Just watched ep 4, shootout was epic. I think the government of vinci killed him and they trying to cover it up. Its always corrupt authority figuers who do the most evil in the shadows. I miss rust.
Despite season 2 not living up to the bar that S1 set, I still liked it as a standalone story. I also feel that, unlike the previous season, it got progressively better. S1 sort of peaked between episode 3-5 and meandered off until a somewhat lackluster finale whereas this season built up toward a satisfying finale.
Setting the story in LA, people automatically wanted a setting like a neo-noir detective 80's throwback show using the glitz and the glamour of a California environment would provide but instead we got quite the contrast; we got to see a more grungy, underdeveloped side of the city which is rarely shown and the plot really plays into it and throughout the season we see the darkness of the city that California forgot.
The writing is somewhat debatable at times but it has it's own quirks. If anything, it's more down to earth and more laid back, the characters seem more believable in this script and have more relatable speech, albeit not very entertaining. Again, this is quite contrarian to S1 where we had Rust Chole spouting 10 minute dialogues, which in reality would be utterly ridiculous but it worked in that storyline.
Another thing that I quite liked was the vagueness of who was the kingpin who we barely even know about or see. Keeping track of the plot of this season seemed like a chore in itself but taking a step back, I think it was purposely made in that way. in the first season it was built up to Carcosa and the Yellow King, made out to be some sort of monster crafted out of lovecraftian lore and was almost made to seem like a supernatural entity whereas in this season we had-- wait, who? Tony? These people are meant to be vague, shadowy figures who are not brought to the light of day or have much story to them as it is meant to be a reflection of real life politics. Men in the background, using their money to pull the strings. The first season dealt with the idea of otherworldly beings whereas season two dealt with very real people, ones who are in our very world.
Also the season finished with the ultimate bad end for Frank and Ray which I also liked. Ray was the outstanding character in this season, being shrouded in depression, it was quite emotional that he died trying to send the voice clips to his son and then finding out that not only was he the legitimate father but also had another son on the way. Frank just died being Frank, prideful and wanting the money.
