True Detective - Musings and WTFs

[Talgrath]

So, I did a forum search and didn't find a thread for the show True Detective...so I thought I'd start one! I just got caught up to season 2 episode 2 today, that's a pretty big shocker ending there.

SPOILERS!

The guy that shot Ray Velcoro (aka Colin Farrell) kind of looked like Paul Woodrugh (Taylor Kitsch's character) with a raven helmet on, think they might be the same guy? His (ex)girlfriend did mention this group he works for on the side "did some bad things" years ago. Also, what the hell was going on with that stuff in the bathroom?

 

[doug293cz]

I'm guessing nightmare sequence. Killing Ray off this early would put too big a hole in the plot line. Either that, or they're going to kill off all/most the leads early, and then do flash backs to show what lead up to it all. I don't think the second option is viable as it risks causing the audience to lose interest and stop watching.

Have to go back and rewatch the bathroom scene to see if that helps figure it out.

Brew on

 

[jekeane]

In the preview for tomorrows episode Ray's commanding officer says "when one of my guys gets shot" not killed... I think he's still alive.

 

[Damoxemus]

If he is still alive that would be lame. He took two shotgun blasts, one at point blank range. I am no gun expert but I don't think anyone could live through that.

So far though I am liking the show. Not as good as the first season though. At least not yet.

 

[doug293cz]

If he is still alive that would be lame. He took two shotgun blasts, one at point blank range. I am no gun expert but I don't think anyone could live through that.

So far though I am liking the show. Not as good as the first season though. At least not yet.

Agree, surviving a point blank chest shot from a shotgun is asking for too much suspension of disbelief.

I thought the first season started out better too. I liked the music better too, although the club singer is growing on me.

Brew on

 

[Talgrath]

If he is still alive that would be lame. He took two shotgun blasts, one at point blank range. I am no gun expert but I don't think anyone could live through that.

So far though I am liking the show. Not as good as the first season though. At least not yet.

Well, keep in mind in True Detective world Rust and Marty took some pretty nasty torso wounds and survived somehow, despite being hours from a hospital. I mean Rust had to have lost like a quart of blood at least before anyone finds them and a hatchet to the chest cannot be a good sign for Marty. That said, I think Ray is dead personally, it's a great twist that people won't have seen coming because of the fanfare of including Colin Farrell (who is still something of a big name actor).

 

[Damoxemus]

That is true. I almost forgot about that. I figured Rust was done at the end for sure. This is a bit different though imo.

 

[jekeane]

Did they show any blood? He doesn't seem the type to wear a vest but he may have been. Could have been bean bags too. Or he could be dead we will know soon enough.

 

[jekeane]

Told you so!

 

[Talgrath]

So...crazy theory here: What if Ray's wife wasn't actually raped and she's in on the creepy occult stuff? That would explain her anger over Ray killing her "rapist", it would also explain where she got a spare $10,000. Since Ray's kid is stuck in with the occult creepiness, he's unwilling (or unable) to tell Ray about the freaky stuff going on. Admittedly, it's a probably crazy theory, but after all of the stuff going on in episode 3, it's formulated in my mind.

I also noticed that the guy that shot Ray is definitely not Paul, the guy that shot Ray is wearing a black suit...not unlike what a lot of the mobsters are wearing...

We got our first look at the underpass featured in the promos, is it just featured because that's where creepy white mask guy was? Or is it something deeper?

Paul meets up with a buddy of his from his past and they talk a lot about being "soldiers", was Paul in some sort of freemen movement in the California desert? (If you don't know who the 'freemen' are, look them up, they are scary)

Interesting how the mayor of Vinci seemed to have no say with the lieutenant and police chief around.

The meeting with the mayor's wife and son has some interesting tidbits, such as why his wife was cutting out magazine images and why that girl closed the door.

Almost forgot about Ray's racist dad, he talks about Rodney King being the "end of real police work" which seems to get Ray out of his slump...a case of the right motivation coming from the wrong place?

Also interesting that the state agent there wants Ani to seduce Ray, how will that play out?

