If True Detective Season 1 was a philosophical meditation on the vertigo of time, Season 2 was a Greek tragedy set in the smog-choked sprawl of Southern California. Nowhere was this distinction clearer than in the season’s penultimate episode, "Church in Ruins."
"Church in Ruins" works because it stops trying to be a mystery box and starts being a tragedy. The dense plot regarding land deals, rail corridors, and diamonds—all the intricate machinery of the conspiracy—fades into the background. In its place, we have three broken people running toward a bullet. true detective s02e06 720p
“Church in Ruins” is the episode where True Detective Season 2 stops apologizing for being a different beast than Season 1. It’s still overstuffed and occasionally pretentious, but the momentum is real. By the final scene—Ray and Ani driving into the dark, hunted and exhausted—you’re either onboard for the tragic finale or you’ve already checked out. If True Detective Season 1 was a philosophical