I'm pretty sure his (nick)name is Nails, which we found out tonight was because Frank rescued him when he was left for dead after being shot in the head with a nailgun. I laughed at that moment of realization.
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True Detective - Season 2 - We get the Season we deserve - Sundays on HBO
- Thread starter Cornballer
- Start date
I'm pretty sure his (nick)name is Nails, which we found out tonight was because Frank rescued him when he was left for dead after being shot in the head with a nailgun. I laughed at that moment of realization.
NotTheGuyYouKill
Member
That's why!?
The finale was the most enjoyable episode of the season. Genuinely tense in a few places. Still not great but OK.
Words cannot describe how disappointed I am in the whole Birdman part of the story though. Completely wasted. Some cliched jobber kid out for revenge.
Having four main characters was a mistake.
Words cannot describe how disappointed I am in the whole Birdman part of the story though. Completely wasted. Some cliched jobber kid out for revenge.
Having four main characters was a mistake.
ZeroMaverick
Member
NotTheGuyYouKill
Member
You have no idea how crestfallen I was.
If Inherent Vice was any indication, it would be even more bizarre and nonsensical.
INHERENT VICE > TRUE DETECTIVE Season 2.
Man that finale was objective shit. Just after liking ep 7 and thinking this was gonna end well. Like seriously, holy crap i still cant believe how braindead and unoriginal the whole thing was. Franks death shit gets me every time. Might as well have been written by Kojima. Glad people are shitting on it, completely deserved. HBO didnt need to take the cliche route with this, they are HBO after all.
FlowersisBritish
fleurs n'est pas britannique
Boo at the thread title change. Stan didn't die for this!
I sighed when that part came up. What shitty exposition to have him just tell Frank that right before he's about to be trusted with protecting Jordan. It's like they thought "oh, he doesn't have much of a character, let's give his reason for why he's loyal to Frank and why Frank trusts him so much".
This is the kind of thing you show early on, so we know why Frank keeps turning to this guy and why he never betrays him. Not something you just have a character say right before a moment in order to make it make sense.
Had this season had any other name than True Detective, I don't see many people complaining.
Was this season as good as season 1? No. Will any season of television reach the heights of season 1? Probably not. Were we going to get the same caliber of acting as McConaughey and Harrelson? Probably not. Same level of direction? No.
But, was it a highly entertaining show? Absolutely. The final 20-30 minutes of the finale were amazing, and made the entire season worth it, regardless of its flaws.
Going into this season, I'll admit I was hoping for a rehash of season 1: an intense character study focusing on only a few main characters. Instead, we got a more traditional crime drama with more of an ensemble cast. Was some of the writing hokey? Sure. Was some of the acting dull? Yeah (though I'd blame the writing/direction more than Vaughn).
I just don't get the hate this season received. If anything, it was a relief to me since I was afraid that it could have been much, much worse.
edit: I'm not saying the season is without its flaws. I think season 1 was better in pretty much every way. But, just because some dude at the gym doesn't look like Arnold doesn't automatically make him a fat piece of shit.
Was this season as good as season 1? No. Will any season of television reach the heights of season 1? Probably not. Were we going to get the same caliber of acting as McConaughey and Harrelson? Probably not. Same level of direction? No.
But, was it a highly entertaining show? Absolutely. The final 20-30 minutes of the finale were amazing, and made the entire season worth it, regardless of its flaws.
Going into this season, I'll admit I was hoping for a rehash of season 1: an intense character study focusing on only a few main characters. Instead, we got a more traditional crime drama with more of an ensemble cast. Was some of the writing hokey? Sure. Was some of the acting dull? Yeah (though I'd blame the writing/direction more than Vaughn).
I just don't get the hate this season received. If anything, it was a relief to me since I was afraid that it could have been much, much worse.
edit: I'm not saying the season is without its flaws. I think season 1 was better in pretty much every way. But, just because some dude at the gym doesn't look like Arnold doesn't automatically make him a fat piece of shit.
Net_Wrecker
Member
I've seen this pop up every now and then, but we've had lots of dark, plodding crime shows in recent years. Nothing about TD S2 was special or unique. True Detective S2 with any other name would've floundered and died with a whimper on AMC or FX or whatever. The only reason people bothered to hate watch and complain loudly is because it's named True Detective.
Conkersbadfurday
Member
I didn't hate the season, but yeah, not as good as the previous one.
Saw the finale today, and I liked the first hour, but the last half hour was just predictable. THough to be honest, I called a bunch of character deaths three or four episodes ago, and in pretty much the exact way they'd happen.
Strangely, I enjoyed VV's character and acting chops the most. I really had no expectations out of him, so for me, he hit the ground running. Everyone else did a good job though.
