The season focuses on Louisiana State Police homicide detectives Rustin "Rust" Cohle (Matthew McConaughey) and Martin "Marty" Hart (Woody Harrelson), who investigate the murder of prostitute Dora Lange in 1995.
According to Nielsen Media Research, the episode was seen by an estimated 2.34 million household viewers and gained a 1.0 ratings share among adults aged 18–49.
Rust found out an immense amount of disappearances related to Tuttle's schools, one of which was the one that Marie Fontenot attended before closing after accusations of child molestation.
Rust asks Marty to help him, explaining that many disappearances were related to obscure ritual offshoots of well-known New Orleans folklore involving animal mask and deer antlers, spread along the same area where the Tuttles originate from.
He speculates only the latter was reported because of what he retrieved in Baton Rouge: disturbing photos, including some that depict children in the forest wearing antlers, and a videotape where people in costumes and masks ritualistically rape and murder Marie Fontenot.
The conversation, including updates about their two daughters, seems to indicate they have been divorced for a long time and estranged for at least two years, and she is happily remarried and goes by the surname Sawyer.
She visits Rust, who has still not forgiven her for using him years earlier[b], and he angrily dismisses her concerns by refusing to be specific on how dangerous their joint investigation will be.
Marty reveals to Rust that the files placed then Deputy Steve Geraci (Michael Harney) as the person who originally investigated Marie Fontenot's case.
Meanwhile, the falls he and his once-and-current partner have taken keep me anticipating that finale, and they make tonight's talky, exposition-heavy speed bumps easier to ride out. ...
"[6] Britt Hayes of Screen Crush wrote, "'After You've Gone' plunges full speed ahead to give us one hell of a gripping episode that inspired more than a few fist pumps from yours truly—and while Nic Pizzolatto presents more of that particular deep fried, unnerving procedural approach in an effort to propel things forward in an unrelenting fashion, that's not to say he's ditched the philosophy altogether.
"[7] Alan Sepinwall of HitFix wrote, "And the structure of the series means that anything could happen in next week's finale: the death of one or both of our heroes, the success or failure of their investigation, a perfectly mundane explanation for the activities of this family of killers, or a more supernatural one befitting the many theories about the Yellow King, Carcosa, et al.
"[10] James Poniewozik of Time wrote, "'After You've Gone', the next-to-last episode of True Detective season one, largely leaves the past behind, in the structural sense.
"[11] Kenny Herzog of Vulture gave the episode a 4 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "With one final hour in waiting, it's not premature to say that Nic Pizzolatto and Cary Fukunaga have succeeded in that diligence.
True Detective has taken us on an arc that lesser shows might resolve in a single episode, or, as we've witnessed more commonly, forcibly protract to the point of viewer disconsolation.
It has instead used a finite narrative to introduce an incredible interconnected population of characters, none of whom are mere red herrings, while allowing us to stumble toward convictions alongside the show's leads.
"[14] Shane Ryan of Paste gave the episode a 9.6 out of 10 and wrote, "We have one hour left with these remarkable characters, and if I have my guess, the circles of their fate will all be closed when the final credits roll.