S02.E08: Omega Station

[benteen]

I hope Ray's ex lets Junior go over to Fred Ward's house so they can sit on the couch and watch Friends and Kirk Douglas movies together.

Endings aren't Nic's strong suit. And he's awfully pretentious for a guy who loves soap tropes.

Since Rust and Marty improbably survived last seasons last episode I expected a lead to die in this one and Nic is a why stop at one sort of guy.

Did not like.

I think Colin was the bright spot of the whole thing. His performance had a purity about it that transcended the bad clunky parts. Rachel and Taylor were good to I think they'll all come out of this debacle well.

 

I don't think Franks dad will be too receptive to watching friends but yeah, I do hope he gets to see him too.

 

As someone posted on Twitter tonight, we learned that everyone's penises worked fine.

[dirtydi]

When Osip said, "You're like a son to me?"  I laughed and said, “You dumb fuck, you never should have said THAT.” 

So sad.  3 babies without their fathers.  A lot of father/son and/or daughter themes throughout and none of them that positive.

Edited August 10, 2015 by dirtydi

[jimene79]

XD. I feel evil, but I just didn't care about any of the characters, they started out as depressing and angsty and ended that way too, so the depressing ending had no effect for me.



He needs to be around talented people like Cary Fukunaga, Matthew McConaughey, etc. who impact the show for the better and elevate the material.

Personally, feel that the writing doomed this season more than anything else. I though Colin Farrell did a better job with the material than McConaughey

[Lemons]

I didn't really have a problem with this season. I watched it every week, and I never felt that I wasted my time. I really wanted to talk about the show, but the "it's not last season! wah wah wah" bloviating really turned me off. It was a different story, certainly unique, and to be fair messy. Again, in hindsight, like S1, it was fairly straighforward. From the get go, the series was established as an anthology, so I went into S2 unspoiled without expectations. Just like S1. And I'll go into S3 in the same way. I'm looking forward to what they come up with and what weird casting there will be. 

 

I liked that the boy was really Ray's son, just to stick it to his awful ex wife. She was *dying* for him not to be the biological dad.

I agree, i liked this season. It was one of the best shows on TV this summer.

Ray's ex wife must have been feeling a lot of guilt when she got the results. poor Ray.

[WatchrTina]

Did I hear Ani tell Ray that she could tell he hadn't done it in a while because he had been so . . . urgent?  She meant he came fast didn't she?  Damn.  That was cold. But, as we find out at the end, what he lacked in duration he made up in potency.  One shot and BAM -- baby.

 

Is it just me or was Ray's realization that the second kid from the the jewelry store heist was the set photographer rather abrupt?  I read some speculation about that on these boards but seriously would anyone who doesn't read episode synopses and message boards stand any change of remembering that there even WAS a set photographer?

 

So . . . is anyone else disappointed that we never found out exactly what "traditions" of the "Chassani patriarchy" Tony's mom was unable to cope with?  That's a revelation I was sure we were going to see at some point.

 

That guy who drove Jordan away and promised Frank that he would look after her -- who was he?  He made some speech about being grateful to Frank for carrying him out of some bad situation that may or may not have involved a nail gun.  Was that news or were we supposed to have heard that story before?  Anyway, it was nice to see at the end that he was still looking out for Jordan and was looking out for Ani as well.

Edited August 10, 2015 by WatchrTina

[MrWhyt]

That guy who drove Jordan away and promised Frank that he would look after her -- who was he?  He made some speech about being grateful to Frank for carrying him out of some bad situation that may or may not have involved a nail gun.  Was that news or were we supposed to have heard that story before?  Anyway, it was nice to see at the end that he was still looking out for Jordan and was looking out for Ani as well.

That was Nails, Frank's right hand guy for the entirety of the series.

[henripootel]

That kinda sucked.  Frank's death was visually interesting but it's pretty stupid that he got taken in a goddamn block party.  Dude's on the run and ready for anything, except something super-obvious.  Also thought his blood drizzling march went on waaaay too long - at one point buzzards had arrived and were losing patience.  

 

So all it took for Ray to turn actually murderous was simple greed.  I think we're supposed to be okay with this because the guys he killed were all bad, but I'm not okay with this, nor with Ani's complicity.  I get that we're in a morally ambiguous story here but this didn't strike me as 'necessary and maybe a bit justified' so much as 'criminal'.  