I think the biggest issue with the season isn't so much that there were four main characters, it was that there were four main characters that were all almost cartoonishly damaged in some way. It's like each one had to 1up the other in terms of horrible backstory or being a terrible person. There were no straight men to ground the show out.
Made it hard to really relate to anyone, and also didn't help with the suspension of disbelief.
Saw the finale today, and I liked the first hour, but the last half hour was just predictable. THough to be honest, I called a bunch of character deaths three or four episodes ago, and in pretty much the exact way they'd happen.
Strangely, I enjoyed VV's character and acting chops the most. I really had no expectations out of him, so for me, he hit the ground running. Everyone else did a good job though.
I think the biggest issue with the season isn't so much that there were four main characters, it was that there were four main characters that were all almost cartoonishly damaged in some way. It's like each one had to 1up the other in terms of horrible backstory or being a terrible person. There were no straight men to ground the show out.
Made it hard to really relate to anyone, and also didn't help with the suspension of disbelief.
MightyHedgehog
Member
All around awful. Feels like S1 was a total fluke.
NotTheGuyYouKill
Member
I wish I could rewrite this season and get at the great story beneath all this other shit that pissed me off.
I WANT MY HOTLINE BIRDMAN, PIZZAMAN. I WANT BURRIS TO GET SHOT IN THE FACE. I WANT RAY TO NOT DIE A STUPID AVOIDABLE DEATH FOR REASONS. ACTUALLY, I WANT EVERYONE WHO DIED NOT TO HAVE DIED JUST DUE TO STUPIDITY.
I WANT MY HOTLINE BIRDMAN, PIZZAMAN. I WANT BURRIS TO GET SHOT IN THE FACE. I WANT RAY TO NOT DIE A STUPID AVOIDABLE DEATH FOR REASONS. ACTUALLY, I WANT EVERYONE WHO DIED NOT TO HAVE DIED JUST DUE TO STUPIDITY.
Yeah, that's the feeling I've had all season. Rust was obviously super fucked up, and even with all the shit he said, his fucked upedness was still nuanced. And then you had Marty who had his own problems hiding behind his macho facade.
Everyone in this season pretty much wore their issues on their sleeves.
FlowersisBritish
fleurs n'est pas britannique
I dunno. I didn't mind it so much. All of them being so fucked kind of felt like it was a more thematic thing, more in line with the really grim ending we got. What kinda kills them for me is two fold; 1) the middle part is boring and instead of everyone leading interesting fucked up lives were mostly boring. I enjoyed the speed cop in this down time the most because atleast he was revealing how fucked up his life was/ fucking it up more. 2) none of the characters problems went to interesting places. Velcro's "ASSSPIN" off the handleness didn't get more interesting, Ani's apathy towards men/her hippy dad past didn't go anywhere, and Frank crumbling world wasn't as interesting as it should have been.
holygeesus
Banned
Was the ending *that* much of a downer really? Seems everyone but Woodrugh, got what they deserved pretty much, and even then he got to 'ride the freeways forever' with his own named after him.
Velcoro and Frank were likeable, but they were still murdering scumbags ultimately. At least Ray got to see his kid happy for a moment.
Velcoro and Frank were likeable, but they were still murdering scumbags ultimately. At least Ray got to see his kid happy for a moment.
NotTheGuyYouKill
Member
Emperor_Uriel
Member
True Detective Season 2 is basically Dark Souls 2, then.
I don't think that kid can do "happy." Maybe I could've sympathized with Ray's sudden urge to say goodbye if Chad wasn't such a totally unlikeable turd.
Future PhaZe
Member
forgot about this little slice of brilliance:
People whole cultures wouldnt blame you
smh
People whole cultures wouldnt blame you
smh
DarkJediKnight
Member
One night stand leads to a baby and the father dies........
The baby will become JOHN CONNOR!!!
The baby will become JOHN CONNOR!!!
SCULLIBUNDO
Banned
It's not a great line, but I'd like to know what's so terrible about it.
it was in season 2
You're spot on with that. Nobody would have been watching, so there would have been few complaints.
Soyongdori
Member
People are mostly pissed that the guy who killed two main characters still managed to get out of it.
UrbanDandy
Member
So, I just saw the episode.
Pros:
The chemistry between Ray and Ani
Great use of cinematography
Great use of music
Background characters were better than the leads (Frank and Woodburgh)
Cons:
Story was a mess - it wasn't until the second half the things started coming together
Ending was too cliche
Summary:
Pizzalatto really needed more time to properly flesh out the characters. I felt Woodburgh was there just there just for the sake of adding another character. I really tried to give Vince the benefit of the doubt, but he was squandered until the very last episode. Personally I could've done without the final Ray and his son moment, but I kind of understood why the showrunners did due to length. The ending, I would have really wanted to see Burris get his, and I'm thinking there's no way this journalist is going to make it back to America with the evidence alive. Vinci PD might have hired someone like Velcoro, or those Mexicans to get ready for him.
