The current rise of more cinematically produced shows on outlets such as Netflix and HBO, demonstrates that film is not the only medium worth a closer look. Perhaps no show captures the characteristic filmic magic more than HBO’s series True Detective. The serial nature of the show allows for both plot and character development in a way that traditional film does not.
True Detective recounts a self-contained saga of a seemingly bizarre series of murders from the perspective of the nominal detectives. Season 1 garnered critical acclaim for its photographically detailed characters and compelling mystery. The setting is Vermillion Parish, Louisiana, and State homicide detectives Martin “Marty” Hart and Rustin “Rust” Cohle have been assigned to investigate the murder of Dora Lange. It is the labyrinthine nature of this case, and the pursuit of the truth that expose Marty and Rust’s inner demons.
Marty is first depicted as the quintessential family man. He appears to have the picture-perfect life, a beautiful wife, and two lovely daughters. However, it becomes substantially clear this is not the case.
Marty is weak to his lustful urges. The first few episodes display his extramarital affair with his coworker, Lisa. His uncontained desire and libido consume him, and the balance of his “ideal” home life is threatened by his own infidelity. The vice of lust is ever-present as a thematic and visual motif. Marty’s lust, and the violence caused by such carnality is paralleled through the nature of the homicides. The homicide victims are women. The sexual deviancy and perverse way in which they are displayed post-mortem speaks to the inherent vehemence and objectification of the female form through the male gaze. Marty, in his lust, concurrently, or perhaps, coincidentally, has fits of intense rage caused by his lack of control. To him, his sexual exploits and the women who he has them with are merely things to reassure his masculinity and domination. He is prideful he can juggle his adultery with his home life. However, when it is clear this feat is too much, he reacts violently. Marty’s flaws are caused by his lack of emotional stability, and this unbalance is reflected in the many women he courts, but it rings most true in his wife, Maggie.
Of the women in Marty’s life, no one mirrors his vices more than Maggie. She is, like Marty, only superficially the ideal wife. Her role in the marriage is that of the stereotypical caregiver; she appears to manage the housework and the children quite well. But, when it comes to her relationship with Marty, she is justifiably neurotic and abrasive. Marty’s violence spurs on her anger, and the tumult becomes more and more unstable. Upon confirming Marty’s cheating, Maggie responds through wrongfully mirroring Marty’s sin and has a one night stand with Marty’s partner in the case, Rust. The fact that she reacts as such reveals she is just as warped as Marty is. This parallel is one thematic crux of the show, that of the impression of the male vice echoed on the female, and vice versa.
Unlike Marty, Rust’s pitfalls do not stem from his home life, but rather his work and especially this case. Rust has no family. He once had a wife and daughter, similar to Marty, but an accident that killed his daughter broke up his marriage. If Marty’s story is how he lost it all, Rust’s tells a tale of an already broken man trying to find meaning through dedication to his work.
Rust is seen as a gifted detective. His keen insights and persistence make him one of the best in the Louisiana State Police. His tenacity eventually leads him to instability at work. He becomes too invested in the case, overstepping boundaries set by his boss and breaking the limitations set by the Louisiana State Police. Endurance and resolution are not normally intrinsically seen as faults, but the authoritative and restrictive head officers paint Rust as an overzealous, borderline insane detective that has crossed the line one too many times. While it is true that in the hunt for an answer, one can be blind to what’s pertinent, the show illustrates through Rust that the wild chase for the truth is the only way to enlightenment and eventual self-realization. In the fervent quest for an answer, Rust is let off from the case, but in his rogue state, he is freed from the authoritative chains that weighed him down. Yet, Rust’s perseverance is still maliciously paralleled through the murders, albeit in a different fashion than Marty’s vice is echoed. The devotion and ardor Rust has for this case is compared to the mindset of the murderers. Both parties are equally dedicated to their craft, and both have an almost contumacious approach to what they do. This connection is used to demonize Rust. Despite the show illustrating Rust in that light, his motivations are resonant, so we are made to root for him even with his apparent officious nature and short-sighted goals.
Rust is shown to be socially closed off. The interactions such as sexual or platonic relationships that plague his partner, Marty, are minimized and are almost absent. Scarred from the pain of losing his daughter and wife, Rust believes those types of human relations are unnecessary and that most will end in inevitable collapse. His distrust of interpersonal relations and the people involved in them do add to his value as a detective, but it is ultimately not a generally accepted mindset. When Maggie tries to set him up with her friend, Laurie, Rust is initially skeptical. In spite of his initial doubts, he does go into a relationship with Laurie. But, it is short-lived. Once it became clear to Laurie that Rust’s heart wasn’t in the relationship, rather in the ongoing homicide case, she and Rust break up. Rust’s tunnel vision is set solely on the goal of finding the perpetrator, and even if he tries his life has afforded no room for anything or anyone else. His ambitions prove to be too much for other people to handle.
While Marty and Rust both have vastly different circumstantial flaws, they are a complex and captivating spin on the time-honored detective trope, and their show is considered by some to be a landmark of cinematic television. Hopefully, this new wave of profound and filmic works continues to produce creations as standout as True Detective. At the end, solving the murder is secondary to the feelings, good or bad, that we develop for Marty and Rust, and at the end of series, we are left genuinely wondering what will become of these characters after the job is done.