As the finale of True Detective approaches, the fan theorizing about the show has only intensified—theorizing that, by and large, has mostly been debunked point for point in this BuzzFeed interview with creator Nic Pizzolatto. The theory that either or Rust or Marty may end up being culpable in the murders? “Such a revelation would be terrible, obvious writing,” Pizzolatto says. The belief that the show will have some sort of Twin Peaks-evoking revelation of supernatural forces at work? “All I can offer is that to date there hasn’t been a single thing in our show that’s supernatural, so why would that suddenly manifest in the last episode?” Pizzolatto replies. Your suspicions about who might be the Yellow King? Already solved.


So, with all of those out of the way, there really remains only one pervasive fan theory to address: the idea that, because Nic Pizzolatto was partly responsible for The Killing’s first season finale, the end of True Detective might also be terrible. But fortunately, Pizzolatto has debunked that one as well with an interview in The Wrap, in which he was asked—presumably in deadpan—whether he “learned anything” from The Killing about how to resolve a murder mystery. “No, not really,” Pizzolatto said, obviously, taking pains to point out that he was only serving The Killing showrunner Veena Sud’s “vision” there, that he’d already plotted all of True Detective well before joining that AMC show, and that furthermore, he’s not a fan of pissing everyone off.

“One of the reasons I wanted to do an anthology format is I like stories with endings. I like a good third act,” Pizzolatto said, definitely severing ties with Sud there. So, whatever else happens, you can rest assured Sunday’s finale won’t end with some ludicrous plot twist meant to elucidate the subjectivity of truth and the “holistic journey” of jerking people around, and that it will put a satisfying close on the story… unless it’s revealed that the Yellow King eventually relocated to Seattle, and that Pizzolatto and Sud had been conspiring to link the two shows all along. Time, after all, is a flat circle—not unlike the opening of a turtleneck.