 

Also, the guys who were tracking Ray are the worst followers ever.  Why the tracker had to be the size of a brick and have a big blinking light on it is beyond me.  And why let him run at all?  They were cops, and they had Ray's car at their mercy.  I know the answer is 'they wanted Ray to lead them to Ani' but then why shoot him at the end?  Like over and over.  They still needed to talk to him but, well okay, not so much now.  

 

You're also shit at running away, Ray.  You're in LA, find some traffic and get lost in it, then abandon the car and make a run for it.  You know what would slow down pursuit more than anything?  Crowds of people scrambling to pick up the handful of bills you just tossed into the air. 

 

I'm not made of stone, but the scene with Ray and his son was a 1200 pound block of aging gouda.  Ray arrives just in time to see his son having a well-adjusted playground moment, made possibly by dad's old badge?  And turns for salute from his dad, not overly surprised to see him suddenly?  I was slightly surprised that Ray didn't look into the sky above the school and see Abe Lincoln, Chubbs, and an alligator all waving at him.  And maybe the non-rapist he beat to death.  That was some cheese.

Edited August 10, 2015 by henripootel

[WatchrTina]

One more random thought -- it was nice that the waitress with the scar on her face actually had a role to play, complete with back-story.  But the depressing guitar player / singer was, after all, just a depressing guitar player / singer.

 

Ray's son had his grandpa's badge / paperweight with him at school.  That was poignant.  Completely weird and nonsensical.  But poignant.

 

Also, the guys who were tracking Ray are the worst followers ever.  Why the tracker had to be the size of a brick and have a big blinking light on it is beyond me.  And why let him run at all?  They were cops, and they had Ray's car at their mercy.

I didn't think they were cops.  I thought they were Black Mountain security guys. They carried their guns like I imagine military guys carry their guns.  Maybe cops with assault rifles would behave in exactly the same way but to me, they looked military.  As for the big ass tracker with the blinking red light . . . I got nothing.

 

BTW, does anyone understand what Ray was trying to accomplish when he talked with the chief of police at the train station?  I mean, given the shoot-out that he participates in later in the episode, why would he want the jewelry store heist survivor kid to NOT take out the police chief?

Edited August 10, 2015 by WatchrTina

[Quilt Fairy]

That guy who drove Jordan away and promised Frank that he would look after her -- who was he?  He made some speech about being grateful to Frank for carrying him out of some bad situation that may or may not have involved a nail gun.  Was that news or were we supposed to have heard that story before?  Anyway, it was nice to see at the end that he was still looking out for Jordan and was looking out for Ani as well.

That was Stan's buddy Nails, AKA Henchman #4 before this.

 

I thought the overall plot was a mess, but tonight I was hung up on 2 things that did not make any sense to me. First why are Frank and Jordan having that long goodbye scene in what looks like a train station waiting room when in the end they take off in a couple of waiting cars? I was, like, "Huh?" Second, everyone was talking about the boat, the boat, meet you on the boat, the boat leaves at 3 o'clock. I thought the boat would be, I don't know, an official transportation method? I know, silly me. And then it turns out to be a fishing boat that I guess is in the business of smuggling people in and out of the States? So if it's illegal, why is there a fucking BUS driving people to the dock? Can someone explain that to me or do I just put it down to Nic P's laziness about basing things in reality?

 

I guess if Under the Dome can survive 3 seasons on nothing but people complaining how bad and stupid it is, we're probably in for another season of TD.

Edited August 10, 2015 by Quilt Fairy

[MrWhyt]

BTW, does anyone understand what Ray was trying to accomplish when he talked with the chief of police at the train station?  I mean, given the shoot-out that he participates in later in the episode, why would he want the jewelry store heist survivor kid to NOT take out the police chief?

He was trying to get him admitting to everything on tape/digital.

[Cardie]

That was Nails, Frank's right hand guy for the entirety of the series.

 

And, according to the helpfully chatty Blake Churchman, the only one of Frank's guys who wasn't looking to sell him out when Frank tried to go legit, threatening their henchman jobs. This was the first we heard of Frank's having saved him from torture via nail gun when most guys would have left him behind and run.