 

[Talgrath]

Interesting article about a real life secret society that may have inspired Season 2:

http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2015/07/true-detective-season-2-bohemian-grove-secret-society-guerneville

 

[Damoxemus]

Well, that was interesting. I thought for sure Velcoro was gonna say something to Ani about the way his superiors were looking at him - seemed super weird. Then they walked into an ambush.

Weird how everyone died but those 3. And the first shooter peeled off about 150 rounds without reloading.

Other than that, a good watch. I like Colin and Vaughns' bar scenes each episode.

 

[Talgrath]

My reaction to that episode:



So, quite clearly we have a mid season solution that isn't really a solution, just like the first season. A lot of the episode, for each character, seemed to be about sex and the consequences it can have; Ani has her issues with the complaint from deputy dip****, Frank and his wife having issues procreating (note: Feels like those avocado trees are an analogy for their issues), Ray and his kid and Woodrugh's girlfriend being pregnant (after he had a night of gay sex). it definitely looks like Ani's dad and his weirdo **** is going to be tightly entwined in this one and the psychologist is going to be a key figure. Also, for those that are wondering, according to an aura site I found a green aura would indicate someone who is creative and hard working while a black aura indicates hatred and/or illness, so a green and black aura would (I think) mean Velcoro is working himself to death, but doing it creatively.

 

[Damoxemus]

Wow, good summary. Forgot about the aura thing - interesting take on it!

Also, that Bohemian Grove link you posted earlier seems more likely, with more references to "up north".

Only 4 more episodes to tie it all together, should be interesting.

 

[Talgrath]

Mo' episodes, mo' problems, a few observations:

Something I missed last week, because I don't speak Spanish, but apparently Ledo Amarillo (the Mexican gangster) said a prayer to Santa Muerte, a saint of death involved with a cult of the same name from Mexico. In an interesting little twist Amarillo means "yellow", Yellow King anyone? It's possible the two seasons are linked.(Note, not my work, got it all from here: http://uproxx.com/tv/2015/07/true-detective-breaking-bad-and-yellow-king-connection/3/ )

The scene with Ani in group therapy is hilarious (and a great demonstration of how group therapy doesn't work for some things), her bit about liking big, hard cocks is capped by a particularly great line about her having trouble getting a handcuff around one.

Woodrugh's refusal to admit he is gay continues to hurt him, aside from having to drink to deal with his fiance and her mother, the misconduct charges against him could all go away if he admitted his sexuality.

I'm a bit surprised that Frank's right hand man is actually doing some stuff on the side, sabotaging him; I thought that was just Frank being paranoid.

Everyone's life is ****ty right now except for Frank's, after his wife admits to him that she can't have kids (after having three abortions), he finally manages to get over his rough patch with his wife and they go home, relax and have sex and even talk about adoption.

The beating Velcoro lays on the psychologist is truly brutal stuff to watch, but I'm not sure how he thinks he's going to get away with it. What's more, nothing the shrink said can be used in a court of law anyway; it gets him answers but no evidence. The Chessani family has some "inventive" rituals...the therapist is unwilling to elaborate on that bit though but you have to figure this is very similar to the creepy **** ala Season 1.

The more that Velcoro's custody battle heats up the more I think it's tied into whatever is going on in Vinci, it seems like everything is just happening at way too convenient of a time, they just now find the real (or should I say "real") rapist?

The blue diamonds they are trying to track down are particularly interesting, in Santa Muerte "blue" is the color of wisdom or knowledge, double meaning perhaps?

So that spot where they found the bloody chair, could that be where Caspere was killed? It's certainly possible, seeing how there's a lot of blood roughly where the genitals would be and there's "arterial spray" (male genitals do have a lot of arteries...) that look to be at roughly the right height.

Frank's deal with the railroad developer brings up an interesting angle...is it possible Frank is going to wind up working with the special investigation at some point, or does he wind up dead for getting tangled in all of this?

Woodrugh's mom stole $20,000 from a backpack he had been hiding there, he said he got the cash in Afghanistan...is it possible he isn't as innocent as he proclaims himself to be? He didn't frame it as being a bonus from his work in Afghanistan but specifically FROM Afghanistan.

