On 'True Detective,' Maggie's Not That Innocent

Maggie Hart's appearances on True Detective have been brief, but like a rip in the middle of a pastoral landscape, it's left an impression. Most episodes she plays the woman scorned, but with this latest True Detective installment, she plays both victim and victimizer, a hardened version of a past caricature. Her "in the present" interview scenes are dripping with enough saveur noire that she might as well have a cigarette holder in her right hand, and a boa in her left.

Although True Detective has been opening up the possibility for twists now for a few episodes, this latest episode widened the field of possible suspects even further. Although Rust was an option from the beginning, now Marty's dark sides (and there are many) have emerged. The big question throughout the series is, of course, the "unsolvable" murder mystery behind the antler-adorned, pagan-inspired serial killings, and now that we're nearing the end, predictions have begun to roll in. Emily Nussbaum, television critic at The New Yorker, recently tweeted:

Even though it may seem unlikely that Marty is the serial killer, it's definitely possible, since Rust's continued investigation leads him to suggest a "cover-up." Rust's dialogue hops off its high, disillusioned horse in this episode, leaving him to speculate that the "entire fucking state" of Louisiana needs counseling. His violent rejection of Maggie after they have sex shows another side of the flawed — but now human — Rust Cohle.

While the TV world makes speculations, I want to throw in my own: I think Marty may be involved in the killings, and I think Maggie knows a lot more than she lets on. Her '20s-style obfuscation and denial tactics aren't fooling me, and even though we may never watch this story from her perspective, I think she knows more than even the omniscient flashback camera lets on. Since we only have two more episodes in this one-season mystery, I hope we find out more of her side of the story next week.

Image: HBO