'True Detective' season 2 -- a retrospective gem.

[TheSweetieMan]

I wasn't entirely sure how to kick off this thread -- other than that I watched season 2 of 'True Detective' over the last two days for the first time since its initial launch on HBO several years ago. Like many, I fell victim to immediately comparing it to the seminal masterpiece of television history with its first season when this first released. However, after allowing several years to go by, and watching this with virtually no expectations or really any remembrance of what happened -- I ended up enjoying this season from start to finish. A lot, actually.

I don't know what happened upon this season's original airing. I mean, there were a lot of complaints. From both viewers and critics. I myself was a part of this. But when I go back and look at my complaints online back when this season was originally airing, it seems to correlate with the same complaints from critics and general audiences, in that it just had a lot going on, with so many characters, probably more than what 8-episodes could originally accommodate to. And when you go back and look at reviews and breakdowns on YouTube, you'll see that the majority of the criticism lies almost entirely in the way the writing handles so many characters and subplots, surrounding an overarching main plot, which is admittedly a ton of information to process on a week-by-week basis in the format that this season originally aired.

But the most interesting part of this criticism, isn't that anyone was able to really objectively lay out why the handling of more than a handful of characters or subplots didn't work -- more or less that it was just hard to follow. Which it was, don't get me wrong -- but when you can watch this season sequentially at your own pace with no interruption, take some notes, and allow yourself to be immersed into this world with no expectation of comparing it to the greatness of season 1 -- it stands as a pretty great season of storytelling and acting in its own right.

When the first season of this series originally premiered, it's hard to put into words both how refreshingly weird it was -- and how idiosyncratic it was in embodying this unique blend of cosmic, southern gothic horror, and the basics of a suspenseful police procedural. While also featuring some incredible direction from Cary Fukunaga, and powerful, career-best acting from both Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson.

But by those same metrics, while the direction of season 2 may lack that aforementioned idiosyncratic direction of the first season -- it still features career best work from the likes of Colin Farrell, Vince Vaughn, Rachel McAdams -- and especially Taylor Kitsch, who honestly finally showcased his acting prowess and potential as a breakout in this series, which had then propelled him into great roles like David Koresh in 'Waco'.

The cinematography, while still not being quite as distinct as Adam Arkapaw's great work in season 1, is still very good in its own right. With its shot composition, framing, and overall visual language allowing the mean, dirty, smoggy terrain of Los Angeles -- which has already been done to death in film and television -- to serve as its own antagonist the characters we follow in this season.

The sound design is outstanding. It has a killer score which definitely carried over from the first season -- and a pretty good soundtrack contribution from Lera Lynn to compliment the already impressive score from T Bone Burnett.

I think the biggest complaint I had at that time -- other than the series going bigger in both character size and subplot developments -- was the lack of weirdness from the first season. That aspect still rung true for me during my rewatch. That cosmic oddity -- like it was ripped from pages of an HP Lovecraft novella -- is one component that should've been carried into every rendition of 'True Detective' even if it were following an anthology format. The unpredictable part of the first season was part of what made it so captivating. It was like there was this ever-constant eeriness underneath the procedural component, that always made you feel like the characters of Rust and Marty were in constant danger -- whereas season 2 just played out like seveal somewhat incompetent detectives were attempting to solve corruption within the local political and law enforcement communities. Hardly concepts that have been explored before, but even so, considering the current political and social climate, it has actually allowed these parts of season 2 to be more relevant than ever.

See, in recent years, with the public attention finally being brought to the seriousness of things like Epstein Island -- the predatory behavior of celebrity bigwigs like Harvey Weinstein -- and the all around theories of Hollywood elities, politicians, and anyone in position of power, having ties to things like human trafficking and grooming -- it's allowed season 2 to age almost too well. Now, these were themes also present in the first season, which has also aged gracefully because of these timely themes. But the way it's handled in season 2 truly feels like the way it continues to play out in real life. I am genuinely surprised that Nic Pizzolatto wasn't blacklisted by the filmmaking industry considering how close to the sun this series' thematics related to human trafficking and its long rumored association with celebrities and politicians has played out. There is honestly probably an easy 80% of truth coming through the first two seasons of this series related to these topics.

And on top of the timely social themes being explored in season 2, it also features one of the most bleakest endings of any series I've ever watched.

I would say this was also an essential complaint amongst a lot of people that watched this season when it premiered years ago. It was almost too bleak for a lot of people. And even I would admit there were certain things that got too dark, but certainly not outside the realm of realism. Which is what made me appreciate the ending more than most people even during the initial run of this season. All in all, there's more I'll probably contribute to this thread as I continue to ponder the way I feel about this season years after my initial watch. One thing is for sure, I feel I will hold firm in my assessment that this season of True Detective may go down as one of the most underrated single seasons of television in its medium's history.

There is a ton of substance within season 2 -- even if its structure and editing doesn't always allow it to be linearly processed.

True Detective: Trailer (Season 2 Trailer) | HBO - YouTube