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(Mild spoiler alert for True Detective Season 3, Episode 8, Now Am Found.)
In a similar vein to the first season (which followed the impact of a case haunting Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelsons characters in their later lives), the third season finale deployed some aging makeup to visit Alis Wayne Heys years after the events of the season and examine how Wills death and Julies disappearance have affected him as a person. The connection to season one was made even more overt by the previous episodes direct reference to the detectives played by Harrelson and McConaughey.
These two gents deserve ALL of the things. Seriously, this season was so good. #TrueDetective #TrueDetective3 pic.twitter.com/9O2n5d9f9e - (@bigthighgemini) February 25, 2019
It didnt go unnoticed that the finale was released on the same evening that Ali won an Academy Award, prompting comparisons between his character and Roland, the investigator played by Stephen Dorff.
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Wow. The lives of Wayne and Roland really went in opposite directions #TrueDetective pic.twitter.com/ECPTKK9YJI - Jason Gallagher (@jga41agher) February 25, 2019
I follow thousands of people on Twitter, and as fast as I can tell, only two of them are tweeting about tonight's #TrueDetective finale. Which I get, because #Oscars But it also makes me sad, because I just wanna see a feed full of praise for Mahershala Ali's stellar performance. - Jess Calarco (@JessicaCalarco) February 25, 2019
While the acting in the finale was pretty much universally praised, the fact that showrunner Nic Pizzolatto didnt wrap up every storyline in favor of giving screentime to some lower key character moments left some viewers surprised, and others frustrated.
Wow. Rare to see a character-driven over plot-driven finale of a crime drama. The final scene was chillingly brilliant. @TrueDetective Season 3 gets an A+. #TrueDetective - Mike Hill (@rmikehill) February 25, 2019
True Detective season 3 started out great, gained steam and then ended in a whimper. Final episode was disappointing and told us nothing we didnt already know. With all the info they had, case should not have taken 25 years. Pointless final timeline jump. #TrueDetective - Stephen Mitchell (@SankaMitchell) February 25, 2019
After the long winding road to get here, to this ending, what matters most to Pizzolatto is Wayne, writes Ben Travers of Indiewire in his episode review. Its a relief, but should come as no surprise to veteran viewers: The writer is most successful when he leans into his higher interests (characters), and he gets in trouble when he tries to tie too many strings together.
Well, that was underwhelming. #TrueDetective pic.twitter.com/CxmvggoXAN - Matt Dillane (@MattDillane) February 25, 2019
This season of #TrueDetective was insane and excellent. The finale will split the audience but it was brilliant. You either understand what it's saying or you don't. Yeah, there are some loose ends. Whatever. It was some smart next level shit - Steve King (@steveking_) February 25, 2019
Its uncertain when a fourth season of True Detective will be on our screens, although Pizzolatto is reportedly already working on the plot. And if you were impressed by Mahershala Alis acting chops on the show, or in Green Book, you can see him having a little more fun now in the Robert Rodriguez sci-fi action movie Alita: Battle Angel.