Cohle gets the aspects of a detective that Hart would have liked to have. In Hart's words, "Cohle is a natural cop." No matter how much he learns from Cohle, he will never have the true talent and breadth of knowledge that Cohle possesses. In the same line of thought, Cohle can be better understood in relation to Hart. In a less obvious way, Hart has what Cohle needs. Hart is able to compartmentalize his life; he can separate a case from his family, go home and be present without his job following him. For Cohle there is no separation from work and personal life. Here are two complementary people, who like magnets attract and repel each other. You might think that Hart doesn't have enough self-knowledge, while Cohle is also burdened with it