User Reviews

All I can say is: what an episode! I didn't see it coming. TD for the most part is not your average thriller; here the violence is implied or occurs between the scenes, there are no pyrotechnics, no car-chases, nothing. Yet it still manages to keep you anxious with a style of its own.

In a way, the first three episode set the platform and the fourth one was where everything went boom. TD has been criticized for its sedentary, drawn-out story telling but I think, this is what makes tonight's episode even more rewarding. We have been treated to excellent character development, philosophical monologues and an endless barrage of nihilism from Rust but there was nothing in TD that really got your heart racing, until tonight that is.

To be concise, "Who Goes There" is a pinnacle of storyboarding. A lot of ground is covered in this episode that completely revamps the makeup of this series. We see gunfights, chases, comical jibes and some excellently chosen music.

I will really be looking forward to next week's episode and see how the series follows-up from here.

P.S: The final 6-minute, unbroken tracking shot following Rust through a not-so-comfortable situation is brimming with sustained tension. Not since Breaking Bad's final few episodes have I lingered so close to the edge of my seat.

Feel Like GTA Mission, This Episode I Will Always Remember

Forget for a moment the overall superb quality of the series to date.

Forget the writing, the acting, direction.

Forget it.

And here is why.

The most effective dramatic technique for viewer connection, for viewer entertainment, is also the riskiest. The most effective dramatic technique is simply to take everything that has gone before before AND BURN IT TO THE GROUND and take the viewer on an unexpected trip to the edgiest ride in the amusement park.

And that is what we have here. I have never seen it done so well. And, as I often say, I watch a lot of TV. The Neilson people once took me down with a tranquilizer dart, tagged me, and released me back into the wild.

Forget the serial killer. Forget the dogged procedural work. Forget the marital issue. In one of the most unforgettable performances I have ever seen in my life, film included, Matthew McConaughey goes back into an undercover life he once ran from and -- simply to make an arrest! -- risks it all.

I am on the edge of my chair. And you will be too.

Episode four officially opens up the second act of the three act first season with most likely one of the most astonishing pieces of television ever. Not only is the episode inexplicably well written and acted, shot and composed, but it is gripping and enthralling on the highest level imaginable. I try to keep these reviews absolutely spoiler free and that's for a reason. You will be at the edge of the seat and that should not be spoiled for anyone.

It's nice to see that Harrelson's and Monaghan's character get some real development in this episode. We see some great development between the two detectives, as usual we learn more about Mcconaughey's dark mysterious and brutal past, which catches up to him in this episode. It goes without saying that the acting is without a doubt superb, but even minor characters like Brad Carter's character or Alexandra Daddario's are portrayed beautifully with a lot of passion from the actors. You can see that there is a lot of love and dedication involved in making this show.

It closes with one of the best tracking shots in cinema history, that will without a doubt go down in history. It is absolutely jaw dropping and the complexity of the shot is incredible. Yet it's not confusing or misleading, at every single second of these six minutes everything is clear. The haunting soundtrack that slowly buzzes in the background, the helicopter sounds, distant gun shots and screaming, make this shot just unbelievable, it's just too good to be true. There is a complete immersion that this shot creates, for these six minutes you're not sitting in your chair watching a show, you're right there with Det. Cohle. And that is the definition of cinema, it is supposed to let you forget your life, to dream for a certain amount of time, just enjoy it.

I can not praise this show enough, if the other 4 episodes are only slightly as good as this one, then True Detectives first season will turn into a masterpiece. The six minute tracking shot definitely already is one.

11/10

The final tracking scene of Mcconaughey is intense and immersive. It's impressive filmmaking and you will be on the edge of your seat. Few shows succeed in creating suspense like this, but TD is definitely in great company.

Mcconaughey's portrayal as Rust Cohle is impressive and might be his best acting performance ever. He and Harrelson are great and their chemistry is perfect. Their relationship is entertaining and interesting to follow.

After watching the first episode, I though to myself, if I only saw this one, I would be already satisfied with the whole show. It already gave so much substance.

All the other episodes were just cherries on top, and oh wow this show never stops, always stays interesting, the pacing is on point, so them cherries just keep coming.

Who Goes There is just peak True Detective, I was near nirvana watching it.

Perfect acting, perfect writing, amazing camerawork, the whole thought process around what happens in a tight spot depicted there is just perfect.

Never been in a situation like this, but if someone would tell me this is real I would believe them, I never really felt that in a TV show. No fluff, no made up stuff to make things believeable, just raw storytelling.

Yeah that six minuttes long tracking shot still remains one of the greatest TV achievements and quite possibly the best scene in the whole show! Its the one everyone is talking about!

The amount of work and effort put into it is truely out of this world! This is something you would expect from q movie.. not a TV show, but we live in an era where the bounderies between movies and TV are becoming more Grey as TV show gets a more cinematic approach!

