Wow. Just wow. That's really the only word that keeps coming out of my mouth when I reflect on last night's episode of True Detective because not only did it deliver dramatically last night with more of the compelling story that reeled me in last week, but that ending. I mean seriously, that ending.  But let's get to that in a bit, because last night's episode of this show was all about corruption. Of the soul and of the mind for a couple of the characters and of course the tiny city of Vinci as a task force comes together to discover who killed Ben and uncover what's going on with the money in this tax break laden town in "Night Finds You".

Yes, our dead and as it turns out, mutilated city manager has piqued the interest of the state. They appear to be fully aware of the corruption this tiny little berg is teeming with and Ani and Paul are plunged into it with the forming of an aforementioned task force to see what they can discover about this brutal murder. The move will absolve Paul of his indiscretions on the highway and of course it gives Ani a chance to do what she does best. Ray is of course part of this team as well but that seems to be a courtesy more than anything else.  

Of course we quickly learn that Ben was something of a sex fiend and liked buying escorts on a regular basis. We also learned that there is not one quality city official in Vinci since the mayor takes kickbacks from Frank and is well...pretty much drunk every hour of the day. It was a pathetic sight to see but that is Vinci, a town corrupt inside and out. As for the characters corrupted to their core mentally and philosophically, that honor came down for Ray and Frank. Frank delivered a terrifying monologue about death in the opening moments of the show, followed by his sheer panic that his entire fortune went into the beyond with Ben...bringing Frank's darker tendencies to the surface after a week of showcasing his moral center.

But Ray...oh man Ray. Well, it's time to talk about that ending. Ray went through quite the transformation last night and I now have to wonder if those who slightly redeem themselves or try and adjust their lifestyle on the show will be punished for it. If in some weird way Vinci is a town only made for the worst people out there. I say all that because Ray lost the one thing he thought was holding him together last night...his son. His ex wife cut him off after last week's outbursts and well, it changed Ray instantly. No more drinking, no more anxiety and terror, it woke him up and well...he died in incredible fashion in the last few moments of the show when he went to check out Ben's Hollywood apartment. 

It was a jaw dropper to say the least because hey, Colin Farrell is first billed when the credits for this show come up and man...he goes out like a chump too. Slowly finding his redemption and then this, gunned down by a nutjob in a bird mask. Not to mention, his death now opens up a wealth of issues. Mainly...why the hell was there a person in a bird suit waiting outside of Ben's place and well, what's really going on in Vinci? Now we have a grand mystery in front of us and I'm dying to know more. Until next time. 

I don’t know why making fun of the government is so hilarious in my eyes, but HBO has found a great way to make light of many dark situations.  As The Brink has hit the airwaves, it has brought something to the small screen that might be more true to life than we could ever know.  Filled with humor about what could be happening behind closed doors, it seems like they have got their story straight.

Alex Talbot, a low-level State Department bureaucrat working in Pakistan loves his role and even though he is close to being fired, he could care less.  Wanting to make the most out of his position, he is looking to hook up with all of the other young female bureaucrats that surround his embassy.  Heading out to get some weed from the streets of Islamabad, a riot breaks out and being the only American in the area, he is in the wrong place at the wrong time.  Having to depend on his driver, Rafiq to get him to safety, Alex is taken to a rich suburb of the region and meets a family that might be able to save his life.  But while Alex watches the television as an insane general takes to the airways, he finds out that he might be able to shine some light on the situation for his embassy.  Faxing off medical documents to his superiors, Alex is confronted by the family, but is able to convince them that he is not a spy, just a man trying to do the right thing.

Back in America, Secretary of State Walter Larson has found love in his job that he never thought could have existed. Being interrupted while with his mistress, the hungover Larson is notified that the world could be on the brink of war and is summed to the war room.  As all of the political leaders are meeting about what to about the coup that has taken place in Pakistan, Larson is hesitant to speak up until he gets a drink into his system. When he receives his power juice, he shows up at the top of his game and is able to gain a little bit of extra time before the button is pressed and bombs start raining over the region.  When receiving a partial fax from the Pakistan embassy, the President finds out who he is up against and will give Larson more leeway then he deserves.  With everyone looking to him for answers, Larson has to find a way to talk to his man on the ground to figure out who is really behind the coup and put a stop to it before war breaks out.

There is also a storyline that is following a fighter pilot who has been dealing speed on his aircraft carrier and is now running into hard times.  With his supply diminishing, his supplier and ex-wife who is refusing to help and getting a woman aboard the carrier pregnant, he is called into action to start a bombing run of military targets. Giving his bomber a pill, along with slipping one himself, the finds out midflight that he has taken the wrong one and that the flight will be more interesting for them both. 

It took a little while before I could decide if I wanted to keep watching this show or not.  But when Tim Robbins appeared on the screen getting suffocated by his mistress, I was sold.  Not taking anything away from Jack Black who is just balls to the wall hilarious, I think Robbins will be the one I like the most in this show.  I am pretty sure that with the way the series kicked off, there is bound to be some slow episodes, but I will not complain until they appear, but overall, I enjoyed the kickoff and am sure that I can stick with it for the duration.  A fine job done by all and I only hope it continues to get better and better.

