Night Country: Part 1

As far as opening episodes go I think this was underwhelming. I am curious to see where the show will take it however. One thing I always liked about TD is the pace in which it slowly builds up the tension. The biggest complaint of season 2 of TD is that it's way to dark and grim because all the main characters are damaged goods. Guess what!? All the main characters are damaged goods in this show. Now i actually liked season 2, i just think it's a weird choice considering the reception season 2 recieved. The pacing in this episode was off. We are introduced to everything in the first episode which made it feel rushed and very messy. I am not feeling the tension yet despite us knowing the mystery and knowing that there's something brooding underneath. I am interested to see how it all unfolds. I just wished they would have taken their time to introduce us to all of it and given us the time to let it marinate. As I said before what sets TD apart from other detective shows is the pacing.

Now some positives and some negatives. I like the snowy settings of Alaska, it immediately gives it a dark and grim feel about it. It gave me a little bit of Der pass vibes. A german/austrian detective i really like. I quite enjoyed Jody Fosters in this episode. I think she nails her role as the grumpy old cop to a T. I am not that convinced about the other characters on the show yet. Which is one of the reasons of rating this episode a 5/10. I just don't really care about them and their problems yet. Some extra minor nitpicks, how many times do you need to mention spirit animals in one episode? How big is that police station? I thought it was some small town way up North in Alaska. Someone said: be careful driving because there is a lot of snow? Pretty sure Alaskans know how to drive in the snow. There are quite a few unsubtle racial and sexist undertones in this episode. I think some of these could and should have been done in a more subtle and tactful manner.

As an opening episode its my least favourite out of all the TD seasons. But there was enough there for me to give it a second chance. I hope they will turn it around in the next few episodes.

Hope it gets better. Started out pretty strong, but around the 30 minute mark into season 4 episode 1, I started to wish I was watching season 1 again. :( Too many unnecessary side path stories being told. Many of which don't really involve Jodie Foster, and don't draw you in. Seriously, most of what's being told so far has not involved her, and instead Trooper Navarro. I basically don't know why I am being forced to be invested in all these tangent side paths that don't make a lot of sense and/or I already could care less about. I really don't know what they were thinking with this. This has not hooked me in like the earlier seasons. The point of a good series is to get you invested into it early on, and I think they have sort of failed here. Again, hope it gets better.

I went into this with high hopes, having just rewatched the first series. I really enjoyed the supernatural/paranormal themes of season one, and I think Jodie Foster is a tremendous actress, so I was very excited for this new episode, and instead I'm disappointed. The production values look cheap (the CGI reindeer herd was laughable), they're going far too hard on the supernatural elements instead of letting it fester in our minds, and way too much screen time is spent on characters who aren't the detectives. The scriptwriting is very lacklustre as well, I haven't seen seasons two and three but this comes nowhere near the genius that was series one - it feels like a Netflix Original mid-budget ripoff that's cancelled after one season. I don't think I'll bother with the rest.

EDIT: Rewatched and bumped my review up to a 6, it still has some pretty big flaws but is much better the second time round.

The last 2 seasons of TD have not lived up to the classic first season in any iota though both had solid aspects. After hearing Jodie Foster was starring this season and the Alaskan setting I knew the season could be a darker and more unsettling entry. One episode in and I can say it's the closest to the first season already in atmospheric brooding suspense and overall foreboding feel. Something of which I didn't feel in the last 2 seasons. Foster is of course fantastic with her intensity and dedication. The cast overall has plenty of great supporting roles as well. What really separates this is the visual appeal with all of the frozen and bleakness throughout. It's the type of environment needed for mystery and crime subjects. Overall off to a great start . Can't wait to watch the rest.

A million miles away from the original inspiration of True Detective Magazine of 1924, another good show gets killed off by the wokitics of ticknology. Not even worth rating , as negative ratings don't get counted by the same company that broadcasts it. I won't even hate-watch or cringe-watch it. Don't have time for the same tired lectures from the same old misandrist industrial complex. Ooh, it's so spiritual, though. No, pseudo supernatural codswallop is not only not spiritual, it's insulting to those who truly have those sorts of connections. But as long as it can be millked for a few bucks and churn a bunch of suckers into slack-jawed sycophants, bravo. So brave! So bad my cat threw up and then ran away.