In a weird departure from the topic at hand, Hart invites Cohle to dinner with his family.Ĭohle shows up to the dinner – which he put off for as long as possible – drunk with a bouquet of flowers in his hand.
Hart doesn’t like all of the assumptions Cohle is making and thinks he’s being prejudice. He thinks she was a prostitute, amongst other specifics. Cohle’s inspection of the woman is very detailed. A cop at the scene thinks the symbols are satanic. A strange object which we later find out is referred to as a “devil’s nest” is also there. The woman has had antlers taped to her head, her body is naked, there’s a symbol on her back, and she’s bent forward towards a tree. We flashback to 1995 when they arrive at the crime scene where Dora Lange’s body resides. Later in the episode we learn that Hart specifically requested Cohle stay with him on the case. He says he uses it as a form of meditation. Adding to the obscurity, Cohle is not religious but has a cross hung up over his bed. Hart points out to the new investigators that one of Cohle’s odder points was his giant notebook that earned him the nickname “the taxman.” Hart describes his partner as a smart, quiet man who lives alone in an empty apartment with a mattress on the floor. He later asks for a break so he can go get some beer. Indeed: When we first see Cohle for his interview (they’re conducted separately), he’s insisting on smoking in the office. The new investigators want to hear Hart talk about Cohle, who they’ve heard is a strange guy. The episode kicks off with video tape of the commencement of the interviews with the detectives in 2012. They bring them back in for questioning because some of their files were ruined during Hurricane Rita (September 2005). The story throughout the season is framed by their retelling of the investigation to two cops in 2012. Prior to this case, the two have been working together for three months. True Detective season 1 is the story of two Louisiana detectives played by Woody Harrelson (Hart, who describes himself as a “regular dude with a big ass dick”) and Matthew McConaughey (Cohle – more on him later) who investigate the wicked murder of a woman in a sugar cane field in 1995.