[FemmyV]

Because of the Antigone story I was already resigned to Ray's fate; that it would be left to her to clear his name was as predictable as the notion that the reporter Ray beat up would be brought back in. But OW. I did want him to live. OW. I did want Halloway's confession to become a #1 hit YouTube single. Smashing the recorder was just mean on NP's part.

 

The baby? Okay, cheese, but at least he'll have left one kid whose mom won't spend his whole life, handing him a head trip. Chad bringing the shield paperweight to school is also cheese, but if Ray's name and pic was all over the news, maybe he needed to have it near.

[WatchrTina]

 

the reporter Ray beat up would be brought back in

Oh is THAT why we were supposed to know that that guy was a reporter?  Right.  Clearly we're all going to remember a random guy we saw from a distance for a few seconds in an episode two months ago.

 

This show . . . 

[Free]

I was slightly surprised that Ray didn't look into the sky above the school and see Abe Lincoln, Chubbs, and an alligator all waving at him.  And maybe the non-rapist he beat to death.  That was some cheese.

 

Lion King style.  XD.

[henripootel]

He was trying to get him admitting to everything on tape/digital.

Which he totally fucking did.  And this was Ray's whole plan, in the midst of a simple handover, convince the guy to incriminate himself and his many partners in a decades-long conspiracy.  You know who'd also get a kick out of this?  The abused psychotic victim who came here to knife somebody, let's leave him in earshot, that can't go wrong.

Lion King style.  XD.

 

Well, Lion King by way of Happy Gilmore 

[izabella]

I'm fine if they wanted to do a depressing ending, but I think we're supposed to feel a little better that Ani made it to freedom with Ray's baby.  In addition to the cliche, it doesn't make me feel better.  Ray was the one I was rooting for, and he didn't even get to take out Burris when he died.  At least Frank got to kill the Russian Israeli.

 

It also doesn't make me feel better that Jordan made it out.  I never liked her scenes with Frank and didn't really think about her at all otherwise.  So why should I care that she's alive and well?  Because Frank loved her?  He loved Stan, too, apparently, and look where that got him.

[Free]

It also doesn't make me feel better that Jordan made it out.  I never liked her scenes with Frank and didn't really think about her at all otherwise.  So why should I care that she's alive and well?  Because Frank loved her?  He loved Stan, too, apparently, and look where that got him.

 

Felt completely pointless, she was there to carry his baby and complete the contrived fatherless kids ending at the end.

 

Poor Stan, his off screen death was the most tragic.  :).

[shapeshifter]

I can't help but wonder if NP planned to kill off the two (or three) male leads this season in reaction to Twitter and The World complaining about the improbability of Marty and Rust surviving their injuries in last season's finale. But I guess NP is at heart a happy ending sort of guy, so this is what we got. And they were all guys who had done some vicious killing of the wrong people and who wanted to start over, so, yeah, babies it is.

The contrast of desert, redwood grove in the mountains, and ocean was nice.

Kudos to NP for working the variety of Cali landscape into the story in a useful way (made it clear which scene we were in).

Maybe each of the diamonds in Frank's jacket pocket will get swallowed by a different bird and be deposited in the yard or sidewalk of some poor, deserving person.

I'm guessing James Frain and his guys went back and picked up Ray's money. Totally out of character to kill him without finding out the info they wanted.

Glad it's over with.

[Bannon]

That's an episode worthy of a Mystery Science Theater 3000 revival. Good grief.

[DEM]

Me too!  Shouting at the screen for Jorden to just f**king GO!  The shouting resumed when Ray decided to make his side trip to the playground.  Hollering and cursing.

 

I had to laugh when Ani had the moment of psychic awareness that Ray was dead because all I could think about was how people on this board scoffed at Paul's girlfriend's similar moment of psychic awareness last week.

 

Yes on the first.  I was sure Jordan's stalling was going to get them killed. When Ray made his detour, I immediately thought of "Heat" and knew he would come to no good end.

 

On the second: You remembered me! Hee.  This time I could only groan and scoff and roll my eyes. I could hardly believe that they went back to that same damned well.

