Other Lives

I'm still engrossed, but it is very compelling how miscast Vince Vaughn is in this. He is so dry and flat. There is nothing going on behind his eyes. He doesn't convey menace nor brooding, just a dullard reading off pretentious lies. And the scripting has really taken a turn this year. Lazy and snobby: the worst.

When this season began I was hopeful but skeptical, seeing how slowly it started. However, this was by far the most enjoyable episode of the season, at least to date. The pacing, the mood, the use of music (Lera Lynn's songs create this eerie atmosphere during the bar scenes, which is so fitting for this show), the plot advancement, everything was done right. I also noticed the opening credits featured another verse of the hypnotizing "Nevermind" song performed by Leonard Cohen. His voice and lyrics fit the theme very well.

There was some great dialogue, very similar in tone with the first season's discussions between Rust and Marty. I've seen a lot of complaints about the dialogue being pretentious. Yes, average people might not talk like that in real life, but this is art and I absolutely love philosophical lines, it's where this series truly shines and it was the same in the first season.

Now that we know our characters' motivations and personalities, it's actually very enjoyable to watch the story unfold. Without spoiling the twist for the people who haven't watched the episode yet, I'm very interested in seeing how this power turn will impact the relationship between the two.

Here I am hoping for more of the same quality in the upcoming episodes. If it goes on like this, this season is going to be just as good, if not better than the first season, since people love to draw comparisons between the two, even though they're significantly different in many ways. But, as something Frank Semyon would say, the more things change, the more they stay the same.

Very surprised this episode is rated so low..!

While it is still an overall slow episode, some previously subtly hinted at revelations are starting to come to the forefront, and if you figure it out before they explicitly tell you, hats off to you for paying attention right from the start.

The previous episode ends on a high point, and this episode is still much better than the previous, which should tell you just what an excellently written episode this. The episode picks up six months down the line, with the viewers being introduced to the outcome of the shootout for each of the police investigators and how none of them were particularly satisfied at how the aftermath was handled. We also see that things have taken a downturn for Frank Semyon, played by a very gritty Vince Vaughn.

The series on a whole is a very slow burn, but the story has finally started getting going for real now.

I am hooked, line and sinker and I cant wait to keep watching the rest of the series. Shout out to the music and excellent writing and top notch lead actors.

I can no longer deny the fact that this season of True Detective is as horrible as can be. Even if I forget about the glorious first season for the time being and look at this season as a new show in itself, it still sucks.

Colin Farrell's acting is the only thing I like. He's really very good. The plot progress is so slow that you can doze off for 30 minutes and still be able to follow the story.

All in all, this season is horrible. The acting is quite good but the script is just trash. A 10 year old kid could probably do better than this.

Best episode so far. The season is really picking up in the second half.

We are getting less tedious stuff about land deals and getting more about the sinister habits of the powerful guys. Velcoro is getting out of the gutter his life was, though his nasty side is seen in all its brutality - only this time with a purpose. Ironically, life seems to be punishing him more.

I love the scenes where Ani is involved with sexual harassment accusations. They always strike me as funny and somehow Kafkian. I hope they also tie up with the main plot later, with someone on top being behind the attempt to take her down. Also, she and Paul stumble into something that brings us closer to the mood of the first season.

Paul continues to be somehow irrelevant and uninteresting, though. As for Frank, the ending of the episode promises more interaction and conflicts with the other characters.

The plot is getting less convoluted and boring, while the action is getting more intense and sinister. The season is definitely improving.

The best thing that can happen is some mind-bending plot twists in the end, something the first season sadly lacked. But I don't quite see where they would come from. We essentially can discard the idea that the four main characters are hiding anything, since we get so many scenes from their point of view. Maybe Pizzolato has something in store somehow - Ani's father, perhaps? But so far it seems that the mystery will turn out to have a solution very close to where the story is leading. Big guys doing sick things, etc.