Maya de Mayo July 7, 2015 Share July 7, 2015 I haven't much complained about the dialogue on this show. It has been WTF worth in some respects but it hasn't really bothered me until last night. That conversation between Vince Vaughn and his henchman/bodyguard after that Russian left had a small but for some reason the most annoying exchange I have ever heard strung together in a sentence. I suspect that the writers are going for a Boyd Crowder (Justified) way of talking with VV's character. Boyd had some pretty high falutin' dialogue for a hillbilly. Problem is, whoever writes True Detective ain't no Elmore Leonard. 8 Link to comment
thegreathoo July 7, 2015 Share July 7, 2015 Disjointed plot (s). Expository dialog. Forced mistery no one cares about. Obigatory gay person(s). And Rachel McAdams's hair. It's a disaster all together. 7 Link to comment
Accidental Martyr July 7, 2015 Share July 7, 2015 I liked hearing the beginning of Warren Zevon's "Detox Mansion" when Ray woke up from his shotgun induced Conway Twitty dream. 1 Link to comment
magdalene July 7, 2015 Share July 7, 2015 I suspect that the writers are going for a Boyd Crowder (Justified) way of talking with VV's character. Boyd had some pretty high falutin' dialogue for a hillbilly. Problem is, whoever writes True Detective ain't no Elmore Leonard. And VV is no Walton Goggins - he could pull that fancy talk off. 5 Link to comment
pasdetrois July 7, 2015 Share July 7, 2015 (edited) This show is all over the place. I watched the parts of the latest episode twice, trying to sustain interest, and no go. The strong actors aren't enough to prop it up. Edited July 7, 2015 by pasdetrois 2 Link to comment
kieyra July 7, 2015 Share July 7, 2015 C'mon guys. We know Stan. You know, good ol' Stan. That one guy. 10 Link to comment
shapeshifter July 7, 2015 Share July 7, 2015 C'mon guys. We know Stan. You know, good ol' Stan. That one guy."Stan's the man!" 6 Link to comment
tennisgurl July 7, 2015 Share July 7, 2015 Classic Stan. I knew Ray was going to live, but I did not think they would be blanks. Yeah its pretty cheap, but I`m glad he`s alive. His story is interesting, and CF is killing it this season. I need to know more about Paul before I understand his whole repressed homosexuality thing. Did he have a bad experience? Is there more to his story and his massive issues? Hope there is. I still like this season, even if it does not quite have the spark last year did. Its starting to edge more and more towards surreal, and that was always where last season was strongest, so hopefully we get more of the weird soon, so this does not just turn into a really weird episode of Law and Order. 3 Link to comment
Ottis July 7, 2015 Share July 7, 2015 (edited) I could have done without the pliers scene. Actually, I was surprised they cut away from it before anything happened. But that whole fight scene didn't work for me. The fact Frank can punch out one (out of shape) dude isn't especially intimidating. And we never saw the teeth pulling scene, and Frank never sold the rage before it cut away, so ... This show is reminding me of the last three Star Wars movies, which were all about an impenetrable trade conflict instead of basic archetypes that grabbed you in the gut. So there is a town with under-the-table real estate deals and a guy in the middle of it was tortured and murdered and a bad guy lost his money, and may be next. OK, well, get on with it. Meanwhile, the main cops are basically serving as redundant viewers, and seeing the tale unwind at the same time we are without bringing anything else to the table except baggage (unlike last year, when the one cop spouted odd philosophies and "got" the killer). Pretty uninteresting so far. Edited July 7, 2015 by Ottis 2 Link to comment
A Boston Gal July 7, 2015 Share July 7, 2015 I loved Season 1 so much that it's hurting my feelings AND making me mad that I dislike this season in equal measure. How is it possible to be boring and confusing at the same time? Or am I confused because I zone in and out so much due to boredom? Is Ani supposed to be the one and only character I like? And if so, they should have given her better hair, because that hideous shit is making it really hard to root for her ... no pun intended. A thousand times yes...although I suspect I'd cut Ani some slack on her hair if I wasn't so irritable over Vince Vaughn's performance/character/does it matter which? Link to comment
