After appearing on our screens since the middle of January, the finale of the eight True Detective episodes finally arrived last night. Despite Martin Hart and Rust Cohle’s separation over the years, it seems nothing can stop them from working as partners, even when not involved in the police force. The last 60 minutes was as tense as we expected it to be, but ended on more of a an emotional note, with Cohle showing his true colors for a change.
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The episode began by entering the world of the lawnmower figure, which instantly gave viewers a sense of who the villain really was. Living in the middle of nowhere, we expected his house to be full of rubble, but the surprising factor came when finding out he was in fact British, after putting on an accent during the other times we’ve seen him in the series. He didn’t live alone however, as he quickly began to caress a crooked woman early on in the episode. It was clear that this wasn’t just any loving relationship. Errol, the lawnmower man, continued his creepy antics while painting a school building, right next to when the children where coming outside for break time. His constant slow whistling turned out to be a trademark sound we’re getting all too familiar with.
Hart and Cohle finished off their interrogation on Gerasi, making him watch the dreaded videotape and confess what he knew about the investigation and what happened with the files back in the day. Gerasi may be a sheriff, but these two detectives sure know how to threaten someone in a higher position, leaving him with no choice but to keep his mouth shut, otherwise his life wouldn’t be worth living. To make things worse, Cohle hired a sniper to fire bullets around the area to add to the culmination. Back at their office, Hart then had a breakthrough in figuring out that the building they previously looked at had renewed green paint work, leaving Cohle in shock for one of the very first times.
The pair went to visit the house, but were only able to speak to the grandson of who lived there back in 1995, who provided information on where the grandmother was living now. She told them that her house was indeed painted by a group of people who undertook regular work in the area, mentioning that the younger man had scars around the bottom of his face. By looking through old records and payments, they were able to track down the home of their target. Cohle spoke to a man in his bar and ordered him to send out case files if matters went wrong, with Hart speaking to one of the current detectives and offered him a phone call if help was needed.
The two then headed to the house, and managed to speak to the woman from a slot in the door. After somewhat of a regular conversation, she refused to cooperate and the household dog escaped from the premises. While Hart went to secure the house, Cohle followed the dog into the bushes to find him killed, and managing to find Errol staring at him from distance. Not agreeing to get down on his knees, Cohle had a chase on his hands, and Hart quickly followed his footsteps after facing the disgust of dead bodies in one of the rooms. Cohle continued to follow through tense dark tunnels, as Errol took to hiding and soft whispering in order to play mind games with the detective. Some time later, Rust was attacked and stabbed in the stomach, and appeared to be defeated whilst laying on on the ground. Hart arrived onto the scene and faced similar treatment, but before receiving the final blow, Cohle built up enough strength to shoot Errol in the head. Though death seemed near, the police force were quickly on duty and the two were rushed to hospital.
The duo managed to survive the severe wounds, and after an emotional scene with Hart and his family, along with Cohle confessing truths beneath the stars, the season ended with the the pair holding each other through the hospital grounds, and getting the hell away from that place. They’re bigger than that, of course.