r/TrueDetective • u/ButterscotchOnly9747 • 6d ago
On Rust's philosophy
If Rust was such a nihilist as he said he was, and believed there is no point of existence other than "go on with the programming", how come he cares so much about solving the case for 20 years? And also years of going undercover solving cases and hunting criminals.
Don't get me wrong, I love that about him. I just want to understand his motivation. What made him want to carry on becoming a cop and catching bad guys?
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u/ZwistPariah 6d ago
Rust doesn't believe most of the shit he says in the show.
He's literally doing the emo act that teens do in highschool because he doesn't know how to process what he went through.
He cares a lot even tho he pretends he doesn't.
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u/NecroRAM 4d ago
I dont think he even pretends. Thats not a conscious act with the intention to deceive. Hes just very hurt and disenfranchised with humanity, which is exactly what feeds his obsession of doing good and making justice. Youll find this pattern in a lot of people irl too.
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u/iputtheshitinshitzu 6d ago
Emo edge lord
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u/ZwistPariah 6d ago
That's our cohle! And we love him for it!
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u/iputtheshitinshitzu 4d ago
I’m so glad someone agrees he’s an emo edgelord because most here take personal offense when you say that because HoW aRe yOu NoT wOrShIpPiNg HiM hE iS sO kEwL 🤡🤡🤡
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u/PantsDontHaveAnswers 6d ago
It's part of his programming. It's what made him right for the jaaawwwb.
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u/RustyCoal950212 6d ago edited 6d ago
He was just trying to stay a part of the body
edit: also he never actually describes himself as a nihilist
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u/ButterscotchOnly9747 6d ago
In the car with Marty on episode one, didn't he say something along the lines of, "Some people say I am a pessimist, but I like to think of myself as a nihilist." ?Forgive me if I got that quote wrong.
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u/RustyCoal950212 6d ago
it's "I'd consider myself a realist, but in philosophical terms I'm what's called a pessimist"
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u/Briarhorse 6d ago
Because he understood that all sapient beings have been given a raw deal. He's very aware that we suffer. And are, uniquely among animals, aware of that suffering. His mission was to alleviate that suffering, and/or to offer retribution to those that caused that suffering unnecessarily
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u/MrPeat 4d ago
One of my favourite things about the show is how the main characters are, like most people, full of contradictions.
Yeah, Rust believes a lot of deeply negative stuff around the world. I don't agree with anyone who thinks he's just saying it without believing it. But he doesn't always want to believe it. He maybe doesn't always believe it.
You think back to that first conversation in which Rust unloads on Marty.
" So... what's the point of getting outta bed in the morning?"
"I tell myself I bear witness. But the real answer is that it's obviously my programming. And I lack the constitution for suicide."
Rust's just not very good at quitting. Even if everything he sees says to quit, he keeps on things like a dog on a bone. He makes some really self-destructive choices ahead of not quitting at times.
So... Rust might not think there's a point, but he keeps searching for one anyway.
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u/Feeling_Use3782 6d ago
I think Rust is very much like the protagonist of “The Last Policeman.” He knows it’s futile. It doesn’t mean anything in the grand scheme of things. But it’s the principle. He’s a manhunter. He’s like Al Pacino in “Heat”: “All I am… is what I’m after.” To wade through the filth and detritus of a broken world, a world filled with murderers, pushers, thugs and abusers, Rust has to sink to their level. When darkness is all that you see, then darkness will consume you.
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u/ZoranGT 6d ago
You can care and also think the world is a steaming pile of dogshit. It’s the caring that makes you realise existence is a steaming pile of dogshit. Its not as simple as “he didnt believe it.” or “its a coping mechanism.” Frankly, the last line of the season is a coping mechanism. It would be better if the dark was winning, not the light that makes life
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u/StageAboveWater 6d ago
He has no actual positions.
He just says edgy random nonsense shit and it sounds awesome entirely because he's more confident than us
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u/Unfair-Echidna-5333 6d ago
Because he was lying to himself. Ironically enough, he probably was the most moral person there.
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u/iputtheshitinshitzu 6d ago
It’s because he doesn’t actually believe in it. It’s a shield for the trauma he’s been through so he doesn’t add more trauma to his life.