Form and Void (True Detective)
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.
The episode received universal acclaim from critics and audiences, who praised the performances, writing, directing, cinematography, atmosphere, music, tension, pace and closure.
For his performance in the episode, Matthew McConaughey received an Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series nomination at the 66th Primetime Emmy Awards.
The caretaker (Glenn Fleshler) watches over a man whom he calls "daddy" who is bound to a bed in a room filled with words written on the walls.
He exits the room to his nearby house, where he effortlessly dons a British accent while watching Cary Grant and James Mason in North by Northwest on TV.
On the boat, Rust (Matthew McConaughey) forces Geraci (Michael Harney) to watch the videotape depicting Marie Fontenot's rape and murder.
They also inform him that they have hired a hitman to kill him if they are arrested or murdered, and prove their point by having an unseen sniper shoot at Geraci's car.
As they drive to the house, they amend their confrontation regarding Maggie (Michelle Monaghan), with Rust confessing that she visited him a few days ago just to make sure Marty was okay.
Checking her husband's payment records, they track the company as Childress and Sons Maintenance, which worked in many areas where women and children disappeared.
Rust eventually reaches a room with an adorned skeleton wearing antlers and is distracted as he sees a swirling vortex (possibly hallucinated).
Meanwhile, Papania and Gilbough (Michael Potts) arrive with back-up at the house, find Betty handcuffed to the stairs, and start searching the area.
They inform him that Errol and Betty were Billy Childress' children and the tools at his shed match with the weapons in Lake Charles and Dora Lange's murder, effectively closing the case.
Meanwhile, the media reports the discovery at Errol's house and dozens of bodies recovered at the scene; the Tuttles avoid charges, but their reputation collapses.
"[2] Pizzolatto had the ending in mind when he started writing the season, indicating that Rust would be "articulating, without sentimentality or illusion, an actual kind of optimism".
Since this was the finale, I thought we could make room for one more point of view, the dark mirror to our characters, the shadow they've been chasing for so 17 years without knowing it, the historical victim of bad men who murders women and children.
"[4] Commenting on Marty's words about not arresting everyone responsible in the conspiracy, Pizzolatto said, "The significant change in the final scene is that a point of view has shifted.
According to director Cary Joji Fukunaga, answering the question wasn't the idea behind the episode, saying "It was more of an added layer to the reasons behind the killings.
"[6] He further added, "To retreat to the supernatural, or to take the easy dramatic route of killing a character in order to achieve an emotional response from the audience, I thought would have been a disservice to the story.
Production designer Alex DiGerlando commented, "So we were starting to prepare ourselves for a compromise to shoot it in a brushy woodland location where the only really attractive quality was that it allowed for easy access.
[11] Jim Vejvoda of IGN gave the episode a perfect "masterpiece" 10 out of 10 and wrote in his verdict, "The first season finale for HBO's True Detective was a truly creepy, gripping and emotional close to one of the best crime dramas ever produced for television.
"[13] Britt Hayes of Screen Crush wrote, "For those seeking a rewarding conclusion to the first season, 'Form and Void' definitely delivers, from full-out creepiness to good ol' Rust Cohle-isms, and yes, even some deep fried detective bromance.
"[15] Alan Yuhas of The Guardian wrote, "In the end, True Detective finally flipped, and Marty and Rust discovered the good life again.
"[18] Brian Lowry of Variety wrote, "Whatever comes next, there's no way to view True Detective as anything but a rousing success, with a glitch pertaining to HBO Go merely demonstrating the rabid appetite for it.
Because if cop shows have become TV's answer to McDonald's, this was the equivalent of LudoBites – springing up to deliver unexpected treats for a refined, upscale palate, and poof, just as quickly moving on.
"[21] Chris O'Hara of TV Fanatic gave the episode a perfect 5 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "What we got in 'Form and Void' was a fitting conclusion to one of the best seasons of television I have seen in years.
"[23] Matthew McConaughey submitted the episode to support his nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series at the 66th Primetime Emmy Awards.
