Watched season 1 back when it was first airing, but never got around to season 2. People seem to hate it but I can’t quite tell if that’s because it wasn’t up to the standard of season 1 or if it was just bad TV.
Should I skip it and go straight to season 3? Or is it worth watching on its own merits?
It has individual good moments but I think it’s problem is that it tried to tackle too many plot lines all at once without all of them feeling totally connected.
If it was just about the vinci corruption or just about Vince Vaughns mob, or just about the dealings with the girls being taken to the parties, it would have been a much stronger show. Or just drop one of the storylines and find stronger connections between them. The ensemble cast is good, the forced romance was pretty bad.
The biggest problem in my opinion, and echoed by many others, is that every main character is trying to be Rust. Extremely smart, depressed and just way too philosophical about everything. There was no straight man to cut through the highbrow musings, so every character felt majorly up their own ass. Woody harrelsons character was an important grounding point.
Season 3 goes a different direction and is much stronger for it. It feels closer to season 1 but different enough so it doesn’t feel like it’s retreading old ground.