Zombies Ruin Everything

Warning! Spoilers Ahead!

A lot of viewers had problems with last week’s start-up episode. Complaints of the show trying to hard, being too slow, and not really having much build-up seemed to be the general consensus.

I don’t know if this episode is going to change their minds either, though there’s still some enjoyment to be had here if you’re already invested.

Last episode introduces us to the main players and now we have to get to know them a little better. Them and all of their bad habits.

I’m not really sure what to make of this episode. What Game of Thrones did in an entire season, this did in an episode. What I mean by that is that I was bored by the first forty minutes and the last bit is where it really started getting good. So let’s talk about that.

Man, what the heck. I don’t want to make anymore Game of Thrones comparison though so as to not spoil that. But while I wouldn’t think Colin Farrell’s character is coming back from a couple point blank shotgun blasts to the chest, I’m pretty sure I’ve seen him in the trailer doing things we haven’t seen him do yet.

The raven/crow masked man is interesting. The mask itself was a nice touch that would have otherwise had a clownish look to it if not for the fact that he’s introduced by attempting to murder a lead character. I would want to see more of Farrell’s character because at this point, he’s got the most going on. Which is odd to say, because the divorced, down-on-his-luck cop is a cliche beaten to death at this point yet I still found myself interested in what was going on with him.

And I sense a budding romance here.

One thing that really stuck out to me about this episode was the dialogue. And it didn’t stick out in a good way. So many characters talking like they’re recording an audio book. I was getting lost in trying to understand and figure out what each character was saying. “Remain unfettered” doesn’t seem so bad by itself but when an entire scene of a drunken politician blathering on string full sentences together like this…well, it started to get old.

“We get the world we deserve” is a good tagline for the show but it’s potency was lost in an episode filled with this kind of speak. In season one, McConaughey’s character had his moments like this but we’re brought some levity with Harrelson’s, who hated the way Rust Cohle talked and he was pretty vocal about it. Here, there’s not anyone to hold anybody else back and balance things out. Just a bunch of Rust, Juniors.

Taylor Kitsch’s break-up scene with his girlfriend, where he repeats that it’s not his fault that they’re breaking up was just annoying, so I’m waiting to see the bigger picture with him. Last we saw him he was eyeing a drunken man going into his house as he watched like a hawk, drinking from his hotel room. I’m not seeing many redeeming qualities with this guy but I guess that’s how it’s supposed to be. Evidently he did something really bad on “Black Mountain” when he was in the military so we’ll wait to see what unfolds with that. At this point he could have what happened to Farrell’s character and he wouldn’t be missed.

But at this point, there aren’t really many likable characters. Some are watchable sure, and at this point that’s enough but I’m starting to wonder when things are going to pick up. Rachel McAdams watching porn isn’t really enough though it will be interesting to see how her cult-ish upbringing plays into the story which sort of sums up my thoughts so far on this season- I’m focusing on the little details in hopes that the overarching scheme of the season will bring it all home; right now we just have a bunch of pseudo-intellectual addicts ramble around LA.

Also, not enough Kelly Reilly this episode, what gives?

This entry was posted on 06/30/2015 at 1:49 am and is filed under Reviews! with tags episode 2, review, Season 2, True Detective. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.