It was disappointing, and I can see why the rest of the thread is justifiably upset.
Pros:
The chemistry between Ray and Ani
Great use of cinematography
Great use of music
Background characters were better than the leads (Frank and Woodburgh)
Cons:
Story was a mess - it wasn't until the second half the things started coming together
Ending was too cliche
Summary:
Pizzalatto really needed more time to properly flesh out the characters. I felt Woodburgh was there just there just for the sake of adding another character. I really tried to give Vince the benefit of the doubt, but he was squandered until the very last episode. Personally I could've done without the final Ray and his son moment, but I kind of understood why the showrunners did due to length. The ending, I would have really wanted to see Burris get his, and I'm thinking there's no way this journalist is going to make it back to America with the evidence alive. Vinci PD might have hired someone like Velcoro, or those Mexicans to get ready for him.
It was disappointing, and I can see why the rest of the thread is justifiably upset.
Hibiki Kurosawa
Member
I just watched the season finale and I thought it was fantastic. Or at least that it would have been absolutely phenomenal had the character development and chemistry been better throughout the season. I really wish Pizza had character development and interactions like season 1 leading up to this finale to make it truly excellent. Still a great finale.
sir_kevith
Member
Hahaha damn! That is true tho!
SCULLIBUNDO
Banned
Pretty much.
timetokill
Banned
Okay, just finished it.
The season was a big mess, overall. Final thoughts:
- Too many loose threads. This could've been a great season with a decent editor to cut down the fluff and 2 fewer episodes.
- Vince Vaughn was actually excellent in the finale. Best character ending in the series, including S1. I wish his dialogue was a bit better in the beginning but I found his ending pretty darn compelling.
- Ray's death "worked" in a thematic sense, but man it made his character look dumb.
- The last-second "here's some buddy-buddy with Frank and Nails" was too little too late. They could've made that a lot more impactful had they condensed that.
- Stan?
- Woody's ending was cool but man if his character didn't seem like a big waste. Hopefully his pregnant fiance and mom hit it off with Huell at the "safehouse apartment of forgotten side characters."
The season was a big mess, overall. Final thoughts:
- Too many loose threads. This could've been a great season with a decent editor to cut down the fluff and 2 fewer episodes.
- Vince Vaughn was actually excellent in the finale. Best character ending in the series, including S1. I wish his dialogue was a bit better in the beginning but I found his ending pretty darn compelling.
- Ray's death "worked" in a thematic sense, but man it made his character look dumb.
- The last-second "here's some buddy-buddy with Frank and Nails" was too little too late. They could've made that a lot more impactful had they condensed that.
- Stan?
- Woody's ending was cool but man if his character didn't seem like a big waste. Hopefully his pregnant fiance and mom hit it off with Huell at the "safehouse apartment of forgotten side characters."
Everything was Rust this season. Everyone was saying dumb shit every episode with no Marty in sight to play off of the nonsense.
I agree. With Rust, it felt like he was a weird person in the regular world. In season 2, it felt like all the characters were normal in a weird world.
SCULLIBUNDO
Banned
But a nothing line like that is something even Marty would have said. People are just hating to hate now.
I can't wait for the car commercial!!!
Byakuya769
Member
True Detective season 2 solved the most important case in the entire series--should there have been a second season?
Answer: NO.
I just watched a season of losers losing and I feel like a loser for doing so.
Answer: NO.
I just watched a season of losers losing and I feel like a loser for doing so.
NotTheGuyYouKill
Member
Pretty much
borborygmus
Member
You keep saying this, but people have actually been very vocal about the reasons why they disliked the show. You also claim that people were waiting to hate it, which comes off kind of paranoid and defensive.
There are so many reasons to dislike this show:
- The writing is straight up atrocious; there are numerous examples of inexcusable lines from the show.
- The show is trying to pass off cartoon characters as serious. Bezzeridies' knife thing is a hilariously bad concept, and David Morse as her hippie dad is just laughable. Vince Vaughn's monologues about ceiling stains are insufferable and take up way, way too much screen time. Ray was absolutely hilarious in the first few episodes, beating up a kid's dad in front of him and then going to school to pick up his son with cocaine on his sleeve. Woodrough is sooo in the closet that we need to spend several episodes seeing it. Woodrough reminds me of that Onion article: "why do all these homosexuals keep sucking my cock?"
