TRUE DETECTIVE Finale ENDING EXPLAINED and Episode 6 BREAKDOWN!

True Detective Episode 6 Breakdown! Go to tryfum.com/SCR... and use code SCREENCRUSH to save an additional 10% off your order today.
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Written by Colton Ogburn ( / coltonogburn )
Hosted by Ryan Arey ( / ryanarey )
Edited by Lee Mazzio and Ethan Lavinsky

[@ScreenCrush]

o to tryfum.com/SCREENCRUSH and use code SCREENCRUSH to save an additional 10% off your order today.

[@FinMertons]

I guess all those theories you kept on spouting throughout the entire True Detective Season 4 recap was all wrong.

[@jennifercirigliano2656]

My heart breaks for Qavvik😢

[@stevenbecerra9513]

The fossil might be Basilosaurus. The name means "Lizard King". Despite its name, it was actually an ancient whale. Though it was a mammal, its skeleton gives the impression of a large fierce serpent. It was an apex predator during the Paleogene period; one might say it was the "king" of the blue (ocean) of its time. There is your Blue King. Whales are also a great example of evolution. Early ancestors of whales were terrestrial (see Pakicetus) and then onto semi-aquatic creatures (see Ambulocetus). This concept of evolution into a different realm seems emblematic of the Spiral Cult.

[@davrosdavros7198]

What happened to the guy with rifle that went missing. I liked it but last episode felt rushed.

[@Karl_Drogo55]

He’s making snow angels in Louisiana with the Tuttles

[@nickreynolds8391]

​@@Karl_Drogo55😂

[@orionhoover9457]

I think this story was more or so a telling of grief, both main characters experienced grief differently one with her son and partner dying and she alienated everyone, the other trying to process the major events that happened in her life. As we gradually went through the show the characters learned to accept what happened. It showed how each character also regret something they've done or seen and learn to live with it. The writing wasnt always there but the multiple coincidences of the spiral cult and the natives using the same symbol has been weirdly unaligned. The spiral cult was a grouper of fanatics that used a trafficking route to smuggle drugs and kids. This was more of an explanation for why rust always saw the spiral weather in the bird flock or in the case.

[@sgtbeercanyt]

Rusts hallucinations were caused by drugs and ptsd induced insomnia which made sense. The spiral cult connections from this season to the first are incredibly vague at best , and im still unsure why they felt the need to tease us with travis cohle (rusts dad) and not do anything with it. Rose was left as a vague character people can come to for advice and bury bodies with and still refused to elaborate or make any full circle connections to rust and the first season. I cant help but feel like they baited me into watching and hyping up the rest of the season with just the first few episodes.

[@lordsxman]

Ryan, while I do agree with you regarding the light, the dark and the night country metaphors, I still feel you missed out on an important aspect: the death totems. I believe all the dead characters had totems that kept popping up through out the season. Evangeline's mom had the rolling oranges. Liz's son had the one eyed polar bear. Julia had the wet foot prints that kept pointing Liz and Evangeline towards the truth. Annie had that golden crucifix. I felt that whenever these totems showed up it meant that their respective ghosts were trying to communicate with a main character.

[@aldotheapache9951]

So seeing into the 5th dimension had me thinking while I watched Navarro see the guy glitch out and say “she’s awake” had me wondering if, in the first episode or any showing of the video that originally caught him saying that showed any “glitch” of Navarro watching that. She would’ve been directly in the original shot. Would love for it to be confirmed that there’s a glitch that catches her watching that in the very first episode. Time is a flat circle indeed. Great breakdown and it’s entertaining, even if the writers didn’t intend everything. But they very well may have. I love the deeper interpretations.

[@courtneymcfarland8333]

Navarro gave away her personal effects then walked out onto the ice without warm clothing near the end, then they showed her with Danvers while saying people never really leave with a similar reference that Rose made to the ghosts… but Danvers also said she didn’t think anyone will find her body… I suspect she transcended or something, is not just in hiding.

[@Darthtommy774]

One of the killer women has a grim reaper tee shirt on. Also Prior has Sgt stripes at the interview.

[@courtneychastain9114]

am I the only one that thinks Navarro is in Hawaii so far everything that’s been shown specifically has pretty good purpose, so why did they specifically show Prior bring Danvers a coffee mug with the word Hawaii on it?

[@EvanAdnams]

That’s the beauty of stories, and how this one was told. We can believe the ending we want to. I like this one.

[@almamia229]

​@@EvanAdnamsYesss...Love the ending and how both characters healed their deep wounds. I do wish we could have had more episodes. I just didn't want it to end. Very well directed and the acting was great.

[@ChanceX74]

For the same reason they specifically showed a one-eyed bear, and ghosts, and whispers. Watch Issa's Tigers Are Not Afraid, where she uses a lot of the same storytelling tactics, and you'll see why specifically being shown something doesn't mean it's literally happening as we see it.

[@fadethechannel]

@@almamia229yes the acting was cool but the story was a little more convoluted than necessary.

[@jimboshrump]

​@@almamia229what dilusions do you suffer from?

