WARNING: The following contains spoilers for the third season of HBO's True Detective, airing now.

One of the highlights of True Detective is that, while the various seasons usually focus on a pair of lead detectives solving bizarre criminal cases, there's always one that steals the show. Season 1 had Matthew McConaughey's Rusty Cohle and Season 2 had Rachel McAdams' Ani Bezzerides, both turning in amazing performances, all in the name of justice.

However, as the third season pivots to Mahershala Ali's Wayne Hays, there's a curveball that creator Nic Pizzolatto could be throwing our way. That's because clues have been laid that, while we've seen Wayne as a hero so far, with one more episode to go, he may well turn out to be the show's biggest villain.

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It may seem outlandish at first glance. After all, Wayne has impressed us with his dedication in solving the Arkansas case of the dead Will Purcell and his abducted sister, Julie, in 1980, 1990 and 2015, especially as an impassioned black man navigating a racist American terrain. But in this franchise, everyone's a suspect, and we simply can't ignore any details or hints -- there are some subtle ones, and some not so much -- that have Wayne steeped in murky waters.

The 2015 timeline, in particular, is of concern because this is where an older Wayne is battling memory loss as he narrates what happened over the last three decades as part of a crime documentary. The interviewer, Elisa (Sarah Gadon), has pointed out over the last seven episodes that key evidence has consistently gone missing and clues haven't been followed up regarding a potential pedophile ring that dates back to Season 1.

We assumed it was this season's Hoyt family and their influence over political and police forces that doctored the situation, leaving Elisa in her predicament years later trying to solve these cases on her own. But Wayne's memory loss means he could have tampered with certain areas of the case and wouldn't be able to remember in the present.

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Wayne being a villain would be impossible in 1980, but when evidence that Julie's alive surfaces, reopening the case in 1990, we see red flags popping up as Wayne's partner, Roland West (Stephen Dorff), brings him back in to solve the mystery. When seeking out the person who they believed was the Hoyts' man on the inside, a former cop by the name of Harris James (Scott Shepherd), Wayne goads Roland into aggressive measures.

We see how manipulative Wayne can be as he uses the death of Julie's father, Tom (Scoot McNairy), to push Roland into a murderous mode, as Tom and Roland became close friends. Sadly, that interrogation ended with Roland shooting Harris to save Wayne's life, but it proves Wayne is a puppet master when he wants.

It's also a trait his wife Amelia (Carmen Ejogo) has taken issue with over three decades of marriage as she worked on her book surrounding the Purcell kids. Apart from Harris' death in that last episode, "The Final Country," the missing piece of the puzzle between 1990 and 2015 comes right at the very final scene when the patriarch, grandfather Hoyt (Michael Rooker), phones a petrified Wayne at home to initiate a blackmail scheme. Hoyt threatens his family, as he reveals he knows Wayne and Roland killed Harris (Hoyt's right-hand man) and covered it up.

It stands to reason that in Sunday's finale, to protect both his and Roland's careers, Wayne may have agreed to become the new Harris, mopping up clues to divert eyes away from any conspiracy involving the Hoyts. Wayne never told anyone of this meeting, so it shocked fans, and it appears he doesn't remember anything because, in 2015, the Hoyts don't ring any bells for him.

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It'd be a big twist to have the show's main protagonist turn out to be the villain who ensured Julie wasn't linked to abduction and captivity by the Hoyts, but it would fit the nature of True Detective, where heroes compromise at times and do selfish things, albeit with good intentions. Ultimately, Wayne's faking, or more likely, he repressed the memories of this shady deal, and the latter would make him just as culpable as everyone he tried to initially finger.

Airing Sundays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on HBO, True Detective stars Mahershala Ali, Mamie Gummer, Stephen Dorff, Scoot McNairy, Carmen Ejogo and Ray Fisher.