WiC Watches: True Detective season 3

Episode 6: “Hunters in the Dark”

I would like the record to show that I called it.

Back in the review of Episode 3, “The Big Never,” I wondered if wealthy industrialists weren’t involved in the Purcell kidnapping. And now, “Hunters in the Dark” ends with Tom Purcell, in ’90, breaking into the house of whoever runs Hoyt Foods, finding a secret passage, emerging into an all-pink room, and finding something that reminds him of his daughter. We don’t get all the information, of course, including whether he makes it out of the Resident Evil mansion alive (my bet is no), but the wider scope of this mystery is coming into focus. The super-wealthy are taking your children. Tale as old as time.

I caught on to the setup about Hoyt Foods a while back, so I was happy to see my suspicions justified. And even in this episode, Pizzolatto purposefully amps up our suspicions about the company. In ’90, Wayne and Roland talk to Harris James, a former police officer who identified Will’s backpack back in ’80 and then conveniently got a cushy job as Hoyt’s chief security officer the year after. (I’m not expecting him to make it out of this show alive, either, FYI.) All of the Hoyt stuff was well done, if kinda pulpy.

On the other hand, I didn’t like the way “Hunters in the Dark” tried to trick us into believing that Tom himself might have something to do with Will’s death and Julie’s disappearance. Wayne and Roland look into that possibility at the top of the episode, after a woman we think is Julie calls in about “the man on TV pretending to be my father.” Then we find out that Tom is probably a secret homosexual who’s been fighting against his impulses all this time, which I object to first because it seems like something the show pulled out of its ass without setup and second because it’s lazy to use homosexuality as shorthand for Man With Deep Dark Secrets. And it comes to nothing anyway, so I feel like I’ve been led down a dead end.

Still, we got some big plot developments, so I’ll get over it. Also in ’90, a black man with a cloudy shows up to one of Amelia’s book signings. Between him and Tom blowing the doors off the Hoyt angle, I’m looking forward to seeing Old Wayne and Old Roland bring everything together in the final two episodes.

Old Wayne and Old Roland are my favorite versions of Wayne and Roland, slower and softer and wiser and far more vulnerable. Do you think we’ll see a climax where the two of them shamble through the Hoyt mansion, trying to keep their wits about them while they descend deeper into some hell a billionaire built for their own amusement? I’m already sure I’ll love it.

We’re nearing the end now, and while I can’t say season 3 has maintained quite the same grip on me that season 1 did, I am having fun, and I enjoy watching Mahershala Ali and Stephen Dorff sweat for their Emmys. Considering how much of the season has been about setup, much will depend on the big finish. C’mon, Pizzolatto; make the trip worth it.

Detective’s Notes

• The episode opens with Wayne and Amelia, post-coital in ’80. “Hell of a day when a gunfight’s the second most exciting thing happens to you.” Smooth, Wayne.
• Like I said, I thought the episode pulled the gay angle out of nowhere. Suddenly Devil’s Den was “a homo cruisin’ spot.” Suddenly Dan O’Brien, Lucy’s cousin, is calling Tom nasty names. And then there’s Harris James telling Wayne he has a good body; not sure what to do with that one. The comment stands out, so director Dan Sackheim is trying to draw our attention to it, but why?
• Whoever is running the show at Hoyt likely killed Lucy and is probably going to kill Dan, assuming Tom didn’t finish the job in that hotel room. Just keeping all my mystery ducks in a row here.
• There were a few parts of this episode that played a little too cliche for my liking, such as Tom overhearing the detectives in the precinct loudly talking about Dan O’Brien being back in the picture. I guess if they spoke with inside voices the plot couldn’t move forward, so…
• I enjoyed the reveal that the reason for the hole in the wall between Will and Julie’s rooms was so the siblings could pass notes to one another. We’ve been led to believe that someone — probably Dan — made that hole for nefarious purposes, but this solution also makes perfect sense, so it’s not a cheat.