The much-maligned second season of HBO’s True Detective wrapped up on Sunday evening with a 90-minute finale that according to most critics did little to save a season that was confusing for some, and down right boring for others. To be fair to True Detective’s creator and writer, Nic Pizzolatto, this season was behind the eight ball with critics and fans before a single shot of season two was ever filmed, but some of that is his own fault.
First, the critically acclaimed first season aired smack dab in the middle of star Matthew McConaughey’s “McConaissance,” with the actor picking up his Best Actor Oscar for Dallas Buyers Club one week before the season one finale. Then before the season was over, its Emmy-award winning director, Cary Fukunaga, announced he would not be returning for season two citing a slew of upcoming film projects (his Beasts of No Nation with Idris Elba premieres on Netflix in October), but leading to reports of clashes with Pizzolatto and possibly even a slight dig on Fukunaga in the second season.
Fukunaga may have been the most important element of season one, and the biggest factor in season two’s letdown. Fukunaga’s shots overcame some of the clunky, philosophical dialogue and made the first season of True Detective beautiful even as its story was horrific. None of the directors for season two came close to the brilliance of Fukunaga, and the darkened bars and streets of Vinci muddy up an already murky plot.
Pizzolatto himself was the subject of critical backlash over poor female characterization in season one, and accusations he plagiarized writer Thomas Ligotti for some of Cohle’s more philosophical tangents. The last nail in the not-yet-built coffin for season two was the casting announcement for a quartet of actors — Colin Farrell, Vince Vaughn, Rachel McAdams, and Taylor Kitsch — who did little to build excitement for the upcoming season.
For Pizzolatto to emerge from the hole that had already been dug for season two, he would need to fire on all cylinders, showing critics and fans that he was the real star of True Detective, and not McConaughey, Fukunaga, or even season one co-star, Woody Harrelson.
There is no denying that season two is sloppy. The dialogue is reminiscent of bad Quentin Tarantino knock-off films from the late 1990’s, and if you weren’t listening — which was hard at times because of scenes where everyone is very quiet and/or mumbling — or paying close attention you might wonder why Vaughn’s Frank Semyon didn’t give his suit coat to the Mexicans in the season finale, or who the hell was Stan?
Overall, it was confusing to a lot of viewers with many turning it off, never to return, well before Sunday’s season finale, but I actually liked this season. And not in a hate-watching kind of way — my only regular hate-watch is Gotham — but a legitimate “this show is good” kind of way.
Rachel McAdams was amazing throughout the season, and her Ani Bezzerides helped Pizzolatto shed some of the flak he received after the first season’s female character issues. Scenes with McAdams and Farrell’s Ray Velcoro were by far the best of the season, whether they were chasing a suspect through a shantytown or the slow burn of sharing a bottle of booze, which ultimately led to these two shattered lives finding comfort in each other.
If season two was McAdams and Farrell tearing up California searching for Caspere’s killer, without the extra baggage of somewhat dreadful performances from Vaughn and Kitsch, it would might have been a tighter, more dynamic season.
Much was written about the six-minute tracking shot from the fourth episode of season one, and while season two may not have had anything on that level, it did include two scenes that show that True Detective is still one of the better dramatic shows on television.
The fourth episode of season two contains an almost nine-minute long firefight that changes the course of the season. It’s the best scene for Kitsch’s Paul Woodrugh because he’s in his natural element as a war veteran, and because he has almost no dialogue. That’s more of a knock on Pizzolatto, who gave Kitsch and Vaughn some downright awful lines, than on Kitsch.
The other is the infamous orgy scene from the sixth episode. In a season with very little sex compared to the first season, it was almost shocking, after six episodes, to actually see naked people. This scene also gives us the viewers some insight into the personality issues of Bezzerides, and gave everyone a glimmer of hope that the detectives will actually solve this doomed case, and put the bad guys behind bars.
Lastly, at its core, season two, for all of its foibles, was a straightforward crime drama. There were no long soliloquies from Velcoro about life and the world while cutting up cans of Lucky Lager. There was no mysterious Yellow King or ritualized killings. Everything didn’t mean something, or felt like it should, and that’s probably where this season lost viewers. They wanted the philosophical and metaphorical, they wanted it all to mean something, but instead they got gritty, somewhat sloppy detective work.
Pizzolatto took a huge swing with this season, and while he didn’t miss completely, he didn’t hit the home run viewers were expecting either. If a third season does happen, hopefully Pizzolatto can dial down the ego and give everyone the solid season we know is possible. If not, we’ll still have moments of brilliance along with static performances, and wretched dialogue.
