After watching the finale of the third season of "True Detective", I was a little confused, but the more I think about it, the more aftertaste I feel .
The brief review I wrote in January ( "True Detective" S3E1-E2: An unsolved unsolved case spanning 35 years ) and many people's guesses have basically been invalidated. The three timelines in this play are all true. , and there is no "smoke bomb" that combines the virtual and the real. The S3 of "True Detective" is an honest and practical three-line synchronization to tell the whole story.
Purely from the perspective of case resolution, this season is a bit anticlimactic , the atmosphere is so good, Wayne, Roland and others have paid such a big price, but the result is a "small case" of "one mistake and another mistake"; The crime itself, throughout the whole play, can be found that it has a large pattern and a lot of heat. It smashes and smashes real issues such as crime, society, race, justice, and people's hearts, and stirs it into Wayne's life.
In short, "True Detective" S3 is not the kind of "good drama at first sight", it requires you to taste it slowly and discover the hidden treasures inside.
[Warning: In-depth spoilers below! 】
case backtracking
Although at the end you will find that the crime is not the real point, but it is the carrier that shoulders the entire show, so it is necessary to review it. The following is a review of the case based on my personal understanding. If there is any objection, you can also discuss it together.
in 1980
Jonius Watts (Mr. Joan) is an employee of Hoyt Foods. After the boss "daughter" Isabel lost her husband and lost her daughter, Joan took care of her around the clock and became Isabel's half adoptive father.
In 1979, Isabel met Julie Purcell by chance and regarded her as her own daughter. Under Joan's matchmaking, Julie's mother Lucy agreed to collect money to let her two children play with Isabel - but on Halloween in the 1980s A week later, Isabelle, who had stopped taking her medicine, wanted to take Julie home and accidentally killed Will who was stopping him.
Joan pressed things down and kept reassuring Julie that "brother is fine". Before they left, Julie made Will's gesture, and Julie threw the straw doll on the road. Maybe she hoped that someone would find the "injured" brother as soon as possible. ...
Julie, Isabelle, Joan and others hid behind the deep wall of Hoyt's house, and the outside was a mess because of the discovery of Will's body. Wayne, Roland and others pursued various clues and gradually approached the truth.
After all, Isabel and Joan did not deliberately hide from everyone when they came to play with the children. As long as they were intentional, they would definitely leave clues.
However, the emergence of the "murder case" filled the town with tense fear and nowhere to vent anger , and the townspeople took their anger on Woodard, the scavenger.
Although Woodard has basically been cleared of suspicion, because of his race, identity, work, and loner and poor communication style, conservative and xenophobic townspeople still included him on the "untrustworthy list".
Because Woodard "ignored the warning" and talked to the child again, the excited townspeople had a strong intention to "rectify the law on the spot" - but this time, Woodard did not intend to sit still, but was in his own home as a soldier fought a self-defense counterattack.
Woodard has long been unlovable, and he deliberately saved Wayne's life to let the "comrade-in-arms" who also went to the battlefield end his unhappy life.
The Hoyt family has been closely monitoring the investigation, and the shooting has given them hope for peace : Joan, through Harris James, a patrolman who helped Isabelle settle the accident, put Will's schoolbag and Julie's clothes in the crime scene. on site……
Then Harris took the money to buy Lucy, and let her completely rot the doubt and the truth in her stomach.
10 people were killed in the shooting, and there was "conclusive evidence" for the killing of two children. The county law enforcement department felt that the case could be closed. Neither the case-handling department nor the general public wanted to be frightened anymore. Besides, the dead person would not argue, so the case was closed this way. , good for everyone.
Wayne and Emilia didn't think so. The latter also published questioning remarks in the newspaper. Because Wayne was unwilling to publicly refute the clarification, he was transferred to the public information department and sat on the bench.
the year 1990
After Julie was brought into the "pink room", Isabel kept drugging her secretly, which caused Julie's memory and cognition to be often confused ... But Julie still grew up, and short-term happiness was no match for freedom and real life. yearning, she wanted to leave.
