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The Best Episodes of True Detective

Every episode of True Detective ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of True Detective!

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An American anthology police detective series utilizing multiple timelines in which investigations seem to unearth personal and professional secrets of those involved, both within or outside the law.

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Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Fan Favorite
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    True Detective Season 1 Episode 4 - Who Goes There?
    9.0/10(200 votes)

    #1 - Who Goes There?

    S1:E4

    Hart and Cohle hunt for their newly identified suspect, Reggie Ledoux, a meth cooker who shared a cell with Dora Lange's husband and recently skipped parole. As Hart's personal life collapses around him, Cohle immerses himself in an old criminal identity from his narco days, contacting an East-Texas biker gang known to deal with their primary suspect.

    Director:Cary Joji Fukunaga
    Writer:Nic Pizzolatto

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  2. True Detective Season 1 Episode 8 - Form and Void
    9.0/10(198 votes)

    #2 - Form and Void

    S1:E8

    An overlooked detail provides Hart and Cohle with an important new lead in their 17-year-old case.

    Director:Cary Joji Fukunaga
    Writer:Nic Pizzolatto

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  3. True Detective Season 1 Episode 5 - The Secret Fate of All Life
    8.9/10(185 votes)

    #3 - The Secret Fate of All Life

    S1:E5

    A violent denouement in the forest clears the Dora Lange case and turns Cohle and Hart into local heroes. Each man settles into a healthier rhythm of living as Hart returns to his family, and Cohle starts a relationship while gaining a reputation as a closer in interrogations. As time passes and his daughters grow older, Hart faces new tensions and temptations, and Cohle learns from a double-murder suspect that there could be much more to an old case than he'd once thought. In 2012, Gilbough and Papania put their cards on the table, presenting new intelligence that threatens Cohle and causes Hart to reassess everything he thought he knew about his former partner.

    Director:Cary Joji Fukunaga
    Writer:Nic Pizzolatto

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  4. True Detective Season 1 Episode 3 - The Locked Room
    8.6/10(190 votes)

    #4 - The Locked Room

    S1:E3

    A hidden image at the burned-out church leads Cohle and Hart to Joel Theriot, a tent-revival minister whose parishioners finger a scarred “tall man” seen with Dora Lange. Brought in for interrogation, a sex offender matching the description is quickly dismissed by Cohle, despite offering a confession. Hart gets sidetracked after Maggie sets Cohle up with a friend at a C&W bar. Looking to establish a pattern of murder, Cohle pores over old case files, finding a connection with a woman assumed to have drowned years earlier.

    Director:Cary Joji Fukunaga
    Writer:Nic Pizzolatto

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  5. True Detective Season 1 Episode 1 - The Long Bright Dark
    8.5/10(217 votes)

    #5 - The Long Bright Dark

    S1:E1

    Former Louisiana State CID partners Martin Hart and Rustin Cohle give separate statements to a pair of investigators about the murder of a prostitute, Dora Lange, 17 years earlier. As they look back, details of the crime, replete with occult overtones, are accompanied by insights into the detectives’ volatile partnership and personal lives.

    Director:Cary Joji Fukunaga
    Writer:Nic Pizzolatto

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  6. True Detective Season 1 Episode 6 - Haunted Houses
    8.5/10(184 votes)

    #6 - Haunted Houses

    S1:E6

    Maggie reveals Cohle's activities in 2002, when his relationship with Hart fractured and he quit the force.

    Director:Cary Joji Fukunaga
    Writer:Nic Pizzolatto

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    The 20 WORST Episodes of True Detective

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  7. True Detective Season 1 Episode 7 - After You've Gone
    8.5/10(181 votes)

    #7 - After You've Gone

    S1:E7

    Hart and Cohle call a truce to investigate a series of disappearances that may be related to the Dora Lange murder and the Tuttle family.