blixie July 7, 2015 Share July 7, 2015 I need a meme around this WHO THE FUCK IS STAN business. I'll go ahead and admit this season is kind of terrible, but I don't find it boring, I find it just kind of fantastically bad mixed with a tiny shimmers of goodness. But like look in the mirror, Nic, and take off a fucking bracelet. Or 20. Anyway I find myself thoroughly enjoying the badness, especially the Mayor and his kid, who is appropriating an annoying AAVE by way of Latin America accent towards what end? He needs to die soon if he's gonna keep doing that and I suspect he will since he's a leaky boat and no one could possibly expect he'll keep a lid on whatever role he played in the Caspere murder. I still don't really care about Ray or Ani or Paul, but the mileu, I'm still pretty hooked on. The governmental corruption over land and money, and who are really the gangsters, I like that a lot. I like Frank being the most pathetic cappo on earth, and that he may be the one who will take down all of the real gangsters: The Mayor, The State, Catalyst, but I have less than zero interest in the main characters angst, and all four of their Daddy/Mommy issues and how they intersect with sex and masculinity, and what not. Meh. 4 Link to comment
iMonrey July 7, 2015 Share July 7, 2015 This is because whenever Frank and his posse of generic goons are on my eyes tend to glaze over and my mind starts to wander to what the other main characters may be up to. It's not just that, because I have forced myself to go back and watch scenes, certain I must have missed something important. But, nope! It's all "Blah blah money, blah blah this deal that deal, blah blah what do you think about this guy or that guy." There's been no substance to the conversations Frank has in any of his scenes (except for the ones with his wife about having a baby, or his memory of being locked in the cellar). It all seems to be deliberately vague and unspecific. And not in a way that builds suspense or throws out clues to help you form a theory about what's going on. And it's endless. It doesn't matter if he's talking to the mayor or the Russian or one of his goons or someone he's trying shake down. One scene after another of talking about non-specifics. Who the hell did they think would find any of this compelling? 5 Link to comment
kieyra July 7, 2015 Share July 7, 2015 I need a meme around this WHO THE FUCK IS STAN business. I literally came to this thread just now only so I could post: "I feel some Glarkware coming on with this Stan business." 2 Link to comment
shapeshifter July 7, 2015 Share July 7, 2015 I literally came to this thread just now only so I could post: "I feel some Glarkware coming on with this Stan business."Right now the show is neither bad enough or good enough to warrant a t-shirt, IMO. But there's still time. ...I need to know more about Paul before I understand his whole repressed homosexuality thing. Did he have a bad experience? Is there more to his story and his massive issues? Hope there is...I've thus far refrained from sharing where I think there going with this because I most sincerely hope they are not, but I'm guessing it involves rape/sodomy and prisoners similar to Abu Ghraib. 3 Link to comment
Constantinople July 7, 2015 Share July 7, 2015 I like to think of Stan an everyman character, so quiet and unassuming that you wouldn't even notice he was there, and yet a cautionary tale for what happens when you let yourself get cast as an extra in the film noir of someone else's life. Though saddened by Stan's passing, I take comfort in knowing that Stan will never really die since there's a little bit of Stan in all of us. The Who The Fuck Is Stan is hilarious. Perhaps we'll find out in Season 3. 18 Link to comment
blixie July 7, 2015 Share July 7, 2015 Stan was a Milford man, he knows how to be neither seen NOR heard. 9 Link to comment
Ellaria July 7, 2015 Share July 7, 2015 It's not just that, because I have forced myself to go back and watch scenes, certain I must have missed something important. But, nope! It's all "Blah blah money, blah blah this deal that deal, blah blah what do you think about this guy or that guy." There's been no substance to the conversations Frank has in any of his scenes (except for the ones with his wife about having a baby, or his memory of being locked in the cellar). It all seems to be deliberately vague and unspecific. And not in a way that builds suspense or throws out clues to help you form a theory about what's going on. And it's endless. It doesn't matter if he's talking to the mayor or the Russian or one of his goons or someone he's trying shake down. One scene after another of talking about non-specifics. Who the hell did they think would find any of this compelling? Frank's scenes and his role in this murder/mystery are the most problematic for me. There is nothing to "hook into" as viewer. That last scene with his wife at home in their "glass house" was particularly odd - long pauses, staring into space - and didn't build suspense. I understand that Frank is losing control of every aspect of his life but I'm not sure that I actually care. Another issue for me are the extraneous characters that appear to have been included to create mood and nothing more: the Fukunaga-like director, the mayor's cartoony family, the random goons (like Stan) with Frank, etc. Will Rick Springfield play a larger role? What about David Morse? I wish there were more hints about whether these two will play a greater role in the show because they were compelling in a very strange way. What about the missing young woman? If Paul is to have any relevance to the overall story, he needs to start sharing scenes with the other main characters for more than two minutes. 1 Link to comment
