I have to admit, offing Bateman toward the beginning of the second episode really took the wind out of the sails for me. Sanctimonious, something-to-prove Bateman is always so good, and I was really looking forward to at least another couple episodes of him squaring off with law enforcement, navigating his prison situation, attempting to prove his innocence, coming to grips with the fact that he somehow has a doppelganger, etc. That's the show I was really hoping for, and frankly, I'm disappointed we're not getting it.
That said, two things...
1) By the end of the second episode, I think I've come to grips with what the show looks to be instead, and I'm definitely still intrigued, just not quite as excited. The introduction of the black, female P.I. next episode looks interesting, to the point where she feels a little like Mulder to Mendelsohn's Scully. In fact, I'm getting an X-Files vibe all around, as the creepy, hooded, shape-shifter (or whatever) dude feels like a character ripped straight from an episode of that show. In that sense, True Detective meets The X-Files is more than okay with me.
2) On IMDb, at least (which, admittedly, isn't gospel), Bateman *is* listed as starring in all ten episodes, where as everyone but the main players are listed as appearing in various, smaller episode counts. So who knows. Maybe there are flashbacks spliced throughout, or maybe doppelganger Bateman comes back into the picture. Neither are the same as something-to-prove Bateman, but whatever. The two trailers, however, don't feature a single shot of Bateman that we didn't see in his first episode or the beginning of the second, so I don't know what to think at this point.
Either way, I'm still in, and at least glad this seems to be something worth watching/discussing over the next eight weeks.
