Thank you for watching, this was a tough one for me to write, I had a lot of different ideas of topics to cover but I think that of all the things that stood out to me about the show, it was the character development that stood out most. I tried to cover as much as I could, but inevitably things end up getting left out. What are some other details you noticed that I missed? Let me know!
One thing that's always interested me about this show is that fact that the first half of it is not told linearly, and I wonder why it is that why and if it would be more effective to put all the interview scenes into one episode rather than having them spread out in the beginning. I think you made some good points when talking about the timeline of the show which helps back up why the way they did it works.
I definitely think it aids the overall tension of the last two episodes, normally I don't like flashbacks in storytelling, but I really liked the way this show handled them.
I think the sequence involving old Marty eating TV dinners alone and checking internet dating sites is one of the most emotional moments in the series. It truly is all about the characters. Thanks for the video!
I felt for Marty in that scene because he was all alone didn't live with his family anymore. Seemed real lonely. Made me realize that's how I'ma end up 😂😭
That's what Pizzolato doesn't seem to understand, or rather won't admit. TV is the Writer's medium (as opposed to Cinema being the director's) If Fukunaga wasn't as involved, and we can see that in Season 2, the Show would just be a dumb, typical cop drama. The fact to have One director allowed to have more visual storytelling, framing, motifs, etc
CrabTastingMan the writing is a little pretentious, but still good. Rust was a great character, if you want to pick him apart like that you can, but he lost a child, consider that. Maybe he is a sad man.
@@alexandredo5142 100% man, such a shame he didnt do the rest. You look at S2 then again at Maniac and it tells you all you need to know about how good Fukunaga really is.
A lot of people would've said this a million times already, but the chemistry between Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey was one of the most important aspet of the series. I cannot really comprehend of why they fit so much together, and yet they did it. That's the thing that true detective season 2 and 3 was missing in my opinion.
I don't think I've ever identified myself so strongly with a fictional character as I do with Rust. He is just the best character I've ever witnessed on screen.
He's a fascinating character to watch grow. The death of his daughter really messed him up, but he finally starts to find the light in the end, and I think that's beautiful.
Another fantastic video. I really wish Cary Fukunaga worked on the second season, he's one of the best filmmakers working today and his absence was definitely felt.
Thank you! Right? I can see why he wouldn't, I can't imagine the stress of directing what basically amounts to an 8 hour film, but he's brilliant, and his direction really brought something to the show that seems like it's missing in season 2(though I haven't seen it yet).
From what I remember, Fukanga and Nic had a bit of falling out which almost torpedoed the last few filmed episodes of S1. A Fukanga-less S2, like a show like Breaking Bad, proves that the epic character development/studies in True Detective didn't stand alone; rather beautiful, aesthetically-pleasing directing and cinematography needs to come together with the arcs to make a beautiful art. For example, after a point, a lot of people don't even care all too much about the actual stories where a Fukanga, George Miller, Roger Deakins, Steven Soderbergh or, even at times, a Quentin Tarantino, are involved. If all you want is a great plot, go watch a play. Beautiful filmmaking that prioritizes the power and the beauty of the camera like this awesome, standalone season of television, will always have fans.
Another thing I loved about the first season was the cinematography. The way it was shot created an unsettling atmosphere, especially in the last episode. It's something I feel season 2 was missing.
That's what I had been thinking too, funnily enough, another MUCH bigger channel uploaded one just a couple of days after me. You should check it out though, it's from Lessons from the Screenplay and it's really good. But thank you for your comment, I'm glad you liked the video :)
One aspect that I loved that you covered was the positive mindset of the ending of their arcs. Some people stated, when the episode came out, that it felt a bit cliche. That it felt tacked on as a way to put a happy bow on the show. Yet they failed to realize how it concluded their biggest flaws in a way that not only took themes presented earlier but felt natural. Fantastic video man!
Exactly, it was planned from the beginning so it wasn't tacked on, that was always the intended arc for the characters. Thank you so much! Glad you dug it!
While TDS01 is one of the best shows I've ever seen, I have to disagree with the ending. I don't believe that both characters should have died, but Cohle probably should have. I don't think that an anti-natalist/nihilist like Cohle would change his position after the events of the story and certainly wouldn't change them to the position he ends up taking. It just doesn't ring true for me. As in absurdism, suicide isn't the answer either and I feel that killing Cohle would have provided the release he desperately needed, without him having to do it himself. Not only would this have been highly compelling and emotional, but I think that Marty may have come to see at least a little of Cohle's position too, which would add to the poignancy. When you look at great stories, they often say more than the author intended. While some authors/directors intend a lot (eg. Scott & Bladerunner), the greatness lies in creating believable characters and/or stories. When this happens, those characters or stories can take on lives of their own. Sometimes this goes as far as defying what the author has expressly intended (think Milton and Paradise Lost). I believe that the character development in TDS01 is fantastic, hence this great video. But I do believe that the ending somewhat betrays the realism and power that the characters and story display throughout the series up to that point.
I'm going to copy my response from another comment who had a similar complaint: Rust is a smart man, but I wonder how much of it he really believes. Even if you watch interviews with Nic Pizzolatto he talks about that pretty openly, it's all a facade to protect himself. One of the things about masculinity the show delves into is how men tend to stuff down their pain instead of talking about it, this is his way of doing that. Losing his daughter breaks him, as it would anyone, by taking on this nihilistic viewpoint, he removes the need to grieve for his daughter. Hell, she's lucky, she got to die happy and young instead of growing old in this horrible world. So he works in homicide, seeing all of the dead bodies, all of the autopsy and crime scene photos just reminds him of the fate that could have met his daughter had she been spared that day. In his mind, she got off easy, right? But there's always that part of him that hopes for more, hopes for justice, for peace, even maybe happiness someday. It's why he tries dating, gets closer to Maggie/etc. But then when he finds out The Yellow King is still out there he loses what little hope he had left and just isolates himself from everyone. He wants to punish himself for not catching him, even when they both earned a lot of notoriety for catching him. So in the end, finally succeeding, he felt a release, something changed in him. Couple that with a near death experience(notorious for changing people) and I don't see how it's hard to believe. And it's not that he "throws away" his beliefs, he just finally gets that different perspective of "Yeah, the world is a horrible place sometimes and maybe we are some cosmic mistake, but we can feel love, and that love is what can save us." You see him struggle with that throughout the show, he wants to love, but he's terrified of being hurt again. But in the end he realizes that Marty is actually a true friend, one of the few he's probably ever had in his life, and having that near death experience put him front and center in confronting his issues, he couldn't hide from his daughter or his father anymore, and he finally allowed himself to feel some real pain. There are definitely religious overtones to that final scene, but it's left open for interpretation in that regard, he mostly just shifts his perspective and gains a little bit of optimism.
