer read or trust any of his future reviews of any shows. Way to sell out Alan, pathetic.

Yep, I used to love Sepinwall. He was the GOAT.

He started to lose me when he didn't care for Succession, though, I disagreed with him more and more since, and now this is the final straw for me.

I've actually seen quite a few favorable reactions to the finale on social media, and I legit don't understand what show/finale these people saw.
Prosperdick
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Another ridiculous mystery was why all their clothes were neatly folded in the snow...well, you know when a bunch of angry women march you out into the snowy wilderness to die they make sure to fold all your clothes there in case you don't freeze to death...you know, for reasons.

I guess it's the same "reason" Navarro's sister folded her clothes before she marched out naked to kill herself. I'm just shocked the Coast Guard didn't tell Navarro that they found her with her eyes scratched out and a look of terror on her face. That Coast Guard is something else I tell ya, discovering her in less 30 minutes because it's just that easy in a vast dark shoreline in a blizzard that's being patrolled, again, for "reasons."

Was there one thing that was tied up nicely in this finale??? Aside from the toothbrush? Incredible.
Prosperdick
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I'm just baffled that there was no creative solution to ANY of the mysteries that were laid out in the premier. I mean, s***, even f***ing CSI (insert city here) could lay out a mystery in the first 10 minutes of the show and at least provide a somewhat plausible and satisfying conclusion 40 minutes later. Hell, they produced at least 300 of those shows. Why didn't they consult with any of those writers?

This really makes me depressed for the future of "presitge" TV in the next few years.
TCTTS
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Ha, take a step back from the ledge. I share your overall frustrations, but like I said a few weeks ago, HBO takes chances like this all the time on "new," less experienced showrunners. Sometimes they hit (True Detective season one, among countless other efforts), sometimes they don't. It's that simple. And not indicative of anything to come.

Also, this season hasn't been good for weeks now (if not for two seasons prior). So I'm confused as to what you were expecting at this point? Why were you assuming any of these more minor questions were going to be answered? To be completely honest, I'm surprised we got as many answers as we did. But I never for a second thought anything like the one-eyed polar bear, the voices, etc, would be answered in any satisfying way. Not after it was apparent that Lopez simply wasn't up to the task.

The only one I'm even remotely surprised about is the tongue, and am in agreement it's ridiculous it was ultimately treated as flippantly as it was.
veryfuller
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I was patient. I gave the writers a chance to tell their story without getting too upset at some of the missteps along the way. I gave them the benefit of the doubt that they would pull it into some cohesion at the end, even if it wasn't my favorite. But, man, this was just truly awful. I haven't been this actively mad at a finale in a good bit.

The worst part, for me, isn't even all the loose ends/threads. It's the fact that, in a show called True Detective, about a murder investigation, the main detectives are in fact murderers and cover up murder because "justice" or something. And the show plays it straight….no moral dilemma there at all. Like we are all supposed to be cool with it. I am baffled by that choice. Taking a group of men to freeze to death is wrong, no matter what they did. Right?

This was a mess of a show that exists to underline some sort of POINT. The problem is it undercuts its own storytelling so much that all it succeeds at is confusing and frustrating its audience on its long path to its laughable conclusion.
BassCowboy33
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C@LAg said:


Season Four finale of HBO's crime-drama anthology not only sticks the landing it sets the standard for how to close a 'True Detective' case




One thing I've learned about TexAgs (especially F16), is that oftentimes the views expressed here aren't real life. This is one of the first times I've felt that on the Entertainment board. But the difference in speaking to people in the real world vs. what's said on this thread has been stark.
TCTTS
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veryfuller said:

I was patient. I gave the writers a chance to tell their story without getting too upset at some of the missteps along the way. I gave them the benefit of the doubt that they would pull it into some cohesion at the end, even if it wasn't my favorite. But, man, this was just truly awful. I haven't been this actively mad at a finale in a good bit.

The worst part, for me, isn't even all the loose ends/threads. It's the fact that, in a show called True Detective, about a murder investigation, the main detectives are in fact murderers and cover up murder because "justice" or something. And the show plays it straight….no moral dilemma there at all. Like we are all supposed to be cool with it. I am baffled by that choice. Taking a group of men to freeze to death is wrong, no matter what they did. Right?

This was a mess of a show that exists to underline some sort of POINT. The problem is it undercuts its own storytelling so much that all it succeeds at is confusing and frustrating its audience on its long path to its laughable conclusion.



