"I've enjoyed reading people theorize about what's going to happen because it's a sign that you're connecting," Pizzolatto told me. "But I'm also sort of surprised by how far afield they're getting. Like, why do you think we're tricking you? It's because you've been abused as an audience for more than 20 years. I cannot think of anything more insulting as an audience than to go through eight weeks, eight hours with these people, and then to be told it was a lie—that what you were seeing wasn't really what was happening. The show's not trying to outsmart you."