tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13727952.post4090472527167347992..comments2024-03-29T06:56:12.797-04:00Comments on Doux Reviews: True Detective: Seeing ThingsBillie Douxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17141769005175631213noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13727952.post-64198485543033313712014-03-09T04:09:12.597-04:002014-03-09T04:09:12.597-04:00Rewatching this, I was reminded of the one flaw in...Rewatching this, I was reminded of the one flaw in this otherwise spotless episode: the manager of the hillbilly bunny ranch saying "That's a pretty big ask." Did anyone use "ask" as a noun in the 1990s? Josie Kafkahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17892717530356699008noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13727952.post-28085063132328945672014-02-21T16:45:57.728-05:002014-02-21T16:45:57.728-05:00Sunbunny, episodes 1-3 set the stage. Episode 4 ma...Sunbunny, episodes 1-3 set the stage. Episode 4 makes the actors wander around the audience like in some performance art piece. And Episode 5 walks you out of the theater entirely. <br /><br />Josie Kafkahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17892717530356699008noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13727952.post-91677272775772757652014-02-21T16:43:44.115-05:002014-02-21T16:43:44.115-05:00I don't know how much longer I'm going to ...I don't know how much longer I'm going to be able to watch this show. It's flawlessly constructed, but wow is it dark. It feels so real at one point I had to stop the episode and go outside to convince myself I don't live in rural Louisiana, I don't know any hillbilly prostitutes, and I've never been in a trailer. The world they've created feels so claustrophobic. There's no way for most of the characters to get out of their dismal situations and I just…yeah, not sure how much more I can watch without going completely insane.<br /><br />Again I have to commend both Harrelson and McCongahuey. They're both fantastic and playing characters diametrically opposite of their real life personas. I hate Hart so much for what he did and said in this episode. Cheating on his wife is one thing. His lame attempt to justify it to himself is another, but the way he talked to his wife…wow. He's completely convinced his family is there solely for his benefit, like they don't exist for reasons outside of his need to relax and feel loved. I'm not sure it's sexism, it's sort of like he feels that way about everyone, like he's childishly convinced that he is the only real person in the universe and everyone else is simply there for his benefit.<br /><br />The unreliable narrator technique has always been a favorite of mine, but I've never seen it used quite like this. Hart tells the 2012 detectives what's going on while we can clearly see he's lying, or if not lying, certainly bending the truth to his liking. It really allows us to see the inner working of Hart's and Cohle's minds. Perception vs. reality, thought vs. truthsunbunnyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08553429350476841139noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13727952.post-77069890976236184422014-02-16T14:11:17.175-05:002014-02-16T14:11:17.175-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.Lucehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05612987173174005233noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13727952.post-49531244566533680562014-02-16T14:11:03.070-05:002014-02-16T14:11:03.070-05:00I'm so happy to hear that you're going to ...I'm so happy to hear that you're going to be reviewing this show! It's definitely my favourite show on TV right now--the only one I watch live (which is a rarity for me nowadays). <br /><br />One of the things I really enjoy seeing is how the Cohle & Hart partnership works. In some ways, they are both very different men and yet they're both broken too. <br /><br /><em>I never think of Woody Harrelson as intelligent, and Hart underplays his intelligence.</em><br /><br />Yes! Like almost everyone else who's tuned in, I'm in definite awe of Matthew's acting (Cohle's monologues must be a doozy to memorize. His delivery is flawless). BUT, some reviewers and commenters seem to forget that Hart brings a subtle touch, seemingly mundane, to the investigation. I really doubt that Cohle would have gotten far in the case with someone else.<br /><br />Oh, and I do agree with your assertion that weird and twisted as the case might be, this show (or, at least, this season) is somewhat more focused on the detectives that the mystery. Lucehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05612987173174005233noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13727952.post-41771063744681218872014-02-16T09:35:42.995-05:002014-02-16T09:35:42.995-05:00This is definitely one of my top shows on televisi...This is definitely one of my top shows on television right now. It is actually the first thing I watch on Sunday nights, despite my very unhealthy <i>Walking Dead</i> obsession (the lack of commercials helps on that front). I'm glad we'll get to discuss the episodes here!