True Detective’s (2014) first season was an overwhelming success. It had an original style, compellingly weird and dark dialogue, a gripping detective story with personal subplots woven through, and was expertly acted. Matthew McConaughey’s Rust Cole demanded attention in his first on-screen seconds and held that demand throughout the season. Woody Harrelson’s Marty Hart was equally convincing, and the two leads had a rapport from the word go. Coupled with Nic Pizzolatto’s unique writing style and Cary Fukunaga’s incredible direction, the program set the bar super high. So high, in fact, that everyone at HBO spent extra time putting together season two because it guaranteed comparison and almost certain criticism.

True Detective is a different show this season. The entire cast is fresh. There are multiple directors, and they are all new. The setting, time period, and number of leads are different. Really, the only things that remained the same are Nic Pizzolatto penning the script, and the overly dark, gritty thematic universe where the story takes place. So is it fair to be comparing season two to season one?

Absolutely.

The show is still called True Detective. HBO didn’t even go so far as to assign a subtitle to a show that is, in reality, an anthology series (like American Horror Story (2011)) because they want to be able to submit it for awards in the drama category. Though the cast and crew changes, True Detective wants to establish a brand of storytelling that is identifiably True Detective. And the season two pilot episode is an hour of evidence to that point.

Putting aside any opinions about the successes and failures of the episode, the pilot was clearly an attempt to duplicate the appeal of the first season. It worked to hit all the same beats: nearly ridiculous dialogue, sweeping aerial shots of grimy-looking California landscapes, flawed police characters all seeking some sort of redemption or overcoming some burden, and so on. It was an hour-long imitation of itself, and as such, deserves to be analyzed that way.