The King in Yellow

We need to talk about True Detective.

It’s an HBO show, penned by a novelist who was a finalist for the Edgar Allen award. (So Wikipedia tells me.) It stars Matthew McConaughey, Woody Harrelson, and Michelle Monaghan. The third episode airs tonight; I’ve just finished watching the first two.

The show reminds me strongly of Twin Peaks: the first episode begins with the unusual murder of a woman. In Twin Peaks it was of course Laura Palmer, dead and wrapped in plastic. Here in True Detective it is a prostitute named Dora Kelly Lange, her body blindfolded, bound, decorated with strange symbols with a crown of antlers placed on her head.

And then it gets weird.

The show centres on two detectives - Harrelson and McConaughey - both in 1995 when the murder occurs, and in 2012 when they are individually questioned about the events due to another murder occurring that is very much like the one they investigated. Both actors are fucking fabulous, and the time difference structure actually works really well.

The location - Louisiana - makes a perfect backdrop for the show, and the music is what you would expect. The visuals are stunning, gritty but rich, and everything seems subsumed with a desperate, desolate feeling.

There’s no real spoilers to be had yet, but I’ll put more details about the weird shit and my own suspicions under a cut.