10 Moments That Almost Saved True Detective Season 2

8. Frank and Ray's Kitchen Table Discussion

One of the criticisms of Season 2 lay in the generic dialogue between Frank and Ray, which sometimes veered towards the point of parody. It's a fair criticism borne out in a few scenes in which the two mumble tersely to one another in the bar. One scene that rose above these kind of hard boiled cliches came at the beginning of Episode 6, when Ray confronts Frank at his home about the name of the man who is alleged to have brutally raped his wife. with guns trained on one another under the table, it's the first time the two share a real sense of dramatic tension, a subtle urgency underpinning their dialogue. It's a delicately acted confrontation featuring some of the better dialogue in the series, laying out clearly the responsibility both men share for the decisions they've made and the unspoken mutual respect they have for one another. Their relationship would have been served well with more moments like this one.