Ok, so I begin this diary with a big hat tip to the Kossack that turned me on to True Detective. Wish I could remember the handle, the name, the commenter that told me to tune into True Detective, in another diary I posted 2 weeks ago. To whoever you are, dear poster, thank you ever so. Sure, I would have found my way to this series eventually, but getting there sooner than later was good.
And I note, there are many things I learn and am grown, evolved and enriched by, through this community. It ain't all politics.
So, tonight my husband and I watched the last episode of this amazing series. In any finale, there is for the creators the risk of disappointment, the chance you will not be able to bring things to as fine of an end, as the parts that led up to it.
Well, all I can say, is bravo to the creators of this series, who had such a finely honed vision, and brought this series to such a resounding end, I don't know how they'll ever better themselves in the next season.
As we watched this finale tonight, we were on the edge of our seats. The husband was yelling out, Cohle's gonna get it!, Marty's gonna get it! They're both gonna die! He was beside himself, LOL. And as for me, I had our throw blanket on the sofa up to my chin, my eyes wide. It just doesn't get better in terms of engaging your audience.
And then the end came, and I had tears in my eyes, and so did the husband. Because there was something so real, and so right, and ultimately in such a dark series, so freaking redemptive after all. They pulled off the damn near impossible IMO, made it all come together in a way you just had to nod your head to, in a way that's both sad and happy.
BRAVO.
I have not seen "Dallas Buyer's Club" yet, but have no doubt that McConaughey deserved his golden man. But it is hard for me to believe, that he wasn't even better in "True Detective." Of course it's apples and oranges, but I think you see in True Detective the potential of TV to be even more than a movie, the potential to let an actor who has become great be even more great, over a longer story arc than a movie has time for.
And while it may be true that McConaughey had the "sexier role," and the one everyone will talk about, I just have to cheer for Woody Harrelson's "Marty" as well, and as strongly. Harrelson fights hard to make his Marty true and real, against perhaps greater odds. And in the end, it was to me, two of the best matched roles and actors I have seen in a long, long time.
So I say to all those who have gotten rid of their TVs, or all those who think TV is the lesser of arts, or that TV is just crap, you're missing something. And, of course, it's not just about True Detective, but also about so many other great series we've been treated to, from Breaking bad, to Boardwalk Empire, to Homeland, to The Sopranos, to House of Cards, and to and to---I could list so many.
There was a time in the late fifties, once called the "Golden Age" of TV, for it's breadth and depth on the small screen. Then it seemed to disappear for so long. But I think it's back. Yes sir, I think we are in a new "Golden Age" of TV.