Article originally written for Seat42F.
HBO’s TRUE DETECTIVE wowed audiences in its inaugural season
last year, so as season two premieres this week with a different cast and
story, it has a lot to live up to, and will surely evoke comparisons (as
happens in this article). In order to do the title proud, the new run doesn’t
seek to copy its predecessor, but instead uses a different structure and
approach, while keeping the same dark, gritty, authentic, complex types of
characters. Even early in the premiere, “The Western Book of the Dead,” I feel
that it is succeeding.
In “The Western Book of the Dead,” we are introduced to
three officials in law enforcement. Detective Ray Velcoro (Colin Farrell, Total
Recall) went off the rails after the rape of his wife, and now is a dirty cop
who gets violent to protect the son (Trevor Larcom, Fresh Off the Boat) he
raised but may not have fathered, biologically speaking. Knife-wielding Ani
Bezzerides (Rachel McAdams, Midnight in Paris) is a cop who doesn’t agree with
the lifestyle choices of her family, sister, Athena (Leven Rambin, Grey’s
Anatomy), being a solo porn actor, and her father (Treme’s David Morse) being a
free-spirited hippie lecturer. Paul Woodrugh (Taylor Kitsch, Friday Night
Lights) loves riding his motorcycle with a death wish, and is unhappy to be
suspended (with pay) after an improper behavior accusation is lobbied against
him.
None of these are heroes, at least not yet. Like last year’s
Rust, they are deeply flawed. Except, unlike last year’s Rust, there’s no Marty
to balance them out. Sure, Ani has a partner, Elvis (Michael Irby, Almost
Human), but the scenes we see of the trio in the premiere are focused on
showing us their bad behavior and it doesn’t look like any of them have anyone
in their lives to pull them back from the brinks they are all rocketing
towards.
In fact, the most stable character in this year’s TRUE
DETECTIVE is not a cop, but a criminal, Frank Semyon (Vince Vaughn, The
Internship), who, along with his wife, Jordan (Kelly Reilly, Black Box), join
the three above in the main cast. Frank is trying to go legit, having found a
scheme that will make him lots of money above-board. Unlike the other leads,
Frank seems to behave logically, not emotionally, and is trying to better
himself, not self-destruct. Ironic, no?
Of course, there is a story that brings all five of these
people (Jordan to a lesser extent, but definitely the other four) together.
This isn’t done at the start of the hour, as happened last year, but is the
ending climax of “The Western Book of the Dead,” and will surely lead to a lot
more interaction, of which there is barely any between the leads here, over the
next seven weeks (this season being another eight-installment run).
I like this delayed beginning, though. Because there are
more characters, it takes a little longer to get to know them. Without the
partner dynamic, it’s not as easy for TRUE DETECTIVE to let viewers be
introduced through a single relationship. Since the entire make up has more
complexity, meaning more moving parts, taking time with each individually in
“The Western Book of the Dead” does much to prepare us for the rest of the
season.
I really enjoyed this premiere. Is it as good as season one?
I think it’s too early to make that call, as season one was a twisty, slow burn
that started great and continued to be so week after week. This first episode
back seems to have the same qualities as its predecessor, and it is easy to be
fully engaged in this new story with these new characters, which is a hopeful
sign. The next couple of months will show us whether that can be maintained or
not.
TRUE DETECTIVE airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on HBO.
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