Firstly, thanks for taking the time to reply. While I take your point (and Pizzolatto’s) about the classic male attempts to deny emotions, I still think that this position is predicated on questioning the beliefs of a character who gives us no real reason to do so. Cohle exhibits no contradictory behaviour or flawed understanding of his own position. While it’s always an interesting exercise to question underlying character motivations, Cohle’s position is an extremely complex one, not one easily arrived at, nonetheless one he articulates flawlessly - and the writers should be commended for creating such an engaging character capable of embodying/exploring concepts well beyond what is commonly portrayed. I still think that the ending is an example of a director pulling their punches. This happens regularly, either due to pressure to appease audiences, financial backers, the director’s unwillingness to conclude in a bleak manner or issues between directors/writers etc. I still think that killing Cohle acknowledges the bleak and horrific occurrences we witness in the show (and the world) and, as such, is a more fitting ending. As I previously stated, I also think it would have been more poetic and poignant. However, if they decided to keep him alive, in order to show character progression/change/overcoming important obstacle, then I just don’t think he’d come up with a line about feeling the love of dead people waiting for him on some other side. Cohle certainly achieves a much more positive outlook and states that anything he left back 'there' (hospital/netherworld) he no longer needs. This is a retreat from his earlier, truly nihilistic position, which I’m happy to see. While our pre-programmed capacity to feel is partly why I disagree with a truly nihilistic position and, while Cohle no longer needs the ‘safety’ of that position (as you rightly point out), it nonetheless represents a denial of what Cohle so accurately represented and what is till true: there is no overarching point and what good they have done pales in comparison to what still happens. That, to me, is an interesting idea and one that avoids any cliché. It also more confidently subverts the classic detective tropes in the same way Chinatown does. Subversion of the detective genre often looks at the inadequacy of the law, or the detective, to bring about 'justice' in the face of a corrupt system. Cohle's corrupt system is the universe itself and that idea is far more engaging and subversive in my opinion. Killing Cohle makes the point far more powerfully. Some people claim that the ending doesn’t revert to cliché, but I feel that the positive spin the show ends with IS the cliché. Regardless of whether or not it’s accurate or to what degree it’s positive. While it is left somewhat open, as you say, to me that lends weight to my argument: that a more bleak ending is available and they just couldn’t quite resolve themselves to go for it. It’s still awesome and in no way does it ruin the entire show, I just would have liked to see them go all the way. Much like the story of Pandora’s Box, True Detective ends with the introduction of hope. However, there are strong arguments supporting the idea that what the story of Pandora intended is that hope is the most painful affliction of all. That, to me, better represents the conclusion of a TRUE detective.
True, but he's been set in his ways for a while. Recall the line (paraphrasing)"I know who I am now, and after enough time, there's a victory in that". So it's not super obvious his contradictions, but they're there, Marty calls him out on it all the time. "For someone who sees existence as pointless, you sure fret about it an awful lot". If he was truly nihilistic, saw no point in anything, why would he put himself through hell to try and save innocent people? His whole life is a contradiction to what he espouses, Marty sees right through that, as does Maggie. Normally I'd agree with you, it is all too often the coward's way out, part of why people love so much about Breaking Bad or Game of Thrones. But Nic had the entire script written and approved before they even started shooting, the vision the entire time was to leave them alive and altered in some way. It had nothing to do with studio meddling or anything like that, it's the way he always intended the story to go. Have you ever had a near death experience? I haven't, but if you read about them, it changes people. I once read how Elon Musk came down with Malaria that almost killed him, and that served as a big motivation to start working as hard as he had to to get where he is. The way I read that final scene is that he's been holding those feelings inside for a really long time, he went numb after his daughter died and then spent years deep undercover on every drug you can imagine. He never gave himself proper time to heal, he just threw himself into his work and shut everyone out, but in the face of death he finally confronts the pain he stuffed down for so long, and it changed him. I think that subverting the genre is definitely part of the show's point, but I think the main message of the show is that we're all human, we're all fragile, and we all need to love and be loved. I think the show demonstrates just how bad things can get for you if you try and fight it, and both Rust and Marty fight it in their own different ways. It argues that you don't have to fix everything in this broken world to find happiness. You don't have to lighten up the entire sky and wash away all of the darkness, it's okay to be one of many smaller and dimmer lights helping in the fight.
The ending ruined it for me, it was so good and then it just abruptly turned supernatural for no reason. They were grounding it in religious belief and disbelief and decided to just say "its real" That just ruined it for me
Thank you! Couldn't agree more, and Matthew's performance just really sends it up to being one of the greatest things I've ever seen. Yeah...I mean, it was pretty, it was fun, but totally lifeless.
I have to agree - Rust wouldn't have been half so effective a character without Marty played and written so well. An outstanding pair of characters that I feel genuinely wouldn't have had nearly as much impact without the two powerhouse actors at the top of their game feeding off each other.
They need great storytellers for Star Wars, Rian Johnson, Cary Fukanaga, Ava Duvrenay,etc. I believe Gareth said that he comes up with the scenes and makes them tie in together? Did I hear that right? Also could you imagine a Vader or Underworld Star Wars Movie directed by someone like Fukanaga???
Implied (but not outright) fantasy is another huge reason that True Detective is awesome. Also, a nihilistic hero is a rarity and very refreshing bit of catharsis.
Absolutely, the super creepy almost mythological vibe is very unique to the genre. Also, Rust is just one of the greatest characters ever written in my opinion.
Thanks for stringing the soundtrack of season 1 throughout the essay. It's such a vivid audible thumbprint and it informs so much of the feeling of the show.
For anybody interested in Rust Cohle's philosophy, here you go: Cohle's main philosophical debts; Friedrich Nietzsche Arthur Schoppenhauer Emil Cioran Peter Zapffe Thomas Ligotti Philip Mainlander Franz Kafka Joseph Conrad Albert Camus Jean-Paul Sartre Soren Kierkegaard
So no coincidences find place in the plot of True Detective. Everything moves on by the intentions and obstacles of characters, which makes it organic.
Great video. I've started reading screenplays from shows and films such as "True Detective" to see what it looks like to write something damn-near perfect. Good job on summing up the process here.
"...you want it to be a struggle and you want there to be a possibility for failure". You hit the nail so freaking hard there. That is something I crave in any film or tv show I watch and I instantly get turned off when I get the idea that a character is untouchable / can't die. Great analysis, keep up the good work :)
Right? Honestly what bums me out about a lot of the blockbusters coming out these days, like, I know I'm watching the start of a multi-billion dollar franchise, let's not pretend that there's any chance you're killing off the main character XD Thank you so much!
Super interesting observation...the song (clare de lune?) playing when Nic talks about why Rust/Marty wouldn't be killed off is the song used in WestWorld when Dolores kills Arnold. I'll never hear it and not think of this scene. Interesting dichotomy.
One thing that amazed me is that every single action aligned with the character and their intentions. The best example I can think of is when Maggie tells Marty that she slept with Rust, she doesn’t say that Rust slept with her, but rather that she came onto him and he was drunk. This makes complete sense, because if she had been wording it any other way, the intentions would be different and wouldn’t make sense in the context of their characters. What I mean by this is that if she had told Marty that “Rust slept with me” or “We slept together” rather than “I slept with Rust,” she would be blaming Rust for their engagement. Whereas the reality is that she came onto him in an effort to give Marty an excuse to leave her. It makes sense. She was fully aware of what she wanted. The writers, as you said, put their primary focus on character development, and this allowed the events of the story to feel real. They didn’t make anything overdramatic, every character’s action was a realistic and rational reaction to something else.
god I love your in-depth look at this show. But honestly True detective is so rich, you could do ten of these and you'd hit nail on the head ten times. Good job man.
Once in a blue moon i come across a channel that is both intellectually satisfying and gives enough time and thought to the appropriate subject-matter. Today was such a day, great video man! You have my sub, and like. Godspeed, and may your work fullfill you!
The Master Class hosted by Dan Harmon is amazing. Dan and Nic, two of the best writers (in two opposite genres) around in conversation with one another is priceless.
Did you feel like True Detective left the question of if Errol and friends "magic" was real or not, open to interpretation? I hear a lot that people wish we could've seen more "cosmic horror", but re-watching, I found that they really NEVER show anything more paranormal than we could find in our world. And it got me thinking that they found a perfect balance of creating a "magic atmosphere" without ever giving us objective proof that it really exists in that world. Do you agree? Or was it obvious that Errol was just in a crazy cult that believed nonsense?
One of the things I really loved about the show was how it played with the audience's imagination. All of the talk of Black Star, and Carcosa, it creates this really unsettling mythology that occupies the mind more than the real space that the characters exist in. My personal opinion is that the show was very grounded in the real world, and real people in our real world believe some pretty wild things, and that was always my interpretation. Though the show never explicitly states that what they believe in is bullshit, so I'd say if it makes the story more compelling for you that way, you have every right to see it that way.
