GRcade

Captain Kinopio wrote:My post history is a strawberry floating travesty

FTFY.

Captain Kinopio wrote:This show is a strawberry floating travesty

So only a seven out of ten?

It's so weird

I'm not sure I have any idea what's going on. There are some pretty cool scenes though.

Another fantastic episode this week. Vince Vaughn put in an amazing turn. The ending. I feel like I need a glossary to keep track of all the names being thrown about, though. There's one quite important scene in a motel this week between Farrell and McAdams where about 10 names were mentioned and I was like, "who?!?" for most of them

The finale should be damn good after what just happened.

Ad7 wrote:Good episode.

Boo! wrote:This is actually shite

Crimson wrote:strawberry floating awesome. Episode of the season for me so far.

Captain Kinopio wrote:This show is a strawberry floating travesty

Grcade

That built quite nicely to the finale. Finally had that sense of urgency that's been lacking at times.

Same as you Chalky I was trying to go through the list of names in my head

Another quality episode. Since the massive shoot-out this has been quality, the second half of the season has definitely been on a par with the first series. Depending on how the eighth episode goes (which for me was my biggest disappointment with the first series) it might even be better.

I too had to rewind the motel scene

Paul

Oh and Vince Vaughn has done really well in this IMO. I thought he'd be the weakest thing about the show but he's been a great choice for the role.

Vaughn has now strung together two or three episodes where he seems to have gotten a grip on the character. It has been a lot better since that shootout in episode 4, and last night's episode was probably the best yet.

It's still not up there with season 1, that nailed tone and story, but this is at least approaching respectability again. If the finale delivers it won't have been the disaster it was in the first 3 or so episodes.

Dan. wrote:Another quality episode. Since the massive shoot-out this has been quality, the second half of the season has definitely been on a par with the first series. Depending on how the eighth episode goes (which for me was my biggest disappointment with the first series) it might even be better.

I too had to rewind the motel scene

Paul

Oh and Vince Vaughn has done really well in this IMO. I thought he'd be the weakest thing about the show but he's been a great choice for the role.

You must be the only person on the internet to say this I've enjoyed the series but cannot deny it's a big step back from the first.

I actually quite like Vaughan in this. It isn't as good as the first one but I liked the flashback and story better too tbf in that. I do like that it's different with a different feel rather than just trying to achieve the same thing with different characters.

@ Floex: I'm saying the second half of the season is on a par with the second half of the first season, and depending on how the finale goes could even surpass it.

The first four episodes of season one were far, far better than the first four of season two. But IMO, after the awesome tracking shot of the fourth episode in the first season, the show went into a slow, gradual decline (it was still quality, mind). Whereas this season had the awesome shootout scene in the fourth episode and it has been superb since.

Season 2 is definitely better than the first in some ways mainly in that it's thematically broader in large part due to having a more diverse main cast. That's a big point in this season's favour for me. The rest of it isn't quite up there but since the end Episode 4 it's been pretty consistently excellent.

That was a great finale! Really grim, though. Enjoyed it more than the S1 finale.

I loved how everyone got strawberry floated in the end and the truly bad guys got away. Kinda reminded me of The Wire. Poor Velcoro and Frank. I knew Frank wouldn't survive after that opening scene but I didn't expect Velcoro to go. The salute scene with his son was well done and at least he went out like a boss. This season had great action scenes. The cabin assault was like something out of Rainbow Six.

Velcoro fathering a child with Bezzeride was a bit contrived, though. And how dumb are those cops putting the transponder right there next to the driver's door where he can see it? Any idea where Frank's wife and Bezzerida were going at the end? They said it was gonna be a long journey..

Vaughn was excellent again. He should play these types of roles more often instead of shitty comedies.

The finale had flaws, then, but I mostly found it satisfying.

I'm wondering how much of my thoughts about Vince Vaughn's performance in prior episodes have been coloured by the general perception of Vaughn as an actor, and by his recent work. I thought he was pretty good in the finale; he didn't seem quite as stiff, his delivery was more relaxed, and much as his death scene was overwrought and overlong, he put in a decent performance to make it (just about) work.