 

There were things about the ep that I did like (e.g., Ani & Ray's confessional sequence, Frank in the desert, Ray in the woods, all of Ani), but two things overshadowed them and tainted the entire proceeding: Fucking James Frain lived and the... "they passed on their seed" baby stuff.  NicP seems to have some sort of 1950s or mid-1970s sentimentality/mindset. It was off-putting.

Edited August 10, 2015 by DEM

[MyPeopleAreNordic]

Welp!

Ani and Jordan ended up being the last ones standing.

Ray is survived by TWO children.

So where were Ani, Jordan, baby and Nails going at the end? Leaving Venezuela and back here? Ugh...show.

Agree that the early talky-talky scenes were frustrating and perhaps unnecessary. The "love child from the one night stand" is a bit tired..

It was nice to see a little Ray Ray to bring Ani happiness at least.

I'm fine if they wanted to do a depressing ending, but I think we're supposed to feel a little better that Ani made it to freedom with Ray's baby. In addition to the cliche, it doesn't make me feel better.

It does not make me feel better, either. Ugh. This ending. The men go into battle & die but don't worry, it's okay because they sent away the women (and unknown zygote/children) to be safety! And don't worry about the women's happiness BECAUSE BABIES! Everything is fine because the dead character we all rooted for made sure to put a baby in the lead actress's character's womb before he died! Cliche. Awful. And a complete misunderstanding of women as so often written by men - their worlds destroyed, their partners dead, but it's totally okay because they have a BABY and isn't that the best thing ever that all women want?!!!

I have an eight month old and the idea of hiding out in Venezuela and sneaking around South America in hiding with an infant - and Jordan! - sounds pretty damn awful. I guess I'm kind of glad for Jordan that she gets to be the baby's second mom since she wanted a kid, but do we even know that Bezzerides ever wanted to have a kid, let alone wanted to co-parent a baby with Jordan while they're on the run? I guess we should just assume they're happy because obviously any woman who has a baby is getting her happy ending (according to so many male writers). I hate when stories and movies end with "don't worry it's okay because LOOK A BABY!"

Up until the ending, I thought Ani was a reasonably well-written character. I know Nic P took a lot of heat for not having any great or lead female characters last season. Well, you know what? I think he's just a lot better at writing men. And that's okay. Just stick to writing dudes. I won't judge you for sticking to what you're good at.

If there's a third season it needs to have just a couple of main characters, preferably males, and be set on the Gulf Coast. Please, Nic, write what you know.

Edited August 10, 2015 by MyPeopleAreNordic

[scrb]

I really don't buy that Ray and Ani's only option was to run to Venezuela.

A U.S. Attorney would be all over this. So would the FBI.

With all the bodies that they pinned on Ray, the Feds would be investigating at least informally, because Vinci already had a reputation.

Even though the mayor was corrupt, his murder would raise flags, especially since he was involved in the rail corridor deal, with heavy fed funds involved. The shootout at the train station would also bring attention because the coincidence of the son of the murdered jewelers trying to kill the cop that worked the case , both ending up dead at a very public location.

Imagine if there was a shootout at a major airport. Reporters and police investigators would be digging deep.

[Cardie]

Felt completely pointless, she was there to carry his baby and complete the contrived fatherless kids ending at the end.

 

Jordan didn't have Frank's baby (thank God!). She and Ani were raising Ani's baby via Ray. That's why Ani mentioned Ray's *two* sons to the reporter.

 

I am trying to make myself feel better about the survival of effing James Frain by remembering that Holloway, McCandless, Chessani Sr., Dixon, Pitlor, Osip and the originary scumbag Caspere are all dead.

[yourmomiseasy]

As soon as I saw Ray looking at the freeway sign that he was going to exit and see his stupid kid and it would lead to his death.  It was so stupid of him.  He should have known there'd be people staking the kid out waiting for him to show.

 

But despite being sad about Ray, I loved Colin Farrell so much in this.  I hope this kind of reignites his career.

 

I think he's averaged at least 2 movies per year since he got out of rehab.  A lot of them are just smaller productions and dramas rather than big blockbusters. 

 

Please forgive me but my 80s mind can't help but to add:

"When I met you."

"I picked you out, I shook you up"

"and turned you around"

"Turned you into someone new."

 

/Human League rant off 

 

I guess I have to see this again because I didn't see how Ray's car got the tracker on it.

When he went by to see his kid did he happen to see it?