<br /><br />My favorite aspect of this one was learning more about Cohle's backstory. In general, creators lean towards a "show, not tell" approach in visual mediums, but in this case I found "tell" absolutely riveting (almost more riveting than the "show" approach deployed more recently). Something about seeing the wreck of a man Cohle has become, and hearing the relatively disengaged way he talks about the horrific path that led him there, was just captivating.<br /><br />I've got serious doubts about the internet's take on the elephant in the room. Those looked fake to me. Some incredibly fake looking ones crop up in Ep. 4, too. (And given that the hubby and I have recently gotten back to our <i>Spartacus</i> catch up, I feel like I've observed a fairly decent sample size of late. We had a hilarious conversation about it the other night!)Jess Lyndehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14165015932507376656noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13727952.post-17121251060549182362014-02-16T08:30:04.927-05:002014-02-16T08:30:04.927-05:00I had to re-watch this episode as I had blocked th...I had to re-watch this episode as I had blocked the elephant in the room. When I got to that particular scene, I laughed. Oh, yeah.<br /><br />What struck me this time through the episode was the theme of family. We see a lot of that, don't we. Dora's mom is too ill herself to take care of her daughter, so her daughter ends up badly.<br /><br />Cohle, who doesn't even know if his mother is still alive, had a family but watched it die with his daughter. He is not looking for another one. He seems content (if that is the right word) to go through life on his own, with no ties and no one to complain about how much he drinks.<br /><br />Hart, as you point out, has a family, but doesn't respect it or his role in it. The family unit is about supporting him, not unlike his father-in-law who doesn't appear to be a very loving person either. I feel for Maggie. She seems to have married a version of her father.<br /><br />The best "family" we see in this episode is the group of women at the brothel. They are all looking out for each other, helping each other, supporting each other. Unconventional, yet it works.<br /><br />My favorite exchange is that between the madam and Hart. She absolutely nails the issue, probably more than she realizes.<br /><br />I'm so pleased you are reviewing this show, Josie. I think it is among the best things on TV right now.ChrisBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10843864158239536750noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13727952.post-19072653643526792172014-02-16T05:50:07.005-05:002014-02-16T05:50:07.005-05:00Great news, Josie. About the reviews, obviously, n...Great news, Josie. About the reviews, obviously, not about you feeling self-conscious. <br /><br />According to the internet, they're not fake -- and remember, the internet is never wrong.<br /><br />After watching this episode, I couldn't help but wonder whether the episode title was influenced by the nudity. But that would just be childish, right?Paul Reedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02927027468227544676noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13727952.post-60172653976232121012014-02-16T04:48:21.654-05:002014-02-16T04:48:21.654-05:00I'm reviewing the whole season, Paul. Episode ...I'm reviewing the whole season, Paul. Episode 3 goes up tomorrow afternoon, and Episode 4 should be up tomorrow night. That'll catch me up.<br /><br />Those breasts just made me feel self-conscious. Really, really self-conscious. I didn't want to write about them. (They were fake, right?)Josie Kafkahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17892717530356699008noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13727952.post-59375925104567320122014-02-16T04:46:31.449-05:002014-02-16T04:46:31.449-05:00I did wonder after this week's instalment (epi...I did wonder after this week's instalment (episode four) whether you'd like this show enough to start reviewing it. Does this mean you'll be covering the full season? No pressure, but I'll hate you forever if you say no ;)<br /><br />Currently, this feels like the best show on TV. It has an ambience like no other, both Woody and Matthew (can't be arsed to spell their surnames, so I'm opting for faux familiarity) are an acting revelation, and the story is truly bizarre. I love that Cohle and Hart are so different. Even where their interests <i>do</i> overlap, their world-views are so different they can hardly connect. Yet it's these differences which are making them such an effective partnership. They compliment each other -- in terms of style, if not verbally -- and it's gratifying to see their relationship developing against a backdrop of crumbling relationships, horrific murders, and seedy surroundings. <br /><br />And congratulations for not mentioning the big naked titty elephant in the room. After this episode aired, it's all the internet could talk about.Paul Reedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02927027468227544676noreply@blogger.com