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True Detective - Season 2 - We get the Season we deserve - Sundays on HBO
- Thread starter Cornballer
- Start date
My biggest problem with this season so far; everyone is Rust, no one is Marty.
FantasticMrFoxdie
Mumber
That shootout. WTFlol. Did enjoy McAdam's reload on the move though.
Oh and RIP Bill from TLoU.
holy fuck Joel that's what I recognized him from. couldn't quite put my finger on it.
NotTheGuyYouKill
Member
Probably the best moment in this episode given the narrative. Similar to how the ending of episode 2 played out. It would've still worked if there were unnamed cops still alive off camera.
This scene was crafted/staged with care. The director and whoever else involved are clearly competent here. But the scenes leading up to it were goofy as shit.
That was decent till the freeze frame, haha.
I think it might have been tenser if instead of some random group of Mexicans, it was the one dude they were hunting with booby traps and a sniper rifle, picking the cops and civvies off one-by-one.
Anton Sugar
Member
That's part of the reason why I can't get a grip on her character. She's kinda built and played as this badass, but is also making a lot of mistakes.
NotTheGuyYouKill
Member
McAdams is working those jeans.
Not a Jellyfish
but I am a sheep
Only redeeming factor of the episode/season so far.
Once the detail had visited the pawn shop, I knew that they were being "stage managed" by a higher authority. I did not expect the shootout to sprawl into a scene of absolute carnage, but I enjoyed it for what it was. That, I think has been the secret to my enjoying the season so far: I did not expect another season of Rust and Marty.
When we began that season, Rust and Marty had already exited from the hierarchy of police to establish their own places. One of the great aspects of the show was Marty's looking back upon his former life and learning from his mistakes on and off the job. Marty and Rust had a great deal of pathos and perspective from leaving the police force - their gravitas was earned and made their characters much deeper.
In contrast our four detectives cannot seem to leave their place. They are immobilized and trapped in a snare laid by a much better hunter(s) for reasons that they do not understand. Only Detective Raymond admits honestly that he is not in control and adapts realistically to his plight. Franks fights it, Ani is righteously indignant about it, and Paul wants to forget.
Can any of them gain control over their own lives? None of them will ever gain Rust's insights, but they might mature into Marty, who at least mastered himself by the end. I look forward to finding out.
When we began that season, Rust and Marty had already exited from the hierarchy of police to establish their own places. One of the great aspects of the show was Marty's looking back upon his former life and learning from his mistakes on and off the job. Marty and Rust had a great deal of pathos and perspective from leaving the police force - their gravitas was earned and made their characters much deeper.
In contrast our four detectives cannot seem to leave their place. They are immobilized and trapped in a snare laid by a much better hunter(s) for reasons that they do not understand. Only Detective Raymond admits honestly that he is not in control and adapts realistically to his plight. Franks fights it, Ani is righteously indignant about it, and Paul wants to forget.
Can any of them gain control over their own lives? None of them will ever gain Rust's insights, but they might mature into Marty, who at least mastered himself by the end. I look forward to finding out.
This season desperately needed to continue the Yellow King cult activity and faux cosmic horror angle that people loved Season 1 for.
There's too much gangster drama going on. I could give a fuck if Vince gets his money back. I have no idea what's at stake, for all we know the cult is imagined and the people with their eyes missing is just more gangster bullshit. What is the transportation system conspiracy? The season is half over and we still have no idea.
I'll keep watching this because there's nothing better on, but I think it's time for me to accept that what kept me glued to the television for season 1 isn't season 2. And to think that people actually defended Pizzaman's decision to completely separate seasons. Huge mistake.
There's too much gangster drama going on. I could give a fuck if Vince gets his money back. I have no idea what's at stake, for all we know the cult is imagined and the people with their eyes missing is just more gangster bullshit. What is the transportation system conspiracy? The season is half over and we still have no idea.
I'll keep watching this because there's nothing better on, but I think it's time for me to accept that what kept me glued to the television for season 1 isn't season 2. And to think that people actually defended Pizzaman's decision to completely separate seasons. Huge mistake.
Avinexus
Member
She's definitely the only thing I like about this season so far.
The season is desperately missing a Marty character, who can act as an audience cipher by reacting believably to the plot and the absurd stuff some of the characters say. EVERY lead is dour and spouting off over wrought dialog this year.
The shoot out was pretty good though, except for everyone getting killed except the three leads. I thought it was technically sound. I didn't have trouble with the geography like some others did in the thread, there were a couple wide shots towards the end that established where people were.
It's clear the whole thing was a setup of some sort, with it being so easy to trace the watch to a suspect, that Frank didn't see how it was related to STAN's murder, the higher-ups pushing them to raid immediately without waiting for tac-team support, the bad guys waiting for the cops and them making it a point to cause as much collateral damage as possible before the guy going all suicide-by-cop. At the very least it's gonna shake things up.