And for all that I didn't think I cared that much about any of the characters, I was genuinely willing Velcoro not to come off the motorway - as soon as he did to see his son one last time I knew he'd signed his death warrant. That in itself was kind of a cliché, and him happening to see his son both happily talking with friends and with his grandfather's badge on the table next to him was contrived in the extreme. But as a symbolic goodbye, it was genuinely touching. I think Farrell's been one of the best things about this season, and he really sold the love he had for his son. It did mean that the subsequent chase through the woods lacked a bit of tension - I held out a very faint hope he might make it, but noir convention dictates that no bad deed ever really goes unpunished unless you're *really* bad. And once I realised that it was obvious he would die and Burris would get away with it. Farrell's desperation to send that message was touching, but the way he was killed was too excessive to give the moment the gravity it deserved, and so the shot of the phone saying the message hadn't sent felt like a clunky way of rubbing it in.

McAdams was good again, though there was little real tension in her getaway, because it was obvious by that stage Frank and Ray weren't going to make it and so she was always likely to be the lone survivor of the four leads. I thought the early scenes with her and Farrell both indulging in some post-coital chat about their past horrors was almost comically grim: I suppose the idea was of a physical connection leading to an emotional opening-up, but all I could think was "blimey, was the sex really that bad?"

Best line was probably Reilly to Vaughn: "You can't act for gooseberry fool." I'm pretty sure that was a knowing nod to Vaughn's critics. Maybe in the end he proved a few of them wrong.

Overall, then, an uneven season which started quite poorly but improved significantly, if rarely hitting the heights of the first run, with McAdams and Farrell as the standouts. I think the sheer density of it might make it more satisfying to rewatch, not least as expectations will be different. For all its weaknesses, I'm glad I kept watching. Ultimately, I think there was more than enough good stuff to offset the bad.

Is ep 8 the last one?

Denster wrote:Is ep 8 the last one?

It is.

rudderless wrote:I was genuinely willing Velcoro not to come off the motorway - as soon as he did to see his son one last time I knew he'd signed his death warrant.

I was too I was swearing at the TV at that point! Calling Ray all kinds of names for being such a fool. In hindsight though, didn't his impromptu visit save Bezzerides? If he was being tailed the entire time, surely he'd have just led the surviving bent policeman straight to the boat. And the way he and his cronies were tooled up, I can't imagine they'd have let a little water stop them.

chalkitdown wrote:Velcoro fathering a child with Bezzeride was a bit contrived, though.
Vaughn was excellent again. He should play these types of roles more often instead of shitty comedies.

Agree with both of these points.

I feared the season would be awful; I hoped it would be outstanding. Overall it's somewhere in the middle - probably closer to the latter, which is nice. All five leads I thought were good for their parts, but none of them were truly exceptional in the same way that McConaughy was in S1.

Cannot help but feel indifferent after it ended. For me Frank's pay off was the only one that really had any impact, finally some characterisation to his character. All it took was 8+ hours to get some. We all knew how the ending for Velcaro was going to happen when he turned off the highway, just no idea why they felt the need for a forest chase scene. The ending was there to finish in the street. I felt nothing but disappointment for McAdams role in the end, one of the highlights of the show reduced to being nothing more than a damsel in distress.

Said it before but there was potential for some strong standout roles, be it from the Mexicans (love cowboy guy), Chessani and his family, the plastic surgeon, crow man but we got so little of each. Far too many characters, so little development.

So many flashes of brilliance and potential, yet nothing really hit home. The writing didn't help at times but the direction and editing felt like it was made by a cast of thousands.

It need one voice, we got a crowd instead.

Watching the final episode.

Can anyone give me a synopsis of the show for when I'm done as I have no strawberry floating idea what's going on or who anyone is.

Have to say, I was really disappointed with that after thoroughly enjoying the last three episodes. What I guess is the series thing of the old catching up with the new had almost no impact, the twist of the bad guys winning the day was meaningless as they had about 20 minutes screen time throughout the series and the conclusion of the who gave Frank the name of Rays wife's rapist was awful.

There were tons of cool moments but not a patch on the first series for me.

Damn, that was a great finale. I'd put it above the S1 finale I think. A satisfying end for all characters.

Certainly not a patch on S1 overall and not without some flaws for sure but a damn good season of television in its own right