True Detective 2 (TV series)

[Neil]

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[MinionZombie]

Rather looking forward to this, hopefully it lives up to the quality of the first season.

Was very surprised to see Vince Vaughn in the cast, so it'll be interesting to see if he can have a bit of a renaissance himself to get away from all these shit comedies he always turns up in and rediscover the promise of early work like Swingers. Colin Farrell's made some really interesting choices over the years, and he's got a good groove going on lately, so I'm looking forward to seeing what he does here.

[Neil]

Generally good reviews - http://www.aintitcool.com/node/72012

[MinionZombie]

Will be watching it soon. Looking forward to it - fingers crossed for goodness.

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Watched the first episode last night and I'm digging it.

The style of the show is still there, the way of looking at a location with a different eye on things (parts of L.A. we rarely/never see in other movies/TV shows), and with an interesting array of characters - plenty of intriguing stuff going on, so I'm glad the show's back on the box.

As an aside, I'm not fond of the opening title track. It lacks energy and is far inferior to the music used for the first season, but visually the opening titles are impressive.

[MinionZombie]

Okay, so we're six episodes deep now - what are folks' thoughts on it?

Personally, it's not as good as the first season, but I do find the central trio of Farrell/McAdams/Kitsch very compelling. I'm less interested in the arc afforded to Vaughn and Reilly, though I do find their performances to be very good (particularly Vaughn, who shows he can do something better than duff 'comedies' about generic schlubs).

Plot wise it's still quite twisted up and complicated, but we were still scrabbling around for answers at this point in season one as well, so that's the same, hehe. I'm sure it'll all tie together somehow in the end, but it is demanding viewing trying to remember all these names and acquaintances and angles and intentions and places etc. Managing to hang on, but it can be a bumpy ride ... but then again that's part of the appeal as well.

Looking forward to the last two episodes, and would welcome a third season - but perhaps set somewhere a little more unusual/less seen/rural, even, next time.

[shootemindehead]

It's decent and I'm I'm enjoying it, but it's certainly not as good as the first effort. But, too often I'm left going "eh...wha?"

It might be worth sitting down when it's finished and watching the whole thing through in one go to aid understanding. Everybody's pretty good in it and I've been impressed with Farreller and Vaughn. Two actors I don't really care for.

It's interesting that the first outing started off relatively weak in US ratings and then got strong toward the end and this effort started off very strong and has got progressively weaker over the course of the series. If trends continue, there might not be a series 3, which would be a shame, because over all, it's been good.

Anyway, there's only two episodes left and there still seems to be a lot to resolve.

[MinionZombie]

It's interesting that the first outing started off relatively weak in US ratings and then got strong toward the end and this effort started off very strong and has got progressively weaker over the course of the series. If trends continue, there might not be a series 3, which would be a shame, because over all, it's been good.

It's true that the first season built upwards, and the second has generally gone downwards from a strong opening ... but season one was up-and-down all season and then went out with a series high of 3+ million for the finale it seems. So far in season two the lowest figures have still been ahead of most of season one's figures, so I'd be surprised if there wasn't a third season ... but hopefully Pizzolato can find a story with an angle that's a little clearer at it's core. The first season had the central question of "who killed this girl/who is the killer?", whereas season two is much more open-ended as a mystery. There's still a death or two as a catalyst, but it's maybe lacking that central driving force to hold on while everything else is going on around you - maybe it's easier to get lost in season two than it was in season one.

The world presented was just as murky in season one, but the main objective was defined.

[MinionZombie]

So there we are - the second season has concluded - what did folks make of it?

I see that the finale finished with an uptick in viewers (third highest rated episode of the season behind episodes 2x01 and 2x02).

It wasn't up to the pretty tight quality of the first season - which wasn't perfect in its own right (something I think a lot of pissy arsed professional reviewers of Season 2 have forgotten ... probably the same people who slagged off the 'cliched' antagonism and opposing styles/worldviews of Hart and Cohle at the time) - but it was fairly close. I think the main issue was the overly complex plot - having four main protagonists with their respective partners/goons/whatever as well as their own sets of antagonists, and how they are mixed in and out of each other's lives, made for tricky viewing (I'd often find myself struggling to match certain names to certain faces while remembering which allegience or grief belonged to who and why).

However, this isn't necessarily a failing - it's just complex television - I didn't get every grievance or allegience or name/face etc right in The Sopranos the first time, but that doesn't mean it was flawed - it just means I'd benefit from a second viewing, just like with both seasons of True Detective to help pick apart some of the more obscure or complicated aspects of the story. Indeed, with Pizzolato being a novelist, True Detective is very much like a novel - but transferred to television - it benefits from paying strict attention. There's no way you can drift in or out of this kind of show - it encourages the viewer to be smart.

It took a little getting into, did this second season, but I eventually found myself getting quite invested in Ray Velcoro and Ani Bezzerides - indeed, the finale had me swallowed up by a big old knot of tension. Speaking of which, it was a very dark ending in some ways, and certainly not clean, but I think some complainers forget that even at the end of Season 1 they hadn't solved the big case and caught all the bad guys. They only got their main bad guy ... the wider conspiracy was largely untouched/got away with it. Season 2 went even darker, but there's certainly hope for revenge and resolution beyond the closing credits of the finale ... again, this plays into Pizzolato's novelistic style and approach.

I was gutted that Velcoro didn't make it and couldn't be with Ani, but it was a bittersweet ending - she had his child, and as we found out the boy who he was terrified wasn't his actually was. So there's little moments, little wins, to go along with the gut punch of the rest of it.

While I was less connected with Vince Vaughn's Frank Semyon (plus Kelly Reilly's Jordan Semyon), and Taylor Kitsch's Paul Woodrugh, I did grow into their characters over the course of the season, and Vaughn certainly got some really good stuff to work with in the finale.

The music was really good, too, and the recurring appearance of Lera Lynn (the musician in the bar) really gave it a brooding atmosphere, e.g.
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So all-in-all it was never going to live up to the first season - or, perhaps more accurately, people's year-long perception of the first season - but I think it was over all a strong outing that I think will age well and benefit from a second viewing.

TD is unlike most/all other shows out there and I really hope we get a third season!

How did other folks here feel about it?