Television: True Detective, "Night Finds You"

No, he's not dead.

Of that I'm pretty sure. Though I'd really admire the move if he were dead.

If you don't know what I'm talking about, it's the shooting of Ray Velcoro (Colin Farrell) at the end of the episode. While it appeared relatively definite, many astute viewers have pointed out that trailers for the show featured scenes of Farrell we haven't yet seen, and even the Next Week reel had James Frain (and his nose) talking about one of his men being "shot" not "killed." (I know, I know, I give Frain such sh*t about that nose. I don't know why. I'm not nice.)

Anyway, I'm still feeling a bit meh about this season. I don't find a lot of chemistry between Farrell and McAdams any more than I did Farrell and Vaughn last week. None of these characters interest me either. And for me a compelling show is built on character and interaction.

Consider the horrific story of being locked in a basement that Frank (Vaughn) tells his wife. For one thing, how long have they been together and he's never told her this? She must know a few things about his childhood, right? This seems like the kind of thing one would confide, not on a first date or anything, but not years into a marriage either. And then, there was a definite feeling the story was being told for the shock value (to the audience) rather than for any character development. It didn't make me connect with Frank, didn't make me more compassionate toward him . . . Though maybe that's me more than the show. Dunno.

It's a tangled narrative, too, that I don't feel all that driven to follow. Frank is out a lot of money. ::shrug:: The dead guy was into prostitutes. ::shrug:: There's probably a cult element (that maybe loops back to Ani's family?). ::sigh:: Paul (Taylor Kitsch) has some weird history with "Black Mountain." ::shrug:: Ray's ex-wife is petitioning for full custody of their son. (And here I roll my eyes though this is probably one of the more interesting plot lines.) The city of Vinci is under scrutiny. ::shrug::

I'll watch next week largely to see how Ray survives what appeared to be a close-range shooting. And who knows? Maybe something interesting will actually happen, too—and earlier than the last two minutes of the show.

Aside: I gave up on Ballers and The Brink. The first couldn't hold my interest and the second just wasn't making me laugh.