True Detective: Season Two

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Ani Bezzerides, Colin Farrell, Cops, Frank Semyon, House, John Carter, Matthew McConaughey, Paul Woodrugh, Rachel McAdams, Ray Velcoro, Taylor Kitsch, Television, True Detective, TV, Vince Vaughn, Woody Harrelson

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“True Detective” season two has, in my opinion, been harshly judged as a result of the exceptional season which preceded it. However, that’s not to say that it’s been a good eight episodes of television. There’s nothing special about it, nothing exceptional or worthy of significant praise, which means that its many frustrating negatives are accentuated as they are persistently repeated.

The first issue worth noting is that there are too many characters fighting for screen time. Whilst Colin Farrell (Ray Velcoro) and Rachel McAdams (Ani Bezzerides) play off one another well, as Harrelson and McConaughey did in season one, they aren’t afforded the attention that they deserve, particularly McAdams as Bezzerides. Their backstories are often mentioned and their personalities are clearly shaped by past events, but the information we are given is the same every single time, as true character development is sacrificed in an effort to provide more screen time to Vince Vaughn (Frank Semyon) and Taylor Kitsch (Paul Woodrugh). Vaughn’s place in the story is important and his role is necessary, although he was perhaps poorly cast, whereas Kitsch’s character feels haphazardly thrown into the story for a reason that I cannot comprehend.

via vanityfair.com

Excess is a problem that “True Detective” season two suffers from on a number of levels, as a plethora of ideas are carelessly thrown around, many of which never reach a satisfying conclusion. The season is rife with a sense of confusion that could have been extremely rewarding if all was revealed in an intelligent and well-signposted way, but perhaps the biggest crime of the season is that the reveal that ties the whole messy saga together is completely unearned. Velcoro wasn’t a genius, nor was he a particularly good detective, so the fact that he had a House-like eureka moment to propel the finale forward was incredibly annoying, and led to the finer details of the convoluted narrative remaining a mystery to me even after the credits rolled.

What carries the season forward and makes it worth the slog is that there is an almost consuming sense of evil bubbling in the background. It feels as though the detectives are fighting against something bigger than themselves, battling against the odds, which makes the season more compelling than it ever really earns the right to be. However, while this all-powerful villainy was ominous and frightening before all was revealed, the human face it took was underwhelming in the end (just as it was in season one).

via collider.com

Having previously stated that I feel that season two has been harshly rated because of the quality of season one, I should say that I still think that it fails most noticeably when it tries to capture positive elements of that first season. Vince Vaughn and Colin Farrell were given dialogue which was clearly designed to be delivered as McConaughey delivered his existential critiques in season one, but Vaughn’s monotone whispers and Farrell’s frustrated complaints didn’t quite hit the mark. Neither actor was good enough to pull off the dialogue in a believable way, so in the end it felt as though I was watching Farrell and Vaughn reading lines rather than watching characters exist in their own right.

Despite its flaws, I stuck with this season because I felt that it promised to be something more than it actually was. “True Detective” season two wasn’t terrible, at least from my perspective – the actors did a decent job (except for Taylor Kitsch who continues to disappoint) and I feel that there were the bones of a good story within the opaque tale that was told. It was a laborious season of television, and at times it felt as though I was lost in a maze of puzzling plot threads, but it had some genuinely memorable moments and if a third season arises I will be more than happy to tune in.

6/10

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True Detective: Season Two Premiere – “The Western Book of the Dead”

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Colin Farrell, John Carter, Matthew McConaughey, Rachel McAdams, Rust Cohle, Taylor Kitsch, Television Review, The Western Book of the Dead, True Detective, TV, Vince Vaughn, Woody Harrelson

via thestudioexec.com

The first season of “True Detective” was a pleasant surprise. Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson were exceptional in their roles, the story was intriguing, and the dialogue that Rust Cohle (McConaughey) delivered was something special. Fast forward a year (and a bit) and we have the first episode of season two, with a new cast and a set of directors that weren’t involved in the fantastic first season. The story is supposedly going to touch on similar themes, but other than that this is completely different than last year’s season. Sadly, that difference is noticeable for all the wrong reasons.

The cast is interesting, because the male leads aren’t really seen as amazing actors even on the small screen. Vince Vaughn is a decent comedic actor, with a great resume on that front, but he hasn’t had many successful serious roles in his career. Taylor Kitsch is an actor in the wilderness after “John Carter” – I have to say that I don’t care for his acting at all. Finally, Colin Farrell is a bit of a hit-and-miss Hollywood A-Lister, he’s capable and has been a part of some really cool films in different genres, but there are also a lot of features on his filmography that I’m sure he’d rather not be there. I do like him, but I don’t think many believe that he can pull off this role.

via collider.com

With that in mind, you can see their involvement in the series in two contrasting senses. 1) They could ruin it and demonstrate that they can’t carry eight episodes of television; 2) They could begin career resurrections.

There’s a chance that these actors will take to the small screen like ducks to water, and if that happens they could start to get the kind of roles that McConaughey has had in the past year, but after the first episode I’m not confident that their involvement will be positive.

In this opening episode, Vaughn, Kitsch, and Farrell were all woeful. Although the first season was so awesome because it understood the value of silence, it was still compelling, and the only reason that its understated nature worked was that Cohle was such a thoughtful and tired character. It seems like in this episode Vaughn wanted to take over that mantle by whispering his lines and exuding calmness, but because of this his performance lacked any impact and felt artificial. None of his dialogue felt natural, and I felt like he was trying a bit too hard. He should be scary and volatile from what I understand of his character, but I saw none of that here, and he certainly didn’t keep my attention.

via truethatpodcast.com

Kitsch and Farrell were completely parodic, particularly when the former rode his motorbike down an empty highway, and when Ray (Farrell) was asking about his son’s shoes. I get that Ray is supposed to be broken and unhinged, but Farrell didn’t pull it off and I always felt as though I was watching him rather than the character.

The female lead, on the other hand, is one of my favourite actresses. Rachel McAdams doesn’t have an abundance of serious roles on her filmography, but she’s been endearing and likeable throughout her career, and she’s showed her range in the romantic comedies that she’s been a part of. She did enough to make me believe that she’s capable of bringing depth to the role, and she also seemed angry and resentful enough to fit right into the series, but her scenes were slightly melodramatic.

via true-detective.wikia.com

The actual story of the season hasn’t been properly established yet; we get the sense that it’s going to revolve around Ben Caspar’s murder, but not much else. That might be interesting, but it’s too early to say given that we know next to nothing about him. That’s not a criticism because it is only the first episode, but this lack of understanding to begin with doesn’t help with generating a feeling of intrigue.

I’m still hopeful that this will be a good season, but the opener was very dull and it didn’t pull me in. None of the characters were particularly exciting and we don’t have any real idea where the story is going, so this really wasn’t a well-executed premiere. I didn’t actually feel like I was watching “True Detective”, I just felt like I was watching a boring police procedural. For now, I hope that the season picks up in the next few weeks and that the actors prove me wrong.

5/10