I mean, Hank and the scientists were instrumental cogs in a massive corporate coverup responsible for the deaths of multiple people, along with the poisoning of what sounded like dozens if not hundreds of others, including children. While Connelly, the Captain of the police force, was aiding in the coverup as well.

So what were Danvers, Navarro, and the women who led the scientists to their death supposed to do? They would have had to go above even Connelly to get true justice, and then it's their word/evidence vs the corrupt but powerful Tuttle machine and its army of lawyers.

In other words, I totally get why they took matters into their own hands, and why Danvers and Navarro essentially looked the other way in the end. Should there have been more debate amongst them about whether or not they were doing the right thing? Sure. But the end result would have been the same.

(That's not to say I'm defending a rogue band of female janitors being the "killers" this season - that was pretty dumb - but given that scenario I at least understand their actions/motivations.)

This season was sorely missing, say, a reporter character, one who was working alongside Danvers and Navarro, who could have been their one true hope for getting the story out in attempt to bring down Silver Sky/the Tuttles in the court of public opinion (and then, eventually, in actual court). Basically circumventing Connelly/the corrupt police force, while also being a more reputable source than a bunch of female janitors. And then the other missing character I mentioned earlier, who would have essentially played the role of the "serial killer" this season - someone working on behalf of Silver Sky to tie off loose ends - could have killed the reporter, thus finally giving Danvers and Navarro the impetus to take matters into their own hands (and then, by extension, show the audience just how dire/hopeless the situation was, and want to root for them to take matters into their own hands).
BowSowy
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Prosperdick said:

Another ridiculous mystery was why all their clothes were neatly folded in the snow...well, you know when a bunch of angry women march you out into the snowy wilderness to die they make sure to fold all your clothes there in case you don't freeze to death...you know, for reasons.

I guess it's the same "reason" Navarro's sister folded her clothes before she marched out naked to kill herself. I'm just shocked the Coast Guard didn't tell Navarro that they found her with her eyes scratched out and a look of terror on her face. That Coast Guard is something else I tell ya, discovering her in less 30 minutes because it's just that easy in a vast dark shoreline in a blizzard that's being patrolled, again, for "reasons."

Was there one thing that was tied up nicely in this finale??? Aside from the toothbrush? Incredible.
Navarro's sister walks out to sea, she's found within the day. Navarro herself walks out to sea, Danvers says they doubt they'll ever find her.

This show is so full of lazy writing. It's absurd
BowSowy
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BassCowboy33 said:

C@LAg said:


Season Four finale of HBO's crime-drama anthology not only sticks the landing it sets the standard for how to close a 'True Detective' case




One thing I've learned about TexAgs (especially F16), is that oftentimes the views expressed here aren't real life. This is one of the first times I've felt that on the Entertainment board. But the difference in speaking to people in the real world vs. what's said on this thread has been stark.

I mean, if you want to go anecdotal - everyone I know who watches/watched this season (aside from one person) has either fallen off completely or was disappointed in how it ended. And the True Detective subreddit is overwhelmingly negative on this season. So it's not just some TexAgs bubble
Old Tom Morris
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Department policy is apparently to send everyone to Belize.

The "leader" of the murdering women reminded me of the native american guy in The Curse who would fake his manner of speaking.
Old Tom Morris
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BowSowy said:

BassCowboy33 said:

C@LAg said:


Season Four finale of HBO's crime-drama anthology not only sticks the landing it sets the standard for how to close a 'True Detective' case




One thing I've learned about TexAgs (especially F16), is that oftentimes the views expressed here aren't real life. This is one of the first times I've felt that on the Entertainment board. But the difference in speaking to people in the real world vs. what's said on this thread has been stark.

I mean, if you want to go anecdotal - everyone I know who watches/watched this season (aside from one person) has either fallen off completely or was disappointed in how it ended. And the True Detective subreddit is overwhelmingly negative on this season. So it's not just some TexAgs bubble


Same. It came up as a topic at a Super Bowl party last week. No one cared for it. My wife doesn't texags and gave up on it after 3 episodes.
TCTTS
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Same here. I have friends who were super into this season at first, but they either stopped watching or made it to the finale purely out of morbid curiosity. I'm starting to see a ton of negativity on social media for the finale too. Positivity from certain critics/professionals/official outlets, but now a ton of negativity from just about everyone else. It's a weird dichotomy.
torrid
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I don't think it was horrible, but it certainly didn't live up to the hype.
 
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