True Detective Season 2: My Least Favorite Season

I love a good ending. Sometimes, that's why I'll hang on to a series or a movie that I'm only halfway enjoying. I'm just hoping the whole will be redeemed by that one part at the end where everything will come together or not, but somehow give the entire affair a depth I hadn't considered until that moment, even though it makes perfect sense. This did not happen with season 2 of True Detective. I was hopeful from the first episode, but by the end, even though there were some good moments, this season was very disappointing.

Almost an interesting character

I wouldn't say it was as horrible as many are making it out to be, though. I actually kind of liked the over the top dialogue. I'm still convinced much of it was written that way intentionally. I could be wrong. I don't know. What mainly frustrated me about this season was that the mystery itself, the vast conspiracy at the heart of it all, was somehow simultaneously too confusing and boring. I guess that's a feat, but it would only make sense of there was something else keeping it together. There wasn't. In the end, I think I just stopped caring about the mystery way before the final episode.

At a certain point, by the last episode, you just wonder why the characters themselves are even motivated to see this through to the end. They had many opportunities to just walk away. And then the deaths that we get for Ray (Colin Farrell) and Frank (Vince Vaughn) are kind of senseless and unnecessary. Frank in particular, who was painted as a street wise survivor, winds up making the dumbest move possible in the worst situation imaginable. It was completely avoidable. To see it then drawn out as if to show what a tough guy he is, is a lesson in pointless irony, hammered into you by the heaviest hammer of Thor himself.

A lot of staring happened.

Overall, the series had some moody moments that the internet has deemed horrible, but I actually kinda liked. There was a David Lynchesque conversation between Ray and Frank in a run down bar while a singer/songwriter (Lera Lynn) sings the most on the nose, depressing song ever called "My Least Favorite Life."  The characters often pause so we can clearly hear the lyrics and while it's all very odd, I thought it worked, even if it was a bit out of place. Later, we see Ray have a near death hallucination in this same bar. If only there were more of these touches that actually went somewhere, I think this might have reached Season 1's greatness.

Spoiler alert: nothing happened.

I'm still not really clear about the ultimate conspiracy. There was an orgy at one point that I guess we're supposed to be disgusted by because the women were being victimized, except the one woman they "rescue" from it makes it clear she was there by choice as most everyone else seemed to be. So that never came close to anything from season 1 at all. I think there was some ritual murders, but if so, it was irrelevant, so again, I'm not sure what I'm supposed to be creeped out by. There was a developer buying up land for a railway(?) and somehow there was Russian mob involvement. And Mexican gangs who shot up several blocks worth of people in the very exciting, but apparently unnecessary, shootout at the halfway point.

I don't know. If there's a third season, I'll still watch it. I like the concept of it being a whole new deal each time. They can't all be winners, but it kinda sucks that the second one kinda sucks.

True Detective Season 2 Premiere

The first season of HBO's True Detective gave us moody southern gothic noir with a sprinkle of occult mystery and philosophy that also happened to be beautifully shot and acted. The very last episode might be up for debate as to whether or not it sealed the deal, but either way, the series stands out as one of the best things I saw last year. Matthew McConaughey's Rust Cohle has become a part of the pop culture landscape along with Walter White and Tony Soprano. It's a character and performance that is almost bigger than the show itself but doesn't overshadow the whole piece. And he's not alone. Woody Harrelson was equally brilliant in the less showy role of Marty Hart. The best part is that each season of this show would bring us a different cast and story, so there's no chance of ruining the beauty of that first season if the new one doesn't live up to it.

The whole show could have been this.

Last night, season 2 premiered and it was hard not to compare from the start, but I'm patient about these things. Serialized television, when it has a set ending in mind, is hard to judge week to week. I tend to have faith in the writers and the team, especially if they've given me reason to. In this case, we have a new director in Justin Lin and he has mighty big shoes to fill since Cary Fukunaga absolutely killed it for season 1. But we still have Nic Pizzolatto in place and this guy has a knack for this pulpy material. Already I'm lost in the long miles of highway of California that seem to parallel the twisting connections of the narrative starting to unfold. That sense of confusion is balanced by a killer cast. I don't know if Colin Farrell will reach McConaughey level insanity here, but already he's got what may go down as the best line of the show. During an insane scene where he's decided to confront his son's bully and proceed to beat the shit out the 12 year old's father while holding the child in a headlock he says "If you ever bully or hurt anyone again, I'll come back and butt-fuck your father with your mom's headless corpse on this fucking lawn." Poetry.

These season's cast of outcasts.

Already I see several sites are tearing the first episode apart. They did the same last season. Internet critics tend to mistake cynism and disdain for being critical. They don't know how to go with anything even for a little bit. Are there ridiculous moments in this? Sure. But that's kind of the point sometimes. I'm not an expert on Noir or pulp crime novels, but the little I know is that they are both riddled with stuff like this. Crazy metaphors that sometimes don't seem to mean anything. Over the top violence and situations. Sometimes cheesy dialogue. And that's what this is. It's supposed to be a pulpy crime noir in the true sense. Not the stylized, artistic type that everyone overanalyzes, but the real deal that people likely have never heard of. Anyway, it's one episode in. Give it time.