True Detective Finale Season 3

Published February 25, 2019 · Updated July 6, 2022

Dear shat

What an ending. I know some will be disappointed, I know some are frustrated. I think that’s one of the many commentaries that nic p is ultimately getting at. Personally, I feel like that was an amazing ending to a great season. Perhaps, the best season of this show yet. I have some questions for the listeners about it though (rhetorical)

Did you feel cheated, swindled?
Did you feel like it wrapped too neatly, or clean?
Did the junius watts confession of the events and crime feel heavy handed? Too good to be true so to speak?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, I got news for you, that’s because it was exactly how nic p wanted you to feel. It was intentionally done to get at a much larger issue in our social climate today. I do want to say don’t feel bad that you jumped to conclusions or racked you’re brain to figure out what happened with the purcell’s. Because every character in this show did just about the same thing. The town itself, as you can see in the various timelines, was torn apart. Decades went and eventually the town died, or “got murdered” as hayes so eloquently said. This was never truly about any crime, this was a larger message of how tragedies, grief, and our past holds us captive. Much like Julie, or whatever she’s calling herself. It wasn’t until she “killed” her former self, that she was able to break free from true captivity. After all, it appears in the present day, she had a family and stability.

I had already seen people mentioning the jungle ending. Possibly saying it’s a dream or him dying, and that’s crazy talk. A few episodes ago we get amelia reading a book, the jungle book. Hopefully everyone know’s the story and the symbolism there.

(Bagheera born in captivity, had never seen the jungle, he was a man’s plaything. Much like julie, after his mother’s death, he realized he was strong enough and he freed himself from captivity and went into the jungle.)

So with that known, we can say that jungle scene at the end, was Wayne finally “freeing” himself from captivity (his memories, his past, etc.) And returning to his real home in the jungle, now a free man. Releasing himself of the chains of past burden. Now, it’s purposely ambiguous, but a lot of different interpretations can be made, and it’s whatever you make of it. I’d say the one thing it’s not, is his afterlife or a fever dream.

Another interpretation and really like for this is the old saying, you cant see the forest for the trees, and it certainly works for this show. Everyone, Including wayne was looking at the tragedy/crime. The big picture was his family, his past that he was running from. In his old age he started to become vulnerable emotionally, starting to understand he had been withholding. I took that for him finally realizing what he had, confronting his past. To escape it. *a small nugget to support this interpretation, is that we hear him tell amelia (episode 7 I think) that he doesn’t think about his past and how he got here. And she responded that it was some kind of super power or something. So basically if we take wayne at his word that he essentially doesn’t really talk about what happened over in Vietnam, then we could make the conclusion that in the end, he’s now doing that. In essence, it’s him healing and coming to peace with it.

What makes it so wonderful is that a ton of interpretations work and most of them are not incorrect. Except if you think he’s dead lol, or it was all just a dream.

Kenny p

– I have to do this but way back after episode 3, I suggested that the crime wasn’t the real mystery here , and that it was mainly wayne and amelia, and the relationship. How people respond to tragedies so differently, every one is unique, but some together in the end. I also loved that the becca narrative was nothing nefarious. Just a person losing touch, becoming strong and independent. It happens like this in life so much. I called that on the last watch as well. Lol
The one gripe i have for the season is the tom Purcell finding the pink room, it was dumb. We arguably didn’t need it. I hated that sequence, but that’s it.

*I hope that people learn a lesson from this, slow down on this theory making, stop jumping to conclusions, don’t make things bigger than they already are. Form opinions based on facts, and sometimes it’s helpful to be patient, waiting until facts come out. (Ie Jussie smollett, basically anything that the news puts out) it can be argued that this occurred when the west Memphis 3 were arrested. Jumping to conclusions essentially ruined 3 men’s lives.*

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