Hello, you are listening to the podcast version of The Flat Circle, a true detective

after show hosted by myself, Chris Ryan, and my buddy Jason Concepcion.

You can check us out on video on YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook at the Ringer accounts.

We will also be live

after the True Detective finale next Sunday night. We're here to investigate the case of

the final country with the simple question, when does a crime become a conspiracy?

Becca? Becca? Becca, you packed yet? That's Leia. This is the Flat Circle, A True Detective After Show.

Welcome to the Flat Circle, a True Detective after show.

My name is Chris Ryan.

I'm Jason Concepcion.

And we are here to talk about episode 7, the penultimate episode of the third season of True Detective.

The episode is called The Final Country, and I would bet my life. That is a reference to this James Crumley novel. James Crumley, one of the great crime fiction writers of the post-World War II era in America. You read one page of James Crumley. You know absolutely that he's been an influence on Nick Pizzolado, so I bet that is a tip of the cap to him.

As always, we're going to go through the who, what, when, where, and why of this case, as we get closer and closer to some sort of conclusion.

Let's start with the what?

Lots of what. So what did we learn?

Start in 1990. Wayne goes up to the drinking tower at the Devil's Den, where he finds Roland already there, sitting beside the body of Tom Purcell. One shoe has been kicked off and has several flights below, bullet hole in his head, a gun and a typewritten suicide note nearby. Love to type write a suicide note.

Which is sort of Wayne's point.

You think this guy in this moment of distress sits down,

right, changes the ribbon.

Tab, tab, tab, tab, tab, tab, tab.

Ding!

Yeah.

...