kieyra July 7, 2015 Share July 7, 2015 What the hell was up with the braided Asian film director? That better not have been a shot from Pizzolatto at Cary Fukunaga because at this point, I'd say Fukunaga was more responsive for TD's initial success than Pizzolatto was. Alan Sepinwall strongly implied in his podcast about the first few eps that it was indeed a shot at Fukunaga and that Nick Pizzolatto is indeed bitter about Fukunaga's accolades. Somewhere in here: http://www.hitfix.com/the-fien-print/listen-firewall-iceberg-podcast-no-289-true-detective-ballers-and-more And also referenced here: http://www.hitfix.com/whats-alan-watching/review-has-true-detective-fallen-victim-to-the-sophomore-slump/2 1 Link to comment
Desperately Random July 7, 2015 Share July 7, 2015 We aren't the only ones wondering " Who the hell is Stan?" http://www.pajiba.com/true_detective/who-the-hell-is-stan-on-true-detective.php#comments. 4 Link to comment
Cardie July 7, 2015 Share July 7, 2015 Paul's mother's smothering ways and denigration of any women who might be interested in him may be intended as a contributor to his sexual preference. This is not usually a valid cause but is an old-fashioned cliché from the same well Nic P. dips into so often. I think there's also a hint of her having incestuously abused him.Caspere stood at the intersection of the two main story threads: (1)the corruption in Vinci and the financial shenanigans Frank got involved in trying to do business with the city and (2)the twisted sexuality that seems to afflict the principals and also brings in David Morse and the missing girl. Whether the murderer also has a foot in both worlds remains to be seen. 1 Link to comment
marcee July 7, 2015 Share July 7, 2015 (edited) I feel like they have bets going in the writers room... "OK, someone has to work in the word 'apoplectic'." "Well, shit, that's no problem, I can have Velcoro say something esoteric." "Oh, you think it's that easy do ya? Fine, then say it twice! In the same conversation. In fact, make Semyon say it too. Good luck." Edited July 7, 2015 by marcee 5 Link to comment
ChipBach July 7, 2015 Share July 7, 2015 (edited) Classic Stan. Tennisgurl - Ya made me spit take my water all over my desk... Way to go... Oh Stan, we hardly knew ya, many of us don't know who in the hell you are, but you did provide one hell of a running PtV gag... For that, we thank you, and if we ever remember who you are, we'll never forget you... Edited July 7, 2015 by ChipBach 6 Link to comment
Constantinople July 7, 2015 Share July 7, 2015 (edited) To paraphrase George Costanza, "I hereby declare this summer, the summer of Stan!" Edited July 7, 2015 by Constantinople 4 Link to comment
Muffyn July 7, 2015 Share July 7, 2015 I just assume that's Allstate Stan. Just me? 3 Link to comment
shapeshifter July 7, 2015 Share July 7, 2015 Stan is a flat circle.Well, he sure is now in this thread. Heh. 1 Link to comment
NurseGiGi July 7, 2015 Share July 7, 2015 When VV had the fight with gold teeth guy, I had no idea he was so enraged until they start pulling off jackets and jewelry. I'm always pretty clueless regarding which emotion VV is supposed to be expressing. 4 Link to comment
scrb July 7, 2015 Share July 7, 2015 (edited) I think VV expected to fight that guy, which is why the pliers were handy. He probably figured they saw him as weak and the fat guy was the one most likely to challenge him. That's what the meeting was about, to show he's still boss and he was going to make an example of the guy. Edited July 7, 2015 by scrb 4 Link to comment
ToastnBacon July 7, 2015 Share July 7, 2015 Well, he sure is now in this thread. Heh. No, he just reached his ascension in the loop. Seriously, I don't get why people were so confused. 2 Link to comment
Malaprop cocktail July 8, 2015 Share July 8, 2015 The dialogue is a gift. I cannot wait to start dropping "There's a certain stridency at work here" and "I'm feeling a little apoplectic myself" into my casual conversations. 5 Link to comment
paigow July 8, 2015 Share July 8, 2015 (edited) Why can't I QUIT you???!!!???!!! Maybe Brokeback Peaks of Eastern Promises covers all the bases. Edited July 8, 2015 by paigow 4 Link to comment