- Ray died in a straight-to-DVD quality action scene. He detected the transponder on his car, but then he just decided to go to a forest (wtf?) and die in a shootout.
- Arguably the only captivating mystery was Birdman, but the show ignored him for 95% of its runtime, and then he turned out to be a cartoon ("I am the blade"). I think Stan-related things got more screen time than Birdman overall.
- The plot mysteries (if you can even call them that, they are so mundane) are addressed via convenient "by the way..." revelations.
- The plot in general is ridiculously convoluted, and it all comes down to some robbery in 1992 which is hardly elaborated on, and Ray figures it out only because it's the last episode.
- There are some totally implausible arcs, like Woodrough's past military company is now working for Catalyst, and they end up facing off. And then Burris is waiting behind the door of the one exit that Woodrough decides to take, kills him, and runs off in a getaway car.
- There's quite a bit of parody-like stuff that is hard to take seriously, like the edgy musician playing in an empty bar (wtf?), Ray's son having his badge with him at school, and the shot of the phone after Ray dies; Frank putting diamonds in his wound because 2deep4u symbolism.
- Ani apparently had a baby with Ray, because the show is apparently a soap opera.
Which of the following is more plausible to you?
- People who liked season 1 hoped for season 2 to be good, but were disappointed.
- People who liked season 1 wanted to hate season 2 on purpose, in order to glorify season 1. Hint: nobody thinks this way.
NotTheGuyYouKill
Member
I'm judging Season 2 add it's own thing and just... So. Much. Wasted. Potential.
I liked you because of your avatar, that you're an avid fan of the X-Files. But this... this is bullshit.
They were in the finale at the unveiling of the highway named after him.
Great post. Sums up my feelings. Plot seemed interesting in the first two episodes, but after that it felt like the show focused on mundane stuff rather than the mystery itself. Worst part being the fact that it was just too difficult to even remember who is who when the director introduced dozens of characters with no background info. No one gives a shit about Paul's mommy issues or his sexuality or Frank and Jordan marriage issues.
And fuck that stan and fuck this show.
BananasWithGuns
Member
Just caught up on the final two episodes. I really enjoyed them, especially the finale. I guess I'm just not as critical as others. I thought Farrell and Vaughn did a fantastic job in the last couple episodes as well.
Overall I thought season two was good. Not as good as the first of course but still enjoyable. Certainly got much better in the last few episodes once things became more focused. If the first half had been a little more compressed without so much random stuff thrown at the canvas then I probably wouldn't have had any complaints about the season as a whole honestly.
Overall I thought season two was good. Not as good as the first of course but still enjoyable. Certainly got much better in the last few episodes once things became more focused. If the first half had been a little more compressed without so much random stuff thrown at the canvas then I probably wouldn't have had any complaints about the season as a whole honestly.
SCULLIBUNDO
Banned
This never happened. In fact, I'm not even sure who your post is aimed at. All I know is that you quoted my post which was questioning the exaggerated claim that one insignificant line of servicable dialogue from a season of genuine clunkers was for some reason the WORST THING EVER.
Season 1 need no glorifying. It's amazing. You're having a conversation with some imaginary person that is defending season 2 from any and all hate.
Season 2 is a considerable letdown after the first season, but the knack of the internet community to exaggerate disappointing/underwhelming or mediocre things into the worst thing since vegemite in Hitler's moustache is being displayed in this thread by some to an embarrassing degree. Things are not just the best ever or the worst ever. Season 2 of True Detective is frustratingly hollow in places and up its own ass in many others, but it's also got a few bright spots in the underwhelming majority.
What's worse is that I know a lot of the people taking their dislike of the show to these juvenile extremes love Hannibal.
borborygmus
Member
This is what I'm referring to. I'm not like "calling you out" or anything, I just think you're wrong about the criticism of this show being exaggerated or due to people "being haters" (not a quote) and it comes off kind of defensive.
edit: I guess you're right that some extent of my post should be aimed at other people (like you only implied that people were waiting to hate on it, while another poster said it outright).
SCULLIBUNDO
Banned
People are definitely hating to hate when a line that is neither good nor bad nor stands out at all is causing people to fly off the handle. Again, that's all I was referring to. Some huge outrage over a nothing line. Defence of an innocent line isn't defense of a show.
Discotheque
Banned
No doubt. The up its own ass dialogue of TD season 2 funnily enough reminded me a lot of every piece of dialogue uttered from Will Graham in hannibal. None of it felt natural, robotic delivery and writing that probably looked good on paper but woefully misses the mark in action. Only recently has the show found some great footing (sadly too late).
TD season 2's faults all lie on pizzolato's doorstep tho. The next season needs a writers room and a director of similar talent to fukunaga. If these things don't happen then I dunno about this show anymore