I don't know, I'm still intrigued enough by the core mystery to keep watching, and entertained enough that I'll stick with it until we hit something interesting or exciting, like this action scene. It's kind of become The Walking Dead in that way. I might roll my eyes a lot, but then the show pulls itself together long enough to manage something actually exciting and/or compelling.
But I am rolling my eyes A LOT at this point. Especially with the Frank/Vince Vaughn stuff. I just don't care at this point. I don't care about the land deal. That the inciting incident of the season seems predicated on a botch land deal with uninteresting characters just falls flat. The two seasons are Star Wars OT vs PT. A saga of a mystical hero's journey, steeped in magic and good vs. evil, and then a saga of trade blockades, contrived romance and senate chamber meetings.
Dig more into Caspere's past. Get to these "parties" everyone is talking about. Get to the weird stuff. The mystery of that, and how it may or may not relate to his murder. It's clear the series excels at the mystery stuff even if other stuff falls flat. Season 1 had that in spades with the weirdness of the whodunit and the differing character circumstances of past vs. present. Less Frank being worried about his financial situation.
Enjoyed the shoutout but agree with some people here that they try to make every character like Rust or something with difficult lines and quotes a normal person never says. Rust was Rust and that made him. But these characters are not.
Edit: Agree we need a Marty indeed. Velcore would have been great for that.
Edit: Agree we need a Marty indeed. Velcore would have been great for that.
Dick Justice
Banned
It's even worse when you've got a shit actor like Vince Vaughn delivering these comically bad, supercereal lines.
PsychoSoldier
Banned
Yeah, too many people talk like Rust, don't pull it off, and no one calls them on it.
People loved the Rust stuff but he had people call him on it so it didn't feel as fake.
Indeed. Velcore should just have this one line on the whole show. To counter everything.
bodyofanamerican
Member
I liked the shootout, personally. I thought the way they showed the situation falling more and more apart as time went on, leading to the bus crash/Ani running out of ammo and getting her knife ready as a desperation move was very well done. I actually caught myself being nervous for McAdam's character towards the end of the scene.
Having said that, can someone confirm to me why they were there? This dude was a suspect in the Caspere murder? Was that it?
And I assume given the Vinci Mayor's "be careful out there", and Frank's seeming knowledge of what was happening is leading people to assume the task force was totally set up, yes?
Lastly, preview stuff:
So,
Having said that, can someone confirm to me why they were there? This dude was a suspect in the Caspere murder? Was that it?
And I assume given the Vinci Mayor's "be careful out there", and Frank's seeming knowledge of what was happening is leading people to assume the task force was totally set up, yes?
Lastly, preview stuff:
So,
Ani DOESN'T get fired, and just gets busted down to Highway Patrol, based on that uniform?
Avinexus
Member
They were chasing the bald guy that they kept showing pictures of. He was their murder suspect because his prostitutes pawned some of Casper's items.
They somehow tracked Caspere's watch to a pawn shop. The security video of the pawn shop showed some girl pawning the watch. They figured out who she was and that she was connected to this gang banger guy. Both their prints were on the watch, so this guy's criminal history makes him become primary suspect in Caspere's murder. The warehouse building was where this guy hung out or lived or worked. It all seems to be some kind of setup to make the detectives look bad by the corrupt higher-ups.
As for preview stuff,
I'm thinking that's actually an Ani flashback to her early career, similar to Velcoro's earlier in the season.
Future PhaZe
Member
So I just found out who plays "Stan": Ronnie Gene Blevins
Holy shit. It makes the Stan thing maybe 100x times worse because Ronnie is about 100x the actor Vince is as far as drama is concerned (Joe slight movie spoilers):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gNHv-eOWz8
Holy shit. It makes the Stan thing maybe 100x times worse because Ronnie is about 100x the actor Vince is as far as drama is concerned (Joe slight movie spoilers):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gNHv-eOWz8
As for your spoiler.
she is already suspended from the sheriffs department, so it makes no sense to bust her down and un-suspend her. I'm thinking flashback
so many scenes on this show are like
These are my feelings exactly. Pizzaman should consider finding a new line of work.
Subterranean
Member
I am not liking the show like the majority of you but I am willing to give it a chance, especially after this episode. Now with the gang banger dead and that lead is done we will probably start getting into the meat of the murder. I really hope these parties are what is rumored and this season starts to take a weird turn into the Carcosa territory.
This show could be just Colin and Rachel, there was no need for the others so far. All could change though in the next 4 episodes.
Oh and on a positive note the intro song has really grown on me.
This show could be just Colin and Rachel, there was no need for the others so far. All could change though in the next 4 episodes.
Oh and on a positive note the intro song has really grown on me.
bodyofanamerican
Member
I don't find Vince that bad when it comes to portraying a criminal boss but for me it becomes much more noticable with everyone and the mood being so damn stiff all the time.
