We Can't Stop Thinking About This Character After Watching ‘True Detective’ Episode 4

Last night, True Detective returned to HBO for its fourth installment. Although all eyes are on Wayne to crack the mysterious Purcell case, our mind keeps coming back to Freddy.

Freddy, Freddy—how can a grown man cry so much? OK, so he’s 18, not exactly a fully formed adult. And Wayne did threaten him with prison rape. But still, if you didn’t do anything, pull yourself together.

Here is why we think his blubbering may be warranted:

He lied about seeing the Purcell kids. Why? If all he did was push Will, steal his bike and watch the kid run off into the woods, why lie about it? We realize fingerprinting seems new to everyone in 1980, but surely if you actually played with evidence, you would think it comes back to haunt you. Better to be ahead of these things, Freddy. But no, he lied.

Also, Freddy goes unaccounted for by his friends that afternoon, for 30 whole minutes. Where were you Freddy?

If this kid really did something, it probably was an accident. Can’t you just imagine it? He takes the bike from 12-year-old Will, pushes him, Will stumbles backward, hits his head on a rock, dies. Freddy freaks out, takes off.

This doesn’t explain how Will was discovered, but maybe the person who played with the Purcell kids in the woods was watching. Yeah, there is no way we think Freddy and his friends played with dolls in the forest. They’re much too cool (guffaw) for that.

…or are they? True Detective returns to HBO next Sunday, February 3, at 9 p.m.