After Joan found out the truth, she couldn't bear it. One day in the 1990s, she secretly helped her keep the door. As a result, after Julie escaped, she did not join him and ran away. After that, she left fingerprints in the convenience store and restarted the seal . The "Purcell Case" of the past 10 years.
Roland, who had become a vice-captain at this point, pulled his old partner Wayne back to the investigation team, and they realized that there were others looking for Julie as well.
Julie shouldn't have been told Tom so early - it took the poor father five or six years to slowly come out of the shadow of losing his family, and the sudden hope brought him back to his original shape again , for various "factors" "Affected, Tom spoke out publicly, hoping that his daughter could be reunited with him.
But Julie, who lacks information and is not very clear, doesn't know what happened. She doesn't believe her father . She even feels that Tom betrayed herself back then, so she called him to warn him to "stay away from me".
This abnormal performance made the investigation team have to re-examine Tom's identity in the case, and the original correct investigation direction deviates again .
At the same time, Wayne's wife Emilia is also investigating, and she has even found the convent where Julie once appeared... At the launch of her new book, Emilia met 10 years ago. Joan of the physical features of the man Wayne is looking for.
Joan wants to find Julie to make up for his fault, but he has no clue now, and he came to question an author who wrote a book, which is the proof that he has been searching for nothing.
During this sensitive period, Lucy's cousin Dan appeared again. He used "major clues that can help solve the case" to make deals with Wayne and Roland, but he didn't expect to tell the information under Tom's gun first. .
Dan's information is very simple: he knew that Lucy had a deal with the Hoyt family . Lucy died of a drug overdose in 1988, and 80% of it was inseparable from the Hoyt family.
Shortly after Harris "helped" in 1980, he went to Hoyt to work as chief security officer. He did almost all the dirty work related to the follow-up of the Purcell case . He could fake Lucy's accidental death, naturally. It is also possible to fake Tom's guilt suicide.
After Dan's disappearance and death, it should be Harris' masterpiece (Isabel died not long after Julie escaped).
Tom's death once again led to a hasty conclusion of the case, but this time Wayne's reaction was more intense. He encouraged Roland to go to Harris, who was suspected of confessing. As long as he was willing to speak, many questions could be easily solved - but they despised Harris. The determination to keep a secret.
Under Harris' fierce resistance, Roland killed their only clue and ruined their belief as "Messengers of Justice". It's time for them to stop.
Wayne was probably the only one who didn't give up completely, until Hoyt personally came to threaten him, and he put out the thought of checking it out.
From the conversation between Wayne and Hoyt, it can be understood that as the biggest supporter of Isabel, Joan, Harris and others, he did not participate in the beginning of the 1980s, but the development of the general direction of the situation is indispensable. He was behind the scenes.
2015
Twenty-five years have passed, and Wayne has not put down the Purcell case. Alyssa came to him for an exclusive interview with the latest investigative information.
But that's not enough for Wayne, who has limited mobility and often loses his memory, so he needs the help of his son Henry, who has also entered the law enforcement system.
On the one hand, Henry wanted his father to enjoy his old age, but on the other hand, he couldn't resist his father's persistence. While taking care of his life, he also helped him find Roland.
The secret of those years ruined Roland's life and career. He had no wife and children, only his beloved dog depended on each other... Roland was brooding about Wayne's ignorance, encouragement, and no apology. Big deal.
Wayne sincerely apologized, and hoped that his old partner could join him in ending the unfinished business... Roland looked at the tears of the two old guys and couldn't refuse.
With the deepening of the talk show, Alyssa finally revealed her true purpose: she wanted to put the Purcell case on "pedophile organizations" and "serial killers", and high-level government officials were involved in the destruction of corpses- three The case in Louisiana years ago gave her a great "inspiration".