^I agree with having another Marty character. Just someone who brings more variety to the acting of the main cast.
I know they wanted a strictly business type with Vince's role but I wouldn't mind it if he was allowed to bring some humor into the character.
Agreed. Bike-man has no business existing.
And I'll be arsed if I ever learn the names of any of these people.
indigo-cyclops
Member
Worst casting decision really. He just doesn't have the chops IMO. And I prefer his usual style because he's perfectly good at it.
What is it with people not knowing what the shoot out was about? Did people not watch the scene in the pawn shop and then the task force meeting after? It was fairly straightforward I thought.
And yeah I don't always know who the hell they are talking about... I think there could be too many characters in play or something
And yeah I don't always know who the hell they are talking about... I think there could be too many characters in play or something
probably looking at their phone at the same time
seems to happen a lot in tv threads
NotTheGuyYouKill
Member
lol
Dick Justice
Banned
And there it is. Loved how he said WTF right before.
Was he meant to be corrupt? Or just a lazy slob? I recall him spying on Woodrugh when he was with his buddy.
graffix13
Member
I'm really liking Vauhn's wife/girlfriend. There was a scene when the shoot out was happening (right after that floor exploded) and they came out of the casino and she was in a dress. Mmmmhmm!
Besides her and McAdams though...yeah, this season is a struggle for me. I *want* to like it....but I'm starting to admit to myself that I'm not enjoying it.
I'll see it through the end though.
Chance Hale
Member
I got the impression he was selling photos of Paul to the press rather than being corrupt originally. At the same time bringing up the watch is suspicious but it's doubtful he'd knowingly walk into an ambush.
and especially Adam at the camera
This seasons cinematography is nonexistant. No voice
Freedom = $1.05
Banned
I suspect that the reason that the shootout went bad was because the crooks had an inside man, that he was probably the inside guy, and his death was likely accidental but it doesn't hurt those trying to cover up this mess.
I see a scenario where the mayor got him to let the gangsters know that a raid was coming because making a mess of this whole thing would hopefully put an end to the interest in the Caspere murder as departments try to get their house in order
and especially Adam at the camera
This seasons cinematography is nonexistant. No voice
it's not a lack of a voice but a lack of a consistent voice. The Lin episodes feel like they were on a whole 'nother level compared to the last two insofar as direction and cinematography is concerned.
Dick Justice
Banned
I liked how pleased he was with himself with the whole pawnshop thing, with the looks he was giving Ani lol.
Dick Justice
Banned
He suggests that they wait for the guy to come out though. If he was in on it, he'd probably have suggested that they go in.
Anton Sugar
Member
Yeah, exactly what I was thinking.
Nice catch, didn't know the last two had a different crew. It shows.
Both really and a "burn out" just like Velcoro. I wonder what's going to happen with that recording he did of Woodrugh.
NotTheGuyYouKill
Member
The first two episodes with Justin Lin had some lovely cinematography. I haven't noticed too much of that in the last two episodes.
Can someone post some shots of cinematography from 3 and 4?
Can someone post some shots of cinematography from 3 and 4?
Freedom = $1.05
Banned
Hmm, i guess that wouldn't make sense then. I still suspect the gangsters had someone on the inside but I suppose crusty fat cop wasn't the guy. But he definitely was up to something and surely we'll find out what that was soon enough.
My opinion. Caspere was killed to delay the land development going on around the new rail line. Manufacturers from the town have been using that land to dump toxic waste and fear getting caught. Now they set up the pimp to take the fall (only Valcore knows about Frank's missing money) for the murder, but tipped him off to make sure he won't be talking.
The next 6 episodes are just them writing up reports and doing depositions about the shootout.
The next 6 episodes are just them writing up reports and doing depositions about the shootout.
CapitalismSucks DonkeyBalls
Banned
Especially for the piddling amount of $7 million. That railway that he invested in would take billions to build. His $7 million is a drop in the bucket.
Agreed with the second point. I was hesitant about an anthology approach. Looks like I wasn't completely off base either. HBO should have just thrown money at Matthew, Woody, and Cary to come back for a season two. Set it straight in New Orleans and have the storyline follow some occult/voodoo crime ring.
The notable success of season 1 had a lot do with the the fact they had time to collaborate and create it. Pizzalato and Fukanaga could spend as long as they wanted working things out, much more similar to how a feature film would be made rather than a TV show. This helped immensely in the clear authorial vision that season 1 had. Season 2 is much more like a traditional TV show, with a story and script created in a matter of months being worked on by a rotating group of directors who have to get up to speed on what the show wants/needs them to do.
True Detective season 1 was an anomaly in so many ways, and I'm not sure the return of the stars and director would have been able to overcome the challenges of a season 2 created under a normal schedule.