True Detective has just wrapped up it’s third season and whilst it may not be the ending that fans of the franchise were seeking, it still portrays just how complex life can be.
Throughout this video, I’ll be breaking down everything that you need to know about the finale as well as what happened to the characters.
There will be heavy spoilers here, so if you don’t want to know anything then I highly suggest that you turn off now.
With that out the way, I’m Deffinition and welcome to the channel where I explain it so you don’t have to.
True Detective Season 3 Plot Summary
HBO’s True Detective Season 3 centres around the kidnapping of Julie and Will Purcell. Whilst Will’s body is found almost immediately, his sister Julie’s disappearance becomes the mystery that the show pivots around and ultimately it is our protagonists Wayne Hay’s obsession.
The show jumps from timeline to timeline to showcase that in the en,d the only real thing that can bring answers is the passage of time. Similar to the way the show works we must wait with the characters until all of the right elements fall into place to get the answers that we wish.
After 35 years, in the case we discover that it was infact Isabel Hoyt, a mentally ill woman that kidnapped the children after building a friendship with them.
The fateful day that they disappeared, Isabel attempted to bring Julie home with her, however, Will fought back which ultimately lead to his accidental death. Working with her caretaker, Isabel was able to hide his body but Isabel did not want to let go of Julie.
Julie was drugged for years and kept in the pink round, eventually hoping to adopt the girl. Lucy, Julie’s mother infact knew about all of this but kept quiet after being paid off. Officer Harris too fell victim to Isabel’s fortune and this is why he framed others to take the fall for the case.
Julie managed to escape from the Hoyts with the help of the caretaker after she began remembering her life before the events. Whilst reportedly, Julie died of HIV at a nuns convent, Wayne believes this to be a coverup.
True Detective Season 3 Ending Explained
Hays manages to track Julie down eventually, summising that she probably got together with her former school mate and had a daughter. However, when Wayne arrives to where he now suspects that Julie lives, his memory slips away and he forgets the reasons why hes there. Hays is unable to close the case but that doesn’t mean its a sad ending. He still manages to reconnect both West and his own Children which is some small victory.
The final shot shows Wayne as a tracker in Vietnam, as he heads off into the jungle it appears that he’s once again searching for something. This sums up Waynes entire arc as the character was always looking for something rather than being content with the answers he was able to attain. In the end he never gets the answers that he was looking for, instead, he just continues searching, unable to see that the truth was infront of him the whole time.
In conclusion, this entire season has been centred around how power can often pressure the truth into not being revealed. The power that The Hoyts had enabled them to hide a secret about Julie for decades, allowing for the lie to continue. However, lies are not always a bad thing either, the lies that Julie kept up after escaping are what have enabled her to be happy and this is reflected in ultimately how Wayne is unable to unearth the truth.
Your Thoughts
Obviously, I’d love to hear your thoughts on the finale and if you took anything different from it. If you enjoyed this video then please like it and make sure you check out my breakdown of the trailer for the Twilight Zone which will be linked at the end.