TRUE DETECTIVE: The Hidden Importance Of Pete Prior's Ending 

Do you think that the finale of season 4 deserves to be the lowest rated in the shows history? Let me know your thoughts below!

When Clark sputtered “Time is a flat circle” I knew Reddit was exploding at that exact moment.

I thought the season was great. I think most thing were explained. I always go back to Rose regarding ghosts and when they come to you. Navarro mother trying to communicate with her, Julia’s being mental illness. In case of Liz she used the white noise to silence them. Remember the refrigerator seen when she thought she heard something. Almost everyone shedded their trauma in the past. I think Navarro sent out into the snow to find out who she was once she received her real name. Also I think Pete’s wife new what happened at the research center because of the laundry mat and the ladies going there.

The relationship didn’t change. His father forced his son to kill him. He was deeply hurt that Peter honored his vocation over “Blood”.

When Hank said for the last time "Remember, blood is blood", it always felt to me that it was more of an ominous threat: that Pete's wife and son would abandon him too, just like his father ended up alone. In a sense, that history would repeat itself, because it is in their genes, no matter what Pete was trying to do to improve in his life.

Hmmmm that’s an interesting thought but I looked at Pete killing his dad as popping his cherry into the do what you have to do that’s right for justice club. Another thing that all the seasons have in common is that there is corruption with the “higher ups” and the detectives had to do things that seemed bad but were actually good. Pete knew that his dad was part of the corruption that killed Annie K (I’m sure he heard the argument going on) and let’s face it his dad was a total jerk. When it came to are you willing to do the right thing for justice he made the right decision. Rust talking about killing the tweaker during his time in narcotics. Hart killing Reggie and Liz and Navarro killing the wife beater. They all have in common the fact that they ARE justice because the system failed the victims. The scene with him in the end with Pete was acceptance.

I enjoyed the season as a whole but i knew by episode 4 that unless the finale was going to be 2+ hrs long, it wasn't going to cut it.

I think it was great. We can't Compare to s1 which isn't fair. But def the most talked about since s1

The hawaii cup is the same cup navarro gives danvers when she warms her up. The hawaii cup

It started off pretty good, then completely flatlined. The ghost images really didn't go anywhere. Unnecessary flashbacks. And who placed the tongue on the floor. And the scientist committed murder over bacteria. Pete was getting bullied each episode before he killed his father. Overall, this could have been good, but it seems that the writers forgot what they were writing about.

Ya, Pete was really underrated.

This was brilliant. Yes, Pete’s story has stayed with me.

Appreciate the work you put in for this season, as well as all the other shows and movies you cover

It was my favorite season finale.

People forget that the ending of Season 1 was divisive as well.

Finally! That scene made the entire season unfold as a precursor to Pete "becoming Rust". I doubt we've seen the last of him.

This is the best finale after S1. It was brilliant. - If you want to know what I think happened to Navarro - watch The Matriarch - Hulu * she is not alive - she went home - Sedna - also I am fine with the "circle" being something else - as it is in life - celts - druids - etc. have used the circle since the beginning of civilizations - meaning the "circle of life" - Traffickers and other dark players distorted the symbol - the Easter Eggs were just that - Easter Eggs.

I don’t have the love affair w/S1 & I don’t have an idea of what it means to be a ‘True Detective’ in that world. But I do have a very high regard towards Peter & the actor was great. He is the product of an abusive relationship: Hank was not a good dad & a corrupt cop. Peter shot him b/c he was about to commit murder just after murdering Ottis. As a policeman, Peter did the right thing. He needs to find comfort or acceptance in that, but it will always be a part of him. When you / others say Peter was the TRUE Detective, my reaction is that you / others minimize what Dancers & Navarro did to solve the murders. They all did their part. I look forward to the next season. It occurred to me watching this video that it may be about Peter, in the future, having to solve a murder mystery w/all the emotional baggage from this season.

Great analysis! Was Pete the only one who didn't have a supernatural experience? Do you think that the characters may have embraced the supernatural to help them deal with the terrible realities that were happening around them? For some it seemed to be an escape from responsibility for their actions where for others the belief is what empowered them to rise up. With Danvers she actively denied it until at the end when she finally acknowledged her grief and found comfort in maybe her son isn't really gone despite the reality that he has died. I'm really looking forward to Season 5 with Issa Lopez. 🙂 I absolutely loved this season and all your analysis!