[@careyezra]

though I absolutely love this channel and you're breakdown of this series, I think that maybe a main point might be being missed. I have a hard time believing that the writer of this show was referencing much of Lovecraft noir. Maybe inadvertently. My interpretation was that it was more of a discussion of restoring order between the divine feminine and masculine. One of the very first lines in the whole show is " she's awake!" Bringing to light that a reckoning is coming. The negative masculine is represented in many ways. Almost all of the classic ones. The abusive, selfish father, greediness of the mine, corruption, the quest for immortality at the cost of the earth (mother) and the cost of newborn life and violence against women for demanding accountability. I think it made a lot of men upset, but that was kind of the point. It was very well written, well-acted and ending scenes were brilliant. It wasn't two men hugging away the pain of an absent god, and it wasn't a supernatural payoff that I admittedly wanted as well. It was, however, a very poignant way to say, we don't need some supernatural evil, we've got plenty of monsters walking among us

[@otto609]

thnxs for the breakdown of this season- questions were answered and more questions arouse as a result- I personally enjoyed this season and hope there is one more to shed light on the origins of the spiral colt & what the hell that serpent looking thing in the ice actually was-

[@dakotajones674]

Even though its just a mug shes sippin on id love the next season to be set in Hawaii

[@Akuroxradio]

finale was great. and all your reviews were great love this channel

[@moragslothe6449]

You explaining all the things that were purposefully included in this season, better than the show ever could have... makes me see it in a different light. I picked up on a lot of it while viewing, but the show never made me care enough. I think if Cary Fukunaga had creative control, and the writing was more subtle but gave better context... it could have been the perfect successor to ramp up the supernatural aspects of the lore. Instead we got what felt like a highly produced fan-fic. Great video. 👍

[@drulz297]

Great breakdown, Loved this season of True Detective!

[@Jffeeney3rd]

I appreciate your deep dive into the mythos of the spiral cult, but keep in mind, two different writers. So your theory on the cult originating in Alaska doesn’t hold water, because pizolatto didn’t have that in mind when he wrote the first season. This season was basically a form of fan fiction.

[@gregpaquette6043]

Early on I really thought they were going to tie the spiral cult in with Hank and/or the owner of the mine, Rose maybe, other people…and the sacrifice of the stillborn children would be a part of their sick rituals

[@autk]

Simple abuse of season one folklore for interest, pathetic plot device

[@Werewolfheartzzz]

It becomes canon once Pizolatto quits and the person who takes over adds whatever they want to the story/mythos tho - kinda like how Star Wars works...

[@mattgilbert7347]

​@@autka pale imitiation of season 1

[@nickreynolds8391]

​@@mattgilbert7347 I wouldn't even call it a pale imitation. It was a completely different show/series/atmosphere (despite them trying to make it similar) than season 1. Or 3 for that matter. Those "connections" to season 1 were so poorly shoehorned in. I wanted badly to love this, too. I was so excited for this. Jodie Foster leading a True Detetctive season...set in perpetual night Alaska?!?? Dude. I was soooooo in. But by the time they wrapped up - I may be generous in giving it a 3/10. It had the name True Detective on it, and some poorly executed tie-ins to season 1, but in reality it was a totally different world. They should've just called it Night Country and left it at that.

[@TeresaKayser-ny2kd]

I certainly enjoyed your view on this season! Nice job bringing to light the comparison to True Detective 1…

[@ScreenCrush]

What did you think of the finale?

[@Ttamsreyem]

Garbage

[@ivaerz4977]

Now I'm convinced AI wrote this entire season.

[@Firenutz]

Duh.

[@tikingofficial]

I like when some of the plot leaves it up to me to interpret things but this was asking the viewer to basically write the ending their self.

[@cheapneasy1]

Maddening. I lost it at the clowncar scene near the end. They needed two more episodes to properly tie up everything.

[@gracemuncie-jarvis8554]

Danvers cup say Hawaii - clue I think!?!

[@autk]

Absolutely it is..."you're not going to find her out on the ice"

[@holliannejacobs4003]

I’m feeling pretty confident that Navarro staged her exit, by walking off, but she went to Hawaii to start a new life. There are hints all over. Her walking out on the deck as Danvers was sitting there on a beach. Danvers drinking out of a coffee mug with Hawaii on it, shoving it in their faces, as a taunt with a smirk when the asked her about Navarro. Danvers and her step-daughter going on a trip together.

[@Northwest360]

What about all the weird stuff in the camper van? Why was that there if it was just a scientist? I’m still confused on that, and the connection to the cult?

[@georgewashington3555]

Camper was a place for the scientist and Anna to get together but after her death he lost his marbles.

[@autk]

Deception z cheap plot device, intentional USE of season one folklore for.... Nothing

[@nickreynolds8391]

​@@autkYep I agree

[@mltz5337]

That was a rough season, just a complete snooze

[@Pgh_heather_412]

I originally thought Navarro died as nothing was keeping her in the town any more. I now think she is still alive but off the grid. When she walked towards the sun, her hands were in her jacket. If she planned to take her life, i think the hand placement would be more like her sisters. When she appears on Danvers deck, she is wearing a different jacket then when she walked towards the sunrise. And when Danvers tells her when they are still at the station that if she takes that walk to make sure she comes back. Previously, she did tell Peter that people go off grid like Oliver.

