Trying to take "True Detective" as a stand-alone season may be the best to do for season two because it lacks what made season one great, a complete story every episode.
Collin Farrell teams with Vince Vaughn to try and create another dynamic pair in this season of "True Detective."
There is no character to match with Detective Rust Cohle, played by Matthew McConaughey, from season one.
Even if either Farrell or Vaughn could fill those shoes, then comes the spectacular match up with Detective Marty Hart, played by Woody Harrelson.
For those who watched season one, which Mike "The Movie Guy" and I recapped, the show started off strange in a good way and captured the audience attention from the first scene.
For those who heard the recap show for seasons one, the show was so spectacular that I researched as much as I could for the show.
I came across a book which the show was supposed to be loosely based on, "The King in Yellow" by Robert W. Chambers.
Things got a bit spooky with the amount of interest I showed on the series.
All the weird philosophical dialogue from Cohle was weird and entertaining, but added to the mystery of the episode and then at the end it came together with the finale to culminate in a fantastic manner.
So far as a fan of "True Detective" I will stick through the rest of the show, but each episode is feeling less like a complete story and more like bits and pieces of a larger story that the viewer doesn't know about. In doing so it has me lost and uninterested in any character.
The story line is strange and confusing.
All the characters in season one had hidden character flaws that slowly untangled to create the sense of growth.
This show shows the strangeness and not only do the audience get to see the weirdness of the character but other characters in the show are well aware of the character flaws.
Take away season one and make season two it's own show with nothing to compare to, it's a decent show.
Detective Ray Velcoro, played by Farrell, is crazy and intense. Businessman Frank Semyon, played by Vaughn, is just the same as Velcoro and even work together. The balance in the characters isn't there.
Detective Ani Bezzerides, played by Rachel McAdams, is hot and attention grabbing. The intensity in her character is clear.
That makes three characters that make the show intense, but with no calm moments there's nothing to compare intensity to and therefor intense becomes normal.
Officer Paul Woodrugh, played by Taylor Kitsch, is as close to calm as it's going to get, or so it seems by the fourth episode, and even he is one of the crazy characters in the show.
It seems like all these character are the same with minor differences. There's no contrast to give a possible middle ground or even an attention grabber or conflict.
The voice of reason on the show is always one of the strange crazy characters in the show confronting another character about being strange and crazy.
The acting and cinematography are good, but the story is lacking even without comparing it to season one.
There's no real main character, I'm not sure which character I'm supposed to be most concerned with, they all seem to be equally important.
I won't be recapping the show this season, mostly because I don't want to discourage people from watching it.
It's not my top choice show to watch every week, but I will watch it every week and see how it unfolds.
If it turns out that I prejudged the show and it develops to be this show which blows my mind, I will write another post to retract this one.
If the show never gets to being interesting, I may or may not take the time to write another post saying what failed to make it appealing to me.
So what do I rate episode 1?
5 out of 10 Popcorns. That element which caught my attention on episode one of season one wasn't there, there actually was nothing that caught my attention on episode one of season two. The main murder was cool and Rachel McAdams was cool. I guess it was enough to get me to watch the next episode.
Episode 2?
6 out of 10 Popcorns. I liked the ending to this episode. There was just something about that insane moment that made me watch the next episode. Pedro Miguel Arce, who was Felix in "The Strain," is now a part of the "True Detective" season two cast. This guy has now been on two shows I'm a fan of.
Episode 3?
5 out of 10 Popcorns. It was cool, just didn't really get anywhere. I guess characters are changing, or changing back. I'm not really quite sure where the show is headed.
Episode 4?
4 out of 10 Popcorns. In still confused and there's nothing that's made me care about any character. There's not really any complaints about the acting, but I'm not understanding the story.
