Black Maps and Motel Rooms

This episode starts to unveil the scope of everything and you slowly realize just how deep in trouble our characters are!

This episode throws a lot of information at you, and if you don't or haven't paid attention, its gonna seem very confusing at times! It takes a lot of effort to piece together the many layers of corruption and to understand how it all began!

The last part of the episode was another tense sequence with a shocking outcome! You can feel that this is the penultimate episode and I have no idea if things are about to go from bad to worse!

Season 2 is finally starting to entertain and suck you in!

I saw the entire 2nd season few years ago. Revisited it recently. I loved this second last episode that i have reviewed it individually. This episode is so full of tension, suspense, action n emotions. Velcoro's relationship with his son, Woodrugh's brokenness n Semyon's relationship with his wife n business r affecting. Awesome songs, awesome characters n acting n sharp convoluted script.

Following the botch operation of saving damsel in non-distress, the three leads find themselves chased by multiple parties. Meanwhile, Frank is forced to cash in and plays his last gambit. With all the secretive scheming by people around him, he's finally takes the desperate step.

Vince Vaughn is exceptional in this episode, utterly delivering the anti-hero role with cold intensity. He makes his intentions known, even to the point of oozing murderous intent. It's a nonchalant and ruthless persona, as though he's finally snapped but still fixed in sternly cold manner.

Ani suffers the most repercussion from the operation, even worse since things play out much differently that she had hoped for. Parts of the episode are invested to her trying to salvage her relationships. It's an effort for redemption, a more cathartic chance than others get.

Taylor Kitsch has some of his better scenes. In hindsight, he's shown some potential, but overall he's been rather mediocre in the season. This time he gives a couple of sparks, while it doesn't rise to Vaughn's or Farrell's level, he's pretty decent here.

The most problematic aspect of the case is how it's not accessible. There are many links to the past or subplots that are only briefly shown, barely mentioned or occurred off screen entirely. This makes it harder to invest on. Another more trivial hindrance is the scenes have odd transition, the series has done this frequently where conversations would be cut by other scenes before. It's not entirely intrusive but quite jarring.

With only one episode to go, the show lights the fuse for explosive end. I personally like the second season, although it needs a grand exit to be widely remembered as a solid entry to True Detective name.

After a sluggish 3 and a half episodes, I thought this season would be a big flop. I could relate to Bezzerides and Velcoro, but nothing else - no other characters, no subplot and certainly not the main plot. The only reason I kept watching is because my stepson insisted - hey, it's True Detective, we can't miss it. So I went along.

But since the shootout at the end of episode 4, things really picked up. The plot is becoming tighter and some sense of urgency is coming about. Most importantly, things are finally becoming interesting with Frank. The uninteresting subplots were either abandoned, reached a solution or were at last incorporated to the main plot. Episodes 5-7, plus the set piece in episode 4, made this second season more than worthwhile. If the final episode tops last year's finale (in which the showdown was less exciting then expected), I think season 2 will be almost on par with season 1, lacking the tour de force of Rust Cohle's iconic character, but not being a big letdown in terms of storytelling. Needless to say, episode 7 was the best so far, and an excellent pre-finale buildup. Not many critics agree with me that the series really picked up in the second half, but IMDb users sure do - just look at the marks.

The best way to cut the problems that plagued BOTH seasons is to reduce the number of episodes from 8 to 6 next time. It is not that we have to withstand "filler" episodes, but the fact is that seasons 1 and 2 were plagued with too many uninteresting subplots and characters. A shorter season will tighten up things. But we know it is not going to happen, since a longer season is more profitable, and the fans sure like to see more hours of TD.

But I could not let the other write ups about how this is the best one in S2 stand. It's incoherent and rushed. They lost the tread of the whole paper thin plot here in an attempt to tie things up. But they introduce new characters, suddenly boost obscure plot points to the forefront and throw various characters for no clear reason. Look, it's simple. If you're doing Raymond Chandler then do Raymond Chandler. Don't make it so baroque. Keep the story clean and sparse. Guy's dirty partner dies and maybe ripped him off someone else ripped HIM off. Toss in a few me Fatale or two but tie them into the main plot don't create a whole separate story that was used as a crutch to bring in one of three main characters only to throw it away. Don't toss in personal details about another main character that's entirely superfluous to the story. Don't create a backstop you for a main character that's not important not used and doesn't lead anywhere.

Like I said it's simple. The fulcrum of the whole story is the first dead guy. Everything leads to that conclusion not 5 different ones. It doesn't matter if the story is advanced through a good guy, a bad guy or an anti hero.

All the reviews of this Ep are enamored that after nearly an entire season of slow moving fumbling, THIS is the moment where it falls together. But it doesn't. It tosses everything into the air. It's not a coming together it's an overly complex setup for what would be, in true Raymond Chandler style, the last 15 minutes of the movie. In thus case that 15 minutes is obviously more than an hour.