[@KarlaOvalle]

So who set the Beatles song to play in this episode?? And Why? And wouldn’t it be Detective 101 to ask “who knew how Annie died” or “who knew who killed Annie” - that’s literally the second question after “who killed her?”

[@berkaykaranlk6576]

The song probably was just a traumatic view of Denver's. In reality song has never played but Denver sees that way.

[@priya0732]

Well explained!!

[@Philvis77]

What a disappointment. Dangling a season 1 connection and it was just Easter eggs. These breakdowns and others also show how people can read anything into anything!

[@blainemayer9534]

14:03 “Now, check this out.” 😂❤

[@crushingit5128]

It's very interesting to see everyone's disappointed reaction to the killer not being supernatural. As soon as we are presented with the truth of Humans being the murderers we kind of dismiss or forget other lil tidbits of the cult or it's supernatural background. I do think this channel and the show did amp us up to expect to literally see an ancient god, but just as in season 1 there was no God to see. But still...this cult and it's funding foundations are still present everywhere. So something bigger as at play here. Unfortunately the show has made ZERO progress with evolving to that next supernatural step. Despite all this I don't think the show or this channels coverage was trash. The Dante comparison was very well done and I think we are all just too disappointed with not seeing an actual devil to give it credit.

[@airforcex9412]

This season started strong…but episodes 5 & 6 were a total letdown.

[@DrWagner]

IMHO, tis fourth season it's like the drawing of a horse meme, the one that starts with the head very detailed, with shadows and very realistic and then, at the finish, end with childish streaks. Also, I really don´t like the portrait of women acting like men and vice versa. Examples? Danvers and Navarro visiting their sexual partners just to have laid and leaving abruptly.

[@lauraellerman9443]

17:27 most beautiful part ever

[@lesiakadam1977]

What about video on Annie's phone not matching the actual events?

[@tikingofficial]

“It’s just a story.” “Stories are stories.” Did the writer’s strike end yet?

[@julesjay424]

😂😂

[@farlessouza4364]

We support the writers' strike. But after this episode, I realized that they are winning too much. Someone cut their salary in half.

[@gregpaquette6043]

the references made to season one didn’t add up to anything of substance. There wasn’t any spiral cult to speak of in this season, even though the Tuttle group funded the mine and tsalal. It didn’t make sense to me that they put the symbol on the Tsalal guy’s head before putting him on the ice. I liked that it spawned speculation early on, but they overused the spiral imho. I enjoyed your videos and analysis of symbolism of this season, and dang you put this video together fast!

[@smosmo4617]

Well fkn said friend.

[@jackdavinci]

That's boilerplate plausible deniability. Weird thing to overanalyze.

[@treeskin77]

Very good breakdown in my opinion...

[@leviward3138]

This season is so inconsistent. Characters do and say things just to be said or done. Danvers is the worst human being and cop on the planet. No one seems to care that she's slept with everyone and still sleeps with married men. Drives drunk and gets into accidents with no repercussions . But will arrest someone else. Destroys a marriage because she doesn't like the holidays. I f**cking hate this season. So inconsistent.

[@Extraamedium]

Ennis OR Sinne (third-person singular simple present sinnes, present participle sinning, simple past and past participle sinned). Archaic spelling of sin.

[@mjriemen]

There was no Cult this season. There is no Carcosa this season. Same as there sure was no “Blue King” that you kept going on and on about… 🤦‍♂️

[@fadethechannel]

“The question isn’t who killed Annie, but who knew who killed Annie” 😂😂😂 that anticlimactic writing explains everything about this season.

[@Karl_Drogo55]

that shit made me laugh lol "who knew?" more like "who cares"

[@PaulRWorthington]

That was a really disappointing conclusion, one that makes the whole story fall apart into meaninglessness. I wasn't locked into wanting either a ghost- or a realistic ending... But this was neither. The so-revered first season was also too ambiguous but this went even farther in that misguided direction.

[@GMGBlackWhiteMUNGEY]

This ending broke me

[@dennisdemercurio2670]

I think your supernatural/dante’s inferno was a stretch. I think Annie’s tongue was left there by Clark, who was hoping that perhaps by leaving the tongue behind, Annie’s voice would stop tormenting him. As for Navarro, I think she committed suicide by walking out into the tundra. She left her phone behind with the evidence. Why not turn it in herself and be the hero? Like she says earlier in the show “Don’t you wish you could just walk away and disappear?” (Or something to that effect) What you see at the end is Danvers imagining Navarro still being by her side. Also, there were at least two SUVs in the garage, plus the vehicle they arrived in so tell me why they had to break up pallets and start a fire rather than just get into one of the vehicles and blast the heat??

