Idea map 9: Palimpsests.

Brief notes today; no Internet access except through my cell phone's portable hot spot, which is fine, but not quite the same thing.

I've talked a lot about palimpsests in various contexts with regard to True Detective. The key one is the palimpsest of the crime scene and the current day, which I discussed in a previous idea map. There are other palimpsests about, however, so I'll briefly address them, then come back to this idea map and flesh them out more.

One of the legacies of the cult's activities is the way their actions destroy the survivors' lives. Kelly, the girl rescued from the LeDoux encampment, survives with severe psychological trauma and catatonia, such that Cohle is the first person she's spoken to since shortly after her rescue (the time is indefinite). Toby, who had been a student at one of the Tuttle schools, is now a male prostitute in the French Quarter. The past sexual abuse is the text and history beneath Kelly and Toby's current circumstances.

Similarly, the quasi-normal day-to-day lives of the inhabitants of south Louisiana are laid over the cult's activities. The political power of the cult members ensures that the murders and abuse do not surface. The normal is a thin veil over the occult.

It's tough to call which one is the writing and which one is the palimpsest, Carcosa or south Louisiana. Both are surreal places. Both have unbelievable events occurring. Both are led by the powerful and the corrupt. 

Cohle and Hart's private investigation overlays the police investigations--the multiple investigations, that is--and both of those overlay the crime scene.

This is the last of my idea maps. Next, more thoughts from other sources.