TudorQueen July 8, 2015 Share July 8, 2015 Bet Eminem knows who Stan is. I'm not finding the story as rich as Season One - and in terms of storytelling, Season One was more coherent, though there's still time for NP to pull it all together. McAdams is doing everything she can with a character who is constructed almost entirely from clichés, and actually pulls it off. I don't care about Paul, and have no idea if it's the writing (he's even more of a walking cliché) or Taylor Kitsch's acting, though I will acknowledge that Kitsch is a fine looking young man. I think Vaughn is doing pretty well, actually, and I don't have trouble believing him as the upwardly mobile gangster. I don't dislike Kelly Reilly, either, though I thought she was stronger and more interesting in the first episode. But Colin Farrell - I'm almost speechless. I do like him as an actor (so wonderful in "In Bruges" and "Seven Psychopaths", very good in "Saving Mr. Banks" and "Winter's Tale" (I'm one of two people who loved that movie), but I'm not all swoony, he's sooo dreamy and perfect in everything... but he elevates not only the character of Ray Velcoro (and his great big manpain), but elevates everything he touches. The scenes he's in crackle with energy, even though many of them show Ray in a completely checked-out pose, his line readings are fantastic (and sometimes very funny) and if the show was just him and McAdams driving around talking I'd probably still watch. (BTW, I'm not being a bitch about the manpain - I deeply sympathize with his desire to maintain a connection with his son, and the unswerving love he has for the boy whether or not he's biologically his.) As for this particular episode: That first scene really was Lynchian in the extreme - and worked for me. Nice to see Fred Ward, and he made both his scenes count. To those of you who think the Mayor is getting cartoonish, IMHO, cartoonish would almost be a compliment, he's so out there. All the portraits of himself that hang in his McMansion made me think of the soaps, and how everyone has numerous photos/paintings of themselves everywhere, unless they're good salt-of-the-earth people, in which case they have one Sears Portrait Studio arrangement of the whole family. If the Mayor isn't up to his armpits in the corruption, he's not putting his skanky, greedy, slimy, psychotically angry qualities to proper use. James Frain has to be either in with the bad guys (who I totally believe are centralized in Catalyst), or is going to protect or help our heroes at a crucial juncture. Otherwise it's a waste of a very good actor. For all the complaints about the direction (some of them I find justified) I thought the rhythms of the chase sequence and Ray pulling Ani out of the path of that truck to be handled exceptionally well. 4 Link to comment
MyPeopleAreNordic July 8, 2015 Share July 8, 2015 (edited) So...I came on here immediately after I finished watching the episode from my DVR so I could find out who Stan was. I was sure that I had just missed who he was and maybe one or two other posters here would have as well. I expected to see it cleared up in the first couple of posts.....but now I see that basically no one knew who Stan was and it took some investigating and more than just a couple of posts for the true detectives watching this show to nail down who he was. Thanks for doing so and also, thanks to everyone else for making me feel better - I thought I had missed something obvious and was one of only a few who didn't know who Stan was, but no one knew. It's not a good sign, show, when "who was that who was killed" becomes the central mystery rather than "who is the killer?". I thought Rachel McAdams & Colin Farrell killed it this episode. However, I can't decide if I hate or like Rachel McAdam's hair. Did Ani purposely go reverse ombré like that or did she just let her roots grow out and doesn't care? I'll be disappointed if all there is to Taylor Kitch's character's sexual issues is he's in the closet and had a gay fling going with his buddy during "those 3 days." There better be more to it than that. Also, I'm going to need him to be shirtless in at least one scene per episode to keep his storyline "interesting." ;) Count me in as someone who liked the bizarre Conway Twitty opening scene. I've said since episode one that Jordan (VV's wife) is up to more than just being a supportive spouse. Something ain't right with her character. She reeks of the nefarious. Never trust a woman whose eye liner/eye makeup is always on point - even during/after futile blow jobs at the fertility clinic & late at night in her robe reading a book while waiting for her husband to come home from work. Edited July 8, 2015 by MyPeopleAreNordic 3 Link to comment
MyPeopleAreNordic July 8, 2015 Share July 8, 2015 (edited) Why can't I QUIT you???!!!???!!! Maybe Brokeback Peaks of Eastern Promises covers all the bases. Love this post so much! Edited July 8, 2015 by MyPeopleAreNordic 1 Link to comment
