True Detective

True Detective Season 1 Episodes

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Season 1 Episode Guide

Episode 1 - The Long Bright Dark

Series Premiere. 2012. Two former Louisiana State CID partners, Martin Hart and Rustin Cohle, give separate statements to a pair of investigators about the murder of a prostitute, Dora Lange, 17 years earlier. As they look back, details of the crime, replete with occult overtones, are accompanied by insights into the detective's volatile partnership and personal lives.

  

Episode 1 - Season 1, Episode 1: The Long Bright Dark

Series Premiere. 2012. Two former Louisiana State CID partners Martin Hart and Rustin Cohle give separate statements to a pair of investigators about the murder of a prostitute Dora Lange 17 years earlier. As they look back, details of the crime replete with occult overtones are accompanied by insights into the detective's volatile partnership and personal lives.

  

Episode 2 - Seeing Things

Under pressure to land a suspect in the Dora Lange murder, Quesada warns Hart and Cohle they might be replaced by three detectives from a new occult-crimes task force. The pair lobbies for extra time in order to follow up on a lead that takes them from a rural cathouse to an incinerated church. With his marriage to Maggie already strained by work, Hart ends up finding respite outside of home.

  

Episode 2 - Season 1, Episode 2: Seeing Things

Under pressure to land a suspect in the Dora Lange murder, Quesada warns Hart and Cohle they might be replaced by three detectives from a new occult-crimes task force. The pair lobbies for extra time in order to follow up on a lead that takes them from a rural cathouse to an incinerated church. With his marriage to Maggie already strained by work, Hart ends up finding respite outside of home.

  

Episode 3 - The Locked Room

A hidden image at the burned-out church leads Cohle and Hart to Joel Theriot, a tent-revival minister whose parishioners finger a scarred 'tall man' seen with Dora Lange. Brought in for interrogation, a sex offender matching the description is quickly dismissed by Cohle, despite offering a confession. Hart gets sidetracked after Maggie sets Cohle up with a friend at a C&W bar. Looking to establish a pattern of murder, Cohle pores over old case files, finding a connection with a woman assumed to have drowned years earlier.

  

Episode 3 - Season 1, Episode 3: The Locked Room

A hidden image at the burned-out church leads Cohle and Hart to Joel Theriot, a tent-revival minister whose parishioners finger a scarred 'tall man' seen with Dora Lange. Brought in for interrogation a sex offender matching the description is quickly dismissed by Cohle despite offering a confession. Hart gets sidetracked after Maggie sets Cohle up with a friend at a C&W bar. Looking to establish a pattern of murder, Cohle pores over old case files finding a connection with a woman assumed to have drowned years earlier.

  

Episode 4 - Season 1, Episode 4: Who Goes There

Hart and Cohle hunt for their newly identified suspect Reggie Ledoux a meth cooker who shared a cell with Dora Lange's husband and recently skipped parole. As Hart's personal life collapses around him, Cohle immerses himself in an old criminal identity from his narco days contacting an East-Texas biker gang known to deal with their primary suspect. Cohle's undercover work takes him to a dangerous edge where the law has no place and both men must confront the cost of living a false life.

  

Episode 4 - Who Goes There

Hart and Cohle hunt for their newly identified suspect, Reggie Ledoux, a meth cooker who shared a cell with Dora Lange's husband and recently skipped parole. As Hart's personal life collapses around him, Cohle immerses himself in an old criminal identity from his narco days, contacting an East-Texas biker gang known to deal with their primary suspect. Cohle's undercover work takes him to a dangerous edge where the law has no place, and both men must confront the cost of living a false life.

  

Episode 5 - Season 1, Episode 5: The Secret Fate of All Life

A violent denouement in the forest clears the Dora Lange case and turns Cohle and Hart into local heroes. Each man settles into a healthier rhythm of living as Hart returns to his family and Cohle starts a relationship while gaining a reputation as a closer in interrogations. As time passes and his daughters grow older, Hart faces new tensions and temptations and Cohle learns from a double-murder suspect that there could be much more to an old case than he'd once thought. In 2012 Gilbough and Papania put their cards on the table presenting new intelligence that threatens Cohle and causes Hart to reassess everything he thought he knew about his former partner.

  

Episode 5 - The Secret Fate of All Life

A violent denouement in the forest clears the Dora Lange case and turns Cohle and Hart into local heroes. Each man settles into a healthier rhythm of living as Hart returns to his family, and Cohle starts a relationship while gaining a reputation as a closer in interrogations. As time passes and his daughters grow older, Hart faces new tensions and temptations, and Cohle learns from a double-murder suspect that there could be much more to an old case than he'd once thought. In 2012, Gilbough and Papania put their cards on the table, presenting new intelligence that threatens Cohle and causes Hart to reassess everything he thought he knew about his former partner.