More importantly, how the **** are they going to tie all of this together in three episodes? That's a lot of ground to cover in a season so far devoid of any solid answers.

 

[Talgrath]

By the way, anybody else still reading this thread anymore? Or is it just me? Anyway, a few thoughts.

That scene with Velcoro doing a bunch of cocaine and drinking a fifth of whiskey was incredibly well acted, it's almost as if the actor was drawing from past experience... Also, if he isn't trying to catch these guys to keep his kid anymore, what's Ray motivated by now?

Frank and Ray's staredown at the start of the episode was tense, but the previews already showed us that both guys survived, it would have been better if the preview hadn't shown us anything of Ray or Frank.

When I realize Ani hadn't screwed up and had actually killed that guy, I couldn't help but think of Fist of the North Star "You're already dead." Also, well done making us think that Ani's knife work hadn't paid off (or at least that the drugs had screwed up her aim).

Woodrugh's diamond search introduced a new wrinkle, a double homicide committed by "guys in masks", bird masks maybe? We apparently won't find out until next episode. The awkwardness of Woodrugh is palpable in that scene...but I'm not 100% sure that's intentional or whether the actor is just awkward.

My biggest letdown of the series so far is the childhood molestation reveal (via a drug-induced haze) that appears to have screwed up Ani's relationship with her father and men in general. It's dull and predictable writing and really would have been more interesting if it was something else, even just generally being pissed off at hanging around the woods with hippies. Oh well.

If it wasn't obvious before, it should be now, the Mexican cartel is working for the creepy cult in some capacity and they killed the prostitute to cover up...something.

One last note: There was no sign of the Chessanis, but the mayor's right hand man was at the creepy sex party, could it be the Chessanis are a whole separate issue?

 

[firerat]

...

 

[Derek1985]

I've been finding how butthurt people are about the content this season incredibly amusing.

I'm actually enjoying the show. I recently re-watched Season 1, and while I agree wholeheartedly that it was a better show, it has not stopped me from enjoying the new season.

Three major observations:

1.) Most of the bloggers ****ting on the show are more interested in being snarky and sarcastic than accurately relating details from the show. I find 2-3 mistakes involving characters names and intentions, content from the episodes and general details that were not hard to get right. Butthurt over not having a repeat of Season 1, they seem to have forgotten to actually write good reviews.

2.) All the female bloggers that review the show hate it. It seems to be the rule. All the male bloggers that hate it seem to be reincarnated female bloggers.

3.) People have complained it's hard to follow. I have not had any problems keeping track of persons, places and things.

As for deep theories about the show, hopefully everyone learned their lesson from last season: it's all in the title. Occult references and vibes may abound but the show is firmly grounded in reality.

 

[GrogNerd]

I'm liking it. the three main characters are all interesting, well-written & -acted. the plot has a lot going on, but it isn't all that difficult to keep track of.

and that shootout was friggin' intense from start to finish.

but Vince Vaughan is just insufferable. his dialogue is horrible and he seems bored making the words come out of his mouth

and I want to shoot the most depressing lounge singer in all of history.

 

[Derek1985]

...but Vince Vaughan is just insufferable. his dialogue is horrible and he seems bored making the words come out of his mouth

I'm reading it different. He's playing a hooligan who is trying to hobnob with a bunch of people who politically, socially and economically are out of his league.

He uses big words and stumbles through ****ty metaphors and phrases because he strikes me as being out of his element.

If Vaughn is bored it's because I agree with you on one point: Pizzalotto saved the worst dialogue he's ever written for the guy. Ultimately I think he is doing the best with some terrible writing.

The scene with him and Ray at the table with coffee was incredible.

"I'm gonna put my other hand on the table. Don't you ****ing shoot me Raymond."

 

[firerat]

1.) Most of the bloggers ****ting on the show are more interested in being snarky and sarcastic than accurately relating details from the show. I find 2-3 mistakes involving characters names and intentions, content from the episodes and general details that were not hard to get right. Butthurt over not having a repeat of Season 1, they seem to have forgotten to actually write good reviews.