The rest of the episode is also great in terms of plot qnd character development! Woody Harrelson really shines as his character sees his life fall apart! This is where your choices catches up with you!

This episode is INCREDIBLE and yeah i rewatched that Six minutte one-take about 3 times!

The last 5-6 minutes of this episode, straight fire. Ripped right outta GTA mission. I was on the edge of my sofa.

Amen!!! This episode should get an emmy at least for that final six minutes. The show feels like I am reading a book of very high caliber, not unlike something from Wally Lamb or the Corrections, where the human pathos gets conveyed so well. I haven't seen a show so deserving of respect for each episode since The Wire. My opinion on Matthew McConahey's acting has risen dramatically since watching this series. The production design absolutely captures the fashion, hair styles, transportation, technology and architecture of the mid nineties. No one on this show is phoning it in. Even the cell phone was an older analog phone from that era. Even the small detail of Rust having to explain to Marty how to use it was the attention to detail that you should expect.

Possibly the best episode I've watched in my life. Ending of the episode was something else. Loved the Pizzolatto cameo. Hats off to everyone, this was insanely good.

Greetings from Lithuania.

"Who Goes There", 4th episode of "True Detective" season 1 was a highlight of the season at that point. I remember watching it back to back when it came out, and was blown away by it. After rewatching the entire first season now almost 10 later i still found this episode to be very captivating, with last 20 min or so just being absolutely stunning moviemaking. Story did move forward here, but its the mesmerizing directing and acting what made this episode so tense and unforgettable.

Basically, "Who Goes There" felt like a bit of a detour but an terrific one. Just might be the best episode in the entire 3 seasons at this point.

This is honestly this single best episode of any show I've ever seen. It stays with you, I think about it randomly and just makes me want to watch the show all over again. Though now I feel like most shows I watch are terrible after seeing such perfection in drama tv. Well done.

The pacing of this episode has you sitting on the edge of your seat with your heart pounding at dangerous levels. The one continuous shot (or incredibly edited to appear so) to end the episode is a cinematic masterpiece. It truly doesn't get any better than this, I go back and watch it every now and then just to remind me that I'm still alive.

I have only seen season 1 so far so my comments are releated to this episode and the 1st season it came from.

The best Cop thriller, buddy cop, psycho killer that got away show there is.

I didn't think anything would beat the show Justified but this is DAMN close.

The characters, the places and the crazy situations just WORKS.

And this episode is the most tense, squirm in your seat single shot scene I have ever experienced.

Okay so why are these two glorious idiots TRUE DETECTIVES!

Simple they just cant stop, there's still a killer out there and they are going to bring him in dead or alive come what may.

To be honest I give this season a 10/10 see it.

This show not only stayed true to it's story but also goes beyond and pushed characters to their limits and brings out the best of them. Making it one of its kind in the mystery genre and at this point it's safe to say this is by far the Best crime/mystery show in history of television. And this episode alone stand as the best action sequence in TV better then those big budget movie because this show has great character development Strong story, masterfully written and amazingly shot. That's right this one has it all. If anybody seriously want to get invested in a mystery series they won't find anything better then this.

I liked this show from the very first scene. It always seemed like a show that had a pretty good balance between character exploration and plot progression. What I loved even more about this show was the social commentary that it made in almost every scene between the two protagonists.

The mistery about the case was very well handled with just enough information to keep you wanting more and at the same time witholding enough information in order to maybe make a great twist later in the show. So after everything I've read about this episode and all the praise it got, I was expecting something mind blowing that would be a game changer in this season. And while this episode was very good with many strong scenes with fantastic performances and some unexpected developments, the thing about the case having a "fantastic shot scene" 7 minutes long that I've heard about, was ultimately underwhelming. Sure it was nice to see a scene done using only one take, but I was ultimately not fascinated to even bored about it. I mean there was no tension. The characters were all new, I knew none of the drug-dealers involved nor did I care about the fact that Rust used to work with them. And that is the problem I seem to notice in this season starting mainly from this episode. And that is that the mystery of the killer and how that develops is just made up as they go along sort of stuff. This episode showcases that perfectly. It seems Rust had some time ago a partnership with that gang and this is only now brought up because it serves the plot (which is also made up on the way). So was it so hard to show like a flashback that would show how he used to deal with that motorcycle gang? No... instead dialogue that could have been cut in half and made more interesting. The problem with this episode for me was that it pulled stuff out of thin air to just advance the plor forward. But, this is where I lost connection. Not knowing about Rust's connections with a motorcycle-gang made it confusing to keep up with what was happening in the episode.

It seems a single 6 minute one-take shot is enough for some people to call this a masterful achievement or some of the best TV ever. That just shows how much people are interested in character background or motivated actions, instead they only want realistical dialogue and technical achievements. For me a good story with background for the action the characters take is more important. That makes me or keeps me connected to the characters and interested in the story. The technical aspect just enhances the story, the characters and the plot development. It seems these days people only care about technical aspects... oh well...