“Who Goes There”
True Detective‘s serial killer investigation seemed like a wild goose chase for cowboy detectives Marty Hart and Rust Cohle. Leads begot leads that begot other leads and the only thing that became clearer was the deep-rooted flaws of the captivating characters. The fascinatingly murky case stalked onward without anything concrete evidence for antiheroes Hart and Cohle to grab ahold of.
Then came the last minutes of the third episode, in which the loose ends began to match up, spelling out the name of the duo’s now-prime suspect: Reggie Ledoux.
The fourth episode begins with Hart and Cohle speaking with Ledoux’s old cellmate, Charlie Lange, whose ex-wife turned out to be one of Ledoux’s victims. The con, seemingly surprised to hear that his ex-cellmate could be behind his ex-wife’s murder, tells the detectives that Ledoux is a chemist who cooks meth out of “kitchen stuff.” One night, Lange says, Ledoux told him about a satanic child-sacrificing cult out in the woods that he belonged to.
Also, importantly, Lange provides the detectives with the name of one of Ledoux’s contacts: Tyrone Weems.
Hart chastises Cohle for kicking Lange when he was down, even after they had already gotten whatever they needed out of him. Cohle, ever the stoic logician, replies that Lange deserved it and calls Hart “soft.”
We next see Hart in court, testifying on a different case, when he is confronted by his ex-mistress, Lisa. She furiously tries to engage him in an argument, but Hart brushes her off.
Back at the police station, the case is picking up steam as Hart and Cohle brief a crowd of cops on their latest findings of the murders’ connection to Ledoux.
The detectives begin tracking down Weems by first speaking with the man’s mother, who has not seen her son in months. She does, however, point the duo towards Weems’ stripper girlfriend, Kelsey, who also claims to have not seen Weems in months. Speaking to the strip club’s bartender, however, reveals that Kelsey has still been seeing Weems regularly.
Hart returns home to find packed bags and a note from his wife. Calling Lisa in a fury, Hart discovers Lisa personally alerted his wife to his infidelity.
Hart tracks Kelsey the stripper to a club, where he finds and beats Tyrone Weems. A petrified Weems tells Hart that Ledoux is now cooking exclusively for a bicycle gang called Iron Crusaders. Hart shares the news with Cohle, who recognizes the name of the gang.
Hart then heads to the hospital where Maggie works and confronts her, pleading with her to listen to him and making excuses for his infidelity, but is met only with Maggie’s anger and disgust. After a doctor suggests he leave, Hart flashes his badge, relying on his status as a cop to protect him. “But are you here in that capacity now, as law enforcement?” the doctor asks, hinting at Hart’s inability to identify the blurred line between good guy and bad guy.
Cohle rescues Hart, nearing drunken belligerency, from being embarrassingly booted from the hospital by security. Cohle brings him to a bar, where Hart tries to unload by talking to his partner about Maggie. Insisting that it’s none of his business, Cohle refuses to listen. Having no family or personal life of his own, Cohle’s entire life is his work and he does not want to get involved in the family lives of others.
The two head to Cohle’s apartment, where Cohle explains that he once went ran with the Iron Crusaders when he was working undercover. He intends to use an old alias, “Crash,” to try and follow the trail to Ledoux. Hart asks him if he really wants to do it, and Cohle replies, “Not really.” Despite his own misgivings, he intends to carry out the plan because, for Cohle, his own opinions and wellbeing are inconsequential to his work.
Cohle falsely claims that his father has leukemia to both Major Quesada and the pair of detectives investigating the case in the present day, in order to excuse his leave of absence as he goes undercover with the bikers.
Before leaving to try to infiltrate the Iron Crusaders, Cohle meets Maggie in a restaurant. Though he doesn’t pass along Hart’s “tide of apologies,” he does ask Maggie to consider allowing her husband to see their kids. In his cold logic, Cohle explains that marriage isn’t supposed to work out — the only goal of human relationships is procreation. Later, Cohle exaggerates Maggie’s response, telling Hart that she was softening up so he would be able to focus on his work in the field.
Then the detectives head out to the club where Cohle, as Crash, meets with Ginger, a member of the Iron Crusaders. Weaving through the club’s smoke and dancers, Cohle looks in his element and we begin to get a sense of what makes him tick. This is the identity Cohle said he kept up for four years while running undercover with the Iron Crusaders — his life has no room for anything but his work. Whereas Hart can’t locate the line between right and wrong, Cohle seems to know where the line is, but willingly steps over it for the sake of his work and his goal.
He speaks with Ginger, presenting his backstory and offering him a major drug deal, to which Ginger agrees in return for Cohle’s assistance with a raid on a rival gang’s stash house. They head out on an airboat, leaving Hart in the dark, waiting for the getaway call.
Throughout the scenes with the Iron Crusaders, Cohle subjects himself to an assortment of drugs to maintain his cover. Though he has not been Crash in years, he slips back into the skin seamlessly, as if it were his own. Cohle has no qualms engaging in any sort of illicit act, as long as the ends justify the means, the ends in this case being what Cohle hopes will be the capture of Reggie Ledoux.
From the time they break down the door of the suburban stash house, a six-minute long camera shot commences, following Cohle as he clears the house. Cohle, the paradigm of coolheadedness and rationality, tries to calm the quickly escalating situation, but as soon as shots are fired, Cohle abandons his Crash identity. He grabs Ginger and drags the Iron Crusader through houses and yards, pausing only to call Hart and tell him where to meet him with the car.
As chaos erupts in the neighborhood, police cars squeal in and guns fire while Cohle sneaks from yard to yard with Ginger in tow. The shot ends with Cohle throwing Ginger into Hart’s car and they speed away.
This final shot to end the episode marks the climax of the show thus far. Reminiscent of the long takes of director Alfonso Cuarón, Cohle’s epic romp through the suburban projects offers a sense of realism as the Iron Crusaders’ reckless plan dissipates into complete chaos in an unbroken six minutes.
And amidst the confusion, the unshakeable, chameleon-like Cohle once again slips instantaneously from his identity as lowlife Crash to Detective Rust Cohle, giving us a glimpse at the reason for his need to live a life immersed in only his work.
