Television True Detective | Season 2 Spoilers

Mockney

Not the only poster to be named Poster of the Year
Joined
Jan 27, 2009
Messages
40,991
Location
Editing my own posts.
Ok, that's not good.

It's not terrible though. T Bone Burnett is the producer and he knows what he's doing. The vocal's a bit cack but there's a Mark Lanegan vibe and I'm a big Mark Lanegan fan. So there's that.

But yeah, it's definitely not good.
It's Leonard Cohen fwiw. Who is a fully blown leg-end, so it feels a bit harsh to stamp on him, especially as it's little different from most Cohen stuff, but yeah, it's substantially meh. Would've helped if the little gospel backing bit had a stronger presence rather than a timid cameo. A bit of rousing, building production like the "Sign of The Judgement" version in the penultimate 1st season ep, for example

 

Cina

full member
Joined
Aug 10, 2007
Messages
50,911
I enjoyed it. It's never going to be as good as the first but it's still going to be better than most of what's aired on TV.
 

Pogue Mahone

Swiftie Fan Club President
Joined
Feb 22, 2006
Messages
134,465
Location
"like a man in silk pyjamas shooting pigeons
I decided to watch it by completely forgetting the previous season as they have zero in common. Otherwise it'd be way too harsh to judge this show. I mean there is already a huge gap and it's only one episode..
I reckon I'll try the same approach. Might be a lot worse than season one but still a good show in its own right.

EDIT: Gah. @Cina got there first. Hate that.
 

kouroux

45k posts to finally achieve this tagline
Joined
Apr 25, 2007
Messages
96,649
Location
Djibouti (La terre des braves)
I reckon I'll try the same approach. Might be a lot worse than season one but still a good show in its own right.

EDIT: Gah. @Cina got there first. Hate that.
There are some things I liked and some I didn't really. It didn't get me hooked from the go like the previous one but I'm willing to be patient. I think (more like hope) one of the 4 main characters will surprise us with their acting performance.
 

Unlikely lad

Full Member
Joined
Aug 5, 2010
Messages
3,750
Location
London
The scenes with the Ginger rape kid got me really uncomfortable. Which is what they were going for, I suppose.
 

Simbo

Full Member
Joined
Oct 25, 2010
Messages
5,259
Decent enough introductory type episode to three damaged characters, not including Vaughn. Oddly enough he seems to be the most stable one in it.
 

Joemo

whistling in the wind
Joined
Feb 27, 2012
Messages
8,342
Is Vince Vaughn a mobster turned businessman?

I didn't think it was that bad, nowhere near the first season but that was inevitable. Ridiculous how Casper was found but other than that and the theme song it was decent.
 

Tarrou

Full Member
Joined
May 13, 2013
Messages
25,861
Location
Sydney
The opening 'song' feels more like a poetry reading by Cohen, and I quite enjoyed it. It knitted well with the visuals.

The episode had a bit too much going on and felt contrived at times, but I still enjoyed it. It's obviously not a patch on season one, but we all expected that.
 

Cina

full member
Joined
Aug 10, 2007
Messages
50,911
I mean, it was only the first episode.

And it's not like the first season wasn't full of silly convenient plot devices either. I know it won't be as good but I have a feeling it'll be picked apart to shit by the cynics on here who like to do that.
 

Unlikely lad

Full Member
Joined
Aug 5, 2010
Messages
3,750
Location
London
I mean, it was only the first episode.

And it's not like the first season wasn't full of silly convenient plot devices either. I know it won't be as good but I have a feeling it'll be picked apart to shit by the cynics on here who like to do that.
The green paint thing annoys me to this day :lol:
 
Last edited:

Cheesy

Bread with dipping sauce
Scout
Joined
Oct 16, 2011
Messages
36,181
Thought it was a decent first episode overall. It wasn’t perfect, and probably didn’t match up to Season 1, but it was still good, and managed to retain that sort of stylistic approach that Season 1 had.

Colin Farrell’s character was definitely the standout of the lot. Immediately got an interesting setup and background which kind of had me intrigued about him more than any of the others. He could fall into the cliché of being a bit of a typically gruff alcoholic anti-hero, but he had a sort of offbeat intensity in this episode that made him really interesting. Plus the scene where he confronts his kids (maybe not his kid) bully. The line about what he’d do if the kid ever bullied someone again was superb.

