This television show is about how a peculiar assassination leads to three court officers and a career criminal to work together, where every single individual has to go through a mesh of conspiracy and treachery in California
This season seems to be parodying itself. Sometimes, the romance between a show and its viewers ends badly. To paraphrase True Detective 2's tagline: Maybe we get the television we deserve.
There's a lot of plot that makes the first couple of episodes a bit difficult to ease into, but at the end of the second episode, Pizzolato's penchant for abrupt violence with a side of freakiness will leave you with panting for more.
True Detective Season 2 may not be subtle ("this is my least favorite life," a performer mournfully sings at the Vinci bar.) But the actors provide enough light to make it worth navigating the gloom.
This go-round - not as surreal, except for the episode that opens with a cheesy lounge singer performing The Rose in someone's Twin Peaks-style fever dream - is a straight-ahead, contemporary L.A. noir thriller.
The story is dark and atmospheric -- just the way fans like it. Meanwhile, the first three episodes hint at enough buried secrets and fresh angles to indicate that the story still has a lot to give.
Is it the breakthrough, landmark television of the first season? No. But it is a rock-solid crime drama with film caliber production values, intriguing plotting and great performances.
Pizzolatto is a terrific writer who crafts elliptical dialogue that builds the mystery and intrigue. The story, too, is the classic onion variety, with character reveals, motives and backstory arriving as each layer is peeled away.