I thought the season was great. I really liked the final reveals about the deaths of the scientists, the confession, and Annie’s murder, but I did have a lot of questions that weren’t answered. The callbacks to S1 could have been seen as a solid storytelling tool, but I was disappointed that we didn’t get answers, e.g. the weird stuff in Clark’s trailer with the spiral overhead. I wish there had been better resolutions to the unanswered mysteries. That said, I was really invested in the story and many of the characters, especially Evangeline, Pete, Qavvik and Rose. Great performances all round. Despite the overwhelming number of unanswered questions, I still loved this season and was fascinated by the story along the way. And yes, I think Pete exemplified the True Detective of S4. I was so happy he didn’t die! 😅😂❤

IMO, it was a retelling of biting the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Pete was an innocent, pure intentions absent malice. Danvers and Navarro were executioners because both were malicious in understandable ways. Pete learned the truth and brought light to the shared sin for everyone else to learn. Pete found himself having to choose as a direct result of his discovery and everyone else's. Hank was corrupt. The patricide was taking the bite. Afterwards, his innocence was lost and shared the sin with them both. No innocents left. He was the most compelling character.

Great video. Thank you for shining a light on this character. He did remind me of Rust in many ways. The way he walked and stood and other mannerisms. His face was shaped like Rust Cohle too. But when we first met Pete, he was innocent and not yet encumbered with the weight of what he was about to go through and what he would do and have to live with for the rest of his life. What a shocker it was when he shot his dad! He was one of my favorites and interesting. I loved Rose too.

Liked the show and the ending

Wow. This is THE best review of TD:NC I’ve viewed since the finale. Keep up the good work BP! NO, the finale didn’t answer enough questions but it was still better than 5.4

the whole idea of disposing the body to save Pete was just stupid, because his use of weapon was perfectly in line.

I really enjoyed this season but agree that the finale felt fushed.

I think I would have liked it better if the story had been told from the POV of a much older version of Pete looking back on the events, years after.

I really enjoyed season 4.

Agree with everything you said 😊

This was a great analysis! Thank you!

He was the only character I really liked in that massive disappointment of a show!

"Time is a flat circle"

I loved it ! ❤❤❤

I liked it.

Darwin was not cuddled up to him at all. Peter has never shown Darwin any affection. and avoids his parental responsibilities.

Because maybe ten years ago there Was night as many things to watch I don't know but I liked this show

Anyone else notice that in general (of course there are exceptions), men seem to hate the season and women don’t? I also hoped to find a RU-vid or podcast hosted by a woman but realized they are almost all male hosts (except vanity fair which has a mix).

Problem isn't open endings or genders, problem is character writing. It's abysmal, worst of any TD. The opening was magnificent though that was largely piggybacked off of Ferris Bueller's Day Off and The Beatles. It had amazing potential and the paranormal / supernatural was it's greatest strength. Sadly they chickened out of seeing this though. Back to the characters, when there's no one to be engaged with, what urgency is there for the viewer no matter the outcome? Cast was stellar! Was poor writing that I'm sad to say does make this one of the worst TD's. I've seen all of them at least 3 times and this one I doubt will ever see as many viewings. I was into it until episode 4, 4 and 5 really dragged. No character development, at least none by way of likability or relatability. It takes the worst traits of authority figures and put it on our 2 protagonists. Guys, girls and anyone in-between isn't going to be likable with this character writing. Such a shame. I hope they have better writers for season 5. Give us relatable characters with interesting life philosophies. This makes for engaging and edifying watching. It wasn't all bad but I'll reiterate again it was the character writing that ruined this season. It had other weaknesses but this is what ruined it. It had other strengths that could of flown so much higher with better character writing. What a shame. And my recommendations for serieses with actually interesting characters would be The Serpent; Mindhunter, The Bridge (all seasons and Sofia Helin is an actually complex and interesting character) Fringe (Anna Torv is another brilliantly cast and written lead), The Curse (Emma Stone as a co-lead is absolutely magnificent, it's awkward but still relatable on a human level), and my last one isn't crime orientated but adding it for it's diverse cast and brilliant writing 'Beef'. (Last last one might also check out 'Tin Star'.) I've leaned quite heavily on what some may call 'woke' but I generally agree with most wokeness. This season of TD didn't feel woke at all :/.