[@qataripekarsky]

Weren't all the vehicles owned by Tsalal / the mining company electric? Maybe they had to wait for the storm to pass / power to turn back on before they could charge and then use the electric vehicles?

[@dennisdemercurio2670]

@@qataripekarsky I did not see any electric vehicles but I did see a couple of what looked like Chevy Suburban parked in the garage.

[@MCVPhotography]

Such awful writing. Don’t think too deeply about this one, Ryan.

[@TheHCMF]

Or…. And hear me out…. It was just a good murder mystery with folks dealing with personal demons.

[@IamJacksColon4]

this season sucked, very little detective stuff just a bunch of fluff and filler, shame it started out really interesting but became more and more boring by each episode.

[@jorgemoreno8191]

Lets be honest here, the season was mostly a fluke, all connections to season 1 were just a plant shoved in as a pretext (the director herself said it), which is why nothing could be said about the yellow king, nothing related to the spiral is explained and, even if you take all season 1 references out, the show is still full of plot holes. So why the horrified faces in someone who just ran away and froze to death, how close is the cave network from Tsalal if it took them a short walk to get to the secret passage to the station, and so on and so forth...

[@LandOfTanks]

Over-analyzed reviews have their own circle.

[@Karl_Drogo55]

literally teased and manipulated viewers using stuff from everyones favorite season 1 for no reason...tuttles..spirals...travis/rusts father....for what? just to be like "hey cool!"

[@loda9782]

THIS.

[@autk]

FACTS, I said this on many channels all season long that if they used season one folklore and have a ho hum explanation then the writer and show runner better duck because the season one loyalists will rebel....and they walked right off a cliff of...F them! Okay Issa, look in the mirror!

[@Karl_Drogo55]

@@autk I picture these writers for this season holding the latch like Clark did after releasing this season

[@Karl_Drogo55]

@@autk Yea if ur gonna go that route u better have a pay off cuz that was one hell of a dumb gamble

[@h-dawg969]

What a terrible finale. This might be an alright show on its own but it doesn’t deserve to have the true detective name. All those strong independent females stomp around the research station and there was no evidence they were ever there except a three finger mark found weeks later by chance. No explanation of how a tongue from 6 years ago appears there. What is the moral of the story? That it’s all good to murder 7 people as long as you’re female and it’s male victims because wah patriarchy? Episode 5 was alright but this finale was shit.

[@V1LLAlN]

Why would Clark just leave the tongue on the floor?

[@josegallardo5085]

Man….this season does not deserve this breakdown

[@soyrizzo]

damn S4 killed the whole series, we need nic back asap

[@hardworkingsloth]

This is what happens when you smoke too much FUM

[@robi6317]

LOL

[@schools6555]

I was loving this season until I finished episode 6. It was really just disappointing.

[@fedkukso]

Did you really blur a demon's ass out of a painting? Have we reached that low?

[@gwinter93]

Lot of effort going into shoehorning a deeper meaning into a woefully written, poorly executed finale - and indeed series!

[@myshadow8118]

Why are the nether regions of the people in the circles of hell are matrixed out like some cheesy porn film censoring

[@jacquelinegarciaortiz5764]

Great ending

[@richardfolden3860]

That it ended was a mercy killing for the audience

[@Karl_Drogo55]

define great

[@Karl_Drogo55]

@@richardfolden3860 "we're asking the wrong question..its not 'who killed annie k?..its 'who knew who killed annie k?" BAHAHA

[@richardfolden3860]

@@Karl_Drogo55 the right question is “why did they produce this abomination of a season?”.

[@Karl_Drogo55]

@@richardfolden3860 the fact thatthey milked and manipulated/teased references from S1 that literally had no reason or purpose other than to just be like "oh hey cool" is what I cant forgive lol

[@0Hammerhead0]

Nothing about this season warranted hearing the term "spiral cult" so many times in these breakdowns

[@fadethechannel]

😂

[@milovarquiel]

This guy was fixated with the nonexistent cult and Lovecraft, expecting some robe wearing guys with tentacles at the end of the episode. Also the way he ties Season 1 with a lot of speculation and strecthinig is nothing short but olimpic level gymnastics.

[@mjriemen]

And the “Blue King” that never existed…

[@robi6317]

true

[@autk]

​@@mjriemen biggest joke ..everyone who swallowed the "Blue King" 😂

[@93siguy]

Wooooow watching the finale and thinking back on all these theories. Nothing was close to being right. You guys are REACHING HARD

[@brodiegeers]

I expected this to be a big apology video

[@briengakaplan-b1550]

More stretches than an Olympic gymnastics team lol. I think they do this just to fill up space.

[@milovarquiel]

They're Stretch Armstrong The Original Giant Stretch Toy come to life.

[@mattmadeofcarbon]

It’s a KZbin channel, gotta create that content, baby!