The characters overall though all felt a bit depressing and grim. Ani seemed a bit bitter and almost gives across the impression of hating everyone, as did Paul. Granted, Kitsch’s character was probably the one who we saw the least of in this episode, so we’ll gradually get more of him I’d imagine. Frank Seymon arguably came across as the most upbeat and least depressing of the lot actually, despite being the out and out criminal.

I reckon Seymon’s wife will play a pretty prominent role. She seems like she has a fair bit of clout over him, since he’s obviously got a certain level of insecurity, like most of the characters we saw.

The setting wasn’t as vibrant as Season 1, and didn’t seem incredibly crucial to the tone of the episode, but it wasn’t too bad either. LA’s one of those places we’ve probably seen so often that it’s hard to put a completely unique spin on it. It certainly wasn’t too bad either, and it should be interesting to see how much they explore the whole underworld of LA.

The whole sexuality aspect was played up too: Ray’s kid might not be his, Ani seemingly liking something that surprised her partner, Paul taking the tablets, and Seymon going through IVF. The whole episode was a bit uncomfortable and unsettling at times, like Season 1, and I think that’s an approach they’ll really play on for a lot of the season.
 

Leg-End

Full Member
Joined
Sep 20, 2004
Messages
19,595
It wasn't too bad, felt like it could have done with getting going a bit quicker.

Some general thoughts:

- The theme song isn't good, perhaps its a grower but it doesn't really fit with the titles which again are excellent.
- Some of the haircuts are hilarious, Ani's partner who is conveniently named Elvis, David Morse with ludicrous long hair, the police chief with an annoyingly microphone looking afro.
- Overhead shots, overhead shots everywhere. Don't mind them, just there seemed to be a lot of them.
- Some of Ray's dialogue when he gets angry is just funny, I know it shouldn't be but I couldn't not laugh at a couple of moments which will be obvious to anyone that watched it.
- Early signs are that casting isn't too bad, unfair to compare them to last season really but so far I can believe the characters, Farrell and Vaughn's characters are interesting.

Looking forward to next week.
 

Joemo

whistling in the wind
Joined
Feb 27, 2012
Messages
8,342
"If I have to come back here again I'll buttfeck your dad with your mums headless corpse on the lawn watching"

:eek: Lovely.
Are you sure that's it? I thought it was buttfecking his dad with his mom's corpse, not buttfecking his dad whilst his mom's corpse watches. One sounds very menacing, the other quite menacing and a bit gay and voyeuristic..
 

langster

Captain Stink mouth, so soppy few pints very wow!
Scout
Joined
Jun 28, 2014
Messages
21,602
Location
My brain can't get pregnant!
Are you sure that's it? I thought it was buttfecking his dad with his mom's corpse, not buttfecking his dad whilst his mom's corpse watches. One sounds very menacing, the other quite menacing and a bit gay and voyeuristic..
Yup, just checked except replace dad with father and remove watching from the end.
 

DWelbz19

Correctly predicted Portugal to win Euro 2016
Joined
Oct 31, 2012
Messages
34,217
It'll be interesting to see what the ultimate 'evil' will be for the season. The first worked really well with the ritualistic occult-like sacrifices by the Childress dynasty, but they can't really take a similar path for this season.
 

Cheesy

Bread with dipping sauce
Scout
Joined
Oct 16, 2011
Messages
36,181
It'll be interesting to see what the ultimate 'evil' will be for the season. The first worked really well with the ritualistic occult-like sacrifices by the Childress dynasty, but they can't really take a similar path for this season.
Even though he didn't seem too bad in this episode, I still think Vaughn's character will probably come closest to being the evil big bad, although hopefully in a fairly nuanced way.
 

.Rossi

ever get that feeling of déjà vu?
Joined
May 26, 2012
Messages
18,064
Location
Currently on trial for plagiarism
Why I'm interested, I don't know. I don't even watch the show.

But, on this forum, there are people saying "meh." While other forums are saying how great it is....