Yup amd look his hair the circle. Poor petes mind forever locked in

I wonder if Pete will have a role in Season 5

Peter Prior was the only True Detective

I want to know more about Rose and her story

Anyone thought he looked like a young Matt Damon?

All the seasons are connected, it’s not just cheap call backs I promise

You know Cohle was crazy, don't you?

If you meet a goddess, what do you do? a) question about other universes? b) ask to become immortal? c) tries to obtain powers; ... z) wants to know your fucking indigenous name. Dude, I cursed at that part.

finales of every t.v. series is always divisive.

Nice theory and great development. Although I don’t think that the screenwriters were so accurate and deep into the characters as you are. They rushed the finale, and the most disappointing arc was Pete’s, who has been, as you pointed out in the video, the true detective. Hope the Max guys hired you as a screenwriter. They’re running out of good ones for the True Detective franchise

None of it mattered. Most subplots were a complete waste of time with zero resolution. This show should be core material in script writing 101 as the textbook example of how not to write a story.

I think Pete is a younger Rust. Time is a flat circle

He defended the police cheif and somehow you turned that into murder... so there's that.

lol nice i felt like every scene he was in he would start out smart then as the scene ended he would have his dumb look on

The swirl’s final meaning made me 😂. What a pethetic group of writers and terrible director. Peter and Quave were my fav characters. Peter was the only true detective. The finale should have shown more of how he spent his time doing all of the research which would better explain his wife’s point of view. Denvers, Navarro and the Capt should have been handcuffed at the end. Peter should have been the one interviewed at the end not Denvers. BUT that couldn’t happen because Peter was a man. Issa Lopez could not dare make this season end with a man being the hero. That would not have supported her narrative of: there is no true happiness, all women have mental problems, suicide relieves pain and men are stupid.

Pete was the only interesting character this season for me. Though even he isn't as good as first True Detective characters. Overall, Night Country was mostly boring and frustrating. The callbacks to season 1 felt like desperate 'Memberberries' to try and make this feel more canonical than the previous seasons. But it still feels even less like True Detective than season 2 or 3.

The best part of the women led True Detective, was the guy side character? 😅You’re playing with fire BrainPilot, not saying you’re wrong, but you’re playing with fire…or maybe taunting the polar bear.

It was still better than season 2

I want my 6 hours back. Lame.

You thought way too much into to this, homie. I guarantee that the writer's and show runner put zero thought into Pete's character development.

It is an interesting arc when you take one of the best seasons of TV ever created and manage to end up with the stinking mess that was season 4. The fact they floated a few season one easter eggs that ended up being meaningless was emblematic of how far they had fallen. I hope this was the coup de grace and they let the corpse rest. We always have season one-it should be enough. All shows can’t be a Fargo.

The time is a flat circle shtick is getting really stupid.

anyone who enjoyed this season needs to have their head examined

I know this got Views but HBO is gonna regret brining Issa Lopez back for season 5.

youtube tip - if you want people to watch, don't get a computer to talk for you

Pete was the "True Detective." Although I doubt the writer realized what she was doing. This series was ghastly bad.

A lot of nothing in this video.

I really disliked the Women Ninja Squad... that was so stupid. Also the references to the amazing season 01 woke expectations that it could not fullfill. That is why it fell flat on the stomach, even though it is not all that bad... aside the Women Ninja Squad. Cover Constellation!

He was the only good character in the show

What an abysmal disappointment of a finale..!!

Why are people acting like “time is a flat circle” is some silly line only an idiot would say? Never heard of eternal recurrence by the way of Nietzsche then? Sound awful similar!

You guys just have to find something with the time is a flat circle to justify your season one fix don’t you leave it alone it has nothing to do with anything it was they get all the season one fanboy flapping and excited It led nowhere it solved nothing

There was nothing hidden or important in this show. Hot meaningless garbage start to finish. More thought was put in to analyzing it than was put in to writing it. It’s trash.

Dumb season no doubt. no need to create lore. BS and nonsensical drama.

If anyone thinks this show was good, their brain has no pilot...

Most of the audience had huge expectations for the “True Detective” series because of seasons past, and that’s not really fair. It was an alright season, not the best but solid and entertaining. People need to stop projecting expectations and enjoy things for what they are.