‘True Detective’ Recap: ‘The Hour and the Day’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

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If there’s one thing I’m quickly coming to learn about the new season of True Detective, it’s that this season is going to find a way to surprise us in just about every single way imaginable. Because I truly thought we were settling into a pseudo routine when it comes to this year’s case since the show has consistently worked to focus heavily on what makes Detective Hays tick while offering up little tidbits here and there about the Purcell case. But last night’s episode changed all of that, since ‘The Hour and the Day’, found a way to bust some parts of this case wide open, all while exploring some fascinating elements when it comes to how this case impacted the lives of everyone it touched.
 
If anything, this is simply a brilliant stroke of storytelling through and through because not only did it take me off guard, it also managed to create a sense of fear and urgency that permeated every single second of the tale. But, before we dive deeply into the all of the incredible elements that this episode took the time to explore, I want to take a moment and talk about the bombshells that came about in 1990 and 2015, because they are quite the big deal when it comes to this case. After all, Wayne finally caught a glimpse of Julie in ’90 thanks to the security tapes that he went through, and that likely sets up a hunt for the missing girl down the road that will either result in a surprising encounter between her and Hays and West or add more wrinkles to the mystery if she disappears into the world without a trace, and if that happens, well that’s the kind of thing, that could haunt a man for twenty years…
 
Speaking of 2015, well it would seem that there is something bigger brewing here as well, since Wayne took the time to have a face-to-face sit down with Elisa Montgomery to discuss her strange blindsiding of Wayne during their last interview and well, this made for an interesting moment of cat and mouse between the two of them. Because neither of them wanted to admit their intentions, or the truth but it was all upon display for the audience to see in that, Wayne is clearly planning to close the case out once and for all, and Elisa…well she has her hands on new evidence and information regarding the case that she’s clearly not willing to share just yet. But both of these moments are huge in their own right, and undoubtedly will come into focus in the weeks to come and I was just outright surprised to see the series drop giant nuggets like this into the audience’s lap at the midway point of the season. 

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​However, I did make mention of the fact that this episode took the time to explore some fascinating elements when it comes to other characters, and much of that arrived in the 1980 segment of the story. Because we got to see first-hand, just how much losing Will and Julie impacted Roy and Lucy Purcell and well…it broke them and understandably so and the death and disappearance of their kids, put the bottle in Lucy’s hands and sent her mind to a reflective and regretful place and Roy, well…he simply sank to the lowest possible level and outright admitted to Roland that he was ready to die. Something that prompted Detective West to do the right thing but really, when all is said and done when it comes to this storyline, these are wrinkles you just don’t see in mysteries all that often, and I applaud this show for going to this disturbing but realistic place.
 
Yet, the show wasn’t quite done with exploring the fallout of this case in 1980. Because fear, and what it can do to a small community was also a focus of this tale, and we saw that on display while Wayne and Roland dug into some new clues surrounding the mystery man with one eye since everywhere they went to gather potential information on this man led to heated and uncomfortable confrontations and to top it all off, fear also sent others in the town over the edge as well. For a chance encounter between Brett Woodard and two girls on the side of the road led to an ugly encounter with the men who beat the tar out of him and warned him to stay away from kids and well, Brett’s PTSD and desire for combat in this matter, will clearly change things going forward since his choice to plant a claymore at his front door escalated this matter to the nth degree…
 
So, yeah, this one was loaded to the brim with all kinds of twists and turns and juicy character moments and it also deserves some serious credit for offering up a parallel to modern day when it comes to race relations since the charged scenes at the trailer park, and at the old lady’s house reminded us of the fact that racism has been alive and well in America for some time and in the end, this episode was simply breathtaking. It covered so much and moved at a nightmarish pace and I loved it. Because this one clearly set up the second half of the season and if the clues in this episode are any indicator of what to expect, then we are in for a wild ride where the truth begins to reveal itself in fast and furious fashion, and if anything, I’m excited yet nervous to proceed, because I’m fairly certain, it only gets uglier from here on out. Until next time.  

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