LOL you read bloggers reviews? I don't for this very reason here.

3.) People have complained it's hard to follow. I have not had any problems keeping track of persons, places and things.

For me it's just too jarbled up. Too many different story lines going on at once. I mean, I can follow it for the most part, it's just a bit tedious to do so.

This show has the opposite issue than the Walking Dead. The dead stretches what could be covered in 3 episodes into 8. True Detective crams 16 episodes worth stuff into 8.

As for deep theories about the show, hopefully everyone learned their lesson from last season: it's all in the title. Occult references and vibes may abound but the show is firmly grounded in reality.

I was a bit let down with the ending last season so I don't expect much here.

 

[Derek1985]

I was a bit let down with the ending last season so I don't expect much here.

I was actually pretty fond of the season 1 ending. Also I admit I thought that people's theories about the show up to that point were ridiculous, so to see it end on the note it did was extra special for me.

One thing this show has spawned is a bunch of backseat script writers.

 

[GrogNerd]

just watched latest episode last night.

I had almost turned around my opinion of Vince Vaughan with his breakfast table chat with Colin Farrell, but then he blew it talking to the dead cop's kid.

the rest of the episode was pretty good, especially Rachel McAdams' character carrying thru on her promise: “A man of any size lays hands on me, he’s gonna bleed out in under a minute”

 

[Derek1985]

I had almost turned around my opinion of Vince Vaughan with his breakfast table chat with Colin Farrell, but then he blew it talking to the dead cop's kid.

Given the horrendous dialogue VV has had to spit out this season, last episode was a welcome change, with this one in particular standing out for me as probably the best line in the Ray/Frank exchange:

"I'm going to put my other hand on the table. Don't you ****ing shoot me Raymond."

Classic. I have to, however, disagree with you on the Stan's son speech. I thought it was actually the best acted and most well written scene that Pizzalotto has given VV this season. You have to of course suspend logic and disbelief because the Stan character is almost non-existent in the season, but overall I thought it was a great scene.

Minor quip here: Stan was one of Frank's henchman and not a cop.

the rest of the episode was pretty good, especially Rachel McAdams' character carrying thru on her promise: “A man of any size lays hands on me, he’s gonna bleed out in under a minute”

This was blah to me. They broadcast it from a mile away with the "Chehkov's Dummy" in the beginning of the episode. It seemed like a convenient way to sneak knife play into the episode so that people wouldn't have another dead end to ***** about. It was also over so fast that you really couldn't even appreciate her technique!

 

[Derek1985]

Pretty damn good episode tonight.

 

[Talgrath]

Well ****, I think Frank Semyon has the right here, burn it all to the ****ing ground; honestly that's probably the best answer so far this season. If Frank had done what his wife told him to do three episodes and walk away sooner he'd probably walk away with a lot more though.

Blake was the one that told Frank that the meth head had raped Ray's wife, a (successful) attempt to move up the ranks; that's a pretty interesting revelation but not surprising. I have to say I'm not sad to see Blake go, the actor did an excellent job of playing an arrogant prick. This might also have been Vince Vaughn's best scene of the entire season.

Ani and Ray have sex while waiting for Woodrugh, which makes very little sense to me, but it's more interesting than watching them sit and drink I guess. Also, I noticed that the fake fire in the hotel room looked a lot like the red coloration of the opening sequence.

So with all of the plotting laid out and everything we're no close to an answer to the central mystery of the season: who killed Caspere? If Blake is to be believed, nobody has a clue despite the fact that the Russians and Catalyst stand to gain a lot by his death.

Tony Chessani is trying to kick his dad out of the job as Mayor of Vinci, an interesting little side bit.

So a lot of this ties back, somehow, to that break in and the blue diamonds that Woodrugh was looking in to. It looks like those gems were the buy in for Ray's old bosses to get into Vinci. Did Ray's dad know this and that's why he was so eager to get rid of his badge?

Woodrugh's dead and I find it hard to really feel all that bad about it. Of course Woodrugh dies once he's finally become useful and important.

