The Dark Case continues with a third series and probably the best and darkest. In 1980, two children go missing, and a pair of investigators in the Arkansas town of West Finger search first for the missing two children and then begin the hunt for the killer after the first dead person is discovered.
The first season is iconic, and the third continues what was best about the first season's eight episodes. Once again, we follow the investigators through different timelines.
The first year we follow is the actual "Dark" case in 1980 with the pair of investigators Wayne Hays and Roland West. The second year is 1990, when the pair of investigators are thrown back on the same case because a lead that no one had counted on has come up. And the final timeline is from 2015, as Hays recaps his investigation with a TV documentary.
All three timelines are sure to gradually reveal a very convoluted case that will reveal all sorts of unexpected character connections, so there will be no shortage of big surprises.
Screenwriter and showrunner Nic Pizzolatto has managed to surprise enough in the first few episodes to reveal a plot that he's proud of as a writer.
No star actors will appear in the lead this time around, with all the money and praise going into the story to keep the critics from getting star names. Mahershala Ali may have won an Oscar for Moonlight and a Golden Globe for Green Book, but still no one knows him. Stephen Dorff may be more famous, but only by a little bit because he was in the first Blade. In other casting I found Meryl Streep's daughter – Mamie Gummer and of course "Cyborg" Ray Fisher. Really, this series isn't about the stars as much as it is about the feeling and overall mood that Nic Pizzolatto can do.
In the first episode we are introduced to the main characters and the case. A murder has happened and what path the detective chooses is up to him. The small town is full of gossip, and by the time the case is solved and the killer is arrested, the neighborhood around the Purcell house is plunged into a great distrust of its own neighbors. In 1980, the investigation is still lighter, but when the case is reopened a decade later, old wrongs return and, more importantly, the story's main characters are even more scarred.
The best thing about the first few episodes is that you watch with your mouth open for a story that gets more interesting by the minute, and because of the lead, Detective Wayne Hays, you can't tear yourself away from watching.
The first and second episodes simply captivated me, and the gradual uncovering of every little detail and clue to solving the loss of the children and their murder is the most interesting thing January brought us on HBO.
Rating:
- episode - 90%
- episode - 95%
Original edition of this article 15. January 2019 – Kritiky.cz
