True Detective season 2 is often considered the anthology series’ weakest link, but the show’s sophomore outing does do one key thing better than True Detective‘s third and fourth seasons. Created by Nic Pizzolatto, the crime-drama anthology series features fresh ensemble casts and settings every season. Although there are some references to other True Detective seasons woven throughout the project, each installment is a standalone narrative. Notably, the Emmy-winning series started off on an incredibly high note, with Matthew McConaughey’s Rust Cohle and Woody Harrelson’s Marty Hart investigating a Louisiana-based serial killer over a 17-year period.

The most recent outing, True Detective: Night Country, unfolds in a fictional Alaska town. Helmed by showrunner, writer, and director Issa López, Night Country centers on Detectives Liz Danvers (Jodie Foster) and Evangeline Navarro (Kali Reis) as they investigate the disappearance of eight men from a research station and said disappearance’s ties to the unsolved, and deeply unsettling, murder of an Indigenous woman. Although the first and fourth seasons of True Detective are unique, they share some substantial DNA. Generally speaking, the same can’t really be said for True Detective season 2 — but that might be its biggest strength.

True Detective Season 2 Did Not Try To Recreate HBO’s Season 1 Tone

The Crime Drama’s Sophomore Outing Tried To Differentiate Itself From True Detective Season 1

Rachel McAdams and Colin Farrell in a bar in True Detective Gabriel Luna and Taylor Kitsch drinking beer on bleachers in True Detective season 2 Colin Farrel as Ray and Rachel McAdams as Ani in True Detective season 2 sitting on a couch upset Taylor Kitsch in a diner in True Detective season 2 Rachel McAdams, arms folded beside Colin Farrell in a scene from True Detective season 2.

In the wake of True Detective‘s Emmy-winning first season, the sophomore outing looked like a completely different show — and that was by design. Instead of replicating the McConaughey-Harrelson formula with new leads, True Detective season 2’s story follows the interlaced stories of three officers, all of whom work at different police departments. After California Highway Patrol officer and war veteran Paul Woodrugh (Taylor Kitsch) finds the body of a city official, Detective Ray Velcoro (Colin Farrell) and Detective Sergeant Ani Bezzerides (Rachel McAdams) are pulled into the investigation — as is career criminal Frank Semyon (Vince Vaughn).

True Detective season 2 is very different from season 1, and… that’s probably its most commendable trait.

True Detective season 2’s menacing Inland Empire setting also couldn’t be more different from the first outing’s Southern gothic backdrop, creating a distinctly different atmosphere. Moreover, while every season of True Detective plays with narrative structure, season 2’s story is all over the place. The initial murder isn’t even the biggest plotpoint — a massive departure that points to one reason why True Detective season 2 was so much worse than other installments. In short, True Detective season 2 is very different from season 1, and, following the show’s impossible-to-recreate success, that’s probably its most commendable trait.

True Detective’s Seasons 3 & 4 Felt Like A Return To Form

Season 3 & Night Country Revisit The Elements That Made True Detective A Hit In 2014

Kali Reis as Navarro standing with arms crossed and looking to her left in True Detective Night Country Mahershala Ali wearing a suit in True Detective Season 3 Nevarro, Pete, and Danvers looking at a phone in True Detective Night Country episode 3 Mahershala Ali walking past a car in True Detective season 3 Jodie Foster as Liz Danvers in True Detective Night Country

True Detective season 3, which follows detective Wayne Hays (Mahershala Ali) across three timelines, and Night Country, which leans more heavily into the supernatural, have their distinct traits. However, both seasons also feel more in line with True Detective season 1’s atmosphere and approach. Ali’s season adds a wrinkle to season 1’s two-timeline narrative by adding a third, while True Detective: Night Country teases connections to season 1’s symbols and characters. Although both are innovative, they also return to form. Meanwhile, True Detective season 2 refused to rely on what worked in the original outing‘s Emmy-winning formula.

Jodie Foster as Liz Danvers and Kali Reis as Evangeline Navarro in a scene from True Detective: Night Country.

True Detective Season 2 Has Aged Strangely Well

Rachel McAdams looks worried in True Detective season 2 Vince Vaughn and Colin Farrell look serious while sitting across from each other at a dive bar in True Detective season 2 An injured Vince Vaughn clambers through the California desert in True Detective season 2 Taylor Kitsch lit by green neon light and looking serious in True Detective season 2 Rachel McAdams and Colin Farrell look at photographs in surprise in True Detective season 2

True Detective season 2 goes out of its way to avoid comparisons to, or similarities with, the first season — and that’s often to its detriment. Still, it’s hard not to respect Pizzolatto’s decision to create such a departure from his hit first season, especially when most shows would play it safe. The crime drama’s sophomore outing isn’t all bad. Even Rachel McAdams loved her True Detective cop character — and rightly so given her grizzled, powerhouse performance. Incredibly grim, True Detective season 2 captures a kind of Lynchian menace, which, nearly 10 years later, might make it worth rewatching.