I have to admit this, if nothing else this season of True Detective has me guessing right to the end, so good on Pizzolatto for that.

 

[Derek1985]

And the trend continues of all the female bloggers ****ting on the show.

I read them more for comic relief at this point. It must get boring trying to invent new ways of being snarky as a show gets better across the season.

Seems like this is definitely a show where you reserve judgement until the end rather than taking each episode individually.

 

[Darwin18]

I'm going to wait until the last episode to reserve my final judgement, but this season has been ****ing terrible.

1) The storyline is way too disjointed. It feels like it was made for a much longer season than eight episodes. I'm having a difficult time following along from week to week. Maybe if I binge watched on HBO Go over the course of a weekend it would make more sense to me.

2) Too many characters. The first season had two main characters - this season has four. I think that's probably why it feels like so disjointed. They could cut out Taylor Kitch's scenes and it wouldn't have any impact of the main story. There are also so many characters, various gangsters, crooked cops, whores, and politicians that I can't keep them all straight from week to week.

3) I think the acting is actually very well done. I think the script is atrocious though. There have been scenes with Vince Vaughn's character, a gangster, is using vocabulary on par with the high level SAT courses. It just doesn't make sense and I find it way too distracted.

4) Spooooky highway overpass and refinery scenes. Holy ****! A highway intersection at night. A super scary refinery in operation! Oh lawd!!

5) That awful bar with the awful live music. Enough already.

I will say that the last three episodes have been interesting. The first half of the season was **** in my opinion. I'm hoping that they can wrap up all the main loose threads in a coherent final episode but I have my doubts.

 

[Derek1985]

Remember the last episode is 90 minutes!

 

[Talgrath]

To a big extent I think the whole "starting new threads and not finishing them" bit is part of the show, we had it last season too and I'm expecting more of the same, and in a big way I like that. The unresolved threads give you a sense that there is more going on and there will be more going on in the future, that there is life outside of this one story. Plus, in a real investigation there are lots of dead ends, so it makes sense that not every aspect of the show will be completed. That said, if you have trouble keeping characters and stories straight, this season is a nightmare, so I can see why some people don't like it.

 

[Darwin18]

A viewing guide: http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat...ide_to_the_plot_of_this_confusing_season.html

 

[Talgrath]

A viewing guide: http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat...ide_to_the_plot_of_this_confusing_season.html

That's a pretty good plot summary, and it's laid out pretty much how I thought it was. I'm pretty excited for the season finale, I'm fairly sure Frank and Ray are going to die though.

 

[grrickar]

I'm truly impressed with the acting this season. Who would have thought Vince Vaughn could pull off a gangster role? Or Rachael McAdams pull off a gritty female detective role? Love this season - can't wait to see how it ends (seems way too soon to be ending!?!)

 

[GrogNerd]

A viewing guide: http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat...ide_to_the_plot_of_this_confusing_season.html

That's a pretty good plot summary, and it's laid out pretty much how I thought it was. I'm pretty excited for the season finale, I'm fairly sure Frank and Ray are going to die though.

that is an EXCELLENT plot summary, thanks for finding that

I think I got a handle on it now...

you have the jewel heist and the shady land deals and they're connected through Caspere.

Caspere was murdered by the jewel heist orphans. Like someone pointed out, the cops who pulled the robbery wouldn't kill him, it would draw attention to them. those involved in the land deal didn't kill him, Blake kinda hinted at that before he **** the carpet.

the Russians are using the fact that Frank is in a vulnerable position to muscle in and take his territory. I wouldn't be surprised if Frank's wife is in on that.

I may have been wrong about Vince Vaughan, his game has stepped up the past couple episodes. Reason may be his acting as a wannabe businessman is horrible, his scenes where he's a gangster are great. maybe that's what the character is all about; crappy businessman, outstanding gangster.

and as much as I want to hate Colin Farrell, he's an excellent actor. His finding the DA's body in the car was a great reaction. I noticed she was dead and was "oh, ****" just before his identical reaction. and I liked the fact he beat feet right away, instead of sticking around, pondering the injustice of it all. that was writing and direction, but the acting was great too.