There are only a few shows that I look forward to watching, especially if they are new to the airwaves.  When I first saw the commercial for HBO’s Ballers, my interest picked up a little bit.  The fact that Dwayne Johnson is the star of the show was admittedly the draw for me since not much was really explained in the commercials, other than he was a retired football player trying to make a name for himself on the representation front.  It is a novel idea and it looked like it was trying to bring back a little bit of the storyline that Entourage gave us years ago.

The pilot episode felt just like that, a pilot.  Spencer Strasmore is out of the game, but still hanging with his boys that are still in it.  Becoming a money manager, Spencer was brought into the job to pimp his friends as clients, but he has not yet found that happy medium.  As he still gets invited to the Ballers shindigs, Spencer tries to pass on his knowledge of how to control money so the players do not end up out of the game broke, and while some of the young bucks take his advice, most of them are just living their life with every dollar that they have.

The main plot line comes from aging cornerback, Ricky Jerret as he gets called out in a night club for not following the rules and gets into a fight.  Since this is not his first offense, and he has been known as a hot head on and off the field, he gets cut by the owners.  With his name not holding the value it once did in the league, Ricky has to rely on his boy Spencer and his agent to get him onto another team before the preseason starts.  Spencer still has plenty of pull in the league and gets a team rep to check out Ricky’s story and personality to see if the Dolphins should even waste their time in bringing him in.  Although the rules have not applied to Ricky in the past, he is woken up to what his new lifestyle needs to be and will be humbled before he can rise to the top again.

There are a couple other storylines in this as well.  Retired Offensive lineman Charles Greane is in need of a job.  Not knowing what he can do, or really wants to do, he finds himself a new home becoming a cars salesman.  Current linebacker Vernon Littlefield is in need of cash in a big way and knows that his friend Spencer will bail him out once again.  Even though Spencer will do anything for his friend, arriving at the house to see a party taking place, he knows that Vernon will need to change his ways and becomes one of the first friends to be listed on his client list.

Like I said above, it was a pilot episode and it felt just like that.  It has not grabbed me in, but has not yet pushed me away either.  One of the things that I hope gets better and quickly is the rapport between the characters, it did not seem to be very natural in this episode and a little bit forced.  But I will give it another shot as there will be bigger stories coming into play during the season and I really hope that they can capture the friendship dynamic that they are trying to sell, since it is really what the storyline is being pushed towards.

I have to admit, and I'm not proud of this, but I completely missed out on HBO's True Detective last year and I know I am a fool for doing so. For starters I love a good detective/crime story as it is and let's be honest, it was one well respected show. Thankfully, it's a program unique enough that the story this time around is completely different and knowing I already missed eight weeks of incredible television last year has prompted me to make sure I don't miss another season of quality storytelling. 

Needless to say, I really didn't know what to expect settling in to watch this show and I'm glad I went in with zero expectations because the season two premiere of True Detective instantly pulled me in and I am now planning to go back and watch the first season after this one concludes, but I digress and rather than focus on the many plot points that came to bear last night in "The Western Book of the Dead" we need to talk about the rich characters we met last night, because they were definitely not the kind of people I was expecting to be introduced to. 

Fact is, these are all some incredibly broken down and damaged human beings that happen to wear a badge and carry and gun and I'll be damned if I don't want to know more about them. Each one of the characters we met last night has a checkered past that haunts them day in and day out and while we only received hints of that last night, I'm sure more details about their yesterdays will no doubt be revealed as the weeks progress. But really, two men stole the show last night, Detective Ray Velcoro, played by Colin Farrell and Frank Semyon, played by Vince Vaughn. 

These are two men whose fates are intertwined over tragedy. Since we learned enough about Ray last night to know that he and his wife suffered some serious trauma years ago and he received information from Frank on exactly who the man was that brutally beat and raped his wife. It is of course implied that Ray dealt with the man off duty and I have no doubt that that man is dead considering the predisposition to violence that Ray is more than willing to exhibit at any given time. Yet it still haunts him, we see it in the way he pounds down alcohol as if it were prohibition and the irony of it all is that Frank seems to be the only character with a conscience, despite the fact that it is clear he is a businessman with a career full of dubious choices grounded in grey areas and he has no doubt broken a few laws along the way. 

Either way, this episode served as an hour long introduction to these shattered characters and a good long look at their painful day to day lives and I loved every second of it. It was clear however that there was a reason to introduce everyone the way that we did and I'm glad that it all came together in the last few minutes of the show when the man of the hour, Vinci City Manager Ben Caspere shows up dead and just like that...our characters come together and we have a mystery on our hands, one that may or may not be solved depending on how these damaged characters handle death because thus far, they most certainly cannot handle life. Either way, I'm hooked. I honestly cannot remember the last time I saw a crime drama this dark and I'll definitely be tuning in next week to see where this story is headed. Until then.