Alyssa is bent on making big news, and Wayne, who has been dissatisfied with the outcome of the case for many years, is a key part of her "complete puzzle"... However, Wayne is not interested in her careful thinking , from where Alyssa After getting the name "Wats", he dumped the entire show crew.
Through a series of visits, Wayne and Roland successively found some insiders, the "pink room" of Hoyt's house, and Jonius Watts, a one-eyed black man who "cared for" for 35 years, and learned the truth of the case.
Joan has always wanted to surrender or commit suicide, but has no courage. He hopes that others will punish him - but now, the two old men have long lost the right to enforce the law, not to mention that letting Joan live in remorse and guilt is the best punishment for him. .
Julie was "dead", as was the case when Joan found the convent in '97, and when Wayne and Roland came in '15 (the nun who informed them of her death was the girl Emilia visited in '90).
Things have come to an end, but Wayne realizes the truth through a revelation: Julie is not dead, he and Mike, who loves him, come together and live another new life.
When Wayne finds Mike's house, he forgets the reason why he is here. He is looking for Julie for 35 years, but he doesn't know anything.
This "end without an end" seems better to Wayne and Julie.
bumpy love road
If the case is the bones and flesh and blood of "True Detective" S3 , then Wayne's feelings for Roland, for the child, for himself, and for Emilia are the spirit and soul of the show , especially the latter, which "hides" Behind the "case", there are whispers of the insignificance of "self" compared to "era", and the value of "knowing each other" and "true love".
in 1980
Wayne is a taciturn and lonely person. She is attracted by the elegant and profound Emilia, but she doesn't know how to approach her . It is all because of caring and investigating the case together that they have more opportunities to meet and get along.
In the process, they can talk about the case as much as they want, and occasionally talk about their cognition of themselves and the world. The two have the same characteristics, which allows them to develop further.
It's not that Wayne hasn't talked about his girlfriend, and Emilia is more experienced, but they never let another person enter their hearts ... Especially Wayne, he admits that he has a psychological defect, as if to imply Ai while pursuing Miria don't get close to herself.
But this didn't reduce Emilia's interest in him at all. Maybe she wanted to know more about the case, or maybe she really just wanted Wayne to "smile" more.
After killing Woodard, all the panic and fear hidden in Wayne's body were released. At this moment, it was Emilia who helped him take off his bloodstained clothes, and the joy that blended with water and milk calmed him down. Wayne was uneasy and at a loss.
This time, they got closer. In addition to being "cowardly", Wayne also expressed his true thoughts: I don't want to avoid the problem, I just don't want to spend time recalling the past.
With the end of the case and the blow to his career, Wayne could have poured all his anger on Emilia, but he didn't in the end. Instead, shortly after the quarrel, he sincerely proposed to her... …
The whole world doesn't understand or believe me, I don't want to lose like-minded you again.
the year 1990
Admiration and love are one thing, family and life are another, especially when there is an unresolved case between the two.
They had a son and a daughter. Wayne and Emilia lived a normal life because of the restart of the Purcell case. There have been qualitative changes, especially in the "career" - Wayne was transferred back After the investigation team, Emilia wrote a new book related to the case.
But the investigation didn't go well, and all the sealed negative emotions were thrown to Wayne . He hated having to guess everything, and he preferred the simplicity and directness of others to give him orders.
Wayne shows his most vulnerable side to his wife, but instead of taunting him, Emilia once again comforts her frustrated husband with sex (which really works).
The relationship between the two is so wonderful and contradictory. Wayne hopes that his wife will stop participating in the investigation of the case, but he has repeatedly used Emilia's results to make progress in the investigation.
To be honest, Wayne likes Emilia's smart and stubborn nature, and the so-called "obedient wife" is not his favorite.
In this state of sometimes quarreling and sometimes banding together, they approached the truth again, but unfortunately Tom's "suicide in fear of crime" once again cut off the investigation of the case, " People know that the case is over not because of the truth, but because they hope so. "
And Wayne and Emilia are very few people who want to get the truth, which is why they can come together and get to where they are now.
