The season finale has certainly proven to be divisive in some circles. To me, though, they couldn't have ended it much better.
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those interviews pieces of the show were some multi layered acting showcase for him. So much going on. I always thought he was playing them. Seeing what they knew. It was interesting watching it from that angle.
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Anybody want a new season showcasing the two black detectives? I think the only weakness is that we didn't see much of their characters.
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Is Woody and Matthew coming back for season 2?
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Nope. Each season is its own story with new actors.
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Technically, Woody hasn't weighed in on it, but I won't be holding my breath over it.

I did read one piece penned by a critic making the case for how the last episode very much laid the tracks for further exposition now that we've witnessed the reaffirmation and resurrection of Rust. Contrast that with Marty in an emotional spiral and truly believing NO ONE would visit him laid up in the Hospital. Rust would have been the one previously, but for all he knew and would reasonably have deduced Rust died at the scene, Carcosa.

There's actually some strong truth to Marty's demons being no less grand. He's just better at blending.
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That was the plan but I'm seeing "stuff" out on the intrawebs that may be changing. It's not going to be Woody and MM again but some of the characters may make appearances like Woody but new story line and female leads.

If it is female detectives it has to be at least a 90's era story line.
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Rewatching with wife. Very satisfying to rewatch without worrying about going down all the rabbit holes and focusing mainly on The relationship between the detectives. Seeing how fucked Rust was mentally and spiritually while knowing where he will eventually end up is gratifying. Chasing all the crazy possibilities sort of made me forget how horribly nihilistic Rust was, so it's cool to see it again.
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I think the heaviest revelation at the end is that all of Rust's obvious damage and struggle and basic screwed-up-edness of his whole life is based on something they didn't show us until the very end: grief. Looking back, it's so obvious that he built this entire psychic castle of sorts inside his mind, layering level upon level of philosophical coping mechanisms, none of which seemed to work. In the end, he had to just come around and get the closure on his own terms, which he did, and it saved him.

Brilliant screenwriting.
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I thought Rust being "saved" after he had a near death experience where he communed with the spirits of his dead daughter and father was inconsistent screenwriting at best, but if that's something you're into, more power to you.
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I liked the scene in that it kind of fit into his metaphysical beliefs, but I thought it was a little too neatly wrapped up. I get it though, being the last episode and all.
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The second half of this series was at best average story telling. It was a huge disappointment when coupled with Pizzolatto saying that his story would change crime dramas. The ending was a cop out. NP was too weak and couldn't kill off his characters. Rust should have died. If he had said all of his light/darkness shit (which is a straight rip off of Allen Moore's Top 10 comics - as in down to the line) while dying on Marty's lap, it would have been so much stronger of an ending. Instead we get the typical "happy ending" bullshit that goes against the entire tone and style of the show. Honestly, the more I think about it, I actually hate the ending. Especially when I consider how they caught the killer... "Does that house look like it was freshly painted?" WTF is that... Come on... Seriously? That is what the show comes down to?
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Actually, it was pretty easy to discern whe he mentioned the tragedy of his daughter and uneasy relationship with his Dad in episode 2.
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LOL, that reminded me of the bracelet wearing "WWJD" assholes in high school.
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