how does "True Crime" end this weekend?

selfie | march 5, 2014 | self

[beebuster2000]

so, this weekend is the last episode of True Crime with mathew MccGonaughey and woody harrelson.

been watching it and its good IMHO.

but how does it end? who is the "yellow king" rusty? some government guy? the guy on the lawnmower?

who wants to take a shot?

[beebuster2000]

The Tuttles are at the center of these murders.

This was the biggest revelation in “After You’ve Gone.” In the course of his solo investigation, Cohle learned that additional disappearances and killings were linked to the Christian schools started by Reverend Billy Lee Tuttle—the brother of former governor and current senator Eddie Tuttle who swooped in in 1995 with a task force and tried to get Cohle and Hart off the case. In 2010, Cohle discovered a former student at one of Tuttle’s schools—Tobey Boulere, now a transvestite named Johnny Joanie—who remembered “men taking pictures… sometimes other things.”

“They had animal faces,” Boulere told Cohle. “That’s why I decided it had to be a dream.”

Cohle proceeded to break into Tuttle’s houses. In one of them he found 15-year-old photographs of a blindfolded girl wearing antlers: Marie Fontenot. He also found the snuff film depicting her death. Tuttle killed himself shortly thereafter. He thought he was being blackmailed.

But Billy Lee wasn’t alone. After teaming up again in 2012, Hart and Cohle tracked down the Tuttle family’s former housekeeper by linking a domestic paycheck from Tuttle’s father, Sam Tuttle, to an elderly black woman living in Section 8 housing in Alexandria, La. She revealed that “Mr. Sam” was a sexually disturbed fellow who had “lots of children, all types” from various affairs and would only sleep with virgins. “See, once she had it done to her,” the old woman said, “he didn’t like ‘em but that one time.”

Then Cohle showed her some sketches of the “devilcatchers” he’d found during the investigation. The images seemed to trigger a distant memory. “You know Carcosa?” she asked, slipping into a trance. “Him who eats time? Rejoice, death is not the end! Rejoice, Carcosa!”

The implication? That ritualistic rape and murder, and the whole Yellow King/Carcosa mythology, was a Tuttle family tradition.

The Lawnmower Man is part of this, too.

From the start of the series, a man with scars on the lower half of his face has drifted in and out of the investigation. In Episode 7, he was everywhere. Tobey Boulere recalled “three younger men” involved in the sexual misconduct at his Christian school—one of whom had “bad scars around the bottom half of his mouth, like he got all burned up.” A Ledoux cousin—a mechanic—recounted a deer hunting trip with Reggie, Reggie’s brother, and a man with scars “underneath his nose and cheeks” who gave him “funny looks all night.” In the storage unit, Cohle pieced it all together. Reggie Ledoux and his brother (who both died at their compound in the 1995 “shootout”) were two of the three “younger men.” The third was the man with the scars—likely the “spaghetti monster with green ears” who was reported to have chased a girl through the woods in 1995 (and who was later sketched by police).

When Hart and Cohle interviewed the old Tuttle housekeeper, she also remembered a scarred face. It belonged to one of “Mr. Sam’s” many extramarital grandchildren, she explained. “I think his daddy did that to him,” she said. “He was a Childress.” Shortly thereafter, Hart and Cohle discovered the Vermillion Parish sheriff who covered up the Fontenot killing was a Childress as well.

What Hart and Cohle haven’t figured out yet is that they’ve already met the man with the scars; he was the pudgy, plainspoken fellow (Errol) who was mowing the lawn outside one of the shuttered Tuttle schools in Episode 3. He had a beard at the time, so it was hard to tell. But at the end of Episode 7, we encountered him again; he was the guy giving directions to Papania and Gilbrough as he circled—spiraled?—around a bayou cemetery on his riding mower. This time his beard was gone. His scars were visible. And he bore an uncannily resemblance to the spaghetti monster sketch.

“My family’s been here a long, long time,” he said to himself as the cops drove away.

Audrey Hart, Marty’s elder daughter, may be involved as well.

We know that Audrey arranged her dolls in a manner that mirrored the picture on Dora Lange’s mother’s wall—five men surrounding a seemingly vulnerable woman (in Audrey’s case, a naked Barbie). We know she drew sexually suggestive pictures at school. We know she’s become a bit of a delinquent as a teenager, having sex with two boys at once.

We don’t know that she was sexually abused as a child, but Pizzolatto seems to be suggesting as much.

