True Detective

[Elsalvajeloco]

I like that there is a man under the age of 50 wearing a Bolo tie. Also, a guy trusts him enough to bring out his twelve year son to discuss something on the porch with said man wearing a Bolo tie.

[Reed]

Safe to say, if you call your kid 'Aspen' you're probably not the sharpest knife in the drawer. 

[Elsalvajeloco]

At first, I was confused about when this was set. He started talking about buying his son LeBrons, and I immediately became baffled.

 

That guy's reaction should have been

 

"Yeah, sure y...wait why are you wearing a Bolo tie in the 21st century? Also, why is your hair growing like Dustin Hoffman in American Buffalo? Did you come to tell me that you're a registered sex offender? Fuck no, you can't meet my son. Get the hell off my porch before I call the cops."

[FluffSnackwell]

Dammit bringing up bolo ties only serves to remind me that I haven't seen L.Q. Jones in anything new in a while.

[pipGofern]

I like that there is a man under the age of 50 wearing a Bolo tie. Also, a guy trusts him enough to bring out his twelve year son to discuss something on the porch with said man wearing a Bolo tie.

 

He did identify himself as a cop so there's that. Although I don't recall if he actually flashed his badge. Still, it was far and away the best moment of the ep.

 

I watched the premiere last night. It wasn't amazing television like S1 but I thought it was pretty decent. It reminded a ton of LA Confidential except set in the current day. Farrell was pretty damn awesome. Riggins is okay as long as he stays in his wheelhouse (Dumb, good-hearted lunkhead). McAdams story annoyed me only because of how preposterous it was that 1) She uses department resources solely to roust her sister 2) After finding said sister doing perfectly legal work, they stumble upon a case that leads directly to her father.

 

Oh and whoever mentioned D'Onofrio doing the Vince Vaughn role but doing it better nailed it right on the head. I get that he's trying to do something without the usual "tough guy" and/or Vince Vaughn ticks but the performance was so dialed back it was almost like he was literally going through the motions.

[Elsalvajeloco]

Dammit bringing up bolo ties only serves to remind me that I haven't seen L.Q. Jones in anything new in a while.

 

At this point, he should be given an obligatory cameo in a Western just based on general principle. Antoine Fuqua should make sure to get him in The Magnificient Seven remake.

 

 

 

I like that there is a man under the age of 50 wearing a Bolo tie. Also, a guy trusts him enough to bring out his twelve year son to discuss something on the porch with said man wearing a Bolo tie.

 

He did identify himself as a cop so there's that. Although I don't recall if he actually flashed his badge. Still, it was far and away the best moment of the ep.

 

 

I don't care if he announced himself as the Duke of York. He still look like a disheveled piece of shit.

 

After thinking about the premiere, I just hated all his interactions with everyone. His character is so poorly written through one episode. I am also not a big fan of Ani, but I think that has been covered a bit with the discussion of the writing of female characters.

[EVA]

I like that there is a man under the age of 50 wearing a Bolo tie. Also, a guy trusts him enough to bring out his twelve year son to discuss something on the porch with said man wearing a Bolo tie.

 

He did identify himself as a cop so there's that.

 

Let's talk about this scene some more:

Surely, it's going to have to come back and bite Ray, right? He walked up to somebody's front door, identified himself as a police officer and then proceeded to beat a man half to death and terrorize his child.

That family called 911. And when the police asked them to describe the culprit, they would say, "He said he was a police officer, but he didn't look like any police I'd ever seen. He had long, greasy black hair and a droopy mustache and he was wearing a goddamn bolo tie of all things."

I think the police might know a guy who fits that description.

What's more, we earlier saw him go through the trouble of putting on a mask to rough up the journalist, so it's clear that, at least when he's in his right mind, he doesn't consider himself someone who can do whatever the fuck he wants with impugnity.

If nothing ever comes of that...wow.

[Elsalvajeloco]

Don't get me started on the beating up the newspaper guy.

 

So he was paid to beat up one dude so the rest of an expose doesn't come out or whatever? Is that how those stories work now? You just beat up one person in an area with millions of people and then nobody hears about this controversial issue again. Is this the 1930s? Is Farrell's character suppose to be Al Neri, Willie Cicci, and Rocco Lampone rolled up into one?

[Petey]

Sometimes I can't work out if you're all a bunch of harsh motherfuckers, or you're parodying your never-satisfied-online-wrestling-nerd personas. 

I'm just a harsh motherfucker. I'm well past my never-satisfied-online-wrestling-nerd persona.

[piranesi]

 

 

I like that there is a man under the age of 50 wearing a Bolo tie. Also, a guy trusts him enough to bring out his twelve year son to discuss something on the porch with said man wearing a Bolo tie.

 

He did identify himself as a cop so there's that.

 

Let's talk about this scene some more:

Surely, it's going to have to come back and bite Ray, right? He walked up to somebody's front door, identified himself as a police officer and then proceeded to beat a man half to death and terrorize his child.