    Director:Cary Joji Fukunaga
    Writer:Nic Pizzolatto

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  8. True Detective Season 1 Episode 2 - Seeing Things
    8.3/10(197 votes)

    #8 - Seeing Things

    S1:E2

    Under pressure to land a suspect in the Lange murder, Quesada warns Hart and Cohle that they might be replaced by three detectives from a new task force. The pair lobbies for extra time to follow up on a lead that takes them from a rural cathouse to an incinerated church. With his marriage to Maggie already strained by work, Hart finds respite away from home.

    Director:Cary Joji Fukunaga
    Writer:Nic Pizzolatto

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  9. True Detective Season 2 Episode 7 - Black Maps and Motel Rooms
    8.2/10(88 votes)

    #9 - Black Maps and Motel Rooms

    S2:E7

    Ray, Ani and Paul take precautionary measures to elude detection and untangle a dark mystery; Frank deals with the fallout of his betrayal.

    Director:Dan Attias
    Writer:Nic Pizzolatto

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  10. True Detective Season 3 Episode 1 - The Great War and Modern Memory
    7.9/10(87 votes)

    #10 - The Great War and Modern Memory

    S3:E1

    The disappearance of a young Arkansas boy and his sister in 1980 triggers vivid memories and enduring questions for retired detective Wayne Hays, who worked the case 35 years before with partner Roland West. What started as a routine case becomes a long journey to dissect and make sense of the crime.

    Director:Jeremy Saulnier
    Writer:Nic Pizzolatto

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  11. True Detective Season 2 Episode 4 - Down Will Come
    7.8/10(116 votes)

    #11 - Down Will Come

    S2:E4

    The detail works a pawn-shop lead to close in on a suspect in the Caspere case. Frank revisits his past to pay for his present. Velcoro, Bezzerides and Woodrugh struggle to keep the case straight in the face of corruption.

    Director:Jeremy Podeswa
    Writers:Scott Lasser, Nic Pizzolatto

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  12. True Detective Season 2 Episode 6 - Church in Ruins
    7.8/10(93 votes)

    #12 - Church in Ruins

    S2:E6

    Desperate to locate a missing woman with intel about Caspere, Frank meets with Mexican drug dealers; Ani infiltrates an exclusive inner circle, with Ray and Paul keeping close tabs.

    Director:Miguel Sapochnik
    Writers:Scott Lasser, Nic Pizzolatto

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  13. True Detective Season 3 Episode 5 - If You Have Ghosts
    7.8/10(79 votes)

    #13 - If You Have Ghosts

    S3:E5

    Wayne finds himself in a no-win situation as new clues emerge in the Purcell case. Roland wrestles with how to keep evidence secure as lawyers demand a new investigation. Amelia finds her relationship with Wayne imperiled by her writing aspirations and his jealousy.

    Director:Nic Pizzolatto
    Writer:Nic Pizzolatto

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  14. True Detective Season 3 Episode 7 - The Final Country
    7.8/10(72 votes)

    #14 - The Final Country

    S3:E7

    Following up on new leads, Wayne and Roland track down a man who left the police force in the midst of the Purcell investigation. Meanwhile, Amelia visits Lucy Purcell’s best friend in hopes of gaining insights into the whereabouts of the mysterious one-eyed man.

    Director:Daniel Sackheim
    Writer:Nic Pizzolatto

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  15. True Detective Season 3 Episode 2 - Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye
    7.7/10(80 votes)

    #15 - Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye

    S3:E2

    Hays looks back at the aftermath of the 1980 Purcell case in West Finger, Arkansas, including possible evidence left behind at the Devil's Den. As attention focuses on two conspicuous suspects--Brett Woodard, a solitary vet and trash collector, and Ted LaGrange, an ex-con with a penchant for children--the parents of the missing kids, Tom and Lucy Purcell, receive a cryptic note.

    Director:Jeremy Saulnier
    Writer:Nic Pizzolatto

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  16. True Detective Season 3 Episode 6 - Hunters in the Dark
    7.7/10(72 votes)

    #16 - Hunters in the Dark

    S3:E6

    Wayne and Roland revisit discrepancies in the Purcell case that were hidden or forgotten over the years. Among those being reevaluated is Tom Purcell, as well as Lucy Purcell’s cousin, Dan O’Brien. The glitter of Amelia’s book release is tarnished by a voice from the past.

