Can True Detective Recover from Early Bad Reviews?

By Reuben Levine | Jun 18, 2015

The court of public opinion can be a fickle beast. Many outlets have released early True Detective season two reviews that cover the first three episodes, and they could not be anymore divided. These early reviews are designed to give viewers an idea of what to expect, and in the best of circumstances hype them up even more.

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But what happens when the early reviews are all over the place?

Middling to good reviews continue to pour in for True Detective. Many reviews, like the AV Club’s (a C-) focus inordinately on True Detective season one. Maybe that’s why so many people are not still enjoying True Detective, but it’s also possible that the first three episodes just aren’t that impressive.

These bad reviews are not going to dissuade fans from watching True Detective, and they may actually pique the curiosity of people who just want to know what the fuss is about. Is True Detective good, or is it worse than ever? There’s something to that.

These reviews — especially those with a letter grade — unfairly manipulate public opinion. Granted, this is the kind of thing that HBO and True Detective expect, or even welcome. But they pass judgment on an unfinished product, and that can have a lasting effect.

For example, it’s going to be difficult for True Detective’s Metacritic score to recover and reviewers haven’t even seen the full season. If people remember anything about True Detective‘s second season, even if it turns out to be excellent, is how divided everyone was on it.

Early reviews have their place, but True Detective seems to be damned even before it has a real chance to prove itself.

Next: True Detective's soundtrack can be preordered on iTunes.

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