Film Radar Dang.. great breakdown, as always! Even the simple fact that, out of all the content you could've made a video on, you chose the characters. That was a little enlightening to me, I get sidetracked by themes and form etc, but really, the show's about two dudes coping with their world. Sorry for ranting, you're just a smart dude lol thanks for being here, as always
If you like this video you really really need to read a book called the art of dramatic writing. It deals with the bread and butter of every story... conflict. It teaches you to orchestrate characters with wants and needs and develop them by putting them againts eachother
Just wanted to say that I really enjoy your videos and that u diserve more views. I don't understand why don't more people enjoy movie analysis videos. I could watch this kind of stuff for days.
Thank you so much! I think it's slowly becoming a more popular genre as time goes on, most people love movies, and who wouldn't want to learn more about them? If you're looking for other channels like mine, I have a whole list of them on my channel recommendations, every one of them is more than worth your time.
Great analysis! True Detective S01 is just outstanding. Talking about "disconnected" movies/tv series, I feel that the series "Maniac" is another example of single visual "things that would be great", connected by a not too solid plot - probably developed as a way of linking those singular visually pleasing episodes.
Excellent video! Thank you so much for going over the ending since most people were expecting Rust and Marty to die. If that happened we wouldn't have had the tear jerking monologue from Rust. After all those years, Rust was finally allowing himself to grieve for his daughter; that catharsis elevates the story in a way that a "tragic" ending never could. Rust has changed his outlook but only by a few degrees. It's not like he did a 180. If you could PLEASE PLEASE do a video on True Detective season 2. Anything! That season was unjustly and scathingly maligned. While I do have problems with that season there is still a lot of quality material that deserves attention. I've always felt like True Detective was a smart and well crafted show with a lethargic or impatient audience. The 8 episode format invites multiple viewings to unlock all it's secrets to be enjoyed in full. In the case of season 2 repeated vewings is pretty much mandatory. Also check out the zircillius reviews/essays of True Detective if you ever get the chance!
Thank you! I completely agree. Killing them off would have worked if he was trying for a different ending, but he wanted to have that optimistic spin on it, which I loved. These days, cynicism has run rampant(which isn't a bad thing)but it's nice to see some honest sentiment every once in a while. It's possible, I haven't watched it yet, so I can't make any promises, but I'll check it out one of these days!
02:43 Interesting point and completely correct. But if you think that Rogue One is in fact one of the better SW-movies and a quite dramatic one you can see that this can also work when it comes to the right franchise.
Film Radar I wasn't a fan of season 2. It's gonna be hard. I would love if they just stick with the two cops instead of focusing on multiple characters. Tom Hardy and Leonardo DiCaprio
now that I’ve had a couple weeks to sit on this show after finishing it, and watching this video, i’ve come to appreciate it so much more. Marty & Cohle really are two great characters that honestly make me feel really happy. Marty seems to reconnect with his family in the end, and Cohle...”once there was only darkness, seems to me the light’s winning.” wow. that says it all. ALSO what are the songs playing in this video?? they all sound cool, anyone know?? sounds like Dylan towards the beginning?
Hats off man ... Ur the only RUclips's i saw who used jhon trubys technique I read the book ANATOMY OF A STORY , it's an amazing book , best if u ask me Nobody uses it though , everyone goes for three act structure which is mechanical Good to see some one like you using his really good techniques
found you a while ago and you do not disappoint. The interviews you show and analysis you give are extremely interesting and entertaining, besides being well edited on top. No Idea how you have only 34k subs, keep it up :)
Hey thanks for saying so! I'm so glad you've been enjoying the content! Haha, yeah, my channel just never seems to get the right exposure, hopefully that can change one day.
My new favorite Video Essay channel along with Entertain The Elk. I see that most of you are really inspired by the style of Nerdwriter, in a good way. Keep it up! You're heading into a great direction. 👏
That's quite the compliment! Adam is terrific, he's a good buddy of mine and I love his videos! Yeah, he's definitely seeped in to my content a little bit, but I feel like I diverge further from him with each video...except for maybe the voice over :P Thank you very much!
The voice quality really comes through in your videos. I don't know what kind of mic or sound space your using but, MAN, it's working for you. Well done. ...and I just realized that I've already posted on this video. A tribute to your replay-ability (also RUclips knows what I like).
Wow, thank you! I always feel like I can get it to sound better, but sound is a fickle mistress, and if anything gets picked apart about my videos more than anything else, it's the voiceover, so I really appreciate the compliment. Hahaha, you won't hear me complaining ;)
I just randomly found your video after looking up some true detective stuff on RUclips and I found the title Really intriguing I have an upcoming active bout to go to college in 2020 January and I love the effort you put into making this video you’ve earned yourself a subscriber I love the video I love your perspective on how to make a fascinating character and to keep The audience engaged in the story that your were trying to tell
you did a great job implementing music in your format. mostly music from the series itself but also reverie by claude debussy which really hit the mark
I appreciate you saying so! I put a lot of thought into the music choices, especially when deviating from the OST, so I'm glad it didn't go unappreciated
I honestly thought this vid was made by nerdwriter when i clicked on it through the AVClub website. It looked so good and was well thought out. Thank you for sharing that Film Radar
Just came across this page today. Already watched like 5 videos!! Really love all the thought you put into making theses videos and you got yourself a new sub!
Amazing video on an amazing season. I'm not a massive Star Wars or Aliens fan but I will say that of course these examples and all other examples of characters in film will obviously pale in comparison to television, because storytellers in film have more of an obligation to the plot, whereas TV storytellers have more obligation to the characters. In Rogue One, the overall plot was about their sacrifice for the greater good of the rebellion. They wanted you to care about the protagonist enough to feel something when she inevitably sacrifices herself. She could have been anyone, her character arc didn't matter to the plot, only that she was courageous despite being a small woman, and that she was likable to an audience. With True Detective or any other amazing TV series, character is paramount. Yes, we want to see the overall story and the plot points alone did a great job keeping us wanting more, but we're asked to follow them on an 8 hour journey, not a 2 hour journey like Rogue One. Some series' have multiple seasons, so these characters become part of our lives for like a decade. Why aren't we talking as much about season 2 and 3 of True Detective? Because we didn't care nearly enough about those characters. Overall, I guess my point is, with character development, writing for film can't be compared to writing for TV. Characters in film are vessels for the plot but (most of us) didn't mind watching Walter White try to kill a fly for an entire episode.
it's funny that there's an interview with Dan Harmon and the writer, because it was Community's spoof scene that got me to watch this show. I liked that scene and went to yt to watch it, and the comments was saying how it was spoofing True Detective. So naturally I went to check one of the car scenes and was immediately drawn in.
Sweet, I'm glad RUclips is helping me out! Oh man, I'd love to collaborate with either of them, I think I still have to earn some more stripes before that's a possibility though.
Fantastic new video essay! True Detective is one I really love and one I had thought on doing a review for one day, but I don't have any scripts or anything written for it. I like how you caught or mentioned that fundamentally the story-line / plot structure to it is NOT revolutionary or different to many many cop / detective stories, because it's not. The Amazing thing about this show is definitely the deeply flawed characters, they feel like real people, like TRUE detectives! Haha. Also the chemistry of the characters / actors, it was all just so wonderful and it is definitely more to do with interesting flawed characters than it is with the plot. Sorta like Shawshank Redemption; the plot for that is almost non-existent really- but it's a character driven story the friendship of Red & Andy, their shortcomings, their flaws, their trials & tribulations.
Thank you! Hey man, it's never too late ;) I honestly can't think of a single movie(that I adore) where the plot comes before the character, Shawshank is a great example. The plot could be summed up in one sentence "A guy gets wrongly convicted of a crime he didn't commit and spends the next few decades of his life in prison before ultimately escaping". Boom, that's the entire plot, the movie is a movie because of the relationship between the characters and man I need to watch that movie again soon xD Thank you for your comment :D
I'm one of the few that enjoyed the second season. Obviously it doesn't compare to the original but it had some great moments imo. But yeah, fingers crossed.
