Popular wisdom on narrative fiction suggests being concise, economical. Choose the right words and make them few. Say it fast. The world that is fascinating in your mind as a writer, that you can see so clearly, loses speed and intensity if you get too verbose. Know what it important, necessary, to tell your story,…
There is only one episode left in season three of True Detective, and I think, at last, I may understand the mania that compels Wayne Hays. He is seeing the Purcell case through, not because he wants to or takes any real pleasure in it at this point, but because he needs to see how…
The problem with a show being so close to great that you can reach out and touch it, catch the hint on the tip of your tongue, is that the metric used to measure its quality becomes much more rigorous; the less we expect, the happier we are when something merely clears the bar. True…
Let us address first the peculiarity of jumping into episodic reviews, five episodes into True Detective, season three, and then speak no more of it. I recognize that it is an odd and perhaps jarring decision, but to be fair, True Detective is an odd and often jarring show. Time’s a flat circle, so let’s…