I'm starting to think Pizzolatto has reacted to all the hype in season one by intentionally setting our expectations low in the first few episodes, then kicking it all off mid-season. I mean, most people really didn't catch onto the first season until that scene in the fourth episode, I seem to remember. He's setting…

Sooo money.

Pretty sure he said he'd 'burn this city to the ground' if he didn't get to see his kid, so I'm gonna expect his wife and her partner/husband to get beaten up too. And all the teachers, police, parents. Everyone.

…said your mum at the family reunion.

You've got to pay the troll toll…

They missed a trick by not casting Charlie Day in Vaughn's part.

True dat. Not really feeling Frank unless he's with Ray (in that bar with the moody folk singer and the nice scar-face lady). Paul is okay in some scenes and boring in others. Frank's wife does nothing. Ray's partner does nothing. Ani's partner does nothing. The Mayor does nothing but drink. Hope it picks up.

To be fair she keeps meeting up with hippies who mention her past. Maybe she should just avoid hippies. Or her past. Completely.

Or Georges Franju's Judex…

I dunno why but I was getting some 'Killer Joe' vibes from that scene. Maybe Rust could show up at some point to over-emphasise those feels.

Pour acid on them, then shoot your penis off…True Detective Season 2 Halloween costume.

Better than sucking robot dicks for eternity, am I right?

Mmm, ham fist.

Or go full-on Weekend At Bernie's…

HANNIBAL SPOILER
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Yeah, but Hannibal is enough proof that a shit ton of important characters can apparently survive outrageously life-threatening wounds. Not quite shotgun-to-the-head though, but near enough.

My bets are on hippy crystals. And the shooter was Ani's dad.

Watching Lars Von Trier films would certainly explain the general air of misery and self-loathing.

I genuinely hope he's not dead. I know it'd be 'good for Pizzolatto's writing cred' but I don't think it would be 'good for the show'. Tip: don't kill off your best actor in the second episode.

It's still just okay.

Could work for a particularly action-oriented episode (or two)…or he could just settle into the style. After all, a lot of the series harks back to Manhunter.