Review: True Detective (Season 1)

"I think human consciousness is a tragic misstep in evolution. We became too self aware. Nature created an aspect of nature separate from itself - we are creatures that should not exist by natural law. I'd consider myself a realist but in philosophical terms I'm what's called a pessimist." - Detective Rust Cohle

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I'll start the review by getting right to the point: The first season of True Detective is the single best season of television I have ever seen. I say best season only because True Detective acts as a season-by-season anthology, telling a different story with different characters that play out independently from previous seasons. So yes, I personally believe that the first season of True Detective is better than the best season of Breaking Bad or the best season of Game of Thrones. If you automatically disagree, you'll have to watch it to prove yourself right. This show is more like one 8-hour long movie, and by god, is it a masterpiece.

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True Detective is a crime drama anthology series created by Nic Pizzolatto and is available on HBO. The story is told as a non-linear narrative for most of the eight episodes, where we flash back and forth between the past partnership and current lives of Louisiana State Police homicide detectives Rust Cohle (Matthew McConaughey) and Marty Hart (Woody Harrelson). The show follows Cohle and Hart being interviewed in the present-day as they revisit the early stages of their partnership when they came across the gruesome and almost satanic murder of a young prostitute in 1995. The setting takes place over the course of 17 years in the poor, desolate areas of Louisiana. We are taken on a journey through these parts of the country that many viewers would rather forget exists as we are given a glimpse into decaying poverty. We sit sideline to the morally grey areas of life as they are put on full display, right in our faces. We meet fascinating, yet depressing side characters who give us an idea of what life could be like when desperation climbs to its highest points.

Rust Cohle said it best when he says, "People out here...it's like they don't even know the outside world exists."

The story is primarily about the 1995 murder and how the two detectives slowly unravel a deep and disturbing conspiracy that threatens everything they believe in. However, many times in the series the investigation takes a backseat to a brilliantly dynamic duo of McConaughey and Harrelson.

These two characters take the "buddy cops who don't get along" trope and take it to a whole other level. These two genuinely hate each other. Hart (Harrelson) is an experienced family man with a loving wife, protective mentality, and deep disgust for bad people and the evil in this world. However, we soon see that he also doesn't fully understand himself either. He sins in similar ways to the very same he condemns, and yet he is in full denial about it. But the true draw of True Detective is McConaughey's iconic portrayal of Rust Cohle, a polar opposite of Hart. Cohle is a man who knows his place in the universe, he is there to be the lesser evil, the "bad man who keeps the other bad men at bay." He is a pessimist who suffered a tragedy years back, and has since totally given up on any belief that there could be good in this world. To Hart, Cohle is an emotionless jackass who just depresses everyone, although he believes him to be a brilliant detective. To Cohle, Hart is a hypocrite who refuses to see the harsh truths of life, although he believes him to be a good and capable man deep down. The two represent two views on life, and in turn, two views on religion. This can be seen when the two discuss religion's role in society:

"Can you imagine if people didn't believe? The things that they'd be up to?" - Hart

"Same thing they do now, just out in the open." - Cohle

"Bullshit. It would be a freak-show of murder and debauchery and you know it." - Hart

"If the only thing keeping a person decent is the expectation of divine reward, then brother that person is a piece of shit." - Cohle

To wrap up, this show was a wild ride from start to finish, with barely any scene wasting your time as a viewer. The show is NOT for the faint of heart, as many of the murders and acts committed are depressing, gruesome, and flat-out disturbing. However, partnering McConaughey and Harrelson with intense, brilliant dialogue, a harsh backdrop, and a compelling story of good versus evil, this show manages to keep you watching each episode wondering where on Earth it could go from here.

Rating: 10/10