Hey man, I don't know if you'll read this but I really enjoyed your editing and you made some great points. So great to see intellects continue to put out content on RUclips, can't wait to see more. I would also say don't worry too much about taking from Nerdwriter, I think I see a unique style here that you can continue to articulate and bring out. Cheers.
Thank you very much! I get compared to him a lot for my voice, but I like to think our videos feel very different from one another. I appreciate the kind words, glad you liked the video
I think it's important to show contrast, and it was an obvious choice because of the stream of criticisms it's received, it was a really strong choice(in my opinion) to prove my point about the importance of plot coming from characters, because most people who saw that movie seemed disappointed in it.
As an aspiring writer, shows like True Detective depress me. Simply because I know no matter how much I practice/try, i'll never write something so perfect
I think we should not miss that point, beside the all aspects of cinematographic issues, the actor who played Rust, smoking scenes etc, are so charismatic and that's why people love the character this much.
Oh no doubt, without the INCREDIBLE performances it wouldn't matter how good the writing is. But I like to narrow my focus in the videos, otherwise I'd just start blubbering like a fanboy saying a bunch of subjective stuff for hours like "BUT BRO, MATTHEW IS SO EFFING AMAZING, LIIKE, DUDE, HOW IS HE SO GOOD, I DON'T EVEN UNDERSTAND" and some people might be interested in watching butttttt xD
PLOT COMES FROM CHARACTER. It's amazing how many writers don't grasp this. It's everything. You love a show for its characters, you have to care about them
I only just watched season 1 and was blown away by it, kicking myself for leaving it so long. What I love about the journey of Rust is that it's not a standard A to B arc. The end is a play on "our characters walk into the sunset" they walk off camera in quite a cliched way, but this is to demonstrate that Rust, has gone from the man who was deemed delusional and obsessive to a new type of delusion. He's willing to live the aching lie and willing to believe light has a chance -which is mocked by the final shot as the stars fade to black. this transition to a 'new delusion' also shows time is a flat-circle, but there's hope in that we can change the way we view instance of time we experience.
Great video - Insightful analysis, relevant research and one of the only times I have laughed out loud at one of these videos ( knowing that stupid zoologist was going to touch the alien and watching the "OW" pop up like an old episode of Batman 3:52 )
Thank you! Haha, so far you're the only one to mention it, but I certainly thought it was a funny little touch to add. The scene is so comical that I thought having that old comic style "ow" was fitting XD
I was thinking of some Nerdwriter influence watching the video, but not because the end titles. Your voice, your cadence, and especially your pacing reminds me of him
I definitely picked up some habits from him, I try and put my own spin on it of course, but sometimes it really comes through and even I'm like "When did Evan switch my voiceover with his?". If you go back and watch older videos my voice used to sound pretty different as I was figuring out how the hell to do this whole thing, and the way I do it these days is just what feels most comfortable to me, hopefully it's not too off-putting though!
That Gareth Edwards interview seems to be the way that all Disney Star Wars has been written with the exception of Andor, the only one with actual characters and a plot that makes sense and is driven by them.
Hahaha, you're quite welcome! Though, I should note, I LOVE the plot of Prometheus and Covenant, honestly, they had potential to be some of the best sci-fi films of all time, they just reallllllly needed some re-writes from someone who understands characters better. But man they were close to being masterpieces.
Prometheus and Covenant tried so hard to appear deep and smart instead of actually being deep and smart... Also both add new elements in an inflationary manner. The characters really were a minor problem, as pretty much everything about that movie betrayed the classic Alien movies. In that way, Rogue One seemed much more honest to me. Really just playing around with what was there already and allowing the universe to have an inner coherence. If the price for that is to have paler characters, I am fine with that. I have seen too many movies breaking their reality and failing to generate any dynamic by just following the characters, or simply overstaying their welcome just in order to add that one more dimension I could have done without.
What an awesome show. I thought everything about it was great! I wonder how it would turn out if Woody and Matt played the origin characters. Woody playing Cohle and Matt playing Hart. It was great the way it was , I just like to see it reversed just to see how it played out.
Really informative! I would have to say though that sometimes a visual aesthetic can lead to creating an inspiring story/characters such as Gustav Deutsch's movie "Shirley: Visions of Reality".
Thank you for watching, this was a tough one for me to write, I had a lot of different ideas of topics to cover but I think that of all the things that stood out to me about the show, it was the character development that stood out most. I tried to cover as much as I could, but inevitably things end up getting left out. What are some other details you noticed that I missed? Let me know!
One thing that's always interested me about this show is that fact that the first half of it is not told linearly, and I wonder why it is that why and if it would be more effective to put all the interview scenes into one episode rather than having them spread out in the beginning. I think you made some good points when talking about the timeline of the show which helps back up why the way they did it works.
I definitely think it aids the overall tension of the last two episodes, normally I don't like flashbacks in storytelling, but I really liked the way this show handled them.
Thank you so much! I'm glad it was up your alley! I think character development is easily the most crucial component in storytelling.
Hey, this video looks really great but I'm french so can you consider to add some english subtitles please ?
Correction: there is some problems with the subtitles at the beginning of the video
I think the sequence involving old Marty eating TV dinners alone and checking internet dating sites is one of the most emotional moments in the series. It truly is all about the characters. Thanks for the video!
Both of them end up living such depressing lives by the end, but yeah, that scene especially got to me. Thank you for your comment!
Joshua Katinsky for sure man, very sad. Eating TV dinners, regretting his life. Missing his wife.
I felt for Marty in that scene because he was all alone didn't live with his family anymore. Seemed real lonely. Made me realize that's how I'ma end up 😂😭
Yeah shit made me sad lol
Let's not forget Fukunaga's pivotal part in the success of S01. Terrific, majestic, haunting, and Lovecraftian direction.
110%.
That's what Pizzolato doesn't seem to understand, or rather won't admit. TV is the Writer's medium (as opposed to Cinema being the director's)
If Fukunaga wasn't as involved, and we can see that in Season 2, the Show would just be a dumb, typical cop drama.
The fact to have One director allowed to have more visual storytelling, framing, motifs, etc
CrabTastingMan the writing is a little pretentious, but still good. Rust was a great character, if you want to pick him apart like that you can, but he lost a child, consider that. Maybe he is a sad man.
@@CrabTastingMan You sound panicked.
@@alexandredo5142 100% man, such a shame he didnt do the rest. You look at S2 then again at Maniac and it tells you all you need to know about how good Fukunaga really is.
A lot of people would've said this a million times already, but the chemistry between Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey was one of the most important aspet of the series. I cannot really comprehend of why they fit so much together, and yet they did it. That's the thing that true detective season 2 and 3 was missing in my opinion.
close friends in real life
both texans
I don't think I've ever identified myself so strongly with a fictional character as I do with Rust. He is just the best character I've ever witnessed on screen.
He's a fascinating character to watch grow. The death of his daughter really messed him up, but he finally starts to find the light in the end, and I think that's beautiful.
Agreed. I think those of us in "death-haunted" professions will resonate strongly with Cohle and his worldview.
Torgo1969 definitely. If you’ve seen bodies, you get fucked up over time
Another fantastic video.
I really wish Cary Fukunaga worked on the second season, he's one of the best filmmakers working today and his absence was definitely felt.
Thank you!
Right? I can see why he wouldn't, I can't imagine the stress of directing what basically amounts to an 8 hour film, but he's brilliant, and his direction really brought something to the show that seems like it's missing in season 2(though I haven't seen it yet).
From what I remember, Fukanga and Nic had a bit of falling out which almost torpedoed the last few filmed episodes of S1.
A Fukanga-less S2, like a show like Breaking Bad, proves that the epic character development/studies in True Detective didn't stand alone; rather beautiful, aesthetically-pleasing directing and cinematography needs to come together with the arcs to make a beautiful art.
For example, after a point, a lot of people don't even care all too much about the actual stories where a Fukanga, George Miller, Roger Deakins, Steven Soderbergh or, even at times, a Quentin Tarantino, are involved.
