True Detective Season 3 Episode 8: Now Am Found Review

Keith NoakesFebruary 25, 201967013 min

For our review of the last episode of True Detective, click here.

Synopsis: Wayne struggles to hold on to his memories, and his grip on reality, as the truth behind the Purcell case is finally revealed. (HBO)

Writer: Nic Pizzolatto

Director: Daniel Sackheim

Rating: TV-MA

Running Time: 75mins

Airs: Sundays at 9pm on HBO Canada (Canada)/HBO (United States)

The Purcell case is finally closed (perhaps not in the way you think) as the season managed to connect all the timelines, for the most part (you will know why below), in a satisfying way while giving the characters a somewhat poetic resolution.

This episode would start off with a glimpse of the time between the 90s and 2015 timeline where Hays was a security guard at a university where Amelia taught. From there, it didn’t waste time by going back to what ended last week’s episode with 90s Hays in the car with Edwin Hoyt. They drove down back roads where they could get some privacy. Ultimately, this was an attempt by Hoyt to find out what Hays knew about James’ disappearance. He suspected Hays had something to do with it and didn’t believe his lies. Meanwhile, Hoyt claimed to not know anything about Julie Purcell (he wasn’t responsible). He got frustrated but he would not get the truth he was looking for. Hoyt was a powerful man so his warning to Hays to back off his investigation would be enough for him to consider actually backing off his investigation.

Hays reunited with Amelia and had an important conversation about their lives and their marriage. He changed his mind about telling her the truth. Amelia wanted to hear it, regardless of how bad it may be. This secret would loom large as their whole relationship would be defined by the Purcell case. They didn’t really know one another and from that point on, each decided to walk away from the Purcell case and have fresh starts. Meanwhile, a lonely West (in what was a hilarious scene) would start a fight in a biker bar and then be comforted by a stray dog afterwards (thus explaining his kennel).

We would also witness the moment in the 80s when Hays left major crimes. Amelia had written a piece in the newspaper about the Purcell case where he was suspected as its anonymous source. Instead of agreeing to write an op-ed of his own thus making her out to be a liar, Hays chose to quit. West was not thrilled with that choice to say the least. Hays would later confront Amelia about it, leading them to break up as he questioned her motives in wanting a relationship with him.

In 2015, Hays and West were trying to track down Mr. June whose real name was Junius Watts. Next, they went to the Hoyt estate that had long since been vacant. Hays and West found the pink room! This was when the fact that Julie Purcell was close this whole time finally sunk in. They would eventually find Watts (Stephen Williams) who was waiting for them. In fact, he was the one waiting in his car outside Hays’ home but he never could find the courage to approach him to tell him the truth. Watts would have a lot to say about Julie Purcell.

The truth was that Hoyt’s unstable daughter Isabel (Lauren Sweetse) in essence bought Julie Purcell from her mother to replace the daughter (she looked like Julie) she lost in a car accident (that also took her husband). They all stayed in the pink room together and Watts would take care of them (Edwin Hoyt was away a lot because he wanted little to do with his daughter). Isabel was taking medication due to her depression after the accident (that didn’t last long). She would play with Will and Julie in that spot in the woods.

Will’s death was an accident while playing in the woods. James would plant the evidence at Woodard’s house while giving Lucy Purcell money in exchange for Julie. Isabel was feeding Julie her medication to make her think she was really her daughter but this wouldn’t last long as memories of her former life were coming back. Watts would help her escape, however, they would never meet on the outside. Isabel would commit suicide while Watts tried to find her and he did, at a convent. Watts was ready to die as he could no longer bare knowing what happened, however, Hays and West let him live.

Hays and West would later visit the convent where they learned that she had died of HIV 20 years prior (or was she?). They would say their goodbyes at her gravestone and as they left they would run into who was later revealed to be Julie’s childhood crush Mike (Nathan Wetherington) and his daughter Lucy (Ivy Dubreuil). The case was solved but Hays and West were lacking closure. West offered to stay with Hays to help take care of him.

The nuns made up the story about Julie’s death to protect her from those who had been looking for her. Hays would track down Mike and when he got there, he saw Lucy and her mother who happened to look like Julie Purcell. However once he got there, he forgot where he was and why he was there. He asked Julie for help (she knew who he was) before Henry and Becca (Deborah Ayorinde) picked him up. Once home, Hays found a note he had written with the address of where he was and gave it to Henry. Instead of outright dismissing it, he held on to it.

While sitting on his porch with West and the rest of his family, Hays would reminisce of the time he proposed to Amelia shortly after their 80s break up. The episode and the season would end with him disappearing within the jungles of Vietnam.

Overall, Now Am Found was an amazing episode of True Detective that beautifully wrapped up what was a comeback season. This episode focused on smaller character moments on the way while connecting the season’s three timelines together. Although the 90s-2015 timeline connection perhaps wasn’t the strongest, leaving out what happened to Amelia (though their post-Purcell period may not have been the most exciting), it was still nice to see Hays and West come back together by the end and get the closure they desperately needed even if they didn’t realize it. While this season and the first are likely not connected after all, it still gave us a satisfying resolution which pretty much answered all the questions despite changing the suspect one last time (though from one Hoyt family member to another). Little seeds were planted throughout the season and they all blossomed here. The open ending was fine as Hays got the closure he was looking for and he could rest satisfied. The acting from Ali, Ejogo, and Dorff was spectacular here with Ejogo and Dorff getting proper sendoffs for their characters. Bring on season four!

Score: 10/10

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