[@mine_all_the_time0793]

It's just not the same without Marty & Rust

[@devinbasile5206]

I usually like this page’s breakdowns, but this whole season’s videos have been really big stretches and clearly very minimal payoff. I get they need to sensationalize for views but I think these “connections” were grasps at best. Minimal lovecraftian horror and then a deep dive into the layers of hell? Missed the mark for me

[@raulmiranda5264]

And I’m a huge fan too have always liked their breakdowns. But even the recent marvel breakdowns seem to just be outlets to get their own fantasy scripts out there. 😂

[@milovarquiel]

This is proof they're getting paid by HBO to shill this mediocre show and trying uplifting it to avant garde story telling that's too deep for the average viewer, so they need long winded and meaningless explanations.

[@josephlodzinski6171]

Makes me wonder if they are being compensated for giving good reviews? Integrity compromised?

[@robi6317]

agreed, a lot of this was truly reaching...i thought they had an inside scoop but now i dont

[@WELYEK]

I totally concur. First it was Cthulu, then the blue King, then the spiral cult now its Dantes Inferno. Come on Ryan...Pick One!

[@shawesome2nasty]

My only problem is that they used the thought that the real OG cult was coming back (both with the childres name and the rich funder from S1) this all turned out to be nothing, yet it got me really excited. So they proved it’s in the same world, but then somehow the natives used the spiral symbol, having nothing to do with the actual cult

[@EvanAdnams]

I took that as an allegory for settlers and colonization co-opting or perverting existing symbols and practices. That this is where the symbol started from, but the founders of the spiral cult (who have ties to Ennis), took it and made it in to something else. And like, Tsalal was looking for immortality (in the place where the spiral is culturally relevant), for the Tuttles/the spiral cult.

[@gregpaquette6043]

coincidentally Clark’s character is Irish and that symbol is prominently featured on ancient Irish megaliths. Not sure if that was intentional but hey

[@milovarquiel]

@@EvanAdnamsYou're giving too much credit to these mediocre writers.

[@jimboshrump]

​@@milovarquielpeople thinking a puddles deep man😅

[@SACosby-lp5td]

I thought it was a very cool call back . The spiral is a multicultural symbol.

[@seanmurphy3233]

The pool balls in Tsalal appear to be laid out in like the Dig Dipper with the cue ball being the North Star - look at it at 16:45 in your video. That's the pattern on the Alaska flag. However, one night orientation trick to find north is to locate the much-easier-to-spot Big Dipper & then find the North Star - just as the two detectives have now found their way. The North Star can also symbolize purpose.

[@justicepie314]

Good catch.

[@TheJkisboss]

Probably could’ve skipped episodes 2-5.

[@sresner7]

loooool for real

[@JeffBurden]

100%

[@jennybardoville5455]

But you couldn't, right

[@jessehitzroth6982]

These video recaps put in more effort than the tv show did. That being said…there was no cult etc in this season. You’re putting out a lot of information that just wasn’t in the show. Which makes these videos interesting but the show was just bad writing.

[@danny9732]

Finally someone that thinks the show was bad. All the top comments are praising this hot garbage finale and I feel like I’m being gaslit

[@TigersPaw04]

I agree.. this season wasn’t that good and finale wasn’t that great either. It was just one big feminist wet dream at the end.

[@rhomugamma]

These videos remind me of an important lesson from my days as an English lit major: sometimes what’s at face value is as deep as you need to go - otherwise, you run the risk of warping things beyond recognition.

[@milovarquiel]

They're trying to sell this mediocre show as too deep for the average viewer, when its more shallow than a sink full of water.

[@masterchuck8772]

​@@milovarquiellooking at your comments... wow so much hate. Why watch the show and on top the breakdowns if you hated it so much. So much to unpack

[@jimboshrump]

​​@@masterchuck8772sheer confusion on what the fuck we wasted 6 weeks to find out girl good man bad alaska cold

[@Ray03595]

Sometimes a blue curtain is just a blue curtain.

[@smoak666]

Facts. The references to season 1 are literally just marketing. Bad writing

[@fortyozsteak]

One of the worst shows and worst episodes of TV I’ve ever seen. I actually feel sick after watching that. You couldn’t have wrote a worse television show

[@lsmc8909]

OK you gotta stop saying Karkosa, Karkosa is not in the show! It’s only in your theories! You name it like 50 times and it’s not in the show even one time.

[@TheTotalRecap]

Carcosa is the spiral, the spiral is everywhere in the show, but go on.

[@simongriffith6500]

*Carcosa, and wouldn't the whole town be consider Carcosa? It basically means a cursed place which the whole entire town would of been cursed during night time hence why it's called "Night Country"

[@lsmc8909]

@@simongriffith6500 the town isn’t called night country, under the ice is called night country. The town isn’t cursed, it’s being polluted by people.

[@lsmc8909]

@@TheTotalRecap uh huh. Except there’s NO spiral cult, no mention of this at all, but they say they use the spiral for dangerous ice and the cleaning lady puts it on Lund’s head not at all to signify « Carcosa », which that character has never heard of. Just admit that your analysis was a fever dream.

[@TheTotalRecap]

Symbolism my dude. No one is claiming Carcosa is real in the show. That's what cosmic horror is all about. @@lsmc8909

[@markburns4497]

Sorry brother, you guys went way too deep on this explaination, the story was not that complicated

[@abccinema1]

they been spouting a bunch of bull all season

[@Don-Yeti]

If so, who left the tongue?

