When HBO’s True Detective emerged onto the scene back in early 2014, it was an immediate cultural phenomenon and a premium quality show steeped in American philosophy, folklore, and subtle atmosphere. It burned fast and bright and left a distinct impression on all those who witnessed it. Now, more than a year later, True Detective is back to fill our summer nights with wonder, terror, woe, and maybe a touch of nihilism.
In the transition between seasons, TD has shifted just about every part of its being. This is a new mystery and a new cast, and a new director at the helm (Justin Lin, most well known for the Fast & Furious franchise). Showrunner Nic Pizzolatto provides the series’ spiritual through line that connects the two seasons. Season 2 places us in modern-day southern California, somewhere in the miscellaneous suburbia outside Los Angeles. We follow four characters, whose lives cross around the disappearance of a community leader. Pizzolatto’s script has many of the same hallmarks as the first season: long monologues spoken into the ether, slow pace of action, and an unsettlingly vague establishment of time.
Colin Farrell leads the ensemble as Ray Velcoro, a detective for the small city of Vinci with enough emotional baggage to fill a Boeing 747. The performance is nuanced and holds secrets behind the eyes. The character is interesting enough as a central focus, though Farrell fails to leave much of an impression. Vince Vaughn plays Frank Semyon, an industrialist deeply entrenched in the corruption of city politics. Rachel McAdams and Taylor Kitsch are cops at two different levels of the beat, each with their own respective insecurities.
But more essential than the central characters of True Detective is the character of the show itself. While Pizzolatto’s dialogue is still dense with metaphors and prose, it takes a backseat to exposition for a much larger story. One episode in, the personality of this world still feels unestablished; it’s once again loaded with the interconnected lives of its characters, but the plot seems to progress without a distinct style or voice.
For a show that won audiences over on atmosphere, some fans may not find what they treasured in the first season.
However, there’s still a fascinating story waiting to be told in the forthcoming episodes. It’s a mystery of the California highway, modern empires of concrete shaped by forces of grand ambition. The possibilities of True Detective‘s second season are infinite, but we know one thing for sure: it’s not here to retread old ground.