Yeah, that part made me laugh. I thought the ending was on par with the rest of the season. I was disappointed with Ray's death . . . why would he drive all the way out there? Surely it would of been easier to lose them in the city somewhere? Drive into a multi-story and run for it, perhaps? Whatever, it was an entertaining enough bit of TV but i thought they did it a disservice associating it with the epic first season. But then, i suppose it wouldn't of been made at all, if it wasn't . . . .
Overall disappointment. I wish everyone had died. I was waiting for Bezzerides to take one in the back of the head and dumped over the boat... Blek
^^ meh... No surprise there Same here. Yeah, this season had plenty of flaws, but as a whole I really enjoyed it as well. Went in with very low expectations and came out pleasantly surprised. Don't know why anyone was expecting lightning to strike twice with TD S2... There was no way the 1st's surprisingly sublime pairing of Harrelson and McConaughey was going to be replicated. That said, this ensemble did a fine job together. Vince Vaughn probably wasn't the best casting choice, but he (despite the snoozer basement monologue) grew on me as the show progressed. Most look back at the 1st season so reverently, but I believe that was mostly-if-not-all due to McConaughey knocking his role out the park. The story itself was kind of a clusterfuck and (just like this one) was all over the place until the last couple episodes. Colin Farrell was easily the stand-out of the season. I thought Rachel McAdams and Taylor Kitsch's departure from their typical roles was a bold move and they both did a fine job showing some versatility in their acting. The story was definitely complicated, and even marathoning the show it was hard to keep track of all the names of the characters... there were just so many damn people involved. Spoiler The ending was bittersweet. I'd venture to say most of us (except for the typical haters here) wanted Ray to live... and the second he took the off ramp to see his son, it was clear that wasn't going to happen. It was pretty obvious Frank wasn't gonna make it, but I like how his (unfortunately drawn-out) demise came from someone who I wasn't expecting (but probably should have in hindsight). Even Woodrugh's death kinda got to me a little, as I was really hoping he was going to make it (at least out of that trap). In agreement that Burris waiting by that exit of all places was just sloppy writing. It should've been some random cop, not him of all people. All that said, I liked the ending of this season far better than the feel-good one of S1. I wonder if more people got offed this go-round because of all the complaint's that Cohle didn't in the last... who knows? Wasn't in a rush to revisit S1 after it ended, but am going to blaze through this one again very soon. Seems most critics and the majority of SB (no surprise there) have written this one off, but I'm proud to be in the minority of those who liked it. Say what you will, but TD S2 was better television than 95% (maybe more) of the all the other crime dramas out there...
I loved season 1 but have had a really hard time getting into season 2. I guess after the performances in season 1, my expectations were set too high.
I ended up enjoying it despite it's many flaws. Good thing that secret transponder device had a nice bright red light on it!
Haha yeah. As soon as I saw that thing I was thinking ok now grab your shit and steal another car then go live happily ever after. Nope.
I enjoyed the season for what it's worth, but damn... That ending. I don't deal with tragedy very well, real or fantasy. (Guess that's why I enjoy horror movies so much and have no issue with GoT, you expect everyone to die anyway so no emotional attachments ) Everyone dying was just soul-crushing. Couldn't get it out of my head for the last couple of days. I guess I had this expectation of everyone surviving thanks to episode 4's shoot out scene where everyone lived in cliche-fashion.
It's one of the oldest tricks in the the book. Make a character endearing and give the audience an emotional attachment then kill them off so people's own empathy gives them the impression that the work itself was powerful. While in reality it's the cheapest and easiest way to add emotional impact without effort. I am not saying there is anything wrong with it at all but I often see it used as a crutch more or less. That is the same reason I loved the end of the first season. Almost everyone I knew expected the standard tragic end. Only question was which guy was going to take the fall or would it be both of them. The fact they didn't go that way at all was awesome. Sure it pissed people off who wanted the same ending they've been given a thousand times before but that's good too. Just another emotional response without using the most basic trigger.
I think Ray played the sacrificial lamb, so they'd leave his family alone. I really had no trouble with him taking those guys out to the forest knowing he wouldn't make it. He was buying time so the message to his son would upload.
Pretty meh, all around, this season, but definitely above average television. I binged season 1 before the finale, and it's interesting how watching season 2 made flaws in season 1 stand out more than I noticed before. Really it was Harrelson and Mcconaughey and their characterization that made season 1 such a standout. This season just didn't find its footing with the characters soon enough or at all, which made all the cliches and overwrought dialogue more apparent. Also there was no bad acting in season 1 or the rest of this season's cast, so Vaughn's mediocre performance really stood out. As for the ending, Spoiler I see the overall theme, at least going by who died as stagnation/resentment vs growth/forgiveness. Woodrough died because he couldn't accept his sexuality and incorporate it into a new life so he went and died trying to keep it buried. Velcoro died because he couldn't let go of his son such he had to see him that one last time, his son being a symbol for his guilt over losing his family of his own doing. Frank died because of how desperate his scheming became and because in that last moment he was too proud to lick the thug's boots even to keep himself alive. Bezzirides and The Wife lived because they were willing to let go and move on, and did. I'm curious to see what they do with s3 in reaction to all this likely unexpected hate for s2. I hope they get Fukunaga or another single director to do all the episodes.