As a child, Audrey stole her younger sister’s crown and threw it into a tree. Could she have been symbolically protecting Maisie from the “crowns” that the Tuttles placed on their victims?

When I asked Michelle Monaghan, the actress who plays Hart’s wife Maggie, whether “Marty’s family is still going to be part of the plot” after Episode 6, she gave me a funny answer.

“You mean my family, as in, my mother and father and that sort of thing?” she replied.

I told her I meant the Hart kids, but sure—let’s put everyone on the table.

“Yes, yes,” Monaghan said. “Our family—everybody—is still going to be part of the plot going forward.”

Could Marty Hart’s father-in-law—a wealthy guy who showed up in an earlier episode complaining about how “everything is sex” with kids these days—be involved somehow?

So what’s my theory of how the show ends?

OK, this could be totally off-base. But since when has that stopped anyone from speculating about True Detective?

Based on the evidence above, I suspect that in next week’s finale (“Form and Void”) we’ll learn that the Five Horsemen were Sam Tuttle, Billy Lee Tuttle, Eddie Tuttle, and two other figures who may or may not be Sheriff Ted Childress and (his son?) Errol Childress.

Reggie Ledoux and his brother (along with Errol Childress) were the “three younger men” responsible for capturing and drugging the Horsemen’s victims. Errol has served in this capacity since the Ledouxs died in 1995.

Carcosa is the Tuttles’ name for the “place down south”—the “old stones out in the woods” where women and children are “sacrificed,” presumably to the Yellow King (a deity who will remain unseen). I’m not sure where the Tuttles cult mythology came from—and I’m not sure Pizzolatto will explain it in the finale—but my guess is that it blends Mr. Sam’s virginal fetishes with Cajun Mardi Gras traditions, voodoo, and perhaps some sort of Druidic “old god” worship. After all, French Mardi Gras may have originated with pagan Celts who sacrificed humans to ensure fertility and prosperity.

And because Cohle and others keep referring to events happening over and over again—the spiral tattoo, “time is a flat circle,” and so on—I think the central event of Episode 8 might echo an earlier tragedy. Cohle’s daughter died years ago, long before we met him. Could Hart’s daughter Audrey be victimized somehow in the show’s final episode? When I interviewed Pizzolatto, he told me that “one of the major themes of True Detective is the damage that men do to women and children.” My guess is that in the final moments of the season the supernatural elements of the show will recede. What remains will be all too real.

[Boogieman]

Maybe. I don’t think, the way they have set up the show so far, that we will be seeing some change in the last episode to a heavy supernatural flavor. They might leave it ambiguous though, I can see that happening.

[Boogieman]

They could also do a double transformation. Cohle finds faith, and Hart loses his. That way, it’ll wash out either way. I could see that, especially if Audrey was a victim, Hart could totally get disillusioned.

[Boogieman]

Hmm, but does it mention Carcora?

They could be aiming for a multiple reference, but the supernatural stories have both the Yellow King and Carcora, so that’s where I think they picked it up from.

[Cubs Fan]

We already know the tuttles were involved. the tape puts it beyond doubt. So was ledoux, probably dewall too. the lawnmower guy as well. (can I say here how much i like a show without red herrings all over the place?)

I think there’s also no question that Hart’s daughter audrey was either gang raped or witnessed a gang rape. This will undoubtedly come out in the final. How it will become discovered remains to be seen.

The big question is who is the ring leader, i.e. “the yellow king?” And I think boogie man had the best answer. Probably Martin’s father in law. He is the most likely reason audrey would have been molested or a witness to it.

Granted though, there could have been a few more breadcrumbs leading us to him rather than just a brief convo about societal decline and a phone call about maggie. because of this, if it is him, some may not like him being the head honcho at the end.

Beyond that it COULD BE other cops. But that might be a bigger stretch than the father in law. As none of them have really made a serious appearance on the show.

Could it be cohle or Hart? that would seem an even worse fit.

Could it be Another tuttle? I doubt it. Because that would just be more of where we’ve already been.

It could also be somebody we’ve never seen. But that would feel like a bit of a rip off.

Maybe there’s somebody else I haven’t mentioned, but who?

[Mears]

bfl

[x]

With unintelligible mumbling that have something to do with life’s meaninglessness?

[Cubs Fan]

“Maybe. I don’t think, the way they have set up the show so far, that we will be seeing some change in the last episode to a heavy supernatural flavor.”

yeah the supernatural-ness is a backdrop. The monsters are people. Cohle (and or hart) may change views but it won’t because of seeing a demonic entity or anything like that.

