After the misstep that was season two, fans are relieved that True Detective season three is back to the level of quality of season one, largely by mimicking the structure and Gothic feel.
To further remind us of the good old days (of 2014), there is a more direct link to season one in the form of an Easter egg contained within the most recent episode, 'Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye'.
In a scene during the episode, documentary producer Elisa links the current case of Will and Julie Purcell to a host of other crimes, including a fleeting reference to a 'crooked spiral'.
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Long-time fans will recognise the spiral as one of season one's most important pieces of iconography from Carcosa.
But this isn't one of those Marvel Cinematic Universe-esque links that set up some sort of crossover, just more of a treat to fans.
"I guess it's set in the same fictional world everything is set in, right?" exec producer Scott Stephens told The Hollywood Reporter in a chat.
"The reference is kind of a nod to the [season one]. The stuff in season one was based on the same sort of paedophilia stories that are mentioned by the documentary crew. That's kind of the connective tissue.
"It's just a fun way to tie things in."
The show's creator, Nic Pizzolatto, has recently said season three finally gives female characters their due, and teased the possibility of a fourth run.
True Detective airs on HBO in the US and Sky Atlantic in the UK.
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Joe Anderton is a freelance news writer at Digital Spy, having worked there since 2016. In his time, he's covered a host of live events and interviewed celebrities big and small. A big fan of TV and movies both mainstream and obscure, Joe also enjoys video games and in particular PlayStation. Joe currently does not use Twitter, but he only ever used it to tell people to watch the film Help! I'm a Fish.