If all you want is a great plot, go watch a play.
Beautiful filmmaking that prioritizes the power and the beauty of the camera like this awesome, standalone season of television, will always have fans.
How can you make that judgement if you haven't seen it?
Does anyone know what the beef between Nic and Cary was all about?
probably jealousy :)
Another thing I loved about the first season was the cinematography. The way it was shot created an unsettling atmosphere, especially in the last episode. It's something I feel season 2 was missing.
It's gorgeous. Some of my favorite cinematography ever to grace the small screen.
Especially that one long cut scene doing the heist! I rewatched the whole series just because I had a hankering for that sequence again
about time True Detective got a good video essay on RUclips, well done, I've been waiting for this one for years
That's what I had been thinking too, funnily enough, another MUCH bigger channel uploaded one just a couple of days after me. You should check it out though, it's from Lessons from the Screenplay and it's really good. But thank you for your comment, I'm glad you liked the video :)
I watched McConaughey in 'Frailty' when I was young, then his portrayal of Rustin Cohle was the most perfect natural progression I've ever seen.
One aspect that I loved that you covered was the positive mindset of the ending of their arcs. Some people stated, when the episode came out, that it felt a bit cliche. That it felt tacked on as a way to put a happy bow on the show. Yet they failed to realize how it concluded their biggest flaws in a way that not only took themes presented earlier but felt natural.
Fantastic video man!
Exactly, it was planned from the beginning so it wasn't tacked on, that was always the intended arc for the characters. Thank you so much! Glad you dug it!
While TDS01 is one of the best shows I've ever seen, I have to disagree with the ending. I don't believe that both characters should have died, but Cohle probably should have. I don't think that an anti-natalist/nihilist like Cohle would change his position after the events of the story and certainly wouldn't change them to the position he ends up taking. It just doesn't ring true for me. As in absurdism, suicide isn't the answer either and I feel that killing Cohle would have provided the release he desperately needed, without him having to do it himself. Not only would this have been highly compelling and emotional, but I think that Marty may have come to see at least a little of Cohle's position too, which would add to the poignancy. When you look at great stories, they often say more than the author intended. While some authors/directors intend a lot (eg. Scott & Bladerunner), the greatness lies in creating believable characters and/or stories. When this happens, those characters or stories can take on lives of their own. Sometimes this goes as far as defying what the author has expressly intended (think Milton and Paradise Lost). I believe that the character development in TDS01 is fantastic, hence this great video. But I do believe that the ending somewhat betrays the realism and power that the characters and story display throughout the series up to that point.
I'm going to copy my response from another comment who had a similar complaint:
Rust is a smart man, but I wonder how much of it he really believes. Even if you watch interviews with Nic Pizzolatto he talks about that pretty openly, it's all a facade to protect himself. One of the things about masculinity the show delves into is how men tend to stuff down their pain instead of talking about it, this is his way of doing that. Losing his daughter breaks him, as it would anyone, by taking on this nihilistic viewpoint, he removes the need to grieve for his daughter. Hell, she's lucky, she got to die happy and young instead of growing old in this horrible world. So he works in homicide, seeing all of the dead bodies, all of the autopsy and crime scene photos just reminds him of the fate that could have met his daughter had she been spared that day. In his mind, she got off easy, right?
But there's always that part of him that hopes for more, hopes for justice, for peace, even maybe happiness someday. It's why he tries dating, gets closer to Maggie/etc. But then when he finds out The Yellow King is still out there he loses what little hope he had left and just isolates himself from everyone. He wants to punish himself for not catching him, even when they both earned a lot of notoriety for catching him. So in the end, finally succeeding, he felt a release, something changed in him. Couple that with a near death experience(notorious for changing people) and I don't see how it's hard to believe. And it's not that he "throws away" his beliefs, he just finally gets that different perspective of "Yeah, the world is a horrible place sometimes and maybe we are some cosmic mistake, but we can feel love, and that love is what can save us." You see him struggle with that throughout the show, he wants to love, but he's terrified of being hurt again. But in the end he realizes that Marty is actually a true friend, one of the few he's probably ever had in his life, and having that near death experience put him front and center in confronting his issues, he couldn't hide from his daughter or his father anymore, and he finally allowed himself to feel some real pain. There are definitely religious overtones to that final scene, but it's left open for interpretation in that regard, he mostly just shifts his perspective and gains a little bit of optimism.
Firstly, thanks for taking the time to reply.
While I take your point (and Pizzolatto’s) about the classic male attempts to deny emotions, I still think that this position is predicated on questioning the beliefs of a character who gives us no real reason to do so. Cohle exhibits no contradictory behaviour or flawed understanding of his own position. While it’s always an interesting exercise to question underlying character motivations, Cohle’s position is an extremely complex one, not one easily arrived at, nonetheless one he articulates flawlessly - and the writers should be commended for creating such an engaging character capable of embodying/exploring concepts well beyond what is commonly portrayed.
I still think that the ending is an example of a director pulling their punches. This happens regularly, either due to pressure to appease audiences, financial backers, the director’s unwillingness to conclude in a bleak manner or issues between directors/writers etc. I still think that killing Cohle acknowledges the bleak and horrific occurrences we witness in the show (and the world) and, as such, is a more fitting ending. As I previously stated, I also think it would have been more poetic and poignant. However, if they decided to keep him alive, in order to show character progression/change/overcoming important obstacle, then I just don’t think he’d come up with a line about feeling the love of dead people waiting for him on some other side. Cohle certainly achieves a much more positive outlook and states that anything he left back 'there' (hospital/netherworld) he no longer needs. This is a retreat from his earlier, truly nihilistic position, which I’m happy to see. While our pre-programmed capacity to feel is partly why I disagree with a truly nihilistic position and, while Cohle no longer needs the ‘safety’ of that position (as you rightly point out), it nonetheless represents a denial of what Cohle so accurately represented and what is till true: there is no overarching point and what good they have done pales in comparison to what still happens. That, to me, is an interesting idea and one that avoids any cliché. It also more confidently subverts the classic detective tropes in the same way Chinatown does. Subversion of the detective genre often looks at the inadequacy of the law, or the detective, to bring about 'justice' in the face of a corrupt system. Cohle's corrupt system is the universe itself and that idea is far more engaging and subversive in my opinion. Killing Cohle makes the point far more powerfully. Some people claim that the ending doesn’t revert to cliché, but I feel that the positive spin the show ends with IS the cliché. Regardless of whether or not it’s accurate or to what degree it’s positive. While it is left somewhat open, as you say, to me that lends weight to my argument: that a more bleak ending is available and they just couldn’t quite resolve themselves to go for it. It’s still awesome and in no way does it ruin the entire show, I just would have liked to see them go all the way. Much like the story of Pandora’s Box, True Detective ends with the introduction of hope. However, there are strong arguments supporting the idea that what the story of Pandora intended is that hope is the most painful affliction of all. That, to me, better represents the conclusion of a TRUE detective.
True, but he's been set in his ways for a while. Recall the line (paraphrasing)"I know who I am now, and after enough time, there's a victory in that". So it's not super obvious his contradictions, but they're there, Marty calls him out on it all the time. "For someone who sees existence as pointless, you sure fret about it an awful lot". If he was truly nihilistic, saw no point in anything, why would he put himself through hell to try and save innocent people? His whole life is a contradiction to what he espouses, Marty sees right through that, as does Maggie.
Normally I'd agree with you, it is all too often the coward's way out, part of why people love so much about Breaking Bad or Game of Thrones. But Nic had the entire script written and approved before they even started shooting, the vision the entire time was to leave them alive and altered in some way. It had nothing to do with studio meddling or anything like that, it's the way he always intended the story to go.
Have you ever had a near death experience? I haven't, but if you read about them, it changes people. I once read how Elon Musk came down with Malaria that almost killed him, and that served as a big motivation to start working as hard as he had to to get where he is. The way I read that final scene is that he's been holding those feelings inside for a really long time, he went numb after his daughter died and then spent years deep undercover on every drug you can imagine. He never gave himself proper time to heal, he just threw himself into his work and shut everyone out, but in the face of death he finally confronts the pain he stuffed down for so long, and it changed him.
