I enjoyed the finale but the end was way too abrupt for me. They could've easily drawn out the mystery a few more episodes. How about a chase? At least let us get to know Childress a little more. He was an interesting character, complete with a bizarre British accent. Papania and Gilbough deserved a little more camera time too. It was like it was a 10 episode series that had to suddenly end after 8 episodes.
The best thing about the series was the Hart and Cohle bromance. They had great chemistry. The plot was highly flawed, too much Yellow King mumbo jumbo that ultimately went nowhere. Dd they ever say what all that stick art was about? What was on the video tape??? To say that those questions will be revealed in season two doesn't work for me. They promised too much only to have the show end pretty much like every crime show ends.
It didn't live up to its promise for me. Without McConaughey and Woody Harrelson next season they'll need to do a better job with the plot.
First things first. The British accent has been mentioned on the internet quite a bit asking why.
I thought that was pretty simple. When you walk in his house, he has about a few thousand VHS tapes. I assume he watches a different movie each day, and that the British accent was his accent for the day. I mean he is a psychopath so multiple personalities isn't stretching.
Secondly, the bromance was the real focus of the show, the murders and case secondary.
The show was more about the evolution of both men than the case itself.
By the end of the show, both men had changed quite dramatically.
Rust, who was the pessimist the entire show finally showed signs of optimism at the end. His out of body near death experience change his view on the light winning.
Marty, the cheating and lying sob, finally calls Rust his "friend" and he could no longer lie to his wife and kids when he told them he was fine and ok then started to break down in front of them. Marty,the guy in 1995 who wasn't interested in solving the case and was more interested in popularity and his own ego, felt he had to do the right thing by helping Rust this time.
The Yellow King mumbo jumbo is more of a literary reference. You'll have to cite The King in Yellow book to understand. I thought the video tape was self explanatory. Girl was being raped and then "sacrificed". Carcosa is a location in the book.
As for the rest of the cult, I thought that was explained when Rust woke up and was telling Marty they didn't get them all and Marty says we won't get them all that's not how the world works but we did get our guy. The news lady saying "The state attorney general and the FBI have dismissed rumors that the killer was related to Senator Edwin Tuttle."