True Detective

Season 1 still remains the greatest television I've ever seen. McConaughey's best performance to date and Harrelson goes toe-to-toe with him. Everything from the acting (including every minor character) to the writing to the cinematography to the score is phenomenal.

Before season one aired I had never seen anything so compelling in storytelling or filmmaking in my entire life. The following two seasons are watchable and well-made but nowhere near as phenomenal as season one. This is a paint-by-numbers example of how to do a gripping and unique story. There is nothing negative I can say about season one. Everything is top-notch. The acting, the story, the camera work, the music, the mood, everything.

We see through the relationship of the two main characters a complicated and sometimes volatile relationship. They aren't enemies but they aren't exactly friends either. The dialogues they share together are some of the most interesting filmmaking I've ever seen. They aren't good men or bad men either. They exist in the grey area. They are just good enough to not be bad but bad enough to not be good. They are stark contrasts of one another as well. The relationship Rust and Marty have evolves constantly throughout the series and is the highlight of the entire show. I cannot recommend this season enough.

Watch the show and make up your own mind. I've seen too many people regurgitating the same "SEASON 1 IS AMAZING, SEASON 2 IS THE WORST OF ALL TIME" junk, and it's simply not true.

Fact of the matter is this is an anthology series. Different people, different stories, different feels. If they wanted a show with 3 seasons of Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson, they would have done that.

Some detective stories are eerie and disturbing. Some are broody and slow burning. Season 2 is the latter, and all the hate it gets for basically not being exactly like the first season detracts from the performances and character arcs within.

There are also a lot of complaints about Vince Vaughn? Aside from some stiff writing, I hardly see the issue. He's got some great scene-chewing moments as a brutal crime boss!

I honestly can't believe some publications labeled this as one of the worst seasons of television in 2015. Just goes to show that some people have no clue how to manage their expectations, and this site is no different. Look at what I've said, and now put it up against so many here...it's ridiculous.

Like I said: watch it and make up your own mind. I avoided it for 5 years because of this site and I regret it. Season 2 isn't season 1, just like season 3 isn't 1 or 2. If you want the same thing over and over again, watch CSI.

The first season of True Detective is among the best television I've ever seen. Just read through the reviews to see how loved that first season was. This show is an anthology series and every season is different in quality. Season 1 is BY FAR the best and again some of the best tv of all-time, Season 2 was not good despite a great cast and Season 3 was back to be watchable again. Now about that first season...it sucks you into the story from the beginning of the first episode and holds onto you throughout the season until that phenomenal ending. Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson are so amazing in this that you forget that they're A-list actors and actually become the characters they are playing. Both of their performances are as good as anything you'll see from a television show. They're about to start filming season 4 and it should be out some time in late 2023. If you haven't seen this series yet then make time as soon as you can (except you can skip Season 2).

Cohle and Hart play off eachother so amazingly well, and I was stunned by the constant wisdom on humanoids thrown out by Cohle constantly in the first episodes. I've never felt such a deep connection to a characters' thoughts ever and was taken aback by how deeply I could resonate to these thoughts on humanoids.

These constant spurts of wisdom sold me on S1 from the first episode. It was amazingly depicted and I had to calm down through the dialogue and replay some bits because there was just so much stuff being said which required processing. I'll return to S1 in a couple of years to understand the wisdom bits deeper, and enjoy this masterfully created piece again.

There was not a single dull moment in this series, despite being a slow-burner if that's what you want to call it. I'd say it's similar to mindhunter S1 but they're not really comparable in that way. You'll understand once you see it.

Hart and Cohle played their characters ridiculously well and built this incredible depth to their stories and personalities that I have never seen before in TV. It made the series feel extremely mature in a sense that only people with proper understanding of their own emotions could understand the thought processes depicted in the series. Maggie was such a perfect character to make sure these thought processes were fished out. Amazing performance! I really have nothing but praise for S1.

Just like Maggie said, Hart did not know what he wanted, and Cohle knew what he wanted. It is such a small line but it says so incredibly much. This world is divided like this and you can see it in all adults of all ages. Some people know who they are and therefore content with themselves, with integrity (just like Cohle) and some people are figuring things out at their own pace, but never really reaching the destination in terms of self actualization (Hart). Maggie was much more similar to Cohle and it was depicted masterfully.

Either way I'm just going off on nothing here. Best Series I've watched and I feel like I evolved as a person after S1. Thank you!

I'm not mentioning S2 and S3 and will not watch them as other reviews have made it clear I shouldn't. Haha.