just watched the first episode, pretty good stuff
Woody is the killer, calling it
I think that there is a conspiracy going on, and it goes way up in the power chain. Cohle starts uncovering it, thus going into hiding for a while, and lurking at the crime scenes (surreptitiously following the case still). Next episode and/or the one after it will confirm or deny this, but I think that their falling out in 2002 is either orchestrated by the two of them because Hart clues into what's going on as well, or Cohle does it to push Hart away/protect him and Hart later comes to understand. It just really seems like people in power are involved in this whole Yellow King/Carcosa stuff, which is why the task force comes in out of nowhere and there's a lot of pressure for Hart and Cohle to pass off the case right as they start getting leads. I really need to read the short stories that inspired the Yellow King, see if there's any clues there.
This might all be tinfoil as fuck, but I'm so enthralled by this show and I'm having a great time playing detective along with the characters.