BTW the article that bee linked said there was an interview with the writer. And pizzolatto said something to the effect there won’t be any big surprises or twists like sixth sense. He doesn’t feel that that is being honest with the audience.

I’d have to say that i find that surprising, as nearly everything has a twist these days. (Often making for a worse story than had there not been one.)

either way can’t wait till sunday to find out. Hope it won’t be disappointing.

[Zeneta]

I think, from the perspective of the writer etc, that if the conclusion was that the “bad guy” or guys was I single person or even a conspiratorial group, it would leave the audience completely unsatisfied.

Therefore, I stand by my original theory.

The bad guy is Satan.

This will be what Cohle needs to deal with.

Because, if Satan is real then God is real.

Mark my words, It will come down to this.

[Boogieman]

Yes, he’s said there won’t be big suprises, but I have also read him clarify that to mean that “astute viewers” should already have an idea what to expect. So, I guess the ending could seems surprising to casual viewers that weren’t paying close attention?

I don’t know, I just want to see the end. As long as they don’t wind up saying Cohle was a smoke monster and the last 3 episodes they were all in purgatory, I’ll probably be happy.

[Boogieman]

“Maybe there’s somebody else I haven’t mentioned, but who?”

Well, Maggie, but that seems way out there, since she’d have to be crossdressing or something to account for the people calling her a “he”.

Another one I think could be a remote possibility would be Grandpa Sam Tuttle, if he never really died. We haven’t seen him, but we have learned a bit about him. Also, if the Yellow King is “without time”, could that be some reference to Sam Tuttle cheating death? Far-fetched, but I guess let’s throw it out there if we are covering all the bases.

Also, how about the black preacher we met for one episode. Doesn’t seem likely at all, but I think his church was connected to Tuttle, he knew about the “devil traps” from his childhood, and Tuttle’s housekeeper said that Sam had “all kinds” of children, which implies to me, in an “Old South” context, that he wasn’t above miscegenation. A black man being a Tuttle spawn running things would be unexpected.

[Cubs Fan]

“As long as they don’t wind up saying Cohle was a smoke monster and the last 3 episodes they were all in purgatory, I’ll probably be happy”.

lol. well he is kind of a smoke monster, at least smoking monster. But yeah, pizzolatto has pretty much said he’s not going to do an ultra fool-the-audience kind of thing.

but even if the end is weak (yellow is another tuttle or someone yet unseen) or a stretch (yellow is a bad cop) I’ve enjoyed the heck out of the show. It’s easily one of the best series shows I’ve ever seen, right up there with breaking bad.

Granted the biggest question is who is the big baddie— the yellow king. But there are other interesting questions that may be answered too. Like—

What is the ritual and what is its purpose?(is it pure evil or some kind of screwed up religious thing?)
What are the devil catcher baskets about?
Why were only two victims displayed with antlers, why not the numerous other victims we know there are?
Where are the bodies?
Will cohle die like he’s alluded to?
Will harte die?
Will either character evolve/transform?
How will they find out audrey was part of a ritual or a witness to a ritual?
Will the cop named childress who was in the suicide jail scene come back?
Who’s the guy on the bed in the preview about to be tortured? (looks like cohle, but maybe not)
Who is the woman hart pulls the gun on in the preview?
What is the lead that they overlooked that helps them solve it?
One you mentioned-what is the LSU pitcher doing in the episode? (and could he be faking his condition a la kaiser sosa? or maybe being part of the cult or witness to it messed him up)

and there’s probably more I haven’t thought of

I don’t expect all questions answered as there might not be enough time and some things are more entertaining when left to the imagination (sometimes that seems to be the fault of a lot of modern films/shows is EVERYTHING is answered). But I’m sure some of the answers will be revealed.

[Cubs Fan]

btw found this on the web

"...the picture in Dora Lange’s house of a young blond girl surrounded by the “Five Horsemen” looks an awful lot like young Audrey; when Audrey was a child in ’95,

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/03/05/craziest-theories-of-how-true-detective-will-end-killer-marty-the-five-horsemen-and-more.html

maybe this is what was alluded to in the spoiler I posted previously-- “a seemingly arbitrary detail in a photograph, along with a homeowner’s old tax records, provides the pair with a vital new lead in their 17-year-old case. The two men pursue the lead to an apocalyptic confrontation.”

I rewatched the show and (I think it was episode 3) when the pic was discovered) I was surprised they didn't ask about it.

