TomViolence posted:

I reckon Cary Fukunaga's direction and the performance of the two lead actors pretty much carried season one. Pizzolatto's writing was mainly cribbed from Ligotti and Lovecraft and a sort of generic pulp detective style that gelled really well in season one, but when he turned that approach to basically wholesale ripping off James Ellroy it fell flat due to a lackluster cast and shifting classic noir clichées to an incongruous present day setting.

I mean if you don't consider the direction and cinematography to be a pretty integral draw for season one, you need to rewatch episode 4's stash house stickup again. The differences in formal and technical proficiency are pretty stark between the two seasons and that brought season two's lackluster and derivative writing to the fore to its detriment.