True Detective Season 3: What Does The Ending Really Mean?

7. Hays And West Find Peace

Since 1980, the lives of Wayne Hays and Roland West have been dominated by the Purcell case. While Hays was able to move on for a while, it was all dragged back up in 2015, but it was clear it'd already affected his relationships long before then. West fared even worse, with the murder of Harris James sending him spiralling. In 2015, he lives alone, both with regards to having no one with him (apart from his dogs, which isn't a bad thing really) and no one even close to him.

The case was never closed, and so they could never find closure. It's something they even discuss in this episode. But by the end, they've found a sense of peace and happiness. It doesn't come just through solving the Purcell case, especially since West doesn't know the full answer of it. But it's by finally being able to put that case behind them.

They've rebuilt their connection, which is the crux of this season. It's a show about partnerships and relationships, and in the two coming back together, and both once again finding a sense of family that they'd either lost or never really had, their story can come to an end. It's a quiet, peaceful, and yet emotional ending that speaks more to the power of family and friendship than it does solving a crime.