Jextella July 8, 2015 Share July 8, 2015 Stan is a flat circle. Hysterical. I need a meme around this WHO THE FUCK IS STAN business. I'll go ahead and admit this season is kind of terrible, but I don't find it boring, I find it just kind of fantastically bad mixed with a tiny shimmers of goodness. But like look in the mirror, Nic, and take off a fucking bracelet. Or 20. Anyway I find myself thoroughly enjoying the badness, especially the Mayor and his kid, who is appropriating an annoying AAVE by way of Latin America accent towards what end? He needs to die soon if he's gonna keep doing that and I suspect he will since he's a leaky boat and no one could possibly expect he'll keep a lid on whatever role he played in the Caspere murder. I still don't really care about Ray or Ani or Paul, but the mileu, I'm still pretty hooked on. The governmental corruption over land and money, and who are really the gangsters, I like that a lot. I like Frank being the most pathetic cappo on earth, and that he may be the one who will take down all of the real gangsters: The Mayor, The State, Catalyst, but I have less than zero interest in the main characters angst, and all four of their Daddy/Mommy issues and how they intersect with sex and masculinity, and what not. Meh. I am intrigued by crime stories set in LA that work. I think they are hard to tell successfully because of the way the city is set up. It's flat and sprawling with endless highways. There isn't much activity at night in downtown because of all the ofice building. There isn't much that is "immediate". NYC is the opposite. Everything is built vertically and consolidated. Activity is on every street corner 24/7 and believeable crime stories are a dime a dozen as a result. One movie that captured the seedy side of LA AND its sprawling nature is Collateral with Tom Cruise and Jamie Foxx. Michael Mann directed, and he did a superb job of showing us the city's dark underbelly against the backdrop of its sprawl. He successfully intertwined the two....it was really a phenomenal accomplishment IMO. (one of my favorite action movies). Anyway, I was happy True Detective gave CA a shot as a backdrop. I was hopeful that Nic P and whoever else was in charge would give us a capitvating story against California sprawl in the same way Michael Mann did in Collateral, but no such luck. Still, I remain interested in the "mileau" they've developed too. I'll tune in to the end just to see how the highway corruption story pans out - but not necessarily to see how the characters' stories are resolved. As it it, the only one whose story I'm remotely interested in is Vince V's character because I want to see how he lands in the end relative to the deal. Next up would be Colin Farrell's character - but only because I find his performance engaging. Rachel M and Taylor K stories are pretty bland and neither is interesting enough for me to care about them. 1 Link to comment
Malaprop cocktail July 8, 2015 Share July 8, 2015 Episode 3 is where I took a dramatic turn from "Huh, this is kind of interesting I guess, I'll stick around to see where it goes" to full-on hate-watching. So I apologize in advance for what is going to be a bit of a rant. #1. Show, don't tell. And if you've already shown, you don't have to tell! We've seen Ray guzzle expensive scotch like it was water. We've seen his family life fall apart. Hell, we've seen Ray, full stop. Guy is a walking public service announcement. Do we really need a scene in the doctor's office with the doctor telling him he has an unhealthy lifestyle? #2. I have never seen Taylor Kitsch in anything before, so I can't say whether his acting or the direction is the problem. But the scene in the strip club where he is breaking out into a cold sweat and drinking like a fish and averting any and all eye contact with gay people? That needed to be dialed waaay down. Again, repressed sexuality, we get it. He also needs to knock it off with the Botox. #3. S2E2 ends with the cheapest of cheapshot cliffhangers. S2E3 ends with... Frank not wanting to talk about his feelings right now. There has to be some middle ground between these extremes. #4. The dialogue. Oh my God! When Benson & Stabler asked the movie director about the parties, he actually said something like, "I drink, so my memory is unreliable." I want to believe the writers bracketed that line in the script, using it as a placeholder for yet-to-be-written dialogue expressing that concept more naturally, but just forgot about it. 6 Link to comment
Crim July 8, 2015 Share July 8, 2015 (edited) I'll be disappointed if all there is to Taylor Kitch's character's sexual issues is he's in the closet and had a gay fling going with his buddy during "those 3 days." There better be more to it than that. Maybe they didn't have a fling with each other. Maybe they raped prisoners? It's not that I would find one or the other preferable to watch, but the other stories seem to mix sex issues and violence. Only a huge fluffy rabbit pulled out of an Amazing Storylines hat can redeem TK's role for me at this point; I find it the worst in terms of obviousness, bad writing, copious screen time, and lack of connection to anything else. Frank is equally bad as writing and screen time, but at least plot stuff seems to be happening. If one were to cut all TK scenes except the ones where he contributes to the investigation, absolutely nothing would be lost. And that says a lot about the show right now. Re:Stan. I started thinking that we weren't supposed to know/care who Stan was, just that one of Frank's people was killed. It's not just that we didn't get to see Stan much or heard his name enough to remember him (on a show that repeats everything "important" at least twice), but we also didn't get that good of a shot of his body, imo. Edited July 8, 2015 by Crim 3 Link to comment
