For weeks, fans have been analyzing every frame of the True Detective season two intro in the hopes of learning something about the show. Last night, it actually paid off.
Spoilers for True Detective season 2 ahead!
Every week, the intro to True Detective changes. The song—“Nevermind” by Leonard Cohen—always plays, but the lyrics appear at different times. Sometimes, the intro only plays a certain part of the song. Verses cycle in and out from episode to episode, leading people to think that the intro must mean sometime. For the most part, this hasn’t been true...except for last night.
Here’s the intro to episode seven of TD, uploaded by KushindaLOL:
Around the :33 mark, Cohen sings “and truth that dies.” At this same moment, the picture of Taylor Kitsch bounces on the screen, in tandem with the beat. Later, around the 1:03 mark, Cohen sings “I could not kill, the way you kill” while focusing on Vince Vaugh’s character.
Compare to what actually happens in the episode. Woodrugh gets taken out, and Frank kills his former right-hand man after finding out about his betrayal. The intro actually foreshadowed it!
For comparison’s sake, here’s the first intro:
I’ve been watching the intros to other episodes closely, and this is the first time the lyrics and visuals aligned in such a specific way. It’s just a small detail, and I doubt very many people watched it last night and suddenly felt spoiled over the episode. Hell, it might have not even been intentional. But still! It’s cool to look back and realize the subtle ways in which the show telegraphs what’s going to happen.
Now if only the intro could explain what the fuck is going on in True Detective anymore, that would be great.