True Detective's second season is, in a lot of ways, similar to a sequel to a movie you liked as a kid. There are elements there that remind you why you liked the first movie, but there are much more elements that make you question if the original was even that good to begin with because enough of the same things happen that do not work at all in the sequel. It doesn't necessarily make the original a worse movie, but it stains it.
This is admittedly a weird thing to bring up in a season that, by design, starts from scratch. The actors are different, the setting is different, and even the director is different. But the writer is the same. I may be a little biased because I came to True Detective late. I saw the reviews and I saw all the praise it was getting. I didn't love it. I think my opinion of the show would be much different if I happened to watch it from the beginning with no expectations, but as it stood, I merely liked it.
The problem is that the things that worked in the first season weren't there for the second season. Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrleson were off to other projects and the replacements couldn't match them. McConaughey somehow looks even better in retrospect because some of the dialogue he had to say could only work out of his mouth. Also, Cary Fukanaga, the director who set the mood and tone, had moved on as well.
There's not much I could say about this season that hasn't been said already. The plot was needlessly complicated and ridiculously hard to follow. The dialogue was cringe-worthy at times. The main characters weren't well-written. (It seems unfair to wonder this, but I wonder how Nic Pizzolatto's work would look without world-class actors. What I'm saying basically is that some writers can still make a good movie/TV show without good actors, but Pizzolatto definitely isn't one of them.)
There were some bright spots, most notably Colin Farrell. Farrell played an impossibly written role, where he was an violent, drug abusing, alcoholic who beat the father of his son's bully in front of the son. And he made him somewhat likeable, sympathetic, and while you maybe weren't rooting for him, you certainly hoped he would get better. I dare say few actors could pull off what he did. (In praise of Pizzolatto, this part seems written specifically for Farrell so he could have theoretically known ahead of time that he could make a sympathetic character that on page looks irredeemable).
Rachel McAdams is also very good and she has even less to work with than Farrell. She is a tough, knife-wielding, badass member of law enforcement. So she basically embodies all of the cliche male law enforcement officers except for the knife part. (Actually, her character is a well-worn trope itself right down to the tendency to use a knife.)
Taylor Kitsch is competent though he doesn't really elevate the material. The problem is the material. He seems like a useless character. With the exception of his final scene, which is well-staged and tragic, he could be removed from the show without the show actually losing anything. Do we need to see another homophobic self-hating homosexual? (I'm pretty sure that's a thing that is much more rare than fiction would lead us to believe. Most homophobic people are... just homophobic)
Lastly, Vince Vaugh is unfortunately one of the worst casting decisions possible. He actually does very well in the finale, proving he can actually act. But you shouldn't hire Vince Vaughn and make him a stiff, humorless character who says pretentious shit all the time. I don't know who thought that was a good idea.
Lastly, I think the ending fell flat with me. I don't mind a sad ending, but Ray not being able to send that message to his kid was all kinds of bullshit. He was on the highway and then decided it would be a good idea to go into the woods? Sure good luck with that. And Ani is pregnant? Why? Both men sacrifice themselves for their women? Haven't seen that before.
In all, I think I enjoyed this less than most. Some people, once they adjusted that the second season was not the first, ended up liking it. I wouldn't say I hated it, but some episodes were a slog to get through. I just have a lot of trouble enjoying a show with thin characters with a plot that is impossible to follow.
Grade - C
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