Are Farrell and Vaughan any good?
 

Cheesy

Bread with dipping sauce
Scout
Joined
Oct 16, 2011
Messages
36,181
Why I'm interested, I don't know. I don't even watch the show.

But, on this forum, there are people saying "meh." While other forums are saying how great it is....

Are Farrell and Vaughan any good?
It was always gonna be divisive after the first season, since it's a new cast, setting, story etc.

Farrell was superb, I thought. Vaughn was fairly meh.
 

langster

Captain Stink mouth, so soppy few pints very wow!
Scout
Joined
Jun 28, 2014
Messages
21,602
Location
My brain can't get pregnant!
Why I'm interested, I don't know. I don't even watch the show.

But, on this forum, there are people saying "meh." While other forums are saying how great it is....

Are Farrell and Vaughan any good?
I enjoyed it. Cheesy wrote a really good review above. Farrell is excellent as always, he's shown he is a very diverse actor in his films, this one combines a couple of his roles and is great so far. Vaughan has the most to prove really as he's not renowned for overly serious roles, more for comedy. He wasn't in this episode that much, but when he was, he was ok. As Cheesy said, it retained the uncomfortable and creepy feel from the first series, and it was a pretty good first episode, although it did cram a lot of plotlines in to one episode.
 

zlatan_ish

juventino
Joined
Jan 18, 2010
Messages
5,745
Location
Prairies
Supports
La Vecchia Signora
Fraid not. It's this...


I can see why they've gone with it. It's evocative of the whole dark True Detective ambiance...But it's really drab. It doesn't help it's on the heels of something universally loved tbf.

It's not going to ruin the show though. I hated the last two 'Way Down in The Hole''s on The Wire.
It's horrible.
 

Mciahel Goodman

Worst Werewolf Player of All Times
Staff
Joined
Apr 27, 2014
Messages
30,017
It's Leonard Cohen fwiw. Who is a fully blown leg-end, so it feels a bit harsh to stamp on him, especially as it's little different from most Cohen stuff, but yeah, it's substantially meh.
I was taking the piss, didn't realise it was actually Cohen (thought it was someone trying to sound like him). You're right, he is a legend, and this might have been a great song if he'd written it three decades ago.
 

CassiusClaymore

Is it Gaizka Mendieta?
Scout
Joined
Apr 28, 2008
Messages
35,977
Location
None of your business mate
Supports
The greatest team in history
See I don't think it had any of the creepy gothic vibe from Series 1 at all. This is more straight up Noir hence the nods to Mulholland Drive and The Maltese Falcon pointed out earlier.
 

Mciahel Goodman

Worst Werewolf Player of All Times
Staff
Joined
Apr 27, 2014
Messages
30,017
My first thought was anal.
Mine too, but on second viewing I think she implies fantasy rape. It follows on from the discussion Farrell has with his lawyer as well, if it's anal, why give the scene so much prominence. If it's the latter, it hints at something to come between two of the main characters.
 

CassiusClaymore

Is it Gaizka Mendieta?
Scout
Joined
Apr 28, 2008
Messages
35,977
Location
None of your business mate
Supports
The greatest team in history
Mine too, but on second viewing I think she implies fantasy rape. It follows on from the discussion Farrell has with his lawyer as well, if it's anal, why give the scene so much prominence. If it's the latter, it hints at something to come between two of the main characters.
Yeah you might be right although I've got no faith in this guy setting up anything for later after what happened with the first season.
 

Cina

full member
Joined
Aug 10, 2007
Messages
50,911
I think a big part of the first episode being a letdown in many ways was the fact that none of the characters (bar Farrell and Vaughn, who's scenes together were good imo) interacted with each other until the very very end. Most of the best scenes in the first series were when the two leads were together. I'm hoping it'll improve now that they're all intertwined.
 

CassiusClaymore

Is it Gaizka Mendieta?
Scout
Joined
Apr 28, 2008
Messages
35,977
Location
None of your business mate
Supports
The greatest team in history
Anyway, what the feck was that woman in the milk bowl all about? Was that a hallucination or what? Was I hallucinating (seeing as nobody else has mentioned it)?