Who is the man behind the mask? If we knew that only halfway through the second season of True Detective, it wouldn't be fun. But that doesn't mean we can't have theories. One of the most supported theories out there for the True Detective killer is the therapist (yes, played by Rick Springfield). The clue that some Twitter users have spotted might all but give away why Doctor Irving Pitlor is the killer. And it was right in front of us the entire time.
In Episode 2, Ray and Ani went to visit Caspere's therapist, who knew of Ani's father. He had been treating Caspere and was able to speak towards the city manager's sexual fetishes. As his therapist, Irving would probably know that Caspere had the sex house on the side, which could be why the killer was there when Ray went to check it out and got shot. But there's a much bigger clue. If you look closely in Episode 2, you'll see the sign that might give away that Dr. Pitlor as the man behind the bird mask.
If you look at the photo below, you'll see that the picture behind Ray contains the mask that the killer wears.
Do people in Vinci just love ravens/crows/black birds, or is this something we shouldn't ignore? I'm going to say that the obscurity of the photo and the randomness of a black raven mask equals one thing... the therapist did it.
Dr. Pitlor was also mentioned in Episode 4, when Ani asked about her father about him. Eliot responded that Irving would attend seminars back in the day, which could be the Greek mythology connection we've been looking for. If Irving follows Greek mythology — from seminars at Panticapaeum, Ani's father's "commune" — he could be playing the part of Apollo, the Greek god represented by a raven/crow. We know that Irving was aware of Caspere's sexual life, which seems to hve been kept under wraps from other people.
Dr. Irving seems to have all the answers regarding Caspere, a thing for black bird faces, and a connection to the Panticapaeum, which has to be involved in all of this. Those are just too many coincidences to ignore.
Image: Lacey Terrell/HBO