paigow July 8, 2015 Share July 8, 2015 I'll be disappointed if all there is to Taylor Kitch's character's sexual issues is he's in the closet and had a gay fling going with his buddy during "those 3 days." If he gets shot, Bette Midler, Elton John & Cher should be his dream team... Link to comment
blixie July 8, 2015 Share July 8, 2015 (edited) I started thinking that we weren't supposed to know/care who Stan was, just that one of Frank's people was killed. I think maybe that's it, but if so why write the scene like they just killed someone who really wouldn't be a target? You are GANGSTERS getting murdered is part of the territory, and they really did focus on the GRAVITY of Stan being targeted. Like if you want that to mean something to the audience let us see who the fuck Stan is, I actually initially thought Stan was the contractor dude Frank muscled earlier in the episode, so he was feeling a particular key of "guilt" having sucked this previous scott free dude back into the game. I take and even appreciate the larger point that someone/everyone is COMING for Frank, but this was a weirdly laughable way to show it. Maybe they didn't have a fling with each other. Maybe they raped prisoners? The combat buddy was speaking about a specific incident that clearly only involved the two of them in some village w/o the rest of the squad, and he was longing for the reverie of it, the last time he felt "good". I really doubt he was romanticizing their mutual rape of Afhanis. Though I think it's possible Paul did engage in that separate from that particular time being referenced. Edited July 8, 2015 by blixie 1 Link to comment
Hobo.PassingThru July 8, 2015 Share July 8, 2015 (edited) Keep in mind he also has that scarring on his shoulder. He didn't want to talk about that either. Now, it is certainly possible it isn't related to whatever his buddy was referring. But, given how the Paul character seems to be the least focused upon, it makes it seem like every little thing about him is important to figuring out his hidden past. Speaking of hidden pasts, all of the characters seem to have one or more dark secrets. The thing is it would be cooler if those secrets came out during the course of events which advance the story. One thing I am wondering is what if Ray's son is not his wife's son. What if somehow Ray may or may not be the father and somehow the kid's real mom is out of the picture? The paternity test threat would still be real to Ray but that situation would be more of a twist than his ex-wife having a fling or the child being the result of that rape. Something about her and Ray's street corner argument seemed off enough to make me wonder that. And then there is Antigone. Perhaps it is the result of her beat (but I doubt it) she's kind of obsessed with prostitutes. She led that raid into that house expecting prostitution and was disappointed but then found her sister and mad at her. That made sense. But, then there was a scene where she jumped to a conclusion something involved prostitutes and was again disappointed when she found out it was not about that. Oddly enough, of the three, Paul seems to have lots of contact with prostitutes. For a motorcycle cop, a highway patrol cop, it seems kind of odd that he is traveling in those circles. Whereas, Antigone can't find a prostitute to save her sanity and Ray almost seems asexual right now (n the great car conversation with Antigone*, he said he has "body issues" right now, didn't he? Well, after being shot in the gut, I can't see his body issues going away) Obviously, all of the other peripheral characters, and Frank, have some defining secrets. It's almost too bad that stuff couldn't have been put up front and center for each of the main characters. Establish them properly by giving them each half-an episode and breakdown the mystery in the other half. Or, maybe it could have all been done in the first episode. And, I guess it sort of was but not well enough to make people care. I mean it was cool that the three cops came together at the end of the first. But, if that had happened at the beginning of the second instead of the story of the basement rats, it would have been more engaging. And, one thing about Ray. We saw him drinking and smoking himself to near death in Episode One. In Episode Two, he commented on Ani e-smoking (?). But, I don't recall him smoking at all and he drank water during that booth meeting with Frank. Then by this episode his dad was the one who was the hard drinker, smoker (?) or at least toker. However, Ray did smoke during Episode 3 and this was after seeing that x-ray of his chest (was that cancer?). Just an odd character inconsistency. Rust Cohle smoked constantly in comparison to Ray. * the car conversations have been great. Both Ray and Paul don't like e-cigs at all and razzed Ani for using it. Those conversations are one of the tropes that worked well in Season One and Two. It allows for characters bonding or not bonding. Edited July 8, 2015 by Hobo.PassingThru Link to comment