  

Episode 6 - Season 1, Episode 6: Haunted Houses

In 2002, Cohle and Hart begin to fall back to familiar and violent obsessions. Hart exacts savage vengeance on a pair of teenage boys and Cohle becomes convinced they left something undone in 1995. Working on his own Cohle traces a sinister connection between missing children along the coast and evangelist Billy Lee Tuttle's Wellsprings Program. Hart is reintroduced to a former prostitute he met during the Lange investigation. In 2012 Papania and Gilbough question Maggie now divorced from Marty about Cohle and Hart during 2002 the year their relationship fractured and Cohle quit the force following a suspension.

  

Episode 6 - Haunted Houses

In 2002, Cohle and Hart begin to fall back to familiar and violent obsessions. Hart exacts savage vengeance on a pair of teenage boys, and Cohle becomes convinced they left something undone in 1995. Working on his own, Cohle traces a sinister connection between missing children along the coast and evangelist Billy Lee Tuttle's Wellsprings Program. Hart is reintroduced to a former prostitute he met during the Lange investigation. In 2012, Papania and Gilbough question Maggie, now divorced from Marty, about Cohle and Hart during 2002, the year their relationship fractured and Cohle quit the force following a suspension.

  

Episode 7 - Season 1, Episode 7: After You've Gone

After Marty is shown a harrowing piece of evidence he and Cohle forge a truce after years of vitriol and we learn why Cohle returned to the state in 2010. Hart helps Cohle probe a murky conspiracy of disappearances connected to the Dora Lange murder a path of connections that leads to the Tuttle family. Hart reconnects with Maggie after years without communication in order to confirm what the police wanted and perhaps to say goodbye. Concerned that harm might come to him Maggie pays Cohle a visit at the bar where he's working but gets a cold shoulder for her efforts. Cohle and Hart uncover a connection to an old colleague and enact a plan to draw him out.

  

Episode 7 - After You've Gone

After Marty is shown a harrowing piece of evidence, he and Cohle forge a truce after years of vitriol, and we learn why Cohle returned to the state in 2010. Hart helps Cohle probe a murky conspiracy of disappearances connected to the Dora Lange murder, a path of connections that leads to the Tuttle family. Hart reconnects with Maggie after years without communication in order to confirm what the police wanted, and perhaps to say goodbye. Concerned that harm might come to him, Maggie pays Cohle a visit at the bar where he's working, but gets a cold shoulder for her efforts. Cohle and Hart uncover a connection to an old colleague and enact a plan to draw him out.

  

Episode 8 - Form and Void

Season One Finale. After their interrogation of Geraci yields new info but no critical breaks, Hart and Cohle find themselves back at square one. However, a seemingly arbitrary detail in a photograph, along with a homeowner's old tax records, provides the pair with a vital new lead in their 17-year-old case. The two men pursue the lead to an apocalyptic confrontation.

  

Episode 8 - Season 1, Episode 8: Form and Void

Season One Finale. After their interrogation of Geraci yields new info but no critical breaks, Hart and Cohle find themselves back at square one. However, a seemingly arbitrary detail in a photograph along with a homeowner's old tax records provides the pair with a vital new lead in their 17-year-old case. The two men pursue the lead to an apocalyptic confrontation.

  

Episode 9 - Season 2, Episode 1: The Western Book of the Dead

Season Two Premiere. The disappearance of a city manager disrupts a lucrative land scheme and ignites an investigation involving three police officers and a career criminal who is moving into legitimate business.

  

Episode 10 - Season 2, Episode 2: Night Finds You

Ray and Ani investigate a victim's depraved background, as does Frank, while Paul probes the Vinci PD.

  

Episode 11 - Season 2, Episode 3: Maybe Tomorrow

Paul works the prostitute angle while Frank receives the first casualty in a secret war, and steps back into a world he'd left behind.

  

Episode 12 - Season 2, Episode 4: Down Will Come

The detail works a pawn-shop lead to close in on a suspect in the Caspere case. Frank revisits his past to pay for his present.

  

Episode 13 - Season 2, Episode 5: Other Lives

Ray and Frank contemplate new life choices; Ani and Paul follow a lead up the coast.

  

Episode 14 - Season 2, Episode 6: Church in Ruins

Desperate to locate a missing woman with intel about Caspere, Frank meets with Mexican drug dealers; Ani infiltrates an exclusive inner circle with Ray and Paul keeping close tabs.

  

Episode 15 - Season 2, Episode 7: Black Maps and Motel Rooms

Ray, Ani, and Paul take precautionary measures to elude detection and untangle a dark mystery; Frank deals with the fallout of his betrayal.

