Case closed.
Unfortunately, True Detective‘s season 3 finale didn’t feature a Woody Harrelson or Matthew McConaughey cameo, but it did provide what season 1 didn’t: closure. We definitively know what happened to Julie and Will Purcell. The original conclusion with 30 minutes left in the episode rightfully seemed too predictable (and early), making a final twist that Julie did survive and is living happily ever after. It’s too bad that Wayne will never know…or will he?
Let’s start with where last week’s episode ends: Wayne and Hoyt (played by Guardians of the Galaxy star Michael Rooker) head to the woods to play a game of “what do you know.” Hoyt insists he’s “in the f—ing dark” on what happened to Julie, but does pressure Wayne into dropping it because of what he suspects the cops did to Harris. “Do you want to swap confessions?” cracks Wayne. Hoyt then threatens Wayne’s family and leaves him behind to find his own way home. We won’t see Hoyt again, which seems like a waste of Michael Rooker.
In 2015, Wayne and Roland decide to break into the abandoned Hoyt house, eventually making their way down to the pink room. Their time down there goes better than poor Tom’s. They see drawings of “Princess Mary,” “Sir Junius,” and “Queen Isabel.” Roland is pissed that Wayne gave up on the case after talking with Hoyt.
Now let’s hit the original timeline. In 1980, Wayne is in trouble for leaking information to Amelia. Threatened with a demotion to public information, he refuses to burn her. “You hate the public,” argues Roland. When he shows up for the gig, it’s clear that he is going to hate it. With Wayne avoiding her, Amelia goes to see what the deal is. He’s being a real jerk, saying she’s “the asshole” here (nah, it’s you). “It’s good to see how weak you really are,” she fires back before leaving.
Their relationship isn’t doing much better in 1990. After his showdown with Hoyt, Wayne meets with Amelia at a bar. She suspects he’s been cheating, but he assures her, “It’s only ever the case. It’s over now.” Despite just saying earlier that he would tell her everything, he does not. “There’s always been this big secret between us,” he admits. “It’s all tied up in a dead boy and a missing girl.” They agree that a date night won’t fix their problems, but Wayne tells her to go write her next book and they will move on together. “Let’s put this thing down,” says Wayne. “It’s not ours.”
1990 Roland is also at a bar, but his confrontation is physical, not emotional. He picks a fight with a big biker dude, first taking a hard punch before doing some damage to the guy and a few others. Later, drinking alone outside, a stray dog stares right at him, prompting Roland to cry and snuggle with him. Who needs payoff to the documentary and last episode’s Rust Cohle/Marty Hart reference when we can get the “Roland loves dogs” origin story?! (The recap continues on Page 2)
