The Syndicate

WOW, this show is fucking amazing so far. Matthew McConne-I'm not even going to try, and Woody Harrelson are both fantastic. The direction and cinematography is astounding. Really reminds me of Twin Peaks, though. We don't really have any suspects on the murder, but the person they arrest in the 90's is most definitely not going to be the real killer.

Or they really caught the guy in the 90's but the little girl that went missing or some other member of that church is replicating his crimes.

And its more character driven than plot driven anyway.

Ermagherd! Just went on to project free tv and saw they have the first ep of the new season! Didn't even know it was due to come out. The excitement is real. They are going to have a tough time beating last season.

Pre-reviews and first ep reviews were bad and, I have to say, the first episode alone was all over the place and poorly written. I've read only one pre-review that said this season is portraying an L.A. crime story the way it should. I'm not invested in anyone, at the moment. As far as I understand McConnaughey actively contributed himself to Rust's musings and ramblings in the script; meanwhile Farrell makes me wonder if he didn't just question why his scenes are limited to drinking only 6 shots of scotch and not more.

aaaaand True Detective is done. http://www.avclub.com/article/true-dete ... ead-237307

Shame. I was hoping they could put Pizzolato on the ol' Larry David schedule, and allow him to come back after some time with another season that's less half-baked than Season 2. Although, I gotta say, the sheer bizarreness of that season kind of fascinated me in a sick sort of way.

I'll miss Colin Farell's chubby redhead kid, is what I'm trying to say.

Season 2 > Season 1

Fight me.

a2thezebra wrote:Season 2 > Season 1

Fight me.

Why? I'm not angry or something, just confused.

I mean, I'll always have a soft spot for the season just for giving us all the amazing Ray Velcoro:





And Vince Vaughn unintentionally being the funniest he's ever been as Frank Semyon. But the plot was a complete and utter mess, and the characters and dialogue were all about 10 steps back from Season 1. Without any of those aspects being strong, it just sank into self-parody.

But the self-parody was pretty hilarious.

I didn't mean fight me in that sense, and I was just referring to anyone who was interested in doing so since saying that Season 2 is anything above terrible usually results in crucifixion before long. Saying it's better than Season 1 seems to break people's minds.

To answer your question, Season 2 is shamelessly unique, deliberately polarizing, prioritizes an emotional connection to its characters over half-baked philosophy, makes no attempt at an unearned happy ending, has more interesting and rewarding character dynamics, looks and sounds better, doesn't try to use the passage of time as a substitute for solid writing, has an antagonist less clearly and disappointingly evil (Prisoners anyone?), isn't afraid to embrace over-the-top acting and dialogue, manages to showcase a mystery without relying on pretentious metaphysical implications to spice things up, is tonally distinct with a lush and haunting atmosphere as opposed to the same old gritty "realistic" approach that is getting more and more tiresome, features subtle and layered social commentary, is more viscerally satisfying, and has more gut-punch moments that in the long run stay with you more. Season 1 is better on an initial watch but Season 2 is much more rewarding with multiple viewings in my opinion. Season 1 makes the claim that time is a flat circle but Season 2 actually illustrates and proves that claim.

Also, I can't understand how a fan of Lynch could find value in Season 1 but not in Season 2. This is why:

I'm not invested in the fate and acclaim of this show enough to either say Good riddance or to cry over its cancellation. I regard Season 2 as a letdown and a bit of a proof that Pizzolatto isn't the strongest creative mind in the business, since the season reaked a bit of (own-)art-fart-sniffing (in terms of writing and mixing up elements) and directorial lack (I mean, com'on, Justin Lin is not in any way above mere competency; plus it doesn't speak well for your show when a two-hour movie later both retained the gorgeous cinematography element and had a much better thriller and mystery to tell... it was called Sicario). Lastly, if you want anthology-like ensemble cast in which to mix it risky and see what sticks (Vince Vaughn seriously had a 1% chance to become a dramatic standout and be taken at face value), I prefer Fargo's achievements, by far.