The dirty cops/Black Mountain guys were staking out the school hoping that Ray would be dumb enough to come by.  They were probably watching his house, his ex-wife's house, and his dad's house too.  While he was off saluting his kid they put the tracker on his car and I assume cut a hose or gas line, causing the large puddle that alerted him to the presence of the tracker.  I assume they were trying to sabotage the car so it would break down quickly and they wouldn't have to follow him all day, so I don't know how he got up to the forest since he was in the middle of the valley.

 

Oh is THAT why we were supposed to know that that guy was a reporter?  Right.  Clearly we're all going to remember a random guy we saw from a distance for a few seconds in an episode two months ago.This show . . . 

 

Ray also told Ani to take all the documents etc. and give it to the reporter that was doing the piece in Vinci.

[Accidental Martyr]

How are they going to explain why a Vinci cop and some military contractor guys were following Ray around Southern California without notifying other law enforcement, etc.?

[thuganomics85]

Yeesh, they drug this out.  The extra half of an hour really felt like it was just padding, and things went longer then they really needed to.  Like conversations that could have been done in a minute were increased to five minutes, and five minute conversations ended up going up to ten minutes.  Sometimes less is more, Nic.

 

I totally think a lot of this ending was Nic hearing the criticism of the first season ending on a happy note, so he tried to make it more tragic here, with both Ray and Frank getting killed.  In theory, that's a good idea.  But since I never really cared about anyone outside of the acting skills of at least two of the folks, I really didn't care about their fates. Sure, I thought Colin Farrell sold the hell out of his death scene, but I honestly don't think years from now, I'm going to be missing the adventures of Ray.  As for Frank, fuck that: I felt like his "death" took forever to happen.  Lame.  And, of course, the women leads get sent out of danger.  No surprise: the men die "heroically" (mainly do to stupid decisions), while the women get sidelined.  Seen it before.

 

I do think that final scene with the reporter (was that really the same one Ray beat up?  I was suppose to know that?!), was hinting that they could get revenge from the grave/out of the country, but honestly?  I don't care.  As far as I'm concerned, James Frain won!  You did it, you evil bastard!  May you rule California like the smug little tyrant you are!  Just bring back your normal accent, please!  American one was too strange.

 

So.... if I understand things, basically Caspere was killed by the kid who survived that shooting years ago, because he wanted to get revenge on everyone who killed his parents.  Also, he we saw him episodes back at that movie set.  Basically the same as season one, in that it was someone who the cops randomly speak to during their investigation.  OK, then.

 

Overall, this season had it's moments, but I still felt like it was mainly a mess, and outside of Colin Farell and Rachel McAdams, no one could really save it.  I hope they get it together next season, but I won't count on it.  Knowing Nic, he'll probably double-down all the over-the-top dialogue and miscasting.  At least the latter will be fun to play the guessing game.  My current prediction?  Adam Sandler!  Seriously, he's in a major slump and gets a ton of hate, and I can see Nic being all "Fear not, dear Sandler!  I will save you!  Me!", and get him for season three.

 

To end on a random note, I hope the second season of Fargo fares better.

[thegreathoo]

I loved this episode from start to finish.

Ray n Ani scene at the beginning where they relive through silence the moments they shared the night before, so well done. Frank's death was well done too. Good dialog in the desert, there was little Carlito'Way ending where a young and upcoming gangsta takes him out just as he is about to exit the business.

Ray's death was interesting. He was so passionate, high strung,a fighter, and yet he gave up on his career, on the investigation, paternity, wife, and finally gave up on himself. That was essentially a suicide death. A tragic character, a quintessential loser.

Edited August 10, 2015 by thegreathoo

[Cardie]

I just realized that the allusions to Oedipus Rex NP had talked about had to do with Laura coincidentally/by the laws of fate becoming a prostitute at sex parties organized by her biological father, though neither realized this at the time. Hinting perhaps at incestuous relations between them.

 

This makes sense of the symbolic castrations of Caspere, the voyeur and sexual exploiter. Leonard was not so much avenging his parents' death when he lost it, but his sister's honor.

[AlliMo]

I liked it, as much as I wanted Ray to make it. Then again, I think the biggest problem with this season is that people think the first season is a hell of a lot better than it actually was.