[@gaiusgermanicus8296]

Agreed! Cosmic horror, Lovecraft, spiral cult, I mean give it a fucking rest, and admit the story wasn’t anywhere near that deep. On another note… Women strong and smart Men weak and dumb And that my friends is all you need to know in order to write an HBO show

[@justinbreedlove8835]

Like most HBO shows they always have a s***** season ending and a horrible explanation at the end

[@ChanceX74]

@@Don-Yeti There was a throwaway line that's supposed to get us to infer that Daddy Prior did it just as a warning to the indigenous people. "They sent a cop to deal with the body" - "That wasn't us."

[@exitthrugiftshop]

Spoiler: This was the biggest piece of 💩 ever made

[@nickreynolds8391]

Yeah it was a major disappointment.

[@janmitchell3976]

in MCU terms i think Sedna picked Annie K as her avatar, and at the the end of the season Navarro took over the avatar role.

[@briengakaplan-b1550]

Pretty good ending, had a murder on the orient express vibe to it.

[@jackdavinci]

I had a few minor quibbles but overall I found the episode and conclusion satisfying. Great series, and fantastic cast.

[@Benita-o5x]

Issa Lopez is a lot cleverer than I thought. She purposely planted clues from season 1 to distract us from her horrid writing skills.

[@ludwinlopez6632]

😂 I’m just pissed it went nowhere . All bs distractions. The story actually had potential

[@productofapathy]

Anyone notice the little/big dipper (or ursa minor/major) on the pool table when they're looking at the northern lights? I thought that was a nice touch

[@Eaten_by_a_Grue]

This was simply another terrible season of a series that should have ended after season one. A whole bunch of "OH OH! Remember that from season one?!?". Your review is reaching waaaaaay too far beyond what it truly was....lazy.

[@countdukeking7249]

The diegetic and non diegetic sounds in this show and what is real and what is not real and how they blended into the show really blew me away kept me questioning what was in the head and what wasent.

[@slyder35]

Thats also a convenient way for things not needing to make sense half the time

[@ianthorpe1925]

Anyone else think that the "ice cave" set was absolutely horrible? It just looked manufactured and fake.

[@richardfolden3860]

Have you seen a real ice cave? They filmed in Iceland where there are plenty.

[@robi6317]

no it didnt look fake

[@nickreynolds8391]

Yeah I felt like it did too. Then again, what do I know about ice caves. But I 100% felt the same way you did I was watching it.

[@stevie-con67]

It looked like plastic with lights inside.

[@richardfolden3860]

@@stevie-con67 look at pictures of the real thing (which that might have been). Looks just like it.

[@XOJeanne]

I guess the cleaning lady was the True Detective all along

[@peteLeeBell]

I really liked the show. JF was really good in the last ep. More please.

[@spidermonkey304]

Overall I enjoyed it. Some things here and there that could have been better to me.

[@EvilArtifact]

First, I'm not sure there is a "spiral cult" in Ennis the same way there was one in Louisiana. One thing about mythos fiction - whether the Cthulhu Mythos specifically, or references to it found in popular media like World of Warcraft or A Song of Ice and Fire - is that simple proximity to a "cthonic being" is sufficient to manipulate the minds of people and create belief structures, in this case the "Spiral entity". It makes sense to me that in proximity of Ennis the native people would develop a form of pseudo-spirituality around the phenomena that they experience, and that long term residents would develop a sensitivity to the force at work. But since everybody has to live in the "real world", the weirdness gets integrated into daily life in a way that can make you question whether it's real or not. Second, I think the one eye symbolism might be a loose reference to Odin, or at least the idea of sacrificing an eye to gain knowledge or wisdom about the realm of the dead, and it is also part of how shamanism works in norse mythology. I think Navarro and Rose are shaman, which allows them to straddle the realms of life and death. I think Navarro's mother and sister were also potential shaman, but they were unable to withstand the transition process, so they went mad or were driven mad by the spiral entity. That said, I don't think this shamanism is directly related to the "Her" that was awoken, in fact I think it stands in opposition. Navarro specifically seems to also represent the application of cosmic justice, as while she is definitely rageful, she doesn't hurt people who don't actually deserve it. Third, I think the native people of Alaska have a connection to shamanism through culture, but they also have a connection to the spiral entity under Ennis by proximity. The result is that the two spiritual practices become conflated. Navarro's and Rose's shamanism is about guiding people through the transitions of life and death, and it is their duty to communicate with and witness the dead. But the cleaning women sent the scientists out onto the ice to die, to be sacrificed to the spiral entity under the pretense that they were giving said being a choice of whether to kill them or to let them live. From their frame of reference they were petitioning a just deity of sorts, but in reality they fed those mens' souls to a monster. The spiral on the forehead is proof of this. Spirituality and the supernatural are complicated in mythos fiction, so it's easy for people to attribute meaning and phenomena to symbols that they can't comprehend. Fourth, cosmic horror stories are full of incidents where people "dug too deep" and released the influence of a cthonic being. This is the role of both the mine and Tsalal station in the story. The mine is a front of sorts, a legitimate organizations whos actual purpose is to give access to the spiral entity, which is what ties back to the Louisiana cult. Think of them as the "Cult of Starry Wisdom" from lovecraft who have temples in port cities all over the world. The Tsalal station is a symbolic extension of the mine, except that they were working directly with the corpse of, or some physical extension, of the spiral entity itself. Although the thing in the ice was a skeleton, it is important to remember that cthonic entities never actually die, and that their corpses continue to influence the minds of those nearby. Altogether, I think the worldbuilding of this season of True Detective is intended to broaden the context of how a world infested with cthonic beings would function. For most people, the world is never anything more than the mundane world we think it is. But for people in close proximity to cthonic beings things get weird as the mind is exposed to knowledge that it was never meant to process. That said, I think anybody looking for any clear cut answers from this season are going to be disappointed. Mythos fiction and cosmic horror aren't so transparent, but I think viewers with a more developed vocabulary in cosmic horror will appreciate the show.

