(Spoilers) HBO's True Detective Season 2

[Baitac]

Woah! TD went GoT! I was thinking this episode was all about parenting and boom! This LA setting makes me claustrophobic. Whereas the expansiveness of the bayou made it seem like terrible things were happening and no one would know, this one makes me feel like terrible things happen in plain view and nobody cares. Case in point, Russian thugs beat up guy on the street and the cars keep on going.

[Little Bird of Varys]

Reminds me of that show on Fox,Vanished, where the lead character/cop gets killed off in the fifth? episode and they bring in a new guy (Eddie Cibrian) and the show gets cancelled. Hm.

No need to hide episode details. This is a spoiler thread.

I agree that Colin Farrell is by far the most interesting of the four billed leads. And shout out to Rick Springfield as the creepy shrink. Did all y'all even realize?

I hope that detectives are dealing with a perverted conspiracy ... not a simple scapegoat as last season. Maybe it was all arranged for Ray Velcoro find the "Raven". Semyon Frank being easily fooled (and lost 10 million). If Velcoro really die, and the story of the son? No more flashbacks? Or we will have, but being from Frank?

[Astromech]

Reminds me of that show on Fox,Vanished, where the lead character/cop gets killed off in the fifth? episode and they bring in a new guy (Eddie Cibrian) and the show gets cancelled. Hm.

No need to hide episode details. This is a spoiler thread.

I agree that Colin Farrell is by far the most interesting of the four billed leads. And shout out to Rick Springfield as the creepy shrink. Did all y'all even realize?

I was trying to place that shrink. Thanks.

It was a pretty mediocre episode besides the ending with Velcoro. I'll believe Ray's dead when I see it.

Ani has daddy issues and now Woodrugh has mommy issues (seemingly sexual/reason for his ED?). Wow, these people are fucked up! Do these officers not get psych evals? It seems the writers are more interested in fleshing out the characters' backstories rather than the actual murder.

I'm not really buying Vaughn's character.

[Mexal]

I was trying to place that shrink. Thanks.

It was a pretty mediocre episode besides the ending with Velcoro. I'll believe Ray's dead when I see it.

Ani has daddy issues and now Woodrugh has mommy issues (seemingly sexual/reason for his ED?). Wow, these people are fucked up! Do these officers not get psych evals? It seems the writers are more interested in fleshing out the characters' backstories rather than the actual murder.

I'm not really buying Vaughn's character.

Thought Paul's issues are more that he's gay and doesn't want to be.

I don't buy Vaughns character either. He's definitely the weak link by far.

[Astromech]

Thought Paul's issues are more that he's gay and doesn't want to be.

I don't buy Vaughns character either. He's definitely the weak link by far.

That very well could be.

[unJon]

I was trying to place that shrink. Thanks.

It was a pretty mediocre episode besides the ending with Velcoro. I'll believe Ray's dead when I see it.

Ani has daddy issues and now Woodrugh has mommy issues (seemingly sexual/reason for his ED?). Wow, these people are fucked up! Do these officers not get psych evals? It seems the writers are more interested in fleshing out the characters' backstories rather than the actual murder.

I'm not really buying Vaughn's character.

Woodrugh made a comment about a man hitting on him at the bank. I definitely think he's in the closet.

[A_Cornered_Wolf]

Thought Paul's issues are more that he's gay and doesn't want to be.

I don't buy Vaughns character either. He's definitely the weak link by far.

I'm on that train of thought in regards to Paul. They do seem to be heaping a lot on that character. He worked for a dubious PMC in Iraq, has a questionable mother and appears to be repressed and probably self-loathing because of it. And that doesn't even touch the burns which apparently happened before he was a soldier.

[Astromech]

Woodrugh made a comment about a man hitting on him at the bank. I definitely think he's in the closet.

I completely missed that line.

[The King in Black]

.... And kids, that's why you should never venture into certified creep's sex nest all alone at night.

Also, my theory regarding this season seems pretty solid now : - All those brooding OTT moments are meant to be funny.

[Swagwell]

I foresee a connection between the girl cops dad and that drunk guy that Vince Vaughn sent kick backs to. Something about the way he was talking about his son being a "destroyer" and the reference to conciousness expansion.

[Iskaral Pust]

... Whereas the expansiveness of the bayou made it seem like terrible things were happening and no one would know, this one makes me feel like terrible things happen in plain view and nobody cares. Case in point, Russian thugs beat up guy on the street and the cars keep on going.

Yeah, I felt the same. And I agree that the implication so far is that Woodrugh is gay and angrily repressed.

OK episode with a shock end. The special detail, white board for Caspere and discussing the case info made me nostalgic for The Wire. I thought VV's rats in the dark memory was OTT for more personal angsty darkness but at least we see he has a major stake in this and will be a big catalyst.

Was every scene shot in dim/dark light? It feels like it. More balance needed visually, in tone and characters.

Velcoro's ex-wife and then the info to Ani made it clear that Ray cannot act with impunity. I'm glad that we don't have completely unrealistic police corruption.

[Kalbear]

Huh. Bummer.

[The King in Black]

The best joke about this : This was highly unrealistic. A bird that can use a shotgun ? Come on......

[Ramsay B.]

I like when Ray was searching the house and the moment he sees a pool of blood while the stereo is still blasting, he decides it's safe to put his gun away.

