Whether they'll find the same simpatico rhythm that Rust Cohle and Marty Hart found by the end of Season 1 remains to be seen, but all of the elements are certainly within this group for magic to happen.The season had eight episodes, and its initial airing concluded on March 9, 2014. We couldn't ask for a better cast of actors to embody the characters introduced in "The Western Book of the Dead." They are some of the very best of our generation. We weren't given a lot to work with outside the introductory phase, and I'm not ready to call who will break out of the pack and become this year's potential Emmy darling. With what we've seen so far, something happened to give all of these characters a bit of a death wish and putting them on a collision course with one another. Of course, Season 1 was split up into what felt like chapters of a novel, with the focus shifting throughout. All of the pieces are there for the actors to do some of their best, most wide ranging work (and the writing could sustain it with minor tweaking), but the choice instead, at least at the beginning, it to lean toward the darkest. McAdams and Kitsch have also skirted with lighter fare. But Farrell, too, has been known to take on a comedic tone in the past, even when he's been at his most gritty and emotional. It's easy to understand why Vaughn would be driven to a more serious role, as this is his chance to break away from the pattern to which he's become accustomed. It's somewhat disconcerting, at times, but that's not to say Vaughn can't pull it off. He's not the funny man here, and he's often just shy of the philosophical rants we'd expect from the lips of Rust Cohle in True Detective Season 1. Frank appears to genuinely care for Ray, so it doesn't seem a entirely lopsided relationship. Frank helped Ray when his wife was attacked, and Ray has been indebted to Frank and acting as his fixer ever since. Frank's life was intertwined with Ben Casper's at the time of his death in such a way that he'll be hard pressed to keep his present course on the straight(ish) and narrow. It won't even hurt that much.įinally, Vince Vaughn plays career criminal Frank Semyon.
By the third episode you won't question why he was selected for the role, and you'll forget a little bit about Tim Riggins. Here he'll get the chance to prove FNL wasn't a fluke. It's also a way he wouldn't mind dying if times get too tough, which is how he discovers the body of City Manager and missing man, Ben Casper.Īlthough Kitsch delivered a performance with wide range on Friday Night Lights, he's been pigeonholed ever since into beefcake or heroic roles that didn't quite take root. Taylor Kitsch is Paul Woodrugh, a war veteran with a questionable past "before" that, who finds his solace riding his bike on highway patrol. There's no question this is her moment to break out of the mold, and she's not the only one with the opportunity. McAdams is virtually unrecognizable from the high-end rom com roles for which she has become known, and that's a good thing.
For some reason, she has festering issues with sexuality that are waiting to boil up to the surface. She blames her father, a guru who runs the commune on which she grew up, and judges both him and her sister for moving on in ways she doesn't accept.
Ani lost her mom when she walked into the ocean never to return. Somehow, even without all the information, we understand. He's bristling with pent up anger like a bomb waiting to go off, but we don't hold it against him. As he has with pretty much every role he's been granted since the start of his 20-year career, Farrell is positively electric. Now Ray has an awkward child who doesn't fit in, and while he can't stand for him being bullied, he's not above doing it himself if the moment suits. She ultimately gave birth to his son, Chad, nine months later, and Ray never questioned his kid's parentage. His anger issues may or may not stem from his wife's beating and rape during the time they were trying to get pregnant years earlier. The former criminal overlord is making a play at going legit by way of a buy-in into a major rail project that will unite their tiny corner of the state in ways that promise to change the landscape of their town, and their futures, forever.Ĭolin Farrell leads the charge as Ray Volcoro, a lonely and desperate man whose past is just itching to catch up with him. The cops all burdened with emotional and physical scars, and they're skirting the criminal element with the help of the law. Three are still running, while one has already attempted to erase his.