  

Episode 16 - Season 2, Episode 8: Omega Station

Season Two Finale. Frank, Ray, and Ani weigh their options as Caspere's killer and the scope of corruption are revealed.

  

Episode 17 - Season 3, Episode 1: The Great War and Modern Memory

Season Three Premiere. The disappearance of a young Arkansas boy and his sister in 1980 triggers vivid memories and enduring questions for retired detective Wayne Hays, who worked the case 35 years ago with his then-partner Roland West. What started as a routine case becomes a long journey to dissect the crime and make sense of it.

  

Episode 18 - Season 3, Episode 2: Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye

Hays looks back at the aftermath of the 1980 Purcell case in West Finger, AR, including possible evidence left behind at the Devil's Den, an outdoor hangout for local kids. As attention focuses on two conspicuous suspects--Brett Woodard, a solitary vet and trash collector, and Ted LaGrange, an ex-con with a penchant for children--the parents of the missing kids, Tom and Lucy Purcell, receive a cryptic note from an anonymous source.

  

Episode 19 - Season 3, Episode 3: The Big Never

Hays recalls his early romance with Amelia, as well as some cracks in their relationship that surfaced after they married and had children. Ten years after the Purcell crimes took place, new evidence emerges giving Hays a second chance to vindicate himself and the investigation.

  

Episode 20 - Season 3, Episode 4: The Hour and the Day

Hays and West see a possible connection between the local church and the Purcell crimes. As the detectives search for one suspect and round up another one for interrogation, Woodard finds himself targeted by a vigilante group.

  

Episode 21 - Season 3, Episode 5: If You Have Ghosts

Wayne finds himself in a no-win situation as new clues emerge in the Purcell case. Roland wrestles with how to keep evidence secure as lawyers demand a new investigation. Amelia finds her relationship with Wayne imperiled by her writing aspirations and his jealousy.

  

Episode 22 - Season 3, Episode 6: Hunters in the Dark

Wayne and Roland revisit discrepancies in the Purcell case that have been hidden or forgotten over the years. Among those being reevaluated is Tom Purcell, as well as Lucy Purcell's cousin Dan O'Brien. The glitter of Amelia's book release is tarnished by a voice from the past.

  

Episode 23 - Season 3, Episode 7: The Final Country

Following up on new leads, Wayne and Roland track down a man who left the police force in the midst of the Purcell investigation. Meanwhile, Amelia visits Lucy Purcell's best friend in hopes of gaining insights into the whereabouts of the mysterious one-eyed man.

  

Episode 24 - Season 3, Episode 8: Now Am Found

Season Three Finale. Wayne struggles to hold on to his memories, and his grip on reality, as the truth behind the Purcell case is finally revealed.

  

Episode 25 - Season 4, Episode 1: Pt. 1

When eight researchers at Tsalal Station suddenly disappear, Danvers orders a search but tempers expectations of finding the men. After handling a workplace dispute and checking in on her sister, JuliaNavarro tries to convince a skeptical Danvers that the men’s disappearance is connected to the murder of local activist Annie Kowtok, a case that has long gone cold.

  

Episode 27 - Season 4, Episode 2: Pt. 2

As Danvers and Prior set out to learn more about Tsalal – and find an unlikely location for the physical evidence – Captain Connelly threatens to move the case to Anchorage. Later, Navarro and Danvers separately find a connection between one of the Tsalal men and Annie, prompting the former partners to agree to work the case together.

  

Episode 29 - Season 4, Episode 3: Pt. 3

While Hank leads the search for Clark, Prior asks Danvers about the murder-suicide case that drove a wedge between her and Navarro. After sifting through the contents of Clark’s trailer, Navarro and Danvers seek out a local hairdresser for insight on Annie – which leads to a tip about another former Tsalal worker. Later, tensions grow between Danvers and her stepdaughter Leah.

  

Episode 31 - Season 4, Episode 4: Pt. 4

When Julia’s mental health struggles resurface, Navarro brings her to a local facility, promising that this time will be better. Later, Danvers and Navarro confirm the location of Annie’s murder – and Danvers levies a harsh punishment on Leah following her act of protest.

  

Episode 33 - Season 4, Episode 5: Pt. 5

As Prior digs into the links between Tsalal and mining company Silver Sky, Navarro rescues Leah from a local protest that has turned violent. At a meeting with Silver Sky exec Kate McKitterick, Danvers balks when Connelly shares the official cause of the Tsalal men’s deaths – and gets a warning against pursuing the case any further. Later, Hank receives a quid pro quo offer.

  

Episode 35 - Season 4, Episode 6: Pt. 6

In the midst of a brutal storm, Danvers and Navarro find themselves stuck at Tsalal with no electricity or means of contact. As the truth about what happened to Annie and the Tsalal men unfolds, Navarro and Danvers each confront the demons from their past.

  



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