The Locked Room (True Detective)

Rust (Matthew McConaughey) tells Gilbough (Michael Potts) and Papania (Tory Kittles) about his view of religion, deeming it a failed attempt to sell "the light at the end of the tunnel". In contrast, Marty (Woody Harrelson) presents his own version of morality, drawing parallelism to his own demons. At the end of their interviews, they both tell their detectives about their incoming experience with a gunfight.

As authorities investigate the remains of the church, Rust and Marty visit the Friends of Christ Revival's new church. While Pastor Joel Theriot (Shea Whigham) speaks, Rust expresses his frustration with religion while Marty views it as a way to maintain peace within the community. They question Theriot about the burnt church, who recognizes that Dora frequented the church. They suspect a man in the church may be involved for his criminal record, but Rust concludes he is not involved. After talking with a few other attendees, they deduce that she had last been seen in church with a tall man who had a scarred face.

Rust spends more time with Marty's family, even mowing his lawn and other chores while he isn't home. When he finds out, Marty angrily tells him to never do that again. Marty also has to deal with his daughter drawing sexual pictures at her school, with Maggie (Michelle Monaghan) blaming Marty's lack of interest in his family's life. They get into an argument, with Maggie demanding to know what is happening to Marty. Marty shifts the blame on his part for the case and blaming midlife crisis, and then they have sex.

Seeing a connection through Dora and Marie Fontenot, Rust decides to investigate old cases to find more connections. He then joins Marty and Maggie at a tavern and meets Maggie's friend, Jen (Bree Williamson), whom he starts talking with. At the tavern, Marty sees Lisa (Alexandra Daddario) with another man. He confronts her about it, to which she states that she does not plan to spend her life with him and she breaks up their relationship. Later, an intoxicated Marty visits Lisa, breaks in her apartment and attacks the man before regaining his senses and leaving the apartment.

The next day, Rust tells Marty that he found symbols similar to the Lange case in the death of Rianne Olivier, a girl who was reported to die in an accident during a flood. They visit Olivier's grandfather (Ritchie Montgomery), who claims that Olivier left with her boyfriend, Reggie Ledoux. He gives them some of her belongings, from which they discover she attended Light of the Way Academy, a religious school that was run by Tuttle and was closed in 1992 due to Hurricane Andrew. While Rust questions the groundskeeper (Glenn Fleshler) at the school, Marty receives information from the station. Reggie Ledoux was an ex-con who violated his parole eight months ago after serving a sentence for running a meth lab. During his prison sentence, he was cellmates with Charlie Lange, Dora's husband. They then put out a all-points bulletin on Ledoux. Somewhere in the woods, Ledoux (Charles Halford) is seen outside his house, half-naked and using a machete.

In January 2014, the episode's title was revealed as "The Locked Room" and it was announced that series creator Nic Pizzolatto had written the episode while executive producer Cary Joji Fukunaga had directed it. This was Pizzolatto's third writing credit, and Fukunaga's third directing credit.[1]

The episode was watched by 1.93 million viewers, earning a 0.8 in the 18-49 rating demographics on the Nielson ratings scale. This means that 0.8 percent of all households with televisions watched the episode.[2] This was a 15% increase from the previous episode, which was watched by 1.67 million viewers with a 0.7 in the 18-49 demographics.[3]

For his performance in the episode, Woody Harrelson was nominated for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series at the 66th Primetime Emmy Awards.

"The Locked Room" received critical acclaim. Jim Vejvoda of IGN gave the episode an "amazing" 9 out of 10 and wrote in his verdict, "Hart's temper and insecurities get the better of him and the hunt for a suspect narrows in this week's engrossing episode of True Detective. Also, don't mow Marty's lawn when he's not around. He really, really hates that."[4]

Erik Adams of The A.V. Club gave the episode an "A-" grade and wrote, "Rust has come across a lot of lowlifes, and he can read a person within 10 minutes of meeting them, but he isn't as consumed by the darkness as the specter that stalks through the final seconds of 'The Locked Room.' Or maybe he is, and True Detective is holding back the truth of the matter for the time being. Secret or no secret, that's a hell of a way to pull the viewer into the next episode."[5] Britt Hayes of Screen Crush wrote, "Our final shot presents us with our monster, the one that waited for Dora outside the locked room of her mind, deflating all those hopes and dreams and putting an end to the struggle she called life."[6]

Alan Sepinwall of HitFix wrote, "It's clear by now that the 2012 detectives are looking at Rust Cohle as more than just a source of information about their case. And while I expect the solution to be much more complicated than Cohle being a secret serial killer, you can understand – based on what little we know of events so far, and what we've seen of the man in two different time periods – why a pair of veteran cops might size the guy up and take him for a maniac."[7] Gwilym Mumford of The Guardian wrote, "Even by True Detective's standards, this is a particularly introspective hour of television, but equally it is one that propels the story forward in a way that the show's opening two episodes were unwilling to do. By the end of the hour, thanks to Cohle and Hart's diligent detective work, we have our first tangible lead."[8]

Kenny Herzog of Vulture gave the episode a perfect 5 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "'The Locked Room', and this also applies to True Detective through three chapters, excelled because it seemed like you're figuring out the whodunit right along with Hart and Cohle in 1995, down to every detail. It's the sensation of a radio serial set to film, and is very Fincher-ian."[9] Tony Sokol of Den of Geek gave the episode a perfect 5 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "I can watch Woody and Matt's conversations even without the plot. The way they bob and weave, it's like two middleweights. All of the acting is top of the game stuff, but these two together, barely being kept from each other's throats, is a ball. They bite down on their best lines and spit them out like darts only to be caught in the other's teeth and nibbled before swallowing. At heart, this is all gearing up to a gun battle and these guys are the id and ego of Gary Cooper in High Noon. They are all-American. They may not be silent but they're strong and their strengths are being tested. The sun reaches high noon in the middle of the day though. They may be facing a monster, but it won't be under cover of darkness. This monster is going to be in their face. He may be strutting around in his underwear but his face is covered with a gas mask. Nightmare in the afternoon and there's still a whole day to go."[10]

Chris O'Hara of TV Fanatic gave the episode a perfect 5 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "As the episode came to a close, we got our first glimpse at one of those men. The gas mask swung from Reggie's head like a trunk. The elephant they had been looking for in all those interrogation rooms, a hunting trophy of their own, was within reach as the stage was set for what should be a pivotal episode to follow."[11] Shane Ryan of Paste gave the episode a 9.7 out of 10 and wrote, "In a show as thoughtful and expansive as True Detective, it's possible to find thematic lines of dialogue in every utterance. For me, though, the centerpiece of 'The Locked Room' comes as Rust Cohle holds court in his former police station, behind a fortress of empty Lone Star beer cans, and explains his uncanny success as an interrogator in the years before he quit his job and became a full-time drunk."[12]

Woody Harrelson submitted the episode to support his nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series at the 66th Primetime Emmy Awards.[13]