magdalene July 8, 2015 Share July 8, 2015 (edited) Oddly enough, of the three, Paul seems to have lots of contact with prostitutes. For a motorcycle cop, a highway patrol cop, it seems kind of odd that he is traveling in those circles. Whereas, Antigone can't find a prostitute to save her sanity and Ray almost seems asexual right now (n the great car conversation with Antigone*, h Remember Paul's mother is an ex-stripper - he's probably been around strippers, strip clubs and prostitutes all his life. I wish there was one main character on this gloomy show without a shit-ton of issues to give it some blessed balance. I have lived in SoCal for many years and I don't recognize this as my home at all. Edited July 8, 2015 by magdalene Link to comment
tomsmom July 8, 2015 Share July 8, 2015 tomsdad just texted me at work and said "Who the fuck is Stan?" Sure hope he's watching True Detective...... 9 Link to comment
Mindymoo July 8, 2015 Share July 8, 2015 I just want to know what everyone has against e-cigs! Paul and Ray tease Ani about it in their scenes with her... I mean, they don't make you reek like smoke, they don't have all of the chemicals that cigarettes have, and they help people quit smoking! My aunt smoked since she was a teenager, and just quit in her mid 50s using an e-cig. I even use one (sans nicotine, since I was never a cigarette smoker) because I like to vape the flavor of Cap'n Crunch Crunchberries without all of the calories! Did Pizzalatto's nephew get poisoned while drinking a bottle of e-juice that had 18mgs of nicotine in it thinking that it was Kool-Aid or something? Link to comment
meep.meep July 8, 2015 Share July 8, 2015 tomsdad just texted me at work and said "Who the fuck is Stan?" Sure hope he's watching True Detective...... He welcomed judgement. 2 Link to comment
Muffyn July 8, 2015 Share July 8, 2015 Bet Eminem knows who Stan is. Dammit! Eminem could have saved him but now it's too late! Link to comment
Milburn Stone July 8, 2015 Share July 8, 2015 (edited) ...now I see that basically no one knew who Stan was and it took some investigating and more than just a couple of posts for the true detectives watching this show to nail down who he was. Thanks for doing so... Wait...has someone here figured out who Stan was? I missed it. If someone can just say it again, I'll appreciate it. #1. Show, don't tell. And if you've already shown, you don't have to tell! We've seen Ray guzzle expensive scotch like it was water. We've seen his family life fall apart. Hell, we've seen Ray, full stop. Guy is a walking public service announcement. Do we really need a scene in the doctor's office with the doctor telling him he has an unhealthy lifestyle? I forgive this scene, because it had a funny line: when the doctor says something like, "We've all got some bad habits, but it would be nice if you didn't have all of them." Edited July 8, 2015 by Milburn Stone 1 Link to comment
Hobo.PassingThru July 9, 2015 Share July 9, 2015 Remember Paul's mother is an ex-stripper - he's probably been around strippers, strip clubs and prostitutes all his life. I see. Then I missed that. I just want to know what everyone has against e-cigs! I don't know if I could take it if the reason is Chekov's E-cig. Link to comment
blixie July 9, 2015 Share July 9, 2015 (edited) has someone here figured out who Stan was? Yes he was he non red haired non Russian henchmen who maced that bookmaker in the face in episode 2. Again I think the writing/director are making some point about how incidental Stan was, so his murder is SUPER out of bounds, but whatever he's a fucking violent mobster, so stahp. Edited July 9, 2015 by blixie 1 Link to comment
Bannon July 9, 2015 Share July 9, 2015 I wish there was one main character on this gloomy show without a shit-ton of issues to give it some blessed balance. I have lived in SoCal for many years and I don't recognize this as my home at all. It's exceptionally stupid and lazy writing. What makes good noir is the contrast with lumiere. Of course, that requires imagination. Link to comment
paigow July 9, 2015 Share July 9, 2015 (edited) Velcoro and his medical issues remind me of Backstrom. Too bad the doc did not force him to wear a pedometer as part of getting medical clearance. Edited July 9, 2015 by paigow Link to comment
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