I think that subverting the genre is definitely part of the show's point, but I think the main message of the show is that we're all human, we're all fragile, and we all need to love and be loved. I think the show demonstrates just how bad things can get for you if you try and fight it, and both Rust and Marty fight it in their own different ways. It argues that you don't have to fix everything in this broken world to find happiness. You don't have to lighten up the entire sky and wash away all of the darkness, it's okay to be one of many smaller and dimmer lights helping in the fight.
Best season of any show ever.
It's definitely up there!
The ending ruined it for me, it was so good and then it just abruptly turned supernatural for no reason. They were grounding it in religious belief and disbelief and decided to just say "its real"
That just ruined it for me
I'm a writer, and I recommend this video to everyone I talk to who struggles with dialog and character development
I'm a simple woman: I see True Detective, I click.
Great video, Rust Cohle is one of the best characters put to screen!
PS: that Gareth Edwards interview explained a lot why Rogue One sucks hahaha
Thank you! Couldn't agree more, and Matthew's performance just really sends it up to being one of the greatest things I've ever seen.
Yeah...I mean, it was pretty, it was fun, but totally lifeless.
Film Radar Woody is equally as good, the season wouldn't have been the same without both of them
Totally agreed, I just think that Rust has more to work with, but oh yeah, Woody was absolutely crucial to the show.
I have to agree - Rust wouldn't have been half so effective a character without Marty played and written so well. An outstanding pair of characters that I feel genuinely wouldn't have had nearly as much impact without the two powerhouse actors at the top of their game feeding off each other.
They need great storytellers for Star Wars, Rian Johnson, Cary Fukanaga, Ava Duvrenay,etc.
I believe Gareth said that he comes up with the scenes and makes them tie in together? Did I hear that right? Also could you imagine a Vader or Underworld Star Wars Movie directed by someone like Fukanaga???
Implied (but not outright) fantasy is another huge reason that True Detective is awesome. Also, a nihilistic hero is a rarity and very refreshing bit of catharsis.
Absolutely, the super creepy almost mythological vibe is very unique to the genre. Also, Rust is just one of the greatest characters ever written in my opinion.
Thanks for stringing the soundtrack of season 1 throughout the essay. It's such a vivid audible thumbprint and it informs so much of the feeling of the show.
This season was an experience I could never forget.
For anybody interested in Rust Cohle's philosophy, here you go:
Cohle's main philosophical debts;
Friedrich Nietzsche
Arthur Schoppenhauer
Emil Cioran
Peter Zapffe
Thomas Ligotti
Philip Mainlander
Franz Kafka
Joseph Conrad
Albert Camus
Jean-Paul Sartre
Soren Kierkegaard
@Film Radar At 3:56 having john truby's lesson or speech or whatever you call it slowly become clearer was really good effect..... good job man
Haha, thanks. Though I have to admit...it was just one of those happy accidents of editing ;) But we can pretend it was intentional right? XD
So no coincidences find place in the plot of True Detective. Everything moves on by the intentions and obstacles of characters, which makes it organic.
That's a bingo!
Great video. I've started reading screenplays from shows and films such as "True Detective" to see what it looks like to write something damn-near perfect. Good job on summing up the process here.
Reading scripts can be super instructive, especially when you have the final product to compare it to. I'm glad you enjoyed the video!
"...you want it to be a struggle and you want there to be a possibility for failure".
You hit the nail so freaking hard there. That is something I crave in any film or tv show I watch and I instantly get turned off when I get the idea that a character is untouchable / can't die. Great analysis, keep up the good work :)
Right? Honestly what bums me out about a lot of the blockbusters coming out these days, like, I know I'm watching the start of a multi-billion dollar franchise, let's not pretend that there's any chance you're killing off the main character XD Thank you so much!
Super interesting observation...the song (clare de lune?) playing when Nic talks about why Rust/Marty wouldn't be killed off is the song used in WestWorld when Dolores kills Arnold. I'll never hear it and not think of this scene. Interesting dichotomy.
One thing that amazed me is that every single action aligned with the character and their intentions.
The best example I can think of is when Maggie tells Marty that she slept with Rust, she doesn’t say that Rust slept with her, but rather that she came onto him and he was drunk.
This makes complete sense, because if she had been wording it any other way, the intentions would be different and wouldn’t make sense in the context of their characters.
What I mean by this is that if she had told Marty that “Rust slept with me” or “We slept together” rather than “I slept with Rust,” she would be blaming Rust for their engagement. Whereas the reality is that she came onto him in an effort to give Marty an excuse to leave her. It makes sense. She was fully aware of what she wanted.
The writers, as you said, put their primary focus on character development, and this allowed the events of the story to feel real. They didn’t make anything overdramatic, every character’s action was a realistic and rational reaction to something else.
god I love your in-depth look at this show. But honestly True detective is so rich, you could do ten of these and you'd hit nail on the head ten times. Good job man.
Honestly I've considered revisiting the first season for another video. It's one of my favorite things in fiction.
@@daniel_netzel you're good at it. I'll watch it.
Dope shit, man. You are a star amongst the dark skies they speak of. Papa bless.
Thank you very much for the kind words! BO'S IN THE HOUSE.
Once in a blue moon i come across a channel that is both intellectually satisfying and gives enough time and thought to the appropriate subject-matter. Today was such a day, great video man! You have my sub, and like. Godspeed, and may your work fullfill you!
Thank you so much for the kind words! I'm really glad you enjoyed the video :D
no one's gonna talk about this amazing edit?
Ecclesiastes 1:9 "That which has been is what will be, That which is done is what will be done, And there is nothing new under the sun."
Time is a flat circle.
People will quote that Bible verse again.... And again... And again... Forever.
The Master Class hosted by Dan Harmon is amazing. Dan and Nic, two of the best writers (in two opposite genres) around in conversation with one another is priceless.
Did you feel like True Detective left the question of if Errol and friends "magic" was real or not, open to interpretation? I hear a lot that people wish we could've seen more "cosmic horror", but re-watching, I found that they really NEVER show anything more paranormal than we could find in our world. And it got me thinking that they found a perfect balance of creating a "magic atmosphere" without ever giving us objective proof that it really exists in that world. Do you agree? Or was it obvious that Errol was just in a crazy cult that believed nonsense?
One of the things I really loved about the show was how it played with the audience's imagination. All of the talk of Black Star, and Carcosa, it creates this really unsettling mythology that occupies the mind more than the real space that the characters exist in. My personal opinion is that the show was very grounded in the real world, and real people in our real world believe some pretty wild things, and that was always my interpretation. Though the show never explicitly states that what they believe in is bullshit, so I'd say if it makes the story more compelling for you that way, you have every right to see it that way.
Film Radar Dang.. great breakdown, as always! Even the simple fact that, out of all the content you could've made a video on, you chose the characters. That was a little enlightening to me, I get sidetracked by themes and form etc, but really, the show's about two dudes coping with their world. Sorry for ranting, you're just a smart dude lol thanks for being here, as always
amazing series ... loved it from start to finish ... now I know what to look for in a series / movies ...
It's really fantastic, one of the best in recent years.
OMG! So insightful. Just genius! Thank you for making this video. ❤ I've just never experienced anyone describe so well. Thanks for the masterclass.!
What a story to tell, what a world created? The amount of feelings that is brought by this series is worth of an Oscar nomination.
Couldn't agree more! One of the greatest seasons of any television series.
If you like this video you really really need to read a book called the art of dramatic writing. It deals with the bread and butter of every story... conflict. It teaches you to orchestrate characters with wants and needs and develop them by putting them againts eachother
Just wanted to say that I really enjoy your videos and that u diserve more views. I don't understand why don't more people enjoy movie analysis videos. I could watch this kind of stuff for days.
