‘True Detective’ season 2 finale review: Who killed Caspere barely matters in deadly conclusion

Absolute power corrupts absolutely. Sometimes, the good guys don’t always win. You can make whatever cliche you really want to here about the “True Detective” season 2 finale, but it hardly did enough to justify the lengthy journey we went on to get to this point.

We really don’t want to spend that much time on uncovering the truth about Caspere’s death, mostly because it was tied together with two characters we cared little about because of diamonds from so many years ago. really, it didn’t feel all that connected to anything, and that story just never came together. A shame, really. Also, Caspere’s personal life became almost like an episode of “Game of Thrones.” Laura / Erika was actually Caspere’s daughter, and photographer Leonard was the one to actually did the deed.

Maybe the point of all of this is that it is true to many real investigations, where every loose end does not necessarily tie together. It feels like ultimately, so much time was spent on the high-speed rail and Frank’s story, and we don’t know how much of it was needed.

Where the finale shined tonight were in the small moments. Take, for example, seeing Frank basically see his own body after trying to survive in the desert, after he was abandoned there over going in too deep with some of the cartel guys. The way his death played out was rather poignant, just as Ray’s was in its own “Platoon” sort of way. Ani was spared, and was one of our only important characters to make it out of this okay. Even she was scarred by what she went through, and losing that connection that she had with Ray that would have been so much powerful if there had been more than two episodes on it.

Also, finding out posthumously that Ray really was the father? Heart-shattering. The same goes for leaving that message. We almost feel like had Ani and Ray been the focus of the story all along, the show could have been so much better. Taylor Kitsch is great, but we could have lessened the role of Paul and gotten rid of almost all of Frank altogether and been happier. Interestingly, Paul did get a highway named after him, which is far better than Ray being labeled after his death responsible for Paul’s murder. Once again, Burris is in the running for worst person ever. It may not be that much of competition, and it’s terrible way to end off that character’s story. Sure, Ani seemed to have a child of his in a flash-forward to a year after the story’s end, but we don’t get the sense life is going to be much easier for them.

There are no victories sometimes at the end of these cases. The “True Detective” finale certainly didn’t feel like it. Through all of its deaths, it felt like the show was almost washing its hands of this and trying to move forward … which is what we’re almost doing now, as well. There were several beautiful moments in the finale, but they were disguised in a killer reveal that did not have much of a spark and a story far too cluttered for its own good. Grade: C+.

What did you think about the end of “True Detective” this season? Did it do everything that you wanted it to and then some? Share right away in the comments, and head over here to get some more insight when it comes to the series, and hopes for a third season. Also, you can sign up today if you have an interest in getting some further TV scoop sent right over to you, courtesy of our official CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo: HBO.)