[@almamia229]

I liked the ending. Good won 😊

[@Lunchboxh3ad]

Finding out that our main characters and their pursuits were made irrelevant by some tertiary characters from the first episode was actually a great way to put a bow on this meaningless season. Hell, one of the characters even decides to delete themselves after it’s all over as if to prove out the idea of how unnecessary it was that anything here be “solved” by either one of these people. We got no real meaningful exploration of the circle cult or Tuttle group. What few ties the show had to season 1 were there as an afterthought to keep us hooked. Nothing about the characters or their shrouded back story was ultimately important because the story was resolved by an outside force back in the first episode. It doesn’t matter if Danvers or Navarro shot the bad guy. It doesn’t matter how Danvers family passed. It doesn’t matter if Navarro learns her name or stays around. It all took care of itself before the viewer or the characters we followed even started the journey. It’s like HBO announced to the writers from the outset, “you can throw in ANYTHING you want and in the end… none of it will matter. Yes put an orange in there. Of course you should add a one eyed polar bear! Absolutely litter the floor with wet footprints. For sure we need a shot of every victim pointing at Navarro… add in ANY of the tired old horror/suspense tropes and jump scares you like. There’s no consequences in adding distraction to a story that was resolved in the same moment it started. Your characters motives don’t even need to match from episode to episode cause the story ISNT ABOUT THEM.”

[@luke9648]

Dude, you're going WAAAAAY beyond anything the writers and producers planned. Like.... to an insane extent. They weren't doing a super deep multilayered intelligent logical plot.

[@ChanceX74]

Worse yet, I just saw an article this morning where Issa is essentially acknowledging what I've been saying from the start: she tends to structure her narratives where everything is "open to interpretation". She even specifically says its up to the viewer to decide what happened to Navarro. Was it delirium or indigenous woman of ice justice that killed the scientists? What does the bear mean? Oranges? etc etc. Even Japanese horror has some semblance of structure you can follow, even if you have to interpret the ending. This was just Wind River with a bunch of supernatural teases and references to S1 that went nowhere.

[@jaydale1]

Typical Ryan 🤣🤣

[@luke9648]

I had a feeling. Also, for the record, i think it was the oranges. The bear ate one and it gave him humanesque self awareness, which led him to eat Navarro. Think about it. It all makes perfect sense. @@ChanceX74

[@katies3338]

maybe try listening to the accompanying podcast and see if you think everything was random

[@ChanceX74]

@@katies3338 You think people haven't listened to the podcast because they couldn't possibly conclude that all the thick mythological explanation is Olympic mental gymnastics to cope with the fact none of the references and memberberries were ever going to pay off?

[@robertbeals5643]

You missed the shot when Navarro is outside with Clark frozen in the ice she shot in a way that you can’t see her face because she’s wearing a flashlight on her forehead and the light is making a stare where her third eye would be. This is not by accident it telling us that she can see beyond. In the next scene she sees Clark shifting between dimensions. You’re welcome 👊🏽😎

[@ThisIsBrianMcKnight]

Iykyk 😉

[@chrisccatania]

that's an Easter Egg for The Thing. it looks exactly like the movie poster.

[@robertbeals5643]

It is but it also implies that she can see beyond and in the next scene she sees Clarks ghost and he says "she saw me" or something close to that. Thanks for the reply!!@@chrisccatania

[@danielfazio275]

I'm not going to lie the show started with a lot of potential and a lot of hope it led to a pretty boring wrap up with about zero consequences. I had a feeling after episode 4, I was going to be disappointed. I would give this seasons a generous 6.2/10

[@TheJzako]

I'm rewatching the whole show, I'm on season 2 right now, and I can easily say season 4 takes it place as the worst season yet. The dialogue is iffy in season 2 at times, but it's a more compelling watch by a mile.

[@Champstarrable]

Same, you took my analysis right out of my dome. First three episodes setup a great story. The last three were very under whelming as a great opportunity was wasted.

