Roland West quotes from True Detective

Roland West

I'm a feminist. They want to sell me a piece of ass, they got the right. Shit. You're gonna pay for it one way or another.

Roland West

I don't like him. The Priest. And I know his alibi's good but... I don't like him. Man signs up to go without fuckin' for life, either he don't know himself for a liar, or he's some tight limited edition psycho, you know? I mean, everybody's fuckin' something.

Roland West

You see yourself gettin' married, Purple?

Wayne Hays

No, sir. I'm not a big enough asshole to put a woman and children through that.

Roland West

Steve McQueen died today.

Wayne Hays

We should do something.

Roland West

We could go to Miss Minnie's.

Wayne Hays

Give me a break. I can't pay for it, man.

Roland West

It's more honest than most relationships. You never bought no Saigon trim while you was over there?

Wayne Hays

Guess I'm a romantic.

Roland West

I'm a feminist. If they wanna sell me a piece of ass, they got the right.

Roland West

Do you like kids generally?

Brett Woodard

Do I-- What the fuck's the right answer to that?

Roland West

Wayne had the idea that those kids were tellin' stories. He was correct. Ya'll fucked a good detective, there. You know that, right?

Alan Jones

I wouldn't argue with you, but it wasn't me.

Roland West

Probably didn't even give you shit for it when you saw him, did he?

Alan Jones

I can't say that he did, no.

Roland West

"Purple" Hays... my man. Tried to get him transferred over here twice. Blocked both times by Major's office. Told me not to ask again.

It feels like we should stay on point.

Roland West

I'm makin' a point, son.

Alan Jones

You see Wayne much anymore?

Roland West

Not at all, and I don't know why.

Alan Jones

No hard feelings, though?

Roland West

Not between him and me. We were good friends, the way I see it. I think it was... once we stopped workin' together, we just stopped. Sometimes it's like that with people.

Wayne Hays

Would you have done it? Would you have shot one of them?

Roland West

If I thought it was between him and me, then no, I could give a fuck what color he was.

Wayne Hays

You sure about that?

Roland West

Fact that these were black folks probably gave me more pause. Mob of white people surrounds me, smashes up my ride, there'd be a lot less hesitation about what I'd do.

Wayne Hays

Can we say this was anonymous vandals?

Roland West

We're not going with "irate Negroes"?

Roland West

[to Freddy] I know we're a few weeks late here, but I wanted to wish you a happy 18th birthday.

Wayne Hays

The fellas pitched in and got you life in prison, with a good possibility of choking in the gas chamber, you fuckin' shitheel little twerp.

Wayne Hays

We just wanna know if you remember anything about that night. Maybe you can take us through it again.

You must be a stone-cold killer, huh? You're plenty tough with teenagers.

Roland West

That night, you told us when you was alone, you saw him.

Wayne Hays

Where was the girl? Will's sister?

I dunno. He was all nervous, like, "I can't find my sister. I don't know where they went."

Wayne Hays

They? He said "they"?

I dunno, maybe he did. [sneers] You wanna slap me around a little, make sure?

Wayne Hays

[ignoring the remark] Any indication who "they" might be?

You can't be very good at your job, come around 10 years later and try to hang this on me.

Roland West

No one's hanging anything on you.

Maybe you just came here to see if you can make me piss my pants.

Wayne Hays

[fed up] That doesn't seem like a very tall order.

Come on then, bounce me off the walls, you black motherfucker! You think there's something you can do to me, you might wanna take another look at my life!

Roland West

Hold on now! Mr. Burns, I understand your hard feelings, but we just needed you to remember.

Wayne Hays

And not for nothing, things might be what they are because you need to attack and bully someone weaker than you.

And you don't? I was a teenager. What's your excuse?

Roland West

Does he remember why I'm pissed at him?

Henry Hays

No, I don't think so. Let me tell you from personal experience: it doesn't do any good.

Roland West

Well, maybe I forgot, too.

Roland West

Is this what you came to see me about? Twenty-five years, what, you doin' old man fantasy camp? You think you'll just roll up in here and I'll be all, "Golly gee, partner, let's grab our junior clue finders and have an adventure"? You know, in '80, we stop bein' partners, you get married... it's natural. People drift apart. This, right now? This ain't that. All this time, you never picked up the phone? You never dropped by for a beer? You never said you're fuckin' sorry, once!

Wayne Hays

I...

Roland West

And I was gonna put that shit aside to have a drink with you, reminisce. Maybe just watch the dogs play and the sun go fuckin' down. But look what you're doin'...

Wayne Hays

[looking at an empty bottle on the porch] How many of those you go through a week?

Roland West

Hey, fuck you, man! I'm fine... alone out here, no woman, no kids, and no old friends. So that means I get to drink exactly as much as I want to! You don't judge me, motherfucker! I know you. I know what you did, what I did. You talk about my drinkin'? I'd whip your ass if it wouldn't kill you! And you still ain't apologized!

Wayne Hays

[tearing up] Roland, I don't remember. I'm sorry. I'm sorry, but I just can't remember. I don't... I can't... I can't remember my life, man. I can't remember my wife... I don't know. You tell me I did something wrong, I'm... I'm sorry.

Wayne Hays

A 70-year-old black man runnin' around batshit crazy with a badge and gun. You don't wanna miss that.

Roland West

[smiles ruefully] Well, I could use a laugh.

Roland West

We're backtracking the Purcell case. Got it down that you were the one who spotted the bag.

No, I was the first to think I recognized it off the APB.

Roland West

Well, we've been wondering why it took two days to find that backpack.

It took God six days to make the world. I can believe it took a bunch of GEDs two days to find a backpack.

Roland West

I thought it took God seven days to make the world.

Wayne Hays

He rested on the seventh. I always thought He should have put the extra day in instead of half-assing it.