A new season in an anthology brings fresh perspectives. Gone is the languid, character-driven Southern Gothic of season 1. Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson – so instrumental in the opening season’s critical success – have taken up executive producer roles. Nick Pizzolatto, still at the helm, is a rising talent. His debut season perfectly blended police procedural with Thomas Ligotti’s brand of anti-natalism – McConaughey’s memorable anti-hero, Rust Cohle, acting as its core philosophical mouthpiece.
In season 2’s first episode, Pizzolatto quickly establishes a strong sense of place. From sweeping overhead shots of industrial estates, to the hermetically sealed smoke and neon of an underground bar, the urban sprawl of California is sentient: here, a heaving mass of possibility and untapped mysteries are set to be subverted, teased out, and explored.
A persuasive case can be made that the considered pace, carefully constructed mise-en-scene, and expressionistic framing of actors, is indebted to David Lynch’s horror noir, MULLHOLLAND DRIVE. The haunting ditty at the episode’s close especially evokes Lynch’s eerie aesthetic. Thematically, on first impressions, the narrative will criss-cross its focus on an ensemble cast of morally grey characters, thrall to the impersonal effect of a city that pushes and pulls its denizens through the interstices and zones of legality and moral acceptability.
The major cause for concern, here, is whether just 8 episodes – given the large cast – is overly ambitious considering the potential for conjoining stories. Critics and fans alike have also voiced concerns on whether the level of acting will meet expectations. Setting the bar so high in the opening season has produced its own predictable caveats. So far, Colin Farrell has positively stood out with – by far – his most earnest attempt at acting.
The tone of the series will take another episode or two to settle. One hour of television provides us only enough time to get a rough taste of the major characters; it’s up to the Pizzolatto, now, to work his black magic. Given the critical success of his first novel, Galveston, he’s yet to misfire. So, for now, let us hold judgment. After all, Season 2 clearly has the potential to unfold its wings and grow, evinced in a solid, open-ended 1st episode.