[@nickreynolds8391]

​@@TheJzakoI need to go back and rewatch that season. I never revisited it after my first watch. Season one & three I watched multiple times (especially season 1)...and no I'm interested to see which is worse. Season 2 or 4.

[@anandingale8432]

Worst season of true detective , even worst than season 2 .. over-hyped ,overacting ,some stupid reference to season 1 with no connection

[@keithbeaulieu4886]

The coffee mug that was shown during Danvers' interrogation is the same coffee cup Navarro gave alcohol to Danvers in to "warm up" after she fell through the ice.

[@NotOncebutTwice905]

I just wish we would've gotten more on the Tuttles knowledge of the spiral symbol. We know they use the spiral for their cult but if it originates/is local to Ennis then how did the Tuttles find out about it?

[@katies3338]

Tuttles are owners/investors in the mine, so maybe they have owned the land for generations?

[@queenboo8]

You all at Screen Crush have your Lovecraft theories wrong. Carcosa and The King in Yellow are by a man named Robert W. Chambers. It was published in 1895. Lovecraft was 5 years old when the book was published. Lovecraft mention Hastur but not until 1930. There can be parallels drawn between The King in Yellow and Hastur but True Detective is referenced purely by Chambers’ The King in Yellow. This is not Lovecraftian. Also, the “Her” they are referring to is most likely the Inuit goddess Sedna, also NOT Lovecraftian.

[@garyfrombrooklyn]

So it’s Chambersian and not Lovecraftian?

[@queenboo8]

Indeed!

[@jackdavinci]

You're overthinking it. Lovecraftian is a genre named after the most famous example of it, but it doesn't literally mean only things written by Lovecraft and it doesn't mean works before Lovecraft are excluded. Just like there are works now considered Lynchian despite existing before Lynch made films.

[@Tomy_Yon]

Agreed.

[@curtisbme]

@@jackdavinci No they are not. This analysis was making very detailed and specific claims (and making laughable and insanely reaching associations). @queenboo8 was correctly pointing out one of their many factual errors. He did not say "lovecraftian type x" he made specific claims to Lovecraft which are wrong and should be called out.

[@Bangoloff]

I jus finished it and................. IT WAS FUCKING FUCKING GARBAGE!!!!

[@Champstarrable]

yes, yes it was

[@calder-d]

Just like Mephisto, and hexagons of the past, I think you have to come to terms with the fact there was no "spiral cult" in this season, anywhere, at any point. I know you've mentioned it multiple times per breakdown, but .... its just not there ... sorry.

[@mjriemen]

Yes! No Cult. No “Blue King”. Lolol Everything in this video is a giant reach for things that just aren’t there. The rings of hell? Get out of here…

[@raulmiranda5264]

Really Ryan? No mention of the Tsalal Team Six scene.? 😂😂

[@brianzotti8974]

This sounds like an analysis for a film class, would make for a good paper but yea like the other guy said it’s really not that complicated of a show.

[@jordanm774]

Is no one going to talk about how Navarro had a different colored hat when she was at the bon fire at first and walking out on the ice, then had a different green hat after pulling Liz from the ice?

[@oyahthefirst]

I saw that too, I wondered if she just grabbed something from the Salal station.

[@ileanaramos5499]

Its just bad editing LOL

[@jrodhaynes973]

That's called a continuity error.

[@ileanaramos5499]

@@jrodhaynes973 thank you for educating us sir

[@jrodhaynes973]

@@ileanaramos5499 you're welcome, sarcastic ma'am

[@barrone71]

Not sure Rust Cohle is from Ennius. Yes he’s from Alaska and his dad was hooking up with Rose in Ennius, but that doesn’t mean he’s actually from Ennis. I say that because Rust Cohle mentioned how his dad took him hunting and tracking often, if that was in Ennis, there’d be a high % chance that he would’ve learned about those spiral circles and known what they were when he saw them in Louisiana.

[@TheRealBatCave]

💯

[@TheJzako]

It seems to be convenient for sure. It's almost like a boardroom wrote this season. Maybe they couldn't sell the show without adding inconsequential connections to the first season.

[@jamisoncannon7030]

Terrible ending. Reminds of how the GOT writers threw in the towel. So many things left unanswered. Caribou mass suicide, Tuttle involvement, supposed ghost of Rust's dad, antlers like S1 cult, polar bear, all seeing eye(s). Also, love the analysis but you all at ScreenCrush missed sooooo hard. "Caves being used for child trafficking" and "My family's been here a long time". The emphasis on S1 was what we wanted and, in the end, we got a nothing burger.

[@jonl13]

Most of this explanation is just farfetched romanticized conjecture hoping there’s more than there really is - Including the previous episodes Blue King stuff, Lovecraft, etc. The finale spelled everything out straightforward. There’s no cosmic horror. The main characters were going nuts due to their traumas combined with the situations. All the connections to S1 were just red herrings and these vids fell for it hard.

[@Champstarrable]

Amen brother

[@nomsringani8513]

I love this channel and watch every video but the moment they mentioned Cathulu and the 9 layers of hell I checked out! 😂