[SPOILERS FOR TRUE DETECTIVE] I.... think this is quite a stretch. 1. Just because Rust finds a sense of optimism doesnt mean hes going to be shouting testify! on Sundays. Supernatural or not, hes helped to stop a massive evil conspiracy and survived a near-death experience. Why is it unbelievable that that would make someone more optimistic about life? 2. I know all the internet nerds love to quote Rust like hes the Patron Saint of Atheism, but theyre misreading the show. Youre not supposed to agree with Rust, at least not all the time. Theres a reason Marty is always standing next to him calling him an asshole. Its because Rust IS an asshole. Think of the church scene. Rust isnt wrong about the need for church being irrational, but Marty is still right when he says Who are you to judge these people? Why should anyone emulate Rusts way of life? Hes a man in his forties who sleeps on a mattress on the floor. And his nihilistic philosophies dont come from some sense of enlightenment, they come from his psychological damage from the death of his daughter. If his trauma had resulted in him becoming more religious (as often happens to people who have often suffered such a loss), we wouldnt consider him enlightened for it, so why trust him when the opposite occurs? 3. I loved the ending. Not because Im an optimist (I am), not because Im religious (Im not), but because it was unexpected. The writer of True Detective talked about how weve become so used to ridiculous twists at the end of TV series. I would argue weve also become too used to downer endings. I like an ending to make sense, but I also want it to surprise me. For a show as bleak as True Detective, ending on a note of optimism was really the best way to give the audience something unexpected. 4. A character arc has to be an ARC. It cant end exactly where it began or youve just been spinning wheels pointlessly. If Rust began the series as a nihilist and ended the series as a nihilist, in what sense would we have a story? It would just be 8 hours of ego-stroking any nihilists in the audience (which, as previously noted, I suspect a lot of the audience thought the show was until that final scene). Maybe you dont agree with Rusts newfound optimism and spirituality, and thats fine, I dont think the show was trying to change your mind. But it was trying to tell a story, and I think it told a good one.
Posted on: Fri, 18 Apr 2014 07:11:38 +0000
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