True Detective: 5 Insane Changes That Could Have Improved The Finale

By Christopher Robertson /

4. The Revelation Behind Both Daughters

In what is perhaps the biggest red herring in recent years, there was absolutely nothing special about Marty€™s daughter, Audrey Hart. Throughout the season, we received and studied an insane amount of hints towards Audrey€™s involvement with the cult. It began early in the season when Audrey is caught with vivid drawing of a naked man and woman participating in sexual activities. Shortly after, Marty stumbles upon a reenactment of five male dolls ready to rape a female doll. As well, the symbol of the cult could be seen drawn in the Hart Family house. These huge side-points led us to believe something strange was happening to Audrey. Her behavior began after her stay with her Grandfather. Many believed Marty€™s step-father was a member of the cult as well. The hints and foreshadowing did not end there though. Later in the series, Audrey was seen wearing a yellow crown. Note, this scene came minutes before the revelation of the Yellow King and Carcosa. The yellow crown is a major theme in the book The King in Yellow. Alas, nothing came of this seemingly important plot-line. It€™s a little hard to swallow that this was just a case of bad parenting. As for Cohle€™s daughter, the circumstances behind her death was never fully explained. All we know is she was killed by a car as she was riding her tricycle. The main theory is the identity of the driver was a drunk Rust. The accident destroyed his marriage and his mind over the years. Along with his heavy drug use, the locks on his sanity were finally broken when a druggie injected his own infant daughter with heroin. It makes perfect sense and explains why he has such an overly nihilistic view on life. Imagine how much deeper Cohle€™s moment of peace would have been after he finally learned to live with himself.