After Harris' death, Roland's scolding, and Hoyt's warning, the desperate Wayne seemed to feel that he was going to lose Emilia... The wife talked about the ups and downs of the past 10 years, crying about her husband's "old It was because he wanted his mother to get a pension before he joined the army," which helped him make up his mind to resign.
Wayne is always afraid, especially afraid that he will become at a loss when he loses his "persistence" . Emilia told him: You are a good person, you can do whatever you want, and we can step out of this stage together. step.
2015
After his wife's death, Wayne still couldn't shake the shadow of Emilia in his heart and mind. The words, voices and smiles she left behind in her lifetime continued to guide Wayne to find the right direction.
But this feeling was not pleasant. The old Wayne kept flashing past time silhouettes in front of his eyes. This flashback of memories and flashbacks of hallucinations seemed more like torture to him .
After starting a family, Wayne's love naturally extended to the children, and now the two children are his only spiritual sustenance .
"It turned out that I could have no scruples, but your presence made me cowardly." What Wayne didn't say was that this "cowardice" is happy and worthwhile.
It is reasonable to say that at this age, any regrets should be put aside, but Wayne is like a criminal, and he pursues the case more tightly... In addition to himself, his motivation also contains a large part of Ai. Miria's dissatisfaction.
Because Wayne knew that his wife gave up the pursuit of the truth more for herself, and she wanted the case to get to the bottom as much as herself. There was no chance before, and every step was blocked. Now that the opportunity came, he had to seize the last hope. Get an answer.
When everything was settled and his conscience was clear, Wayne was still worried that he had "lost his daughter"... Even if the answer was found, the shadow of Julie's "disappearance and death" still loomed over him.
But Wayne is still lucky, his "love" has been extended and will last until the last moment of his life.
forever in jail
I went to see "Green Book" yesterday, and I have to say that Mahershala Ali has been very popular recently. His acting skills have also been brought into full play in "True Detective" S3, interpreting the same type of Wayne in different periods. Emotional differences .
In the finale, Roland, Henry, Rebecca and other relatives and friends surround Wayne, and his life seems to be finally complete...
But when he watched his grandchildren pass by on a small bicycle, Wayne's eyes flashed countless pictures of the past like a revolving beacon .
He seemed to see himself in a suit and leather shoes before retiring, visiting Emilia, who was teaching and educating others, and his wife, in a magnetic voice, read aloud the words he couldn't get tired of hearing.
"What am I now? What was I? May the memories keep repeating, the tiniest color of the tiniest day. Time is the school we grew up in, time is the flame we burn."
He seemed to have seen himself in 1990, sitting in a bar with his wife and talking about his expectations for the future.
"Let's put this down, it's not about us, like you said, we've taken the first step...I don't know what I'm going to do, but the smartest person I know, says I Anything can be done.”
He seemed to have seen himself in 80 years, and couldn't help crying about his dependence and desire for Emilia. His lover wiped away his tears and expressed "I do" with actual words and deeds.
"I felt like I wanted to marry you, I didn't expect to get married, I didn't let myself...I didn't expect to meet...you."
He seemed to see himself in the 1970s, with a gun on his back, and with a look of horror and no hesitation, he walked into the desolate mountains and forests.
Looking optimistically, Wayne was destined to live a lonely life. It was the Purcell case and the emergence of Emilia that brought a ray of light to his dark world, and then ushered in a sunny day, and finally reap the rewards. Bright end ; on a pessimistic point of view, Wayne never actually got out of the jungle in Vietnam , his soul was just pulled back to Arkansas at some point, and more often he was a walking dead.
As for what you think of the third season of "True Detective", which hits the soul so directly, it is up to you and me to comment.
[You are also welcome to pay attention to my official account "You Love Comment Area"~]
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