The Clues You Didn't Realize Mindhunter Was Giving You The Whole Time

Mindhunter is a show that rewards repeat watchings. Things you may not have noticed the first time around take on an eerie prescience when you watch it again, and details suddenly feel a bit sharper.

Let's take the show's opening sequence. Interspersed with close-ups of the tape recorder being operated are subliminal images of a body. The images flash on the screen too quickly for you to make them out, but we were able to track down a montage of all the creepy images. What clues does it potentially offer us? Well, it does tell us that the gruesome murders themselves aren't the focus of the story. They're the background noise in Ford's quest to understand what makes the murderers tick.

The show's soundtrack is another huge clue. Or rather, it's a series of clues that make themselves known once you listen to each song within the context of each episode. The songs that play at the end credits don't just give us something to rock out to when the episode ends (or a few precious seconds to grab another slice of pizza before the next episode starts), they also give us a glimpse into the psyche of the character that we see as the credits roll.

For example, "Psycho Killer" by the Talking Heads, plays as Detectives Bill Trench (Holt McCallany) and Holden Ford (Jonathan Groff) descend into their new basement office for the first time in episode 2. Before they become entrenched in the stories of the serial killers, they see themselves as do-gooders, as fighters for justice and understanding. It's a song that has almost an optimistic, almost victorious feel, which echoes their belief that their research is important. Only later will Tench and Ford succumb to the pressures of their job.

Here, we've rounded up all the jams that close out each episode of Mindhunter. Before you hit the "next episode" button, listen to each song as the show fades out. Put on the subtitles so you can read the lyrics. You'll find that the clues have been right in front of you the whole time.