Pretty good. A lot of setup, which I don't seem to remember the first episode of season 1 having as much as. And, unfortunately, the California atmosphere is just not as spooky or enthralling as the voodoo south.

But I feel like this was all to be expected and I don't expect this season to be anywhere near as good as the first, so my expectations are in check.

Rachel McAdams was the standout of the cast in the first episode but it's obviously early.

They should have limited the main cast to just two people. Not much going on if we get just 12 minutes per character. I'll wait for a few more episodes before I make any further judgments but there was absolutely nothing going on in the first episode.

I'm with Libs, Rachel McAdams stoodout to me as well. Colin Farrell was pretty solid. The motorcycle bit with Taylor Kitsch was insane and his character intrigues me the most, actually.

I'm feeling mixed so far. After digesting it, I'm more positive in my opinion than I was during, but it's still a few fuck-ups shy of being a mess.

-The first big difference I noticed that wasn't a welcome addition was how much was given on the main characters. I feel like a whole lot more was explained through simple scenes last season without giving us too much of an idea of who the main characters were. And everything felt forced. Here's Colin Farrell. He's good at his job, but he gets his hands dirty! Here's Taylor Kitsch. He's brooding, a few threads shy of becoming unhinged and he's kind of suicidal! Here's Rachel McAdams. She's a hard-nosed detective who could crack the mystery... if only her family wasn't involved!

-I appreciate how much was different from Season 1, because a carbon copy would be pointless as well. But a few too many familiar touches felt blunt and unnecessary. The most glaring throwback to Season 1 was the bar scene between Vaughn and Farrell towards the end, each actor looking back at one another as the young woman (Lera Lynn I presume) performs a haunting ditty. It didn't jive with the rest of the episode. Beautiful scene on its own though.

-I'm also not as hooked by any of the mysteries so far. Last year felt precise and important. This year, I felt like the show spent more time on the character intros than anything else.

On the plus side, it was still a good episode otherwise, I think there's a ton of room for improvement and hopefully episode 1 was only meant as a pilot of sorts. I just fear the spark and magic of the first season will be gone this time around.

Also, is Rachel three feet tall or is David Morse a giant? I had no idea he was that tall. It was disconcerting.

She is 5'4". He is 6'4".

Wait until she shares a scene with 6'5" Vince Vaughn, though.

The first episode was very good, but it's just a part of something, hard to completely judge it. Always need some time to get into it, but it still looks top notch to me.

The longer I think about it, the more I dig it. I'm probably going to rewatch episode 1 before 2 airs on Sunday.

As someone who is not only aware of David Morse but a fan of his acting (especially the scenery-chewing Disturbia role), I can't help but feel like an idiot that I didn't know he's not just tall, but really tall. I imagined him to be on the same level of height as, say, Jonathan Banks. I'm really shocked.

I really dug the S2 premiere. I never saw True Detective Season 1 as quite the grade A television for this era as others, so I was as happy with what I got here, a very strongly directed, acted, existentially-tinted detective drama with a plot that could be good.

Vince was better in this episode but is still not working for me. I found his monologue at the beginning of the episode unintentionally funny.

The best scene was between Colin Farrell and Abigail Spencer tonight.

Also, WTF at the end?!

Holy fuck! did they just kill off Colin Farrell's character permanently ? I definitely didn't expect that shit.

I honestly have no idea. I'm here for this show focusing 100% on Ani as she's easily the best character so far but I'll be disappointed if that's all we see of Farrell.

Holy S, dat ending. Do we really think they killed Colin Farrell off after two episodes? It seemed pretty grim.

Again, another subpar episode compared to season 1. Also, it looks like they Ned Starked the lead character

I enjoyed the monologue, and I really got more into the Vince character overall...and yeah...wtf, the ending. The season seems to move slower, I felt they're moving closer to something from the beginning in S1, now they're moving further away, or wider before we get deeper. Interesting nonetheless, and looking forward to E3.

Unless he had on a bulletproof vest under his clothes, yes, I think he's dead. I mean, the odds of surviving a shotgun blast at point blank range are extremely slim - I'd imagine. Let alone, being shot two times.

If they really did off him, hats off. That was crazy.

But... did they really? I just feel like something is going to happen here. And if it does, if he did survive, my faith in the season is gone.

Also, possible spoilers here, so don't read if you don't want to know...

Well that's the same guy that killed the guy in the first episode presumably.

I'd assume that Farrell (If he is in fact dead) will return but in the flashback version a few years earlier we saw in Ep. 1, and an earlier case of his will tie into his murder. When he was still on the level, etc.

Also is Taylor's character gay? I feel like that scene of him watching the male prostitute and him only being able to have sex with a woman after taking Viagra is certainly going towards it.

I like the season so far, I haven't seen the first yet, will have to check it out. But I have no problems with Vaughn.

It is hard to believe he survived two shotgun blasts...yet I hope he did because I do not want Colin Farrell absent from the rest of the season.

I am digging Vince Vaughn's performance. Loved him in the roadside-intimidation scene.

Yeah, I'll be bummed out if Colin Farrell is gone, even if it would be implausible to survive that. I always figured at least one of the main four would be offed by season's end, but not Colin and not episode 2. Too bad the buildup to the scene was less tense. I was shocked, but almost didn't even realize what had happened.

I see your point. If he is dead, the move is almost too ballsy. It transcends being a wild plot twist and does not even seem real. And I am not sure it will resonate with the viewership the way many notorious television deaths did. We are obviously not enormously invested in his character yet, so it comes down to, "Wow, the top-billed actor died in the second episode. Crazy. Hm."

I notice I need a few days to let every episode sink in a bit. So great, highly anticipating the next one.

I am guessing he got shot with non-lethal ammunition. I don't think there was even blood in the scene. No way they would kill Colin Farrell and if they did they would have made it definitive to maximize the buzz.

I actually am digging season 2.

What is the deal with Taylor Kitsch's character? Is he a closeted gay man? Remember out of the blue he mentions the bank teller was a "fag" and was coming on to him and towards the end of episode 2 he was scoping out what looked to be male prostitutes when looking down off the balcony. He also has the weird burn mark from before the army, though much to speculative to know what that is from.

Nice that the weird cult elements from season 1 are present in season 2, albeit a different type of cult, and maybe two cults, sex and hippy/Christian or maybe they are related?