 

[Talgrath]

Well, Frank and Ray both died, though I thought they might, it comes down to each of them not being able to give up on their one big lure; for Ray that is his son and for Frank it's the money and respect.

So, total body count of important characters: 5 (6 if you count Caspere's killer, the orphaned boy), Ray, Frank, the chief of police, McCandliss and Oleg the Russian mobster.

All of the occult aspects seem to have been tied to Caspere, the Chessani family and Amarillo only, a bit disappointing for someone like me who loves the occult references.

Ray should have grabbed that assault rifle, that shotgun won't do much against guys with assault rifles at range...not that he really had a chance once he stopped running and gunning.

The psychologist was "suicided" to tie up loose ends and his files taken, I guess we'll never know exactly what sort of creepy crap the Chessani family does.

Despite losing a lot of the key players, the business of Catalast and Vinci rolled on, this is not unlike the ending to the last season, although this season hints that justice might just be coming as Ani met with a journalist at the end.

Damn, Ray is good at making kids, not only is his son actually his son but in one night he also impregnated Ani.

Now I kind of want to do a True Detective marathon of both seasons back to back, I might do that before next season (if there is one). Overall, I liked season two, I didn't think it was quite as strong as season 1, but a lot of that comes down to the actors and locations; McConaughey and Harrelson are hard to match as actors and the occult is a little more intimidating in the rotting buildings of the deep south than in hot and dry southern California. The plot was much more complex this season, but in a lot of ways I think it was a stronger plot than last season, even if I sometimes found myself more "in the weeds" trying to understand all of the moving pieces of it. As far as the actors, I really felt like Rachel McAdams was the best of the bunch, her portrayal of Ani reflected both the strength and vulnerability the part needed. Vince Vaughn was surprisingly good as frustrated gangster/businessman Frank Semyon, though now that I reflect on it it's maybe not that different from a lot comedic parts he has played where he is the frustrated/on edge guy; Vaughn won't win an Emmy for the part, and he shouldn't, but he's definitely shown he can play characters outside of comedic roles. The most disappointing actor of the bunch for me was Taylor Kitsch, I never really felt like he was able to emote anything with any believability; even when he was crying it didn't seem like he was really feeling anything. I've only seen Kitsch in the terrible John Carter, so I'm not really sure if he's just a bad actor or if this was bad writing and directing for the part; and the part did have a lot heaped on it, not only a closeted gay man but an ex mercenary from Afghanistan.

Next location? I'd love to see something set in the Seattle area, where I live; but I could also see the northeast being a potential target, the show seems to want to avoid setting itself in traditional big cities where there's lots of federal interest to screw with the occultism.

 

[Derek1985]

Well, Frank and Ray both died, though I thought they might, it comes down to each of them not being able to give up on their one big lure; for Ray that is his son and for Frank it's the money and respect.

So, total body count of important characters: 5 (6 if you count Caspere's killer, the orphaned boy), Ray, Frank, the chief of police, McCandliss and Oleg the Russian mobster.

All of the occult aspects seem to have been tied to Caspere, the Chessani family and Amarillo only, a bit disappointing for someone like me who loves the occult references.

Ray should have grabbed that assault rifle, that shotgun won't do much against guys with assault rifles at range...not that he really had a chance once he stopped running and gunning.

The psychologist was "suicided" to tie up loose ends and his files taken, I guess we'll never know exactly what sort of creepy crap the Chessani family does.

Despite losing a lot of the key players, the business of Catalast and Vinci rolled on, this is not unlike the ending to the last season, although this season hints that justice might just be coming as Ani met with a journalist at the end.

Damn, Ray is good at making kids, not only is his son actually his son but in one night he also impregnated Ani.

