Church in Ruins
The season is set in California, and focuses on three detectives, Ray Velcoro (Colin Farrell), Ani Bezzerides (Rachel McAdams) and Paul Woodrugh (Taylor Kitsch), from three cooperating police forces and a criminal-turned-businessman named Frank Semyon (Vince Vaughn) as they investigate a series of crimes they believe are linked to the murder of a corrupt politician.
The episode received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised Sapochnik's directing, performances, and character development, although some felt that the pacing and lack of progress may not properly conclude all storylines.
He discovers that they were part of a cache stolen during a double homicide and robbery of a jewelry store in the 1992 Los Angeles riots, which orphaned two children.
Velcoro visits his ex-wife Gena's (Abigail Spencer) real rapist (Marco Rodríguez) in prison, and, after confirming the encounter, promises to eventually kill him.
With Woodrugh and Velcoro watching from outside of a secluded Guerneville mansion, Bezzerides (Rachel McAdams) infiltrates a secret elite party, posing as her sister Athena (Leven Rambin).
As Bezzerides wanders throughout the orgy-filled mansion, she starts hallucinating just as a man begins flirting with her, and spots Tony Chessani (Vinicius Machado), Osip Agronov (Timothy V. Murphy), Jacob McCandless (Jon Lindstrom), Attorney General Richard Geldof (C. S. Lee), and Vinci police chief Holloway (Afemo Omilami).
The site's consensus states: "A nightmarish scene with Rachel McAdams and a strong performance from Vince Vaughn stand out in 'Church in Ruins', an episode that still suffers from the flaws of True Detective's overarching story in season two.
"[6] Alan Sepinwall of HitFix wrote, "When you balance the two sides out, there were more individual elements to feel positive about, but the completely inert nature of the mystery remains an enormous problem, even when the performances or direction have moments to shine.
"[8] Ben Travers of IndieWire gave the episode a "B" grade and wrote, "One of the problems plaguing True Detective Season 2 has been over-emphasis.
"[10] Aaron Riccio of Slant Magazine wrote, "Less is more, and while True Detective must eventually start providing some of the answers to the many questions it has presented over the first two thirds of the season, it can surely find a more subtle, realistic way to do so.
"[11] Kenny Herzog of Vulture gave the episode a 3 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "We're getting closer to some version of the truth as it pertains to Caspere's killer, but the tone of this noir fantasy is increasingly, resolutely bitter.
No different from how the abuse Ani suffered at her commune or what Paul endured in Afghanistan has been that thing that’s torn them in two, how Ray's actions following Gena's assault have ravaged his conscience, or how parental neglect lead Frank to nihilism as a means of survival.
"[12] Tony Sokol of Den of Geek gave the episode a 4.5 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "'Church in Ruins' found missing person, but it doesn't solve a thing.
"[13] Carissa Pavlica of TV Fanatic gave the episode a 3.5 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "The best thing about this hour was the slight change in pace, switching up the music and letting our characters break out of what has become their standard operating procedure.
"[14] Ronnie Stiernberg gof Paste gave the episode a 6.5 out of 10 and wrote, "And that, ultimately, remains True Detective's biggest problem: too many hamfisted backstories, not enough insight as to what exactly is going on and why we're supposed to care.
With just two episodes left, it's time for this convoluted plot to get resolved, but is a satisfying ending even a possibility at this point, if the most compelling aspect of the show is a dropped paternity suit?
