‘True Detective’ Fans Are Already Consumed With Theories After The Season 3 Premiere

HBO

True Detective returned with a third season debut on Sunday night to reveal rock-solid performances across the newest cast. Mahershala Ali was downright majestic, and people were pleasantly surprised to see Stephen Dorff holding his own while Carmen Ejogo positioned her author character for future showdowns. Meanwhile, Mamie Gummer threw serious Meryl Streep vibes, and Scoot McNairy revved up for his compelling overall turn to come. And the general vibe on social media is that, from a storytelling standpoint, True Detective appears to be back in fine form, but folks are being understandably cautious for now.

For sure, it’s far too early to judge whether this season can reclaim first-season mojo, HBO felt confident enough in their product to debut two episodes on the premiere night. Well, the audience couldn’t help themselves — the temptation to theorize began to take over while the new mystery unfurled.

Before long, folks realized that “time is a flat circle” is an inescapable premise, and the ghost of Rust Cohle rode high over the proceedings.

https://twitter.com/ScottWamplerBMD/status/1084649710168821760
https://twitter.com/CamiloAGarzonC/status/1084635131736977409

Other extremely obvious first-season vibes did not go unnoticed. The cornhusk dolls make people wonder if “more weird Carcosa sh*t” was afoot.

https://twitter.com/davevhal/status/1084646917269831680
https://twitter.com/Blacknform/status/1084694115235721216
https://twitter.com/lauren_machi/status/1084659587570003968

https://twitter.com/thehoodgoddess/status/1084669137622917122

https://twitter.com/ItsJennaB/status/1084653904720203777

One person straight-up joked that Dorff’s character is Reggie Ledoux from the first season. (Now you can’t stop seeing it, right?)

Others noted the allusions to the West Memphis Three while wondering if there’s a red-herring afoot or … more?

https://twitter.com/bookishbelle/status/1084679017964425218

Further distractions abounded, including how Dorff eerily looked like other actors — primarily Dennis Quaid but also with some Robert Redford mixed in, along with Woody Harrelson’s Martin Hart hair.

https://twitter.com/yrfatfriend/status/1084693828248862726

https://twitter.com/TimLandesJr/status/1084664765258047490

Really though, here’s how it’s gonna all go down. Just wait!