I just assumed it was a younger dora lange. But maybe not.

[Cubs Fan]

btw here’s some pics from filming the last episode.— Some bodies and an altar. a corpse on the bed held by a crew member. More cool creepy looking stuff looks to be on the way.

http://starcasm.net/archives/262732

[Boogieman]

I don’t think that is Audrey, because didn’t Audrey always have shorter hair in the scenes when she was younger? Or was she just always wearing it tied back?

What is interesting though, is that those are two completely different photos. One is from the show, the framed one, but where is the other from? Just an extra that they put on the website or something?

[Boogieman]

“I rewatched the show and (I think it was episode 3) when the pic was discovered) I was surprised they didn’t ask about it.”

I noticed that too. Cohle looked at it with a look of interest but didn’t ask about it. However, in that part of Louisiana, those costumes would not be very unusual, because those are cajun “courir de mardi gras” costumes. So I think, not having all the information about animals masks and stuff yet, they just didn’t think it was anything more than a picture of the girl at some hillbilly mardi gras parade.

[Cubs Fan]

I don’t think that is Audrey, because didn’t Audrey always have shorter hair in the scenes when she was younger? Or was she just always wearing it tied back?

It was tied back in the scene where they confronted her about her drawings she made in school.

But After looking into it in this pic she has straighter, less wavy, slightly blonder hair that is a few inches shorter

So i guess its probably not going to work. I wonder what this "seemingly arbitrary detail in a photograph" is. perhaps another pic they already looked at or maybe a new one. Was it "right under their noses all along?"

but then again maybe its just that audrey ,as is a virtual certainly at this point, was a witness to or participant in one of the rituals, that will have been "right under hart's nose" and he'll find out another way.

Interesting to me that she was part of a ritual, BUT she is, quite obviously, still alive. IMO This seems to point to the grandfather a bit. furthermore she probably wasn't in a tuttle school, and if she was, hart couldn't possibly overlook that (unless she was, but this is somehow unknown???). So how would they have selected her to be involved in a ritual outside of a family connection?

[Cubs Fan]

What is interesting though, is that those are two completely different photos. One is from the show, the framed one, but where is the other from? Just an extra that they put on the website or something?

yeah I'm guessing that one is from them shooting the movie. BTW, Notice the 4th horseman from the left? Kind of looks like a yellow king to me.

Some critics have said they don't think there is a literal-personified "yellow king". But that picture tends to suggest otherwise.

[Boogieman]

I’m split on that subject. The inferences from some dialog is that the Yellow King is a supernatural force that they worship. “He sees you now”... suggests omnipotence, “Him who eats time”... suggests immortality. And, of course, all the Bierce/Lovecraft versions of the Yellow King are supernatural forces.

Then, you have other dialog from the ex-husband of Dora Lange, who said she talked about “meeting a king”, and “she was going to become a nun”. Well, it’s hard to meet someone unless they are a real person, and nuns, in Christianity, are “brides of Christ”, so in this messed up cult, I would think they would be “brides of the Yellow King”. That dialog might suggest a real person. However, that is all secondhand recollections from a guy who thought Dora was talking drug talk, so he might have got the details wrong.

I really don’t know which way it will go.

[Cubs Fan]

“I really don’t know which way it will go.”

Dunno either. It’s all up to pizzolatto and how he wanted it to go.

But either way the question remains— who are the four horsemen and the yellow king from the picture? there have to be human beings under those masks. Who are they? And will their identities be revealed? (and IMO the yellow king portrayer would probably be the most important of the bunch.)

As we talked about I think the three unmasked from the crossdressers “dream” will be ledoux, lawnmower man and maybe dewall.

Horsemen possibilities-the cop childress from the jail/suicide scene. maybe sheriff childress, Reverend Tuttle before he died, maybe governor tuttle, maybe sam tuttle. maybe ledoux’s brother. probably not but maybe rev theriot. Or maybe some we haven’t seen yet.

Also another key question is who brought audrey Hart to the cult? The other victims—Dora lange was seen with what seems to be lawnmower man, errol childress, at the church, Riane olivier was at a tuttle school and supposed girlfriend to ledoux, Marie fontenot was another tuttle school pupil. The crossdresser same.

So how did audrey hart get mixed up in it all? probably not a tuttle school kid (as the schools were closed when she was young or not yet born, and wouldn’t marty hart know if she was?). She probably didn’t know any of the known baddies. So how did she see or become part of the ritual?