    Director:Daniel Sackheim
    Writers:Graham Gordy, Nic Pizzolatto

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  17. True Detective Season 3 Episode 4 - The Hour and the Day
    7.6/10(76 votes)

    #17 - The Hour and the Day

    S3:E4

    Hays and West see a possible connection between the local church and the Purcell crimes. As the detectives search for one suspect and round up another for interrogation, Woodard is targeted by a vigilante group.

    Director:Nic Pizzolatto
    Writers:David Milch, Nic Pizzolatto

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  18. True Detective Season 2 Episode 5 - Other Lives
    7.5/10(87 votes)

    #18 - Other Lives

    S2:E5

    Ray and Frank contemplate new life choices. Ani and Paul follow a lead up the coast.

    Director:John Crowley
    Writer:Nic Pizzolatto

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  19. True Detective Season 2 Episode 8 - Omega Station
    7.5/10(96 votes)

    #19 - Omega Station

    S2:E8

    Frank, Ray and Ani weigh their options as Caspere's killer and the scope of corruption is revealed.

    Director:John Crowley
    Writer:Nic Pizzolatto

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  20. True Detective Season 3 Episode 3 - The Big Never
    7.5/10(77 votes)

    #20 - The Big Never

    S3:E3

    Hays recalls his early romance with Amelia, as well as cracks in their relationship that surfaced after they married and had children. Ten years after the Purcell crimes, new evidence emerges, giving him a second chance to vindicate himself and the investigation.

    Director:Daniel Sackheim
    Writer:Nic Pizzolatto

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  21. True Detective Season 3 Episode 8 - Now Am Found
    7.3/10(80 votes)

    #21 - Now Am Found

    S3:E8

    Wayne struggles to hold on to his memories, and his grip on reality, as the truth behind the Purcell case is finally revealed.

    Director:Daniel Sackheim
    Writer:Nic Pizzolatto

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  22. True Detective Season 2 Episode 2 - Night Finds You
    7.2/10(105 votes)

    #22 - Night Finds You

    S2:E2

    Ben Caspar's autopsy reveals the gruesome details of his demise, and Ray and Ani wonder if it has anything to do with his fondness for prostitutes. Meanwhile, Frank looks into what might have happened to his missing fortune.

    Director:Justin Lin
    Writer:Nic Pizzolatto

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  23. True Detective Season 2 Episode 1 - The Western Book of the Dead
    7.1/10(118 votes)

    #23 - The Western Book of the Dead

    S2:E1

    The disappearance of a city manager disrupts a lucrative land scheme and ignites an investigation involving three police officers and a career criminal who is moving into legitimate business.

    Director:Justin Lin
    Writer:Nic Pizzolatto

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  24. True Detective Season 2 Episode 3 - Maybe Tomorrow
    7.0/10(97 votes)

    #24 - Maybe Tomorrow

    S2:E3

    The repercussions from Caspar's murder are felt by Frank and the Vinci Mayor's office. Ray and Ani are involved in a close call with the killer.

    Director:Janus Metz
    Writer:Nic Pizzolatto

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  25. True Detective Season 4 Episode 1 - Night Country: Part 1
    6.1/10(94 votes)

    #25 - Night Country: Part 1

    S4:E1

    When eight researchers at Tsalal Station vanish without a trace, Danvers orders a search. After handling a workplace dispute, Navarro tries to convince a skeptical Danvers that the men's disappearance is connected to the murder of a local activist.

    Director:Issa López
    Writer:Issa López

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Best Episodes Summary

"Who Goes There?" is the best rated episode of "True Detective". It scored 9/10 based on 200 votes. Directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga and written by Nic Pizzolatto, it aired on 2/9/2014. This episode scored 0.0 points higher than the second highest rated, "Form and Void".