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So, prior to the finale, any last minute guesses on the ending? I'm not going to bother spoiler tagging as that's kind of silly for theories, but here's one I was bandying about with a facebook friend tonight...is Maggie in on the killings more than we know? She comes from old, big Louisiana money. She broke Rust and Marty up right after Rust had his public breakdown in the interrogation room with the guy who mentioned the Yellow King in '02. We still haven't been given an explanation for Maggie and Marty's daughter's barbie rape scenario and dirty drawings, possibly including a man in a mask. Was she pulling a Rust and trying to get info from Marty and Rust in 2012 while appearing to be interviewed by Marty and just concerned about Rust? Why did she go see Rust at the bar in the first place? Whatever her situation in the modern day, she certainly does appear to be living the high life.
"I'm like a dog chasing cars, I wouldn't know what to do if I caught one. . . . I'm not a schemer. I just do things."

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Just the good old fashioned scar faced Yellow King. I think he was worth the wait.
"I'm like a dog chasing cars, I wouldn't know what to do if I caught one. . . . I'm not a schemer. I just do things."

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Yeah, in the final summation, my assessment of the first episode stands for the rest of the season - a well-made, well-acted pot boiler, entertaining yet a waste of talent in many ways. The fifth episode was, in hindsight, the strong point, due almost entirely to directorial flourish. The attempt to inject occult overtones into the action man finale was, I would suggest, the low point.

Although the acting, directing and writing are several rungs below, one could make a case that Black Sails is the stronger new series simply because the underlying concept is many times stronger.

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while i was disappointed that
they really didn't go anywhere with the occult/yellow king angle after all the teasing, or with the visions of rust, it was kind of satisfying that we don't get to find out because they didn't get to find out. in the end, it was "just" a dark buddy-cop show. i'm not complaining, but it does seem like they had an opportunity to take it to the next level and just didn't.
i'm very curious to see where it goes for S2.

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Yeah, I like that piece. And I do believe they give you just enough that you can legitimately put together a theory like this and it holds water just fine, although I'm somewhat certain that this writer got a few basic facts of the show wrong here and there.
"I'm like a dog chasing cars, I wouldn't know what to do if I caught one. . . . I'm not a schemer. I just do things."

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Nic Pizzolatto is confirming some of the rumors about True Detective season 2 that have been quietly circulating in recent weeks. In an podcast with To the Best of Our Knowledge, the True Detective creator gave some scoop on the show, revealing that its second season — which still has not been officially announced — is probably going to have three leads. They’ll be all-new characters, “but I’m deeply in love with each of them,” he says. (We’re hearing, unconfirmed, the characters are two men and a woman.)

Pizzolatto also says the season will be set in California: “Not Los Angeles, but some of the much lesser-known venues of California. And we’re going to try to capture a certain psycho-sphere ambiance of the place, much like we did in season one.” (We’re hearing, unconfirmed, that it’s mainly set in the present day, and that Northern California plays a key role.)
In addition, we’ve heard — again, unconfirmed — that season 2 is expected to consist of another eight epiosdes, with Pizzolatto writing each. But while Cary Fukunaga directed every hour of season 1, we’re hearing that the second season will likely have different directors for each episode.

As for casting, the rumor mill has been in full swing — and we’ve heard that some huge A-list names have been under consideration (not just Jessica Chastain, who denied being cast on the show after her name was posted in the media without a deal). Pizzolatto says casting should begin in earnest in the next few week

So what about True Detective is staying the same? The creator gives the sense the show’s downbeat feel will remain intact: “It’s a story that uses the popular genre of police investigation to conduct a more nuanced metaphysical investigation of its characters and their world,” he says. “In True Detective, the world itself is the crime…This corruption at the root of the world. The poison at the root of the world is humanity.”

So, yes, it’ll still be a bit of downer — if a very thoughtful one. Hearing Pizzalatto in this interview, you often sense the voice of Rust Cohle, who played an enormous role in making True Detective season 1 so compelling and unique. If that character was a stand-in of sorts for Pizzalatto’s ideas, can such thoughts be put into another new character without seeming too … Cole-esque? Either way, we can’t wait to see.
http://insidetv.ew.com/2014/05/27/true- ... n-2-scoop/
"I'm like a dog chasing cars, I wouldn't know what to do if I caught one. . . . I'm not a schemer. I just do things."

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Yeah... S1 ultimately has to be chalked up as a bit of a disappointment, the consistency of Fukunaga's direction being it's strongest point alongeside McC. Without either of the two, I don't hold out much hope for S2 tbh.

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It didn't pay off on internet fanboy's complicated conspiracy theories (mine included), but if you go back and re-watch without the twisty-turny expectations, it holds up fine. I'll be curious to see what kind of directing talent they line up, moreso than cast as I'm sure that will be solid.
"I'm like a dog chasing cars, I wouldn't know what to do if I caught one. . . . I'm not a schemer. I just do things."

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The problem isn't the lack of 'twists and turns', it's the lack of substance - just a bog-standard police procedural in the light of day, with some superficial 'occulist' colouring and equally superficial splashes of nihilist philosophy, all of which the fanboys lapped up. Sure, the direction was about as good as one can realistically hope for in this kind of thing (ie. strictly conventional, but slick, precise, strong on atmosphere), and the acting was better, but these assets ultimately weren't able to compensate for the weak concept and mediocre writing. There have been numerous stronger US series over the past year - Mad Men (back on form), Silicon Valley, Black Sails come to mind. Hell, even The Bridge was better for all its faults, at least it was engaging with a big subject. None of these even approaching the subtlety and invention that was to be found in the year's small scattering of quality feature films - although it seems this balance may be about to change with Bruno Dumont's L'il QuinQuin mini-series, widely reputed to have been the best thing in Cannes this year.

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I'll reserve judgement but this does seem like it could go seriously sophomore slump. Hope to be pleasantly surprised again.
"I'm like a dog chasing cars, I wouldn't know what to do if I caught one. . . . I'm not a schemer. I just do things."

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Alexhead wrote:I'll reserve judgement but this does seem like it could go seriously sophomore slump. Hope to be pleasantly surprised again.
Yup.

It seemed to me that after all the acclaim surrounding the first season, they sure took their time getting the ball rolling with the second. How many months passed while we heard rumor after rumor about the casting, etc.? (Remember way back when it was said at times that Pitt or Chastain would star?) Maybe the lag resulted from script issues and subsequently convincing good actors to appear in something that was facing an uphill climb to win over the public again.
This is a snakeskin jacket. And for me it's a symbol of my individuality and my belief in personal freedom.

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I get that Pizzolato was a first-time showrunner and the show was a surprisingly huge hit, so the delay didn't really surprise me--I mean, they're coming out with the series 5 months later that one would have expected based on the original's January premiere, that's not bad. But I was thoroughly nonplussed by the casting they did do, Pizzolato's already said that one of his original comments about the season (that it would have something to do with California's secret occult history regarding the transportation department, I think) was an idea he threw out, and there was enough "he's shitty with women characters!" screeching that he might shoe-horn some female plotline in that doesn't do much but answer critics. I don't know that I've read who else aside from Justin Lin is directing any of the episodes, either, and I think Lin's just doing the first two.
"I'm like a dog chasing cars, I wouldn't know what to do if I caught one. . . . I'm not a schemer. I just do things."

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Farrell was a solid get for S2. Vaughn's overdue for some kind of comeback, maybe he'll remind us why he caught our attention in Swingers way back when. McAdams and Kitsch ... hopefully they'll catch the vibe and impress us.
This is a snakeskin jacket. And for me it's a symbol of my individuality and my belief in personal freedom.