Thank you so much! I think it's slowly becoming a more popular genre as time goes on, most people love movies, and who wouldn't want to learn more about them? If you're looking for other channels like mine, I have a whole list of them on my channel recommendations, every one of them is more than worth your time.
I love everyone who loves this show as much as I do.
Great analysis! True Detective S01 is just outstanding. Talking about "disconnected" movies/tv series, I feel that the series "Maniac" is another example of single visual "things that would be great", connected by a not too solid plot - probably developed as a way of linking those singular visually pleasing episodes.
Excellent video! Thank you so much for going over the ending since most people were expecting Rust and Marty to die. If that happened we wouldn't have had the tear jerking monologue from Rust. After all those years, Rust was finally allowing himself to grieve for his daughter; that catharsis elevates the story in a way that a "tragic" ending never could. Rust has changed his outlook but only by a few degrees. It's not like he did a 180.
If you could PLEASE PLEASE do a video on True Detective season 2. Anything! That season was unjustly and scathingly maligned. While I do have problems with that season there is still a lot of quality material that deserves attention. I've always felt like True Detective was a smart and well crafted show with a lethargic or impatient audience. The 8 episode format invites multiple viewings to unlock all it's secrets to be enjoyed in full. In the case of season 2 repeated vewings is pretty much mandatory. Also check out the zircillius reviews/essays of True Detective if you ever get the chance!
Thank you! I completely agree. Killing them off would have worked if he was trying for a different ending, but he wanted to have that optimistic spin on it, which I loved. These days, cynicism has run rampant(which isn't a bad thing)but it's nice to see some honest sentiment every once in a while.
It's possible, I haven't watched it yet, so I can't make any promises, but I'll check it out one of these days!
02:43 Interesting point and completely correct. But if you think that Rogue One is in fact one of the better SW-movies and a quite dramatic one you can see that this can also work when it comes to the right franchise.
Really liked this video. You had your opinions quite clear and definite with a tinge of subjectivity. You earned yourself a new subscriber.
Really good video man, nicely explained and captions
Thank you kind sir!
Fantastic Video! True Detective is one of my favorite seasons of television.
Thank you! Mine as well, really hoping the show can get back on its feet with the new season.
Film Radar I wasn't a fan of season 2. It's gonna be hard. I would love if they just stick with the two cops instead of focusing on multiple characters. Tom Hardy and Leonardo DiCaprio
Fantastic job on this video man.
True Detective Season 1 is easily in my top 5 favorite shows of all time.
Hell, top 3! lol
Thank you :)
It's up for there for me as well, right alongside my favorites like Game of Thrones and Breaking Bad.
now that I’ve had a couple weeks to sit on this show after finishing it, and watching this video, i’ve come to appreciate it so much more. Marty & Cohle really are two great characters that honestly make me feel really happy. Marty seems to reconnect with his family in the end, and Cohle...”once there was only darkness, seems to me the light’s winning.” wow. that says it all.
ALSO what are the songs playing in this video?? they all sound cool, anyone know?? sounds like Dylan towards the beginning?
Hats off man ...
Ur the only RUclips's i saw who used jhon trubys technique
I read the book ANATOMY OF A STORY , it's an amazing book , best if u ask me
Nobody uses it though , everyone goes for three act structure which is mechanical
Good to see some one like you using his really good techniques
found you a while ago and you do not disappoint. The interviews you show and analysis you give are extremely interesting and entertaining, besides being well edited on top. No Idea how you have only 34k subs, keep it up :)
Hey thanks for saying so! I'm so glad you've been enjoying the content! Haha, yeah, my channel just never seems to get the right exposure, hopefully that can change one day.
My new favorite Video Essay channel along with Entertain The Elk. I see that most of you are really inspired by the style of Nerdwriter, in a good way. Keep it up! You're heading into a great direction. 👏
That's quite the compliment! Adam is terrific, he's a good buddy of mine and I love his videos! Yeah, he's definitely seeped in to my content a little bit, but I feel like I diverge further from him with each video...except for maybe the voice over :P Thank you very much!
The voice quality really comes through in your videos. I don't know what kind of mic or sound space your using but, MAN, it's working for you. Well done.
...and I just realized that I've already posted on this video. A tribute to your replay-ability (also RUclips knows what I like).
Wow, thank you! I always feel like I can get it to sound better, but sound is a fickle mistress, and if anything gets picked apart about my videos more than anything else, it's the voiceover, so I really appreciate the compliment.
Hahaha, you won't hear me complaining ;)
I just randomly found your video after looking up some true detective stuff on RUclips and I found the title Really intriguing I have an upcoming active bout to go to college in 2020 January and I love the effort you put into making this video you’ve earned yourself a subscriber I love the video I love your perspective on how to make a fascinating character and to keep The audience engaged in the story that your were trying to tell
Jesus this channel is great. Currently working on a similar project myself and would like to thank you for inspiring and helping me in my quest.
Thank you so much for saying so! I wish you luck with your project!
you did a great job implementing music in your format. mostly music from the series itself but also reverie by claude debussy which really hit the mark
I appreciate you saying so! I put a lot of thought into the music choices, especially when deviating from the OST, so I'm glad it didn't go unappreciated
I honestly thought this vid was made by nerdwriter when i clicked on it through the AVClub website. It looked so good and was well thought out. Thank you for sharing that Film Radar
You wouldn't be the first one to make that mistake, but hell, I'll take it as a compliment! Thank you so much for the kind words!
Just came across this page today. Already watched like 5 videos!! Really love all the thought you put into making theses videos and you got yourself a new sub!
Awesome, so glad you're digging the content! And thank you so much for subscribing!
Dam, you did choose the correct career path, You have a talent for doing it right!
I really appreciate you saying so! Hopefully it continues to grow into a real grown up job someday xD
I have no doubt.
Wonderful essay, thank you
This was such an informative video. Well done. Feel like I've just covered a year in screenwriting.
Thank you for saving me some time and create a video like this. My points exactly.
You are quite welcome!
Thank you for making this video, discussing exactly what makes this show one of the best ever!
Thanks for your comment! It really is something incredible, here's hoping season 3 is something worthwhile.
Amazing video on an amazing season. I'm not a massive Star Wars or Aliens fan but I will say that of course these examples and all other examples of characters in film will obviously pale in comparison to television, because storytellers in film have more of an obligation to the plot, whereas TV storytellers have more obligation to the characters. In Rogue One, the overall plot was about their sacrifice for the greater good of the rebellion. They wanted you to care about the protagonist enough to feel something when she inevitably sacrifices herself. She could have been anyone, her character arc didn't matter to the plot, only that she was courageous despite being a small woman, and that she was likable to an audience. With True Detective or any other amazing TV series, character is paramount. Yes, we want to see the overall story and the plot points alone did a great job keeping us wanting more, but we're asked to follow them on an 8 hour journey, not a 2 hour journey like Rogue One. Some series' have multiple seasons, so these characters become part of our lives for like a decade. Why aren't we talking as much about season 2 and 3 of True Detective? Because we didn't care nearly enough about those characters. Overall, I guess my point is, with character development, writing for film can't be compared to writing for TV. Characters in film are vessels for the plot but (most of us) didn't mind watching Walter White try to kill a fly for an entire episode.
I think you are going places your channels content is undervalued at 16k subs great vid, I'm looking forward to the next one
I appreciate you saying so!
Oh, this was such a great video, it really did justice to one of the best TV show of all time.
Thank you kindly! I'm glad I could do it justice :D
This is a very high quality, well done video. You could have turned this in for a college assignment. Keep up the good work man!!
I found your channel from a comment you left on a darkviper video. Looking forward to checking out more of your videos. This one was really good
Thanks dude! They definitely get better than this tbh
Great video and breakdown! Well done.
Thank you for saying so! :>
Excellent analysis, sir. Keep it up.
Thank you! I'll do what I can!
Good videos man, really enjoying them. Keep up the good work!