That family called 911. And when the police asked them to describe the culprit, they would say, "He said he was a police officer, but he didn't look like any police I'd ever seen. He had long, greasy black hair and a droopy mustache and he was wearing a goddamn bolo tie of all things."

I think the police might know a guy who fits that description.

What's more, we earlier saw him go through the trouble of putting on a mask to rough up the journalist, so it's clear that, at least when he's in his right mind, he doesn't consider himself someone who can do whatever the fuck he wants with impugnity.

If nothing ever comes of that...wow.

 

 

They also likely have a record of someone looking up the address.  He did it over the fucking police radio.

[EVA]

I was just about to come back and say that!

I just rewatched that scene on Youtube, and he has the dispatch operator sound it off to him over the radio!

"Wait, what? We need officers to respond to an assault at that address? But I just sent Bolo Ray over there!"

[Elsalvajeloco]

"Oh shit, you sent Bolo Ray! The guy who talks non-stop into his tape recording machine about decapitation? That Bolo Ray?!"

 

"Bolo Ray gets results."

[Craig H]

Lol this is all better than the show.

[piranesi]

Let's play: Who wrote it?  Ed Wood or Nic Pizzolatto?

- "When you can't remember your lives, you can't change your lives, and that is the terrible and the secret fate of all life."

- "One is wrong, because he does right.  And one is right because he does wrong. Dance to that which one is created for."

- "It has been shown - proved over the centuries, if one does not conform, one is considered mad.  It is such a wicked world.  Many times I wonder why we fight so hard to remain in it."

- "Back then, the visions...most of the time I was convinced that I'd lost it. But there were other times, I thought I was main-lining the secret truth of the universe."

- "It was all the same dream. A dream that you had inside a locked room. A dream about being a person. And like a lot of dreams there's a monster at the end of it."

- "It was the twilight hour.  And two of the twilight people sat in the same meditative silence.  The world was standing, momentarily, still.  But time and the train continued ever westward."

- "There's all kinds of ghettos in the world.  It's all one ghetto man, giant gutter in outer space."

- "One is always considered mad when one understands something that others cannot grasp."

- "The world needs bad men. We keep the other bad men from the door."

- "Dead or alive, no man can keep a hard on forever."

- "I used to wanna be an astronaut. But astronauts don't even go to the moon anymore."

- "There is a time to live and a time to die.  We're alive, so obviously now is our time to live."

 

- "A good woman mitigates our baser tendencies."

[Elsalvajeloco]

- "It was all the same dream. A dream that you had inside a locked room. A dream about being a person. And like a lot of dreams there's a monster at the end of it."

 

To Fukunaga's credit, he made that work somehow. He got it to be visually impressive enough to make people forget momentarily the masturbatory leadup to one good line. I don't see Justin Lin getting anywhere close to doing that. Episode one is proof positive he has his fucking work cut out for him.

[supremebve]

So the cops show up at someone's house, assault them, and leave without any fear of punishment...and you guys think that is unrealistic?  You guys don't watch the news.

 

My biggest problem with the episode is that it didn't feel like anything happened.  It seemed like everyone was having a conversation about something more interesting than what was actually happening on the show.  Whatever happened in Rachel McAdams' bedroom had to have been more interesting than the awkward conversation after.  So, did Tim Riggins take the blowjob?  If so how did he get caught?  The driver could have told, but wouldn't that mean that she's telling on herself?  That is considered bribery right?  Wouldn't she be arrested for that?  Why is everyone's backstory so damn vague?  Were we supposed to recognize who the guy with no eyes, and understand his significance?  I remembered him being in a car, but I don't know who he was or why he was important.  I'm going to keep watching, because I really liked the first season, but I feel like I know nothing about any of the characters.

[bazzil]

Were we supposed to recognize who the guy with no eyes, and understand his significance? I remembered him being in a car, but I don't know who he was or why he was important.

Then you probably shouldve paid a bit more attention. Half of the episode is about him.

[Jrag]

He clearly didn't take the BJ. Dude needed a blue pill and 30 minutes in the bathroom.

The guy with no eyes is the city planner that Frank works with. Heavily involved in the shady development stuff going on. Also, he has a weird house with a bunch of dicks and creepy stuff everywhere. The house was torn apart so whoever killed him was looking for something specific.

It's actually a very interesting little murder plot, but yall can keep making fun of the (intentionally) pulpy dialogue.

[BurningBeard]

Wow so much vitriol.

 

All this venomous talk of tropes is pretty hilarious when the entire first season was built on the buddy cop opposites trope. Which you were all fine with (well, apart from the internet feminists who didn't seem to understand the formula). And if you think the first two episodes of S1 were outstanding I don't think we were watching the same show as all that had was the intrigue factor and Rust's one-liners to begin with.

