There’s been much bitterness against the clichés and whatever-ness about Sunday’s premiere of True Detective. If you read most of the reviews out there (Variety, Deadline, and EW), they pretty much sum up the same thing with your typical entertainment review “cleverness.” For example: True Detective Season 2 Falls as Flat as a Circle. Witty title! The reviews share most of the same points: Cary Fukunaga’s direction is missing; we’ve seen these types of characters before (cop with a drinking problem, yada yada); the vibe is missing; and too many aerial shots of the landscape. Luckily, most of these reviews end with the reviewer hungry for more.

I echo some of the same points from above and shall add some comparisons between Season 2 and Season 1. Many reviews compared the two as well. For one, we’re dealing with 4 main characters–must set up that backstory. Secondly, the 4 of them haven’t interacted with each other yet. Season 1 was so poignant because it pitted two diametrically opposite men together, Rust and Marty, and turned them loose. It made for great TV.

As for Season 2, let’s see. From the creator’s side, I can imagine how tough it would be to try and revive what made Season 1 so great without re-treading the same tracks and making it too familiar.