True Detective Season 2: 5 Awesome Moments (And 5 That Sucked)

Not so good are the second season's supporting cast. This is most evident in Kelly Reilly's performance as Jordan Semyon. Reilly (Calvary, Flight, Eden Lake) is a fine actress in her own right, but here she is at a mismatch with the material, and it's hard to buy her as a gangster's devoted moll. She is never really given anything to do except 'be there' for Frank; stick with him no matter what. Reilly is far too smart an actress for this, and though she is given some of her own crises (her potential inability to have children, for instance), they are never really expanded, and Jordan ends up only as a canvas for Frank to project his own insecurities on.

Similarly, Christopher James Baker's Blake is totally unbelievable as a usurper of criminal enterprise, the actor exuding little-to-no threat whatsoever. Not only is Baker physically not right for the part—he's more Peter Campbell than Don Draper—he also doesn't possess enough sexuality to accurately depict  a man supposedly addicted to sordid sex parties. 

Elsewhere, there are decent turns from the likes of Ritchie Coster (as Mayor Austin Chessani) and Afemo Omilami (as Police Chief Holloway), but the show lacks the rich bench of acting talent that made up season one.