True Detective Season 3 Ep. 3 Recap: 'The Big Never'

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After setting the mood and getting the ball rolling with its first pair of episodes, True Detective settles into a satisfying slow burn with "The Big Never."

Like its predecessors "The Big Never" expertly straddles the years Wayne's mind keeps cycling through. In 1980, he begins to pick apart Julie and Will's story about going to see a friend's new puppy. The hunch leads them back to the Purcell home, where they discover cryptic notes. Another outdoor search brings up more straw dolls. However, finding an old photo of Will, his hands in the same prayer pose in which his body was left, make it clear the kids were going somewhere else and meeting someone other than their classmate Boyle. 

In 2015, Wayne finds his own story being picked and prodded, first by his son Henry, who brings up the Purcell case to his doctor after his latest memory lapse; then by Elisa, who produces receipt after receipt--a list of former residents authorities never talked to, sightings of a mysterious brown sedan, an unknown black man kids saw lurking around Devil's Den--of holes in Wayne and Roland's investigation. These tidbits, like her assertion of a pedophile ring last week, could be dismissed as another dead end, save for the fact a witness also noticed a brown car in the area during the time of the kidnapping. Wayne regains his wits enough to get up and leave the room. However, getting rid of the questions swirling around in his own brain isn't as easy, especially when they take the form of Amelia.

"Did you think you could just go on and never once have to look back?" she asks a visibly shaken Wayne. For a man who's gotten through life by not reflecting on it too much, her last inquiry seems to pierce him the most. Though separated by death, these two are bound together by the case that dominated their lives and caused conflict in their marriage. It's the only way to explain why Amelia and Wayne's idea of a date night is mostly spent parked in front of the Walgreens where Julie's prints were found; or why Amelia follows through on her promise to put on her best bookish but sexy dress and flirt with officers handling the case. Wayne meets her excitement with disgust, leading to a tense standoff between the two. Similar to the disbelieving glare he gave a grown-up Henry, Wayne has little to no patience for those who view the Purcell case as anything other than grim, torturous work. While he clearly feels genuine sadness over never finding Julie or her kidnapper, part of his defensiveness reads like he has something to hide.

That much is suggested by the officers interviewing he and Roland in 1990, where it looks like most of the action will be taking place. Roland, now a lieutenant, reaches out to Wayne about reworking the Purcell case. After exchanging a few barbs over drinks, Wayne accepts his offer. We already know the reopening of the investigation won't lead to finding Julie. What we don't know, and what Wayne would probably like to forget, is what new bones will be buried in the woods.

Other Thoughts:

• While Tom appears to have gotten sober and religious by 1990, Lucy sadly succumbed to her demons.

• Most parents have had the experience of momentarily losing their child in a store; but Wayne's Defcon One reaction illuminates how much the Purcell has left his mark, and strained his relationship with his kids, Becca in particular. 

• This Week In Casual Racism: Wayne gets called boy by a witness after asking to search his home 

• This Week In Not-So-Casual Racism: Brett, otherwise known as the Trash Man, gets jumped by paranoid rednecks spooked by his talking to their kids. Oh, and he's called "boy" at gunpoint for good measure.