[moonxyz]

The dialogue between Frank and wife : Big lol.what the fuck was that ? How could they act out that scene with a straight face.

 

I’m still not sure I understand the whole story. Who did what, where and why. I probably need to rewatch the whole series again. But I love my self and and won’t subject myself to that.

Edited August 10, 2015 by moonxyz

[revbfc]

This didn't need 90 minutes.

[crookedjackson44]

Watch out for that baby when he grows up - he's going to lead humanity against the machines!  And be the basis of five movies!

 

Having watched two seasons of True Detective, I can only hope that before the filming of season three, Nick Pizzolatto should take on the position of executive producer and hire first, a writer/showrunner who can create something which is better than some ordinary cop drama and real human dialogue, and second a director who can create interesting scenes and better segues than repeated shots of highways.  

 

Last season had a disappointing finish yes, but until then it was the most compelling television I had seen in many, many years.  I told everyone I knew who didn't have HBO all about it every week.  I read up lots of information about Carcossa and the Yellow King.  There was no need for any excitement or research this year.  

[terrymct]

I kept laughing at Colin Farrell's inexplicable channeling of Karl Childer's accent in that scene at the terminal.

 

Thank goodness I'm not the only one to have heard that.  The only thing missing was his discussion of having to sleep in a shed or what a sling blade is.

[terrymct]

He needs to be around talented people like Cary Fukunaga, Matthew McConaughey, etc. who impact the show for the better and elevate the material.

 

Nic Pizzolatto also needs to get back to writing about places and people he knows well.  He's from New Orleans.  The first season of True Detective was one of the few TV shows (or movies) that showed real South Louisiana (but with more occult-y stuff of course) both the landscape and the diversity of people.  I hope if there's a next season that he sets it in the Ozarks or someplace else with which he's very comfortable.

I don't think Franks dad will be too receptive to watching friends but yeah, I do hope he gets to see him too.

 

He can introduce his grandson to old westerns.

 

 

Agree that the early talky-talky scenes were frustrating and perhaps unnecessary. The "love child from the one night stand" is a bit tired..

 

It reminded me, and not in a good way, about Sarah Connor's line from the first Terminator movie "In the few hours we had together, we loved a lifetime's worth."   Bleech.  Super sperm and lurve that transcends limited time spent together.  

Edited August 10, 2015 by terrymct

[pasdetrois]

I watched the last four episodes at one sitting, and it eased my confusion about the many characters a little bit.

 

That endless goodbye scene in the train station - holy cow that was awful. Even two good actors couldn't have pulled that off. And did Jordan HAVE to have on a low cut outfit in so many of her scenes? I kept wanting to shout "put some clothes on!"

 

 

I think Colin was the bright spot of the whole thing. His performance had a purity about it that transcended the bad clunky parts.

 

I loved his performance, even though he gave us that weird cowboy accent when trying to trap Frain and that other guy.

 

Did they show us a scene with Kitsch's baby?

[Milburn Stone]

I was deeply touched by the go-no dialogue between Frank and Jordan. I didn't think it went on too long.

 

Vince Vaughn in these last two episodes totally won me over. I think he did a great job.

 

Was also deeply moved by Ani and Ray finding each other.

 

For all my confusion (which, I have to admit would still exist in part if it weren't for the smart people on this thread), I loved the last two episodes.

 

Finally realized that what I was watching was a modern film noir that worked.

[terrymct]

When Ray walked up to his car after seeing his son, the ground under the car was wet.  It was the only wet spot in the whole area. I thought that it would turn out to be gasoline or some other fluid from the car that leaked out when the bad guys tampered with it.   But no.   Conveniently, Ray could see the red light on the tracking device reflected in the water.   Lucky that Ray parked on the only wet spot for blocks.  Lucky that the tracking device was a huge and had a bright red light on it.

 

That really bugged me.  It was like something you'd expect to see in Starsky and Hutch, I swear.

[njmama]

Did they show us a scene with Kitsch's baby?

Yes. There was a ceremony where they named a highway after him and you could see his mother and his girlfriend holding a baby girl about 6 months old.

[teddysmom]

That's an episode worthy of a Mystery Science Theater 3000 revival. Good grief.

 

or a How Did This Get Made.

 

June Diane would have SO many questions. 

