The true detective in "True Detective 1" not only refers to the "real" detective, but also refers to the "real" detective process. While the plot unfolds in the very different character tensions between Marty and Rust, the progress of the investigation is also gradually advancing. But "True Detective 2" is not the case. In this season, the truth of the case has been greatly weakened. The doubts of the case themselves are not only not the purpose of the protagonists in the play (they all have independent motives), and even no longer It is an important thrust to attract audiences to continue watching. Therefore, the investigation process of this season-the too fast pace of the later episodes, Velcoro's brain hole suddenly connected everything in the last few episodes-has been questioned by many fans of the show. Even the unexpectedly identical character patterns of the four protagonists are surprising: they all have tragic memories, and they all try hard to support the seemingly peaceful life now, but they can't resist the world that is retreating to themselves.
And I think that's what matters: the four protagonists, no longer the contrast between the mysterious Rust of the first season and the mundane Marty. But four faces of bitterness and hatred, through constant cross-narratives, constantly repeating the same mood, experience, and tragedy, showing the audience's inner crying and mourning. It's a detective drama that focuses on the characters.
Velcoro is a bad cop who kills his wife's rapist, brutally and flatteringly treats his unrelated son, and numbs himself in alcohol all day long; Woodrugh is a mounted cop who seems to have been in the military He has committed an unknown crime and is unwilling to admit that he is GAY; Bezzerides is a stern policewoman, when she was 14 years old, she was taken into the forest by an unfamiliar uncle for four days. Since then, she hated men and kept a knife in her boot at any time; Semyon grew from a boy locked up in the basement by his father for four days to a gangster, a successful gangster, and a man who was about to be cleaned up and invested in. A successful businessman in real estate, but he has never had a sense of security in his life.
These are the four main characters, who have different genders, identities, and experiences, but all seem to share similar pain. A death case binds them tightly together, and together they revolve around this crumbling world. They all have obsessions and weaknesses in their hearts, and they make choices based on these obsessions and weaknesses and get the corresponding price. Velcoro couldn't let go of his hatred for the rapist, he voluntarily chose the path of revenge and indulged in pain ever since. Bezzerides can't let go of the dark memories of her childhood, and she voluntarily chooses to be wary of every male, even the old partner she knows well. Woodrugh couldn't accept the fact that he was gay, so he took drugs to be with the girl. Semyon always wants to maintain his dignity, so he always wears his suit and stands straight.
In an ideal world, it seems that there should be retribution for good and evil, and the reincarnation of heaven. But in an absurd and realistic world, good and evil are also rewarded, but unfortunately they are all evil. But it doesn't mean that their actions are meaningless, and the sad ending may be the most moving feedback for them.
Before the end of the first episode, folk singer Lera Lynn sang "This is my least favorite life" in a bar. The three policemen seemed to have endured the mundane and helpless life to the extreme. Then the body was found and the curtain opened. In the eighth episode, Lera Lynn sings "Lately I'm not feeling like myself, Lately words are missing from now on" in the closing bar, at which point Woodrugh is dead and the other three are far away The original trajectory of life, they, especially Velcoro, have become less like their former "self", they have gotten rid of the vulgarity of life, they have made choices, but still can't avoid tragedy, another kind of tragedy.
Some people say that the tragedy was deliberately caused by the director. A normal gangster will not die for a suit, even if there is a diamond in it; a normal refugee will not go back to see his son at the most critical moment, because he knows that he will never return. But, who knows? Because they are not correct and help the boss, not normal fathers, not even normal people. People always have to make choices. The reason why Velcoro chose to follow up this case is because of the custody of his son. Semyon destroyed all the properties that he had carefully cultivated just for his own dignity.
Everyone in the play falls in front of their own demons. Woodrugh died for concealing his sexuality, Semyon died for his own dignity, and Bezzerides was framed because he didn't trust his old partner, but he was tortured most thoroughly. It was still Velcoro, whose life seemed to have no other purpose than to withdraw from that terrible memory. The agony of his ex-wife, the custody of his son, and the true identity of the rapist hit him repeatedly. When he learned that the one he killed was not the real rapist, he was furious and approached Semyon who provided false information, but Semyon only calmly said: "Do you think everything would be different without this? Do you think you could have been a good person? No, you should be like this, and sooner or later you will become what you are now."
This is too sad, as if Velcoro has no choice, so he doesn't have to take responsibility for any of his choices, he is destined to become a crazy drunk in the room, gulps of heroin. This sad story will continue until he storms into the woods and is shot dead, until the last words to his son are displayed on the mobile phone and fail to be sent.
But even if his fate has already been decided, his choice is still meaningful, because it is the choice, the active choice, that transformed a meaningless tragedy that fell from the sky into his pursuit of morality and love. It was also the choice that allowed him to fall in love with Bezzerides, allowing him to escape (partially) the torture of his fate the day before his death.
At the end of the first episode, the drunk Velcoro fell asleep quietly on a chair in the bar, and the proprietress motioned others not to disturb him. Maybe it was because she knew that that moment was the most peaceful and painful moment she could ever see Velcoro.
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