True Detective

[Kaos]

I dunno guys, what do you guys think?

I think they're gonna somehow tie all that up Sunday and I don't see how. So many loose ends, so little time.

[Kaos]

Ok, so did we just forget about the whole Yellow King thing?  Was that even answered?  WTF?

[Vandy Vol]

Ok, so did we just forget about the whole Yellow King thing?  Was that even answered?  WTF?

The Yellow King was an obscure literary reference to The King in Yellow by Robert W. Chambers.  Errol Childress' house had tons of books stacked everywhere.

My guess is that he had an obsession with The King in Yellow, which would explain why there were so many direct references to that work (Yellow King, Carcosa, "Take off your mask," etc.).

So, basically, the Yellow King was not a codename for some mastermind behind a cult, but rather the result of some lunatic adopting an identity based on a story he read.

[Kaos]

The Yellow King was an obscure literary reference to The King in Yellow by Robert W. Chambers.  Errol Childress' house had tons of books stacked everywhere.

My guess is that he had an obsession with The King in Yellow, which would explain why there were so many direct references to that work (Yellow King, Carcosa, "Take off your mask," etc.).

So, basically, the Yellow King was not a codename for some mastermind behind a cult, but rather the result of some lunatic adopting an identity based on a story he read.

You shouldn't have to make that inference -- which may or may not be valid. 

The show failed in building it up and then not clarifying that.   Didn't have to be an actual person, but to create the Yellow King myth and then leave it hanging completely was bad in epic form. 

I thought the finale turning into a cliched Lifetime drama at the end damaged what had to that point been a really good run. 

[Saniflush]

I thought the finale turning into a cliched Lifetime drama at the end damaged what had to that point been a really good run.

What?  Did Valerie Bertinelli show up?

[Kaos]

What?  Did Valerie Bertinelli show up?

No, I would have gotten behind that.  And pushed. Multiple times. 

[Vandy Vol]

You shouldn't have to make that inference -- which may or may not be valid. 

The show failed in building it up and then not clarifying that.   Didn't have to be an actual person, but to create the Yellow King myth and then leave it hanging completely was bad in epic form. 

I thought the finale turning into a cliched Lifetime drama at the end damaged what had to that point been a really good run.

The literary reference was extremely obscure.  I only knew about it because I Googled Carcosa earlier in the season, as I didn't know if it was supposed to be something in a foreign language or something that I should otherwise recognize.

It seemed kind of shitty for them to include so many references to this random story and build it up as if there was a secret cult with manipulative ringleaders when, in actuality, it's just some random inbred nutcase who spontaneously changes accents and tones for no reason.

[AUChizad]

You shouldn't have to make that inference -- which may or may not be valid. 

The show failed in building it up and then not clarifying that.   Didn't have to be an actual person, but to create the Yellow King myth and then leave it hanging completely was bad in epic form. 

I thought the finale turning into a cliched Lifetime drama at the end damaged what had to that point been a really good run.

http://freebeacon.com/blog/the-true-detective-finale-what-did-you-people-want/

[AUChizad]

I think Season 2's gonna be pretty good.

[Kaos]

I think Season 2's gonna be pretty good.

Not as funny as Fallon.  Kimmel will get dusted by The Tonight Show -- which until February was an overstuffed dinosaur. 

So long Jay, we won't miss you. 

[djsimp]

Not as funny as Fallon.  Kimmel will get dusted by The Tonight Show -- which until February was an overstuffed dinosaur. 

So long Jay, we won't miss you.

Yeah, The Tonight Show is much more enjoyable now that Fallon has taken over. Its pretty cool he has The Roots as the band.

[Vandy Vol]

[Townhallsavoy]

Since I'm usually late to the party...

Just finished True Detective recently.  Some thoughts.

- This scene was fucking creepy:


I didn't put two and two together that the guy was cooking meth. When Cole said, "you run into a monster," I thought they were implying that the guy was some deranged lunatic doing weird sex things with a gas mask.

- I would have sex with Alexandra D'addario. 

- The ending fell flat.  Episodes 1-7 were all killer and had me on the edge of my seat.  Shit, I was starting True Detective at midnight and forcing myself to shut it off at 3.  Took me three days to watch the whole season.

But episode 8 was rather unspectacular.  The Corcosa scene was intense, but having this whole season culminate in a tropey knife fight with a fat guy was a major let down.  Not to mention the 20 years of police work was a waste of time.  I don't like shows or books that let me know that all that time together was wasted.  The green ears/green house paint epiphany was a total cop out from the massive pile of conspiracy theories Cole had amassed in the investigation.  The mystique of the cover up, the major players, the rituals, the yellow king, the sadistic displays of the victims - just fodder for the "Hey, spaghetti monster had green ears and I bet this house which is also green was probably painted by the spaghetti monster."

- The serial killer Errol was interesting but nothing that hasn't been done before.  The huge family cult involving backwoods Acadians and rich reverends and politicians?  That was interesting.  Borrowing elements of hoodoo with Mardi Gras, man I was hooked with that shit.  But no.  The FBI is "looking into it" but doesn't have any leads.  That's how that storyline ended. 

-  All in all what this show did that was better than most police dramas you'd find on TV was delve into two characters that have traversed deep into the Southern Gothic setting.  I wish there was more quality Southern Gothic on HBO or AMC.  True Detective was really enjoyable and I'll be looking forward to season 2.