 

My only criticism was the timescale. I too thought it was the 80s with Farrell's look and the dictaphone thing but then there was webcam porn and Lebron's and I got confused. At first I thought it was going to be a flashback>present day story again but nope. I figure Farrell's character is just stuck in the past.

 

And y'all are shitting on a Leonard Cohen song being the theme tune? Get to fuck. You'll all be singing this shows praises in 8 weeks time, mark my words

[Jrag]

So the cops show up at someone's house, assault them, and leave without any fear of punishment...and you guys think that is unrealistic?  You guys don't watch the news.

 

So true.  Not only that, but he works for a "city" which is really just a few factories on the outskirts of LA.  Every single city official we have seen so far has been super corrupt. Directly before he was assigned the missing persons case, he was talking to his supervisors about the journalist.  It seems like this 100 population "city" is corrupt all the way up and down the food chain.  Beating up some kid's dad isn't going to get him caught up.  That doesn't seem unrealistic to me considering who he is working for and where he is working. 

 

 

 

 I'm going to keep watching, because I really liked the first season, but I feel like I know nothing about any of the characters.

 

There is actually a fuck ton of info in there.  For example, Tim Riggins is losing it because he is afraid this bogus investigation could actually shine a light on some real fucked up shit he was involved with in Afghanastan or Iraq I would assume.  Operation Black Mountain is what he called it, and he defended it to his supervisor in a such a way ("Everything we did, we did for our country sir") where you can tell he doesn't even believe himself.  His girlfriend tries to ask him about the scars and he responds with "I don't talk about the desert."

 

That's almost too much info for episode 1.  We didn't know about Rust's undercover history until a few episodes in last year.

[EVA]

Wow so much vitriol.

 

All this venomous talk of tropes is pretty hilarious when the entire first season was built on the buddy cop opposites trope. Which you were all fine with (well, apart from the internet feminists who didn't seem to understand the formula). And if you think the first two episodes of S1 were outstanding I don't think we were watching the same show as all that had was the intrigue factor and Rust's one-liners to begin with.

 

Oh, you better believe I was all over that shit. If you were to read back through the thread (but who would want to do that?), you'd see that I thought the first season was supremely overrated, as far the writing went (directing and lead performances were legit incredible).

But I don't really see how "There are hundreds of cop stories that treat women shittily, so it's totally okay that this was another one" is an effective defense of anything.

[supremebve]

It's clear that I missed a lot.  I thought I was paying enough attention, but I was unpacking shit from my weekend away so maybe I was paying less attention than I thought.

[EVA]

So the cops show up at someone's house, assault them, and leave without any fear of punishment...and you guys think that is unrealistic? You guys don't watch the news.

So true. Not only that, but he works for a "city" which is really just a few factories on the outskirts of LA. Every single city official we have seen so far has been super corrupt. Directly before he was assigned the missing persons case, he was talking to his supervisors about the journalist. It seems like it would take a whole lot for him to get in trouble. Beating up some kid's dad ain't going to do it. That doesn't seem unrealistic to me considering who he is working for and where he is working.

So why did he bother to put a mask on before assaulting the journalist if he feels like he can do this shit without consequences?

See, that's the problem. Those two scenes don't speak to each other in a coherent way. I'm willing to believe Ray is the type of cop who can get away with whatever in Vinci, but the story is giving me contradictory information on that. At this point, that just comes off as sloppy writing.

He should've used the mask in opposite scenarios, really. In pretty much every story of corrupt cops/officials/gangsters ever, doing dirty deeds in the name of The Game comes with (relative) impunity, but going off the rails and abusing your power for personal reasons gets you got because it fucks with the system everybody's agreed upon.

[Jrag]

 

 

So the cops show up at someone's house, assault them, and leave without any fear of punishment...and you guys think that is unrealistic? You guys don't watch the news.

So true. Not only that, but he works for a "city" which is really just a few factories on the outskirts of LA. Every single city official we have seen so far has been super corrupt. Directly before he was assigned the missing persons case, he was talking to his supervisors about the journalist. It seems like it would take a whole lot for him to get in trouble. Beating up some kid's dad ain't going to do it. That doesn't seem unrealistic to me considering who he is working for and where he is working.

So why did he bother to put a mask on before assaulting the journalist if he feels like he can do this shit without consequences?

 

That's a pretty easy thing to explain away, and I will do it this time, but picking through this stuff is sort of foolish.  True Detective is a specific type of entertainment and I am confused as to why people are being so unrealistic in their expectations.  It's like we aren't watching the same show.  You don't throw on Pulp Fiction and wonder why Jules and Vincent just stand there when the guy barges in with the pistol.

 

His goal was to scare the journalist.  That explains the mask.  He obviously wasn't worried about the consequences of being seen, because he put the mask on in front of the crackhead musician.  It was simply for fear purposes. 

[BurningBeard]

Pretty sure this is the first and last time I'll be coming in this thread.