Will True Detective Season Three be as Dark as Season Two?
True Detective season two proved to be far darker than the first, even though it was said to not be.
The common complaints for True Detective season two tend to touch on the quality of the dialogue, the acting — which could be argued to be an extension of the dialogue — and the convoluted plot. There are also issues with character development, but that’s a different sort of argument.
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One point that does tend to come up, though nowhere near as frequently as the ones mentioned above, is its overall pessimistic tone. Almost as if season two is a piece of Rust Cohle’s philosophy come to life. Season two is filled with chaos, violence, and offers only the smallest sliver of a potential happy outcome.
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Before season two aired, HBO head Michael Lombardo went on record saying that it wouldn’t be as dark as the first. That comment almost feels like a joke now. It would be a fair point to say that season two’s crushing darkness turned some viewers off. So what’s going to happen with True Detective season three?
As of right now, nobody knows. It would be in Nic Pizzolatto’s best interest to find a way to lighten the mood a little through dialogue, not necessarily through altering the plot to be less dark. There were moments throughout season two in which it felt that Pizzolatto was trying to cope his own style be re-creating certain moments from season one.
For an example of this, just go back and watch any of the conversations that the detectives have while in cars.
True Detective doesn’t need to be less dark, per se, but it does need to find a better way to handle its overall plot. Dialogue needs to flow better and feel less forced, which was a serious issue with some of the “comedic” moments of season two.
Next: True Detective season two is coming to Blu-Ray soon.
Whatever happens, we’re likely going to be waiting a long while until we can a chance to see it.