True Detective Season 3, Episode 6 recap: The 5 takeaways from Hunters in the Dark
By John Dotson
This week on True Detective, a massive piece of the puzzle is finally solved. Here are the five takeaways from the latest episode!
The last episode of True Detective ended on a massive cliffhanger that raised a ton of questions about Tom Purcell. A phone call was recorded on the hotline and it turned out to be Tom’s daughter, Julie. In the call, she hints that Tom was lying to the police and that he might have had something to do with the death of his son, Will.
This week, the series picks up where it left off with the investigators now being extremely suspicious of Tom. This results in more of his secrets being unearthed as well as a surprise visit from an old family member. Most of all, we finally get an extremely unsettling finale that answers just as many questions as it raises.
“Hunters in the Dark” is one of the best episodes to date. Let’s get right into this week’s recap.
Here are the five takeaways from the latest episode of True Detective Season 3!
#1 A second glance at Tom Purcell
The episode kicked off with a soft opening between Hays and his wife but quickly bounces right back to where we left off last week with Tom being interrogated about Julie’s phone call. The acting DA sees the phone call as an indictment on Tom which forces Roland and Hays to question Tom hard. As they press him, Tom Purcell has a mental breakdown because he is convinced of his innocence and he lets out a roaring fit of anger about the line of questioning. Honestly, it’s one of the best moments of the entire series involving Scoot Mcnairy so far.
After this, the detectives go back through and check Tom’s background once again. Unfortunately, not much checks out except one small secret Tom was hiding the entire time. Tom Purcell is actually gay. Does this make him a killer though? Absolutely not but it leads Hays and Roland to believe he might have more secrets.
#2 The curious case of Harris James
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Last episode, one of the details that was revealed was that an officer named Harris James disappeared during the 90s investigation. The officer was the same person who identified Will’s backpack at Woodard’s house. Early in the episode, we see Hays and Roland question Harris in a setting that takes place before his disappearance. The officer is now a security person for Hoyt Foods.
During the questioning, many red flags are set off to the detectives and us as viewers: 1) Why does Hoyt food need a security person like him on the payroll? 2 How come he was never acquainted with Lucy Purcell during her employment with the company?
That said, the conversation does not offer any leads or evidence to make any case that he either had something to do with the Purcell children or planting of the evidence at Woodard’s house. Hays does not seem convinced though by the look on his face as he leaves.
#3 The return of Dan O’Brien
One of the more intriguing parts of this week’s show involved Dan O’Brien, who is Lucy Purcell’s cousin. He reemerged at a diner to tell the detectives what they have been dying to know but the problem is he demands assurances in the form of seven grand in return. He also appears to be extremely strung out and paranoid since we last saw him at Will Purcell’s funeral.
During the interaction at the diner, he’s cryptic but he manages to offer a few hints about the information he wishes to share. He first insists that Tom Purcell is not the culprit of the kids disappearing. He also suggests Lucy Purcell’s overdose in Las Vegas was actually a murder and not an accident. He implies that whoever did it is still trying to find Julie and that’s bad news for both detectives because they have a head start. Hays tries to intimidate him into saying more but Dan does not budge. He then leaves the diner but Hays takes down his license plates while doing so.