Every Main Character From True Detective Ranked From Worst To Best

Of the three main police officers in season two, Paul Woodrugh had the most potential, and least development.

The character of Paul Woodrugh was that of of a former soldier turned highway patrol officer who, after being the one to discover Caspere's body, is seconded to the task force to investigate the murder.

When we first meet Paul he is caught up in a scandal involving false accusations of soliciting sex during a DUI, suffering from PTSD from his time as a soldier, and on top of that he is struggling to come to terms with his own sexual identity. These three plot points should have been enough to develop the character.

Herein lies the problem with season two. There was too much of everything per character; and as a result, it made them feel bloated instead of unique.

Paul's connection to the PMC unit that aids the corrupt police should have played a bigger part, and while he isn't the sharpest of detectives during the main case he's pretty adept with a firearm- which only comes into use once during the explosive gunfight at the end of episode four.

Whatever we might think of season two, it's not Paul Woodrugh's fault.