THIS IS BEYOND BONKERS!!

[Free]

Personally, feel that the writing doomed this season more than anything else. I though Colin Farrell did a better job with the material than McConaughey

 

Colin Farrell was the best of the bunch imo.  I just felt that McConaughey poured all his passion into this character, he had a long essay detailing his character and everything.

 

Nic Pizzolatto also needs to get back to writing about places and people he knows well.  He's from New Orleans.  The first season of True Detective was one of the few TV shows (or movies) that showed real South Louisiana (but with more occult-y stuff of course) both the landscape and the diversity of people.  I hope if there's a next season that he sets it in the Ozarks or someplace else with which he's very comfortable.

 

I think it's also the location isn't nearly as interesting and it didn't help that it dealt with corruption, land deals, etc. which weren't interesting at all.

 

Yeesh, they drug this out.  The extra half of an hour really felt like it was just padding, and things went longer then they really needed to.  Like conversations that could have been done in a minute were increased to five minutes, and five minute conversations ended up going up to ten minutes.  Sometimes less is more, Nic.

 

It did, this season had way too much padding and it wasn't paced well even though they knew full well they had 8 episodes and the finale did not need to be 90 minutes.

 

I totally think a lot of this ending was Nic hearing the criticism of the first season ending on a happy note, so he tried to make it more tragic here, with both Ray and Frank getting killed.  In theory, that's a good idea.  But since I never really cared about anyone outside of the acting skills of at least two of the folks, I really didn't care about their fates.

 

It also doesn't help that they were miserable people from the get go.  So by the time they get to it, it's more of a 'get over with it' moment than what should've been a tragic moment.

 

As for Frank, fuck that: I felt like his "death" took forever to happen.  Lame.  And, of course, the women leads get sent out of danger.  No surprise: the men die "heroically" (mainly do to stupid decisions), while the women get sidelined.  Seen it before.

 

Exactly, it's already a cliche, that and the death needed to not be dragged out any further, "just die already".  Mainly it's due to them contriving all the main male leads getting the women pregnant and leaving their kids fatherless in the end.

Edited August 10, 2015 by Free

[benteen]

Anyone else glad that Ani didn't jump off the boat at the end and swim back to shore, like something out of a cheezy romcom?  I admit, I was expecting that to happen for a while.

 

Did those last two guys Frank saw before being caught sell him out to the Mexicans?  They did shoot each other a look after he left.

 

Speaking of Frank, I did get an unintentional laugh when his wife told him that he couldn't act for shit.

Edited August 10, 2015 by benteen

[teddysmom]

Did those last two guys Frank saw before being caught sell him out to the Mexicans?  They did shoot each other a look after he left.

 

That's what I thought.  Although I don't know why the Mexicans were after him.  

[Matt K]

When Ray walked up to his car after seeing his son, the ground under the car was wet.  It was the only wet spot in the whole area. I thought that it would turn out to be gasoline or some other fluid from the car that leaked out when the bad guys tampered with it.   But no.   Conveniently, Ray could see the red light on the tracking device reflected in the water.   Lucky that Ray parked on the only wet spot for blocks.  Lucky that the tracking device was a huge and had a bright red light on it.

 

That really bugged me.  It was like something you'd expect to see in Starsky and Hutch, I swear.

See at first I thought it was a bomb they placed under his car.  I was like why are you poking at a bomb.

 

Overall this season was just terrible.  We got next to no actual detectiving from any of the characters and there was very little this season that ended up being relevant to the case.  Last season most of what we saw was actual police work.  They were chasing down leads and gathering information.  Not so much this season.  

 

And maybe I missed something but I thought it was Frank's baby at the end (as it justified that crappy "havn't had my period in 3 months" line).  

 

As for the deaths, Frank's was just poorly done.  Especially getting killed by not giving the dude a suit.  Ray's was also kind of crappy.  I mean why go out to the middle of nowhere where they can just kill you.  Go somewhere crowded or to the FBI or Mexico or something.  

 

Plus in the end they barely solved the main case and no idea how they came up with that one and the rest, which seemingly was the focus of the story ended up getting away.  Left a pretty sour taste in my mouth.  

[benteen]

That's what I thought.  Although I don't know why the Mexicans were after him.  