[The Lord of Cinder]

I either like or am ok with most of this episode. Hopefully the characters will prove to be a lot mor nuanced than what they appear at first glance, and while it'd probably service the show to have killed off Farrel's character so early, I hope he's somehow alive, because his scenes with McAdams were the highpoints of the episode, and I'd love to see more of that. But considering we have a shotgun-murderer wearing a crow mask and a black suit, standing over him and shooting him point blank in the stomach, I find it hard to believe the Crowman's intentions were no other than to kill Velcoro. Why would he shoot him with rocksalt or something nonlethal? I cannot imagine why the Crowman would want Velcoro to survive that encounter. Good episode, definitely excited to see the next, seems to be some action in that one. Oh, I still get all giddy when thinking about that season 1 tracking shot. Still can't take VV seriously, there's just something about his acting that seems off. I can almost see how he's memorising his next line when there's pauses in his speech, but that could be just me. His best acting was the scene where he went to indirectly threaten that peppersprayed man.

But seriously, this episode got into the stuff I am a bit ashamed to love so much: kinky BDSM! Forget that :shocked:. But I do love the weirdness and almost occult feeling the last scene had, really liked the unsettling imagery of season 1, and glad to see it make a return. Seriously, a shotgun wielding murderer in a black suit wearing a huge crow-mask, that's some Hotline Miami shit right there, and I like it.

For those of you who don't know Hotline Miami, it's a pixely and very trippy game where you wear animal masks and brutally murder Russians to the sound of some amazing retro-synth music (believe me, it's less psychotic than it sounds ... or maybe not. It's pretty much the sort of game that makes you so angry and frustrated that you feel like murdering someone! challenges you in a very good way).

Those sounds, my ears like: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BzuPI7tk9B8

Damn, now I've got to scratch that HM itch again.

[Mark Antony]

Overall I thought the episode was good, a little bit better than the premiere. The dialogue is still the weakest part for me, also the overhead highway shots were really overdone.

Still not sold on Taylor Kitsch or Vince Vaughn but I thought Vince was much better this episode especially in the scene on the street. The ending was creepy as hell.

[The Lord of Cinder]

Ah, if Velcoro survives, I think I know how! His potential Chekhov's walkie-talkie message thingie will save his life. The Birdman leaves him to bleed out, because that's how Michael Keaton rolls. Velcoro'll send a message to his son, and he'll be brought to a hospital just in time to survive. Though, considering how badly wounded he must be, he'll not be doing much else than "Rust Cohle"-stare at the large hospital windows and the small dots of light in the great dark expanse for the rest of the season. The light's winning, but you ain't gonna be a part of that, Velcoro.

Unless he of course has a cellphone and calls 911.

Or then he just dies, and all the scenes that haven't happened yet are either flashbacks or scenes made to fool people.

[Jack Bauer 24]

Certainly didn't see that ending coming. Not sure why Ray suddenly got so casual and holstered his gun like that. Curious to see if this is permanent or not. I would think two shotgun blasts would mean you are a goner, but this is TV, so anything can happen. But if this is a fake-out, I hope it was rubber bullets, because I would be willing to believe that. If they go the whole "It was the Kevlar!" path instead, I'm calling bullshit. If it isn't a fake-out, I guess credit to HBO and crew for keeping this hidden. Would Colin Farrell be OK with only appearing in two episodes? Unless we get flashbacks or something...

Took me a while to get into this episode. The opening speech sure didn't help. I really feel like the dialogue is clunkier so far this season, and only certain actors can make it work. Colin and Rachel McAdams can make me forgive it, but I feel like Vince Vaughn and Taylor Kitsch struggled a bit more this time. Also, I'm not sure really what to make of Frank yet. I think they're trying to make him sort of an everyman gangster, with problems normal people can relate too. But it doesn't fully work for me yet. Part of it could be I find him similar to Wilson Fisk on Daredevil, but vastly enjoyed Fisk more.

I really hope they aren't going the obvious "Paul is freaking out because he's closeted" route. I'm fine with him actually being gay, but I hope his problems will be bigger then that cliched story-line. I did love how he tried to be all manly in front of W. Earl Brown's character and toss around gay slurs, and Brown wasn't impressed. Hey, he might be the typical alcoholic, older cop, but at least he ain't impressed with homophobia!

Recognized Abigal Spencer as Ray's ex. That alone makes me think that the Ray story is far from over, although, again, it could be he just comes back in flashbacks or something.

Still loving McAdams, even if all I really know about Ami is she smokes e-cigarettes, seemed more interested in that porn then she probably wanted to, likes knifes, and is very bitter.

Since he returned, I totally think Lieutenant James Frain will be a part of this. Frain should never, ever be trusted.

I did like the brief moments of the different police divisions jocking for position and trying to be the lead. I always find it fascinating that despite having the same goals, there always seems to be pettiness like this, when it comes divisions working together.

[Relic]

There goes the only interesting character in the show. Definitely wasn't a bean bag, the shell casing that was ejected looked like a standard shotgun shell.

Major spoiler for episode three below. -

SPOILER ALERT NUMBER 2. WE HAVE SEEN EPISODE THREE SO DO NOT READ ON IF YOU WANT TO BE KEPT IN THE DARK

Actually it turns out that the mystery shooter was just using buck shot and Velcoro will live to fight another day.

http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2015-06-29/true-detective-season-2-episode-2-ends-on-a-sensational-cliffhanger

[Elder Sister]

Overall, I thought the episode was good. I'm enjoying the vast wasteland of Los Angeles. The way it's shot, it's almost post-apocalyptic looking.

Pat's mother is going to be a molester. I think that's his big issue; their interaction was definitely creepy. And he behaves like a victim. Lolita Davidovitch (I think that's her name) plays the mom and she's a great actress - I'm glad to see her! I haven't seen her in anything since the 90's.

I had no idea that the creepy shrink was Rick Springfield. I just knew he looked familiar - WOW. Thanks, kairparavel, for pointing one out.