True Detective Review: The Hour and the Day (Season 3 Episode 4)
The investigation becomes the focus on True Detective Season 3 Episode 4 “The Hour and the Day,” and with television legend David Milch’s help on Nic Pizzolatto’s script, becomes one of its best of the season.
In previous episodes, the uncovering of the facts became a source of weakness, as characters became more interesting than the piecemeal way the story is being told. Here, though, the meshing of both story and character became a true connection the show needed moving forward.
Wayne and Amelia’s dinner in 1980 is a great moment for both Mahershala Ali and Carmen Ejogo, as their awkward back and forth finds some difficulty and their conversation lacking. It’s about them trying to find each other, how to play off one another, and the subject of the Purcell children and the investigation, and some lustful flirting, seems to be the way forward.
In comparison, their argument in 1990 is a complete one-eighty, as they know exactly what buttons to push in order to truly hurt one another. Both feel diminished and betrayed by their respective careers not being respected, but fall back to the same old lust in order to solve the crisis at hand.
It’s an interesting dynamic, which hints back to True Detective Season 3 Episode 3, “The Big Never,” where Amelia wants to go to a hotel rather than find out about Julie’s reappearance.
“How can you wear that badge?”
“It’s got a clip on it.”
But the main draw of the episode, surprisingly, is the detective work. The clues become intriguing in terms of the church angle, the fingerprints on the bike, and the creator of the dolls. Each piece brings some new wrinkle to it, as no one seems to have a straight answer or is able to look Wayne or Roland in the eye during questioning.
The town is full of people who are incapable of being honest. There’s something hidden in each life, and the writing helps sell each of them in their attempts to conceal.
It could be they’re the killer, or they simply do not want to give up more than they need to for self-preservation. It gives the motivation to not only scrutinize their every detail but to see each morsel as a window into each person’s life.
The tensest scene came in the trailer sequence, the cornering of Wayne and Roland (Stephen Dorff) inside the trailer and the smashed windshield showing the detectives far out of their depth.
It also provides the best exchange of the episode (seen above). Their work is dangerous and multi-faceted, not simply connecting the dots, as the claymore and weaponry of the Trash Man’s house remind us at the end of “The Hour and the Day.”
Stephen Dorff gets a lot more to do in this episode and is wonderful throughout. His banter with Mahershala Ali has been great so far, but it’s in his conversation in the car with Tom Purcell (Scoot McNairy) and his quick jump at meeting a woman at the church where his character is given a little more life than previously.
Roland West is certainly overshadowed by the decades of Wayne Hays, but Dorff makes him a reliable co-star, dependable and loyal (at least so far, depending on the rift which caused their split), and always having his partner’s back.
Amelia continues to be an enigma of the season. One moment she is leaving behind the fight, and the next chiding Wayne for his walking away when he follows her.
She inserts herself into the Purcell home in 1980, fishing for information and getting incredibly personal with Lucy Purcell (Mamie Gummer). It feels as though there is more there to learn about her, as she contradicts what we know at every turn.
The present-day continues to feel a little supplemental, at least in terms of not exactly knowing where it fits in yet. Is it simply a framing device for the season, or a bigger piece waiting to tell us more? Wayne’s need for closure is more than enough to keep it compelling, at least. It’s still a great performance piece for Ali, as one of the final scenes provides.
The image of Wayne’s victims surrounding him as he tries to remember key events of his past is a haunting image. The dead remember him, and he them; but the rest floats away from him. It’s interesting how he only pats one on the chest in remorse, a man in a suit, as though he is a key member of his past victims. The way they appear in from the darkness of the room is really well done.
“The Hour and the Day” is True Detective crossing into its halfway mark, and delivering its best episode of the season in doing so. Its way of allowing both character and plot to connect rather than character taking the lead, as has happened up until now, gives a new breath of life to what’s ahead.
It’s in excellent writing and powerful performances where the show finds its strength. This episode finds plenty to stand out with.
What did you think of this episode of True Detective? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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True Detective airs Sundays at 9/8c on HBO.
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Kevin Lever
Kevin Lever has been following television closely for most of his life, but in starting to cover it, he has grown a further appreciation. He strives to give the blockbusters their due, and give the lesser known shows a spotlight to find more fans.