 

It was because he blew up his club, which they were using to ship drugs out of.  Those guys were assholes who couldn't leave well enough alone.  I hope someday they get theirs too.

 

Those guys who likely sold Frank out, Frank had strongarmed them earlier in the season.  Just shows again that your actions come back to haunt you.

[Free]

Anyone else glad that Ani didn't jump off the boat at the end and swim back to shore, like something out of a cheezy romcom?  I admit, I was expecting that to happen for a while.

 

Not possible, Ani had to complete the women all getting pregnant to fatherless kids ending that was happening.

 

Overall this season was just terrible.  We got next to no actual detectiving from any of the characters and there was very little this season that ended up being relevant to the case.  Last season most of what we saw was actual police work.  They were chasing down leads and gathering information.  Not so much this season.

 

Plus in the end they barely solved the main case and no idea how they came up with that one and the rest, which seemingly was the focus of the story ended up getting away.  Left a pretty sour taste in my mouth.

 

Yeah, it ended up being inconsequential to the main characters when you think about it.  Last season was disappointing, but it was about closure for the characters.  Here it was just a side story that ended up being telegraphed as soon as they dropped the jewelry store storyline.

[Ottis]

Awful. Awful.Could they fit any more cliches into the finale? As soon as Frank's wife said white suit and red flower, you knew the red "flower" would be blood. The women get away. Ray dooms himself by taking time to see his son one more time. Frank is harangued as he dies by the ghosts of his past. And the various people involved in the conspiracy inexplicably admit their actions even as they all seem to be aware and concerned that they may be recorded.

 

This season had two huge flaws:

- There was no reason to give a shit about any of the characters (except perhaps redheaded boy). They were a mixture of recklessness, baggage and damage, with no real significant others. Didn't care who lived and who died, aside from a general sense of justice.

- The plot was presented so confusingly that it wasn't worth following.

 

I FF'd through several bits of the finale, because so much was unnecessary. Perhaps that terrible and annoying conversation with Frank and his wife at the opening symbolized the season. It was like watching a show that you were sure was good on some level you couldn't quite see, while you had to listen to a crappy dubbed soundtrack.

[Milburn Stone]

As for the deaths, Frank's was just poorly done.  Especially getting killed by not giving the dude a suit.

 

He couldn't give the dude the suit because his entire 401K ($3.5 million in diamonds) was in that suit.

[WatchrTina]

 

I don't know why the Mexicans were after [Frank].

The Mexicans had extorted a deal out of him whereby they got to push their drugs through his casinos at very favorable rates.  That was what he had to offer in order to get to talk to . . . Vera?  Whoever it was who pawned . . . something . . . that was given to her by a skinny white cop (James Frrain?).  Anyway, she had info, Frank wanted it, he cut a deal with Mexicans to get to talk to her on the phone, but when he asked to see her so she could ID the skinny white cope Frank arrived to find her with her throat slit because she had admitted (during the phone conversation) having talked to a cop.  The deal regarding the Mexican dealing drugs at the casino, however, was expected to stand.  So when Frank burned the casinos down, the Mexicans were displeased.

 

 

He couldn't give the dude the suit because his entire 401K ($3.5 million in diamonds) was in that suit.

Also if you're going to be left to die of exposure in the desert (and that looked likely) dying in your underwear would be worse.  Better to go down fighting.  But yeah, mostly he wasn't going to hand over all those diamonds to the douche-bags who were going to leave him in the desert.

Edited August 10, 2015 by WatchrTina

[Milburn Stone]

There was no reason to give a shit about any of the characters...They were a mixture of recklessness, baggage and damage...

 

Who isn't?

[NurseGiGi]

 

 

It reminded me, and not in a good way, about Sarah Connor's line from the first Terminator movie "In the few hours we had together, we loved a lifetime's worth."   Bleech.  Super sperm and lurve that transcends limited time spent together.  

See, this was a problem I had with the "instant soul mate" ending.  Ray and Ani worked together, kinda, but didn't really bond until those last couple of episodes.  And it suddenly turns into eternal love.  When he was talking to her about them going away together I knew she had a funny look on her face and I'm thinking SHE is thinking that damn, one night together and you want to me go on the lam with you?  But no, we got the two haunted damaged souls who found each other and realized that they were meant to be.