Thank you, I'll certainly try!
underrated movie that does a phenomenal job having the action grow from character's desires is Headhunters
it's funny that there's an interview with Dan Harmon and the writer, because it was Community's spoof scene that got me to watch this show.
I liked that scene and went to yt to watch it, and the comments was saying how it was spoofing True Detective. So naturally I went to check one of the car scenes and was immediately drawn in.
This is a great channel to stumble on by chance. Nice job there, you have my subscription
Awesome! How'd you end up finding me? Thanks for subscribing! I hope you enjoy your stay!
Film Radar RUclips suggestions. I'm a fan of LFTS and Nerdwriter1 as well. It would be awesome if you do a collab someday, with your level of quality.
Sweet, I'm glad RUclips is helping me out! Oh man, I'd love to collaborate with either of them, I think I still have to earn some more stripes before that's a possibility though.
Fantastic new video essay! True Detective is one I really love and one I had thought on doing a review for one day, but I don't have any scripts or anything written for it. I like how you caught or mentioned that fundamentally the story-line / plot structure to it is NOT revolutionary or different to many many cop / detective stories, because it's not. The Amazing thing about this show is definitely the deeply flawed characters, they feel like real people, like TRUE detectives! Haha. Also the chemistry of the characters / actors, it was all just so wonderful and it is definitely more to do with interesting flawed characters than it is with the plot. Sorta like Shawshank Redemption; the plot for that is almost non-existent really- but it's a character driven story the friendship of Red & Andy, their shortcomings, their flaws, their trials & tribulations.
Thank you! Hey man, it's never too late ;) I honestly can't think of a single movie(that I adore) where the plot comes before the character, Shawshank is a great example. The plot could be summed up in one sentence "A guy gets wrongly convicted of a crime he didn't commit and spends the next few decades of his life in prison before ultimately escaping". Boom, that's the entire plot, the movie is a movie because of the relationship between the characters and man I need to watch that movie again soon xD
Thank you for your comment :D
this video was well made and easy to follow, I really appreciate that
I always try and make my videos quick and easy to digest, so I'm glad you thought it was!
Great work. A really excellent video, man I love this show!
Thank you dude! It's absolutely incredible isn't it? Let's hope season 3 is the return to glory we're all hoping it will be.
I'm one of the few that enjoyed the second season. Obviously it doesn't compare to the original but it had some great moments imo. But yeah, fingers crossed.
Great video, also very well edited. Kudos man!
Thank you kindly!
Hey man, I don't know if you'll read this but I really enjoyed your editing and you made some great points. So great to see intellects continue to put out content on RUclips, can't wait to see more. I would also say don't worry too much about taking from Nerdwriter, I think I see a unique style here that you can continue to articulate and bring out. Cheers.
Thank you very much! I get compared to him a lot for my voice, but I like to think our videos feel very different from one another. I appreciate the kind words, glad you liked the video
Great job man, keep it up ! Thank you for bringing out such quality videos :)
Thanks for saying so! :)
Thank you for talking about the characters in rogue One. That movie deserves more criticism ...
I think it's important to show contrast, and it was an obvious choice because of the stream of criticisms it's received, it was a really strong choice(in my opinion) to prove my point about the importance of plot coming from characters, because most people who saw that movie seemed disappointed in it.
As an aspiring writer, shows like True Detective depress me. Simply because I know no matter how much I practice/try, i'll never write something so perfect
Same tbh
You earned a subscriber good man. Great video
I think we should not miss that point, beside the all aspects of cinematographic issues, the actor who played Rust, smoking scenes etc, are so charismatic and that's why people love the character this much.
Oh no doubt, without the INCREDIBLE performances it wouldn't matter how good the writing is. But I like to narrow my focus in the videos, otherwise I'd just start blubbering like a fanboy saying a bunch of subjective stuff for hours like "BUT BRO, MATTHEW IS SO EFFING AMAZING, LIIKE, DUDE, HOW IS HE SO GOOD, I DON'T EVEN UNDERSTAND" and some people might be interested in watching butttttt xD
I think I may have said it earlier. But you sound like the guy from Nerdwriter.
Hahaha...yeah, we do sound alike at times :P
This is fucking amazing great job, keep this up, and the subscribers will come. =)
Thank you so much! I'll do what I can :)
PLOT COMES FROM CHARACTER.
It's amazing how many writers don't grasp this. It's everything.
You love a show for its characters, you have to care about them
100% this.
I only just watched season 1 and was blown away by it, kicking myself for leaving it so long.
What I love about the journey of Rust is that it's not a standard A to B arc. The end is a play on "our characters walk into the sunset" they walk off camera in quite a cliched way, but this is to demonstrate that Rust, has gone from the man who was deemed delusional and obsessive to a new type of delusion. He's willing to live the aching lie and willing to believe light has a chance -which is mocked by the final shot as the stars fade to black. this transition to a 'new delusion' also shows time is a flat-circle, but there's hope in that we can change the way we view instance of time we experience.
Honestly maybe my favorite piece of media ever produced. Sheer perfection from start to finish.
What's the song starting at 6:40? It's so pretty.
*breathing heavily trying not to fangirl*
Reverie by Claude Debussy. One of my favorites :)
Reverie
Listen also to Claire de lune
Wonderfully done
Thank you kindly!
Ha, Gareth Edwards actually giving away how artistically hollow his endeavors are is quite the self-own.
Great video - Insightful analysis, relevant research and one of the only times I have laughed out loud at one of these videos ( knowing that stupid zoologist was going to touch the alien and watching the "OW" pop up like an old episode of Batman 3:52 )
Thank you! Haha, so far you're the only one to mention it, but I certainly thought it was a funny little touch to add. The scene is so comical that I thought having that old comic style "ow" was fitting XD
Film Radar dxqdd
I was thinking of some Nerdwriter influence watching the video, but not because the end titles. Your voice, your cadence, and especially your pacing reminds me of him
I definitely picked up some habits from him, I try and put my own spin on it of course, but sometimes it really comes through and even I'm like "When did Evan switch my voiceover with his?". If you go back and watch older videos my voice used to sound pretty different as I was figuring out how the hell to do this whole thing, and the way I do it these days is just what feels most comfortable to me, hopefully it's not too off-putting though!
wonderful analysis.
That Gareth Edwards interview seems to be the way that all Disney Star Wars has been written with the exception of Andor, the only one with actual characters and a plot that makes sense and is driven by them.
Great analysis and breakdown
Thank you kindly!
Spectacular video! Just subbed.
Thank you very much! Enjoy your stay!
beautiful!
Thank you!
Thank you for acknowledging the shit writing of Rogue one, Prometheus and Covenant
Hahaha, you're quite welcome! Though, I should note, I LOVE the plot of Prometheus and Covenant, honestly, they had potential to be some of the best sci-fi films of all time, they just reallllllly needed some re-writes from someone who understands characters better. But man they were close to being masterpieces.
Prometheus and Covenant tried so hard to appear deep and smart instead of actually being deep and smart... Also both add new elements in an inflationary manner. The characters really were a minor problem, as pretty much everything about that movie betrayed the classic Alien movies.
In that way, Rogue One seemed much more honest to me. Really just playing around with what was there already and allowing the universe to have an inner coherence. If the price for that is to have paler characters, I am fine with that. I have seen too many movies breaking their reality and failing to generate any dynamic by just following the characters, or simply overstaying their welcome just in order to add that one more dimension I could have done without.
What an awesome show. I thought everything about it was great! I wonder how it would turn out if Woody and Matt played the origin characters. Woody playing Cohle and Matt playing Hart. It was great the way it was , I just like to see it reversed just to see how it played out.
Love these! Keep it up!!
Thank you! I shall!
Great video.
Really informative! I would have to say though that sometimes a visual aesthetic can lead to creating an inspiring story/characters such as Gustav Deutsch's movie "Shirley: Visions of Reality".
What I love about Episode 4 is that I felt he was in danger. But I forget he was still alive