Now I kind of want to do a True Detective marathon of both seasons back to back, I might do that before next season (if there is one). Overall, I liked season two, I didn't think it was quite as strong as season 1, but a lot of that comes down to the actors and locations; McConaughey and Harrelson are hard to match as actors and the occult is a little more intimidating in the rotting buildings of the deep south than in hot and dry southern California. The plot was much more complex this season, but in a lot of ways I think it was a stronger plot than last season, even if I sometimes found myself more "in the weeds" trying to understand all of the moving pieces of it. As far as the actors, I really felt like Rachel McAdams was the best of the bunch, her portrayal of Ani reflected both the strength and vulnerability the part needed. Vince Vaughn was surprisingly good as frustrated gangster/businessman Frank Semyon, though now that I reflect on it it's maybe not that different from a lot comedic parts he has played where he is the frustrated/on edge guy; Vaughn won't win an Emmy for the part, and he shouldn't, but he's definitely shown he can play characters outside of comedic roles. The most disappointing actor of the bunch for me was Taylor Kitsch, I never really felt like he was able to emote anything with any believability; even when he was crying it didn't seem like he was really feeling anything. I've only seen Kitsch in the terrible John Carter, so I'm not really sure if he's just a bad actor or if this was bad writing and directing for the part; and the part did have a lot heaped on it, not only a closeted gay man but an ex mercenary from Afghanistan.

Next location? I'd love to see something set in the Seattle area, where I live; but I could also see the northeast being a potential target, the show seems to want to avoid setting itself in traditional big cities where there's lots of federal interest to screw with the occultism.

What an absolute turd of an ending. I was really rooting for the show after last week and there was a real sense that it could wrap up splendidly but in the end we see what a real piece of swiss cheese the entire story was.

Maybe Pizzolotto will come back down to reality and write something good next season. If there is one.

 

[Darwin18]

One of the better synopsis I've seen for this season: http://grantland.com/hollywood-prospectus/true-detective-season-2-episode-8-omega-station/

If there is a Season 3 HBO very much needs to a director to reign in Pizzolatto. This season was not one that I enjoyed. I found the story line confusing, choppy, and even though I watched every episode I still had to turn to a guide to figure out what was going on. And even then, I still found it to be confusing and rushed. It could have been great if the show was a 14 or 16 episode season but it was far too much packed into far too little time. Because the plot was so confusing I was not invested in the show and could have cared less about Frank or Ray's deaths, which seemed totally pointless. The Mexicans...really?

 

[Derek1985]

One of the better synopsis I've seen for this season: http://grantland.com/hollywood-prospectus/true-detective-season-2-episode-8-omega-station/

If there is a Season 3 HBO very much needs to a director to reign in Pizzolatto. This season was not one that I enjoyed. I found the story line confusing, choppy, and even though I watched every episode I still had to turn to a guide to figure out what was going on. And even then, I still found it to be confusing and rushed. It could have been great if the show was a 14 or 16 episode season but it was far too much packed into far too little time. Because the plot was so confusing I was not invested in the show and could have cared less about Frank or Ray's deaths, which seemed totally pointless. The Mexicans...really?

I was on board until 10 minutes in and then I knew it was going downhill from there. They really set the stage for a fantastic finish with Episode 7 and then dropped the ball big time.

I'm always annoyed when I invest 2 months on a show filled with tired cliches. I had high hopes and it wasn't until the full scope of the show was out in the open that I realized that, ultimately, I was bamboozled.

 

[Talgrath]

One of the better synopsis I've seen for this season: http://grantland.com/hollywood-prospectus/true-detective-season-2-episode-8-omega-station/

If there is a Season 3 HBO very much needs to a director to reign in Pizzolatto. This season was not one that I enjoyed. I found the story line confusing, choppy, and even though I watched every episode I still had to turn to a guide to figure out what was going on. And even then, I still found it to be confusing and rushed. It could have been great if the show was a 14 or 16 episode season but it was far too much packed into far too little time. Because the plot was so confusing I was not invested in the show and could have cared less about Frank or Ray's deaths, which seemed totally pointless. The Mexicans...really?

Well, in a certain sense I got why the Mexicans were the ones to get him. The whole time Frank had been disregarding them, viewing them as unimportant to the larger scheme of things, but in the end they got him precisely because he wasn't focused on them. With the Russians out of the way (thanks to Frank and Ray) there's nobody to oppose their takeover of Vinci.