TV Review: True Detective - Series Three Episode Three "The Big Never"

"Why Aren't You Out There Looking For Her? That's Where She Is, Out There. She's Alive..."

Teasing the oh-so loyal True Detective audience with a full-on two hour mystery headrush last week, Season Three of HBO's latest big talking topic returns to the much milder sixty minute dose of stylish drama this week, continuing the many dangling plot threads and cancelling already a high proportion of particular online theories which made for rather compelling, and at times hilarious, reading through the past seven days. With the three different timelines now clear, concise and most crucially, rather simple to follow, the layout of "The Big Never" shifted focus ever so slightly, moving further away from the central mystery somewhat with no real jaw-dropping findings, and more into the aftershocks and toll the investigation has taken on many of the key players at the heart of it. Transitioning the 1990's deposition timeline from Hay's viewpoint to that of Stephen Dorff's Roland West, the state detective turned Lieutenant, particular questions began to arise regarding elements of the original investigation, whether it be the sloppiness of the original search or the involvement of a newly sourced suspect in the form of a rather out-of-place luxury brown sedan. With the now family ridden 90's version of Hays coming off as a groggy, moody and rather annoying sod, the effects of the Purcell case result in both a strange jealous treatment of Carmen Ejogo's Amelia during the opening publishing stages of her non-fiction observations of the case in question, and onto his children too, with an over-the-top, knee-jerk reaction to the sudden wanderings of his daughter a real testament to the shivers which the case which has defined his life sends down his normally calculating and cool spine. 

Whilst at times the mumbling, overly thick area defined accent from Ali results in a quick swoop for the subtitle button, his performance in what is essentially a trio of different central roles, is still quite remarkable, aided by the choice of Pizzolatto to move away from a wide range of leading characters as used in the previous seasons to simply one standout performance, and whilst "The Big Never" attempted to bring depth and substance to the likes of West and Scoot McNairy's Tom, the real magic undoubtedly happens every time Ali appears back into the picture. With the dangling hints of the Purcell case occurring mostly in the 1980's timeline, it is here where of course the most dramatic sections of the story ultimately really come together, with particular nightmarish findings, including a picture book entry with a very familiar pose, and an overriding sense that not everyone seems to be telling the truth, resulting in the most atmospheric portions of the story, aided once again by the thunderous, Blade Runner esque musical store featuring echoing bellows and thunderous heart beats. Whilst the third episode of what continues to be a must-watch season of True Detective was always going to struggle to keep up the high levels of intrigue set up by the opening two chapters, "The Big Never" still managed to be an expertly crafted hour of drama television, a chapter low on action but one which felt comfortable in its' decision not to rush into anything and show its' hand too early, and with the show already at the halfway mark next week, things continue to look up for a show which delights in keeping the audience guessing away. 

Overall Score: 8/10