‘True Detective’ Season 2 in Review

That’s it! The second season of True Detective has wrapped up into a nicely packaged entertaining experience. Many disliked this season as a whole and attribute their resentment to the confusion they felt throughout the eight episodes. Luckily for you, you can lay off the True Detective recaps after this week. Let’s get started.

Warning: Spoilers ahead! 

When the second season of True Detective premiered, I didn’t expect critiques this polarizing. One thing I’ve found to be true in people who disliked season two is that they seemed to have adored season one continually compared the two with each passing episode. I believe this to be the first mistake when looking at this season of True Detective. With this season having an entirely new cast, set in an entirely new location, with an entirely different story, I feel that we should take this season as a standalone piece, just as it is presented. There’s no fun in rehashing elements of the first season. For those of you who found this season to be a little too confusing, I understand. Looking at it objectively, there were a few instances where I could see viewers could have a hard time navigating the all of the plot points and names. However, with a little digging, anyone could figure out what was going on. Isn’t the challenge of solving the mystery one of the reasons why we tune in to True Detective in the first place?

Still, anyone who found themselves almost completely lost should have enjoyed this episode a lot more than any of the others that came along this season. Omega Station wound up all of the mysteries that we’ve been presented with and took care of significant lose ends. For example, we finally go a resolution on Caspere’s murder, the definitive story behind the diamonds, and the crow’s head. Some of the smaller questions, such as why Caspere owned a crow’s head in the first place, is left up to the viewers to interpret their own answer.

Each of the four leads got their resolutions and completed their arcs, with Ani having the most drastic change in character. Aside from the Caspere investigation, this season was also a story about people trying to find their way in a world where odds are stacked against them. It seemed throughout the season that each of the four main chracteres were struggling with their journey in becoming a good person. There’s several instances in which Velcoro demonstrated that he wants to be a better man for his son. Woodrugh makes a similar statement to his fiancé in the car as he drives her to the motel in episode 7. In the car, Woodrugh remarks that he’s just “trying to be a good man.”

Frank echoes this desire too in trying to provide a life free from crime for his wife, Jordan. This was especially evident in the scene that took place at the train station in which he promised to see her in two weeks or less. For Ani, the journey to becoming a good person was plagued by her traumatic childhood. It seemed that no matter how hard she tried, she could never escape the anger that her childhood left her with. This was made clear through her relationships with her sister and father. By the end of the season, Ani had made peace with who she was and embraced it. This is especially clear towards the end of the season finale when we see her holster her knife.

Each of these characters were constantly moving towards this goal of redeeming and it wasn’t just limited to the leads. This attribute extended to minor characters, like Ani’s father and sister. Everyone was running away from their past and on a journey to find their identities. This concept of journeying was also juxtaposed with Caspere’s investigation having a lot to do with the high-speed rail system. Some of the most significant scenes took place at landmarks that had to do with transportation. In the season finale for instance, we had the pivotal scene that took place in a newly built Anaheim train station.

This season also contained some supernatural elements, most notably in the form of the dream Velcoro had at the start of episode three. If you think back to the dream, Velcoro’s father sits across the table from him and tells a story of how Velcoro is running through the woods with tall trees. His father also mentions that the people chasing Velcoro are giants. This was ultimately how Velcoro would meet his end, trees and all.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this season of True Detective. There were some minor things that bothered me throughout the season, such as Woodrugh’s death, but the season as a whole proved to be satisfactory in the end, even without the storybook ending.

Still have lingering questions? Sound off below! A third season of True Detective is still unconfirmed, however, if there is a third season, we’ll be back with episode recaps!