True Detective, Season 4

I’ve been enjoying Season 4 of True Detective so far. It’s… not what I expected. But I love that it’s got stronger, female lead characters. Headed by Jodi Foster and Kali Reis, the main story revolves around several mysterious disappearances (and deaths) of citizens in the remote, Alaskan town of Ennis.

Here’s the trailer for the show:

So this is an odd thing to say, but I found the sex scenes in the first episode incredibly revealing. I’m not talking about the physical act that was shown, I’m talking about the way that these scenes spoke about Foster and Reis’ characters.

It’s hard to describe if you haven’t seen it. I’m not talking about the tawdry or lascivious nature of these scenes. To me, they genuinely added an incredible amount of depth to both characters, giving a lot of interesting insight into how both women carried themselves in the world.

While I watched Seasons 2 and 3, I’m still an incredible fan of the first season. I liked the second season fine (I was actually surprised by Vince Vaughn and thought he did a terrific job), but just wasn’t completely taken by the story. Season 2 to me was more like a character study of four very unique, interesting individuals.

Season 3 was an odd one. I enjoyed watching it, but not sure I can see myself re-watching it. This season felt more like an art film, if that makes sense. It felt less like a story, and more like a rumination on the nature of memory.

Season 4, I’m still adjusting to. There are callbacks to the first season, and some of the vignettes remind me of dream/imagined moments from Season 2. There’s more of the supernatural at play here, and trying to figure out what is and is not real… is starting to become more of a thing.

I like how varied the seasons are, and the writing remains strong throughout. I’m still floored by Season 1, and I’m not sure anything will ever quite compare to it. But I’m enjoying the mystery so far of this latest season.

Hard to believe that there are only 6 episodes. Not sure how they’re going to wrap up everything in the episodes that are remaining.

Related:
Rewatching True Detective, Season 1
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