Since this is the last episode of the show, I thought it might be fun to live blog it. There’s no possibility of a cliffhanger, as the producers say the next episode of the show will be completely different with different actors. It is clear the “truth will out” in this episode, showing the seamy, decadent element of rural south Louisiana. It’s 10 til, so we”ll get prepared to watch and tap.
McConaughey has has been on a roll for a while, now winning the Oscar for playing that incredibly thin fellow in Dallas Buyer’s Club. He’s still skinny in this show, and about as weird as you can get without getting Baker Acted.. So now the finale is starting with the familiar intro by the wonderful Handsome Family.
Intro with lawnmower man and he’s got somebody tied to a pallet. He’s adopted a weird English accent, after watching a snippet of a Cary Grant movie, and throwing pot lids at curs. Old woman and lawnmower man having weird dialogue. She appears to be some kind of grotesque love interest. So far stranger than normal. Long shot, then back to the boat and the sheriff being forced to reveal all (a leftover from the end of last week’s episode). He hollers watching the evil video that freaked out the Woody character Marty Hart. Family connection being alluded to. It’s chain of command seems to be the watchword. Oh dear, lawnmower man is painting at a school with little girls..that’s not good. Rust is threatening sheriff Steve trying to shake something more out of him. Oops- small interruption with Emily calling. Back to the show. Hart going back to crime scene photos. Shows Rust a house with a fresh paint job. Connecting to painters? Now some old history dialogue…guy stuff..blah blah..get on with it!
Old lady in nursing home id’s lawnmower man. The boys Look at tax records where the owner listed the expense so now they have evildoer’s name. Investigating cop hectoring Hart…hart says they’re working on the case and he says the investigator needs to help them…bad idea..not sure he’s trustworthy. Apparently they’re going to lawnmower man’s house. More blah blah.. Drive up to the house with the freaky old woman in the foreground. No signal on cell..Rust says “this place”?? Creepy..asks to use the phone Hart she’s yelling at the dog. Hart’s in the house Rust follows the dog who’s dead on the ground. confronts lawnmower man who runs away, house is a hoarder’s dream. Hart goes upstairs finds old woman in corner. Back to Rust chasing lawnmower man. Person on the pallet is a dude with long hair. Rust still chasing lawnmower man. Sees all the symbols from the case. Long shot showing the vine covered buildings. Looks like a maze of buildings. Can hear lawnmower man. Quite an elaborate set.. lots of twisty vines and old brick.. Oh, my, lawnmower man has Rust impaled and he’s bleeding profusely. Now he’s got Hart down. Rust shoots lawnmower man in the head. Rust pulling knife out of stomach..not good..investigators show up like the cavalry. Hart hollers for them..next scene Hart in hospital. Fifteen minutes to go and blaming all murders on lawnmower man. Family comes to see Hart..starts to cry..lawnmower man is a Childress. Calling him a serial killer. Lots of bodies..both Marty and Rust are alive.. Rust is mad because he saw lawnmower man in ’95. Rust knows there’s more bad guys. Long shot around the area showing the house,cropland, water. Back to the original scene of the murder. Hart and Cohle outside hospital. Marty gives him cigarettes. Smoking on hospital grounds. Cohle talks. About death and his daughter and father waiting for him on the other side. All he had to do is let go. And he did. He disappeared but he says he could still feel her love there. Crying for that lost love. Then he says he woke up. Hart consoling him about watching the stars. This is going to leave a lot of loose ends. Light versus dark. Dark has a lot more territory. Cohle agrees. Or does he? I’ll have to look again. Says he needs to not spend another night in the hospital and they leave. End of story..
All that energy connecting loose ends wasted. Very pedestrian ending. The Atlantic folks will howl.
Post Script: The Atlantic folk did howl, but not excessively. Here’s a link to their musings:
The Atlantic media critics discuss the ending
They point out a few things I missed, but all in all I think I got the gist of it. Marty goes from a cockeyed optimist to saying there’s more dark than light. Cohle had to die and return to know there is an afterlife where those you love are waiting to greet you. The Atlantic folks called this show a bromance…well, sorry, I don’t think so. It’s more about what the team that put this together had in mind with the opening: men struggling to do good to redeem their own failures and selfish indulgences. That resonates with me. Glad to have followed it: glad it didn’t have a totally cheesy ending.