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[EviLore]

Season 1 was a perfect storm of talent. Nick Pizz brought his A game with the bold narrative structure and cosmic nihilism musings, Cary Joji Fukunaga directed the entire season (something like 180 days of shooting) and pushed the envelope with choices like shooting entirely on-location and going for that wildly ambitious single take scene, and Matthew McConaughey, Woody Harrelson, and Michelle Monaghan delivered career-defining performances.

 

[kbear]

I let the finale marinate for a bit and read a bunch of articles, theories, and impressions to see if my opinion would change. It didn’t .

I get what they were trying to do, but I’m pretty disappointed overall. The performances from Ali and Dorff hard carried the entire season. Fucking bummer.

 

[kbear]

Season 1 was a perfect storm of talent. Nick Pizz brought his A game with the bold narrative structure and cosmic nihilism musings, Cary Joji Fukunaga directed the entire season (something like 180 days of shooting) and pushed the envelope with choices like shooting entirely on-location and going for that wildly ambitious single take scene, and Matthew McConaughey, Woody Harrelson, and Michelle Monaghan delivered career-defining performances.

“Perfect storm”, nailed it. I’m giving S1 a rewatch this week.

 

[DiscoJer]

I just didn't buy Woody Harrelson. He wasn't believable as a cop, he wasn't believable as a middle aged guy that hot 20 year olds would throw themselves at, and he had this way of talking real slowly that made him sound like he had marbles in his mouth.

I also thought that while Matthew McConaughey did a good job in the earlier, his later burnt out persona wasn't believable.

While the plot wasn't as good in S3, I think the acting was much, much better.

 

[Airola]

I just didn't buy Woody Harrelson. He wasn't believable as a cop, he wasn't believable as a middle aged guy that hot 20 year olds would throw themselves at, and he had this way of talking real slowly that made him sound like he had marbles in his mouth.

I also thought that while Matthew McConaughey did a good job in the earlier, his later burnt out persona wasn't believable.

While the plot wasn't as good in S3, I think the acting was much, much better.

Dude, finally someone I can agree with!
I thought Matthew way overacted his "underacting" and the "cool gritty guy" thing in the interrogation scenes and it was frankly more annoying to watch than anything else. I really loved his acting in the last scene of the season though. That one saved the whole thing.

Sure both surely were better than Vince Vaughn in season 2 (which I liked more than season 1 because the story was more interesting).

Not sure if I'm going to watch S3 anytime soon but glad to see someone having at least some same opinions of S1 that I have.

 

[Angry_Ostrich]

I've just started watching the 3rd Season (currently on ep 5). I'd disagree with many ppl claiming it's not good. I can't compare it to previous seasons as I did not watch them (I know I should watch 1st one, and I will), but I really enjoy it. I especially like the trick with young, mature and old Hays. as it makes storytelling more dynamic. I love actors too, everyone did a great job. Mahershala Ali is just beyond great. Yes, maybe some may find it boring for the lack of action, but to me after 4th episode it starts getting more exiting. But, again, I can't complain, cause I just like it.

 

[Grinchy]

I just finished it. Looking back now, I can't quite pinpoint exactly what kept me going other than the two leads doing a great job.

The three timelines aspect is an interesting novelty but it didn't seem to be executed very well. It kinda didn't matter that we got to see little snippets from each intermingled the way it was.

In these shows, the case is supposed to take a backseat so that the characterizations of the leads can shine, but that didn't really happen either. I can't quite seem to put into words how pointless the whole thing felt for me by the time it ended.

 

[DetectiveBananas]

After finishing the season I feel that there were enough intriguing elements but by the end it just didn’t deliver story wise. I thought the acting was great, and the time skipping worked well enough. I thought the big reveal would be a bit bigger than it was.
Still looking forward to future seasons.

 

[TheSadRanger]

I just didn't buy Woody Harrelson. He wasn't believable as a cop, he wasn't believable as a middle aged guy that hot 20 year olds would throw themselves at, and he had this way of talking real slowly that made him sound like he had marbles in his mouth.

I also thought that while Matthew McConaughey did a good job in the earlier, his later burnt out persona wasn't believable.

While the plot wasn't as good in S3, I think the acting was much, much better.

I just finished it. Looking back now, I can't quite pinpoint exactly what kept me going other than the two leads doing a great job.

The three timelines aspect is an interesting novelty but it didn't seem to be executed very well. It kinda didn't matter that we got to see little snippets from each intermingled the way it was.

In these shows, the case is supposed to take a backseat so that the characterizations of the leads can shine, but that didn't really happen either. I can't quite seem to put into words how pointless the whole thing felt for me by the time it ended.

I finally just finished it and Marshala Ali's performance was the only thing that kept me interested. I think Dorff did a great job and will probably get nominated for an supporting actor emmy but Ali is a lock in for best actor.

I thought the ending felt a little rushed together and Pizzolatto had to tie things up in a way that wasn't originally planned. It's just none of it's believable. The season lacked focus so much. It's so all over the place.

Spoiler

Like okay, Mr. Julius is just sitting outside Wayne's house in a car randomly hoping he would catch him 25 years later? Tom being gay was a subplot that amounted to nothing despite so much time being invested in it. Also the implication that Roland was gay to. So Hoyt has Tom killed but takes Wayne out to the woods and lets him live? Okay.

I thought that more than likely the director lady that was interviewing Wayne was going to turn out to be Julie Purcell's daughter which would have made more sense than her having a young child in 2015. They also threw out that the director slept with Wayne's son but that went no where just like every other subplot. The main one being the Julie Purcell subplot in 90', they find her on a Walgreens security camera and get her prints. So they start looking for and then they stop because Tom is found dead on the watchtower and blame him for the murders. So they stop looking for her and blame Tom for the murders even though Julie is still alive?

What a frustrating season plot wise. But it's the same shit Pizzolatto has been criticized in the past for starting with season 1. There's so much filler that pertains nothing to the overall plot that it's not even funny, like in the scene where Roland gets in a bar fight with bikers and it's supposed to show us why he loves dogs.

Spoiler

Why is that scene in a season fucking finale, or the scenes where Wayne drops his daughter off at college or we see that he's working at the university as head of security.

It's the same shit like in S1 when one of Woody Harellson's daughters was drawing sex pictures and it had no relevance to the overall plot or character development. It's like he just throws in random ass scenes to fill time.

 

[jonnyp]

Thought acting was fantastic (both Ali and Dorff especially) but

Spoiler

what an anti-climax....