True Detective's Intense Season 2 Shootout Had Rachel McAdams Vomiting

The first season of Nick Pizzolatto's "True Detective" posited a dark, labyrinthine murder mystery with deeply philosophical leanings, with convincing lead performances that enhanced the merits of its central tale. Making a follow-up installment that could not only hold its own against the first season but also surpass it was a daunting undertaking, which is part of the reason why season 2 received poor critical ratings and is perhaps the lowest-ranked entry in the legacy series. This particular installment followed a similar structure to its predecessor — officers Raymond Velcoro (Colin Farrell) and Ani Bezzerides (Rachel McAdams) find themselves involved in a criminal investigation after a body is found on the highway. While the stakes of season 2 are interesting enough, it was never able to soar and capture the essence of what made the series so intriguing or keep audiences hooked till its mildly-gripping season finale played out.

However, one of the highlights of "True Detective" season 2 is the impressive warehouse shootout that closed out episode 4, titled "Down Will Come." This is the episode where the investigation finally picks up its pace, right after the previous episode ends with Raymond and Ani chasing a masked perpetrator to no avail. The shootout in question is wildly chaotic, as the detectives merely expect to run into the suspected killer, but instead, run into gang members working in a meth lab. The ensuing massacre is bloody. Innocent bystanders on the scene are killed, all of the backup police force is brutally gunned down, and the stakes suddenly shoot up in a consistently lackluster season so far.

McAdams spoke to Variety about this particular scene and explained that while she was pumped up for all the action, she ended up vomiting due to the intensity of the sequence.

McAdams and Farrell try their best to carry season 2 — while Farrell brings extreme complexity to his dirty cop with almost no redemptive qualities routine, McAdams uses the scant material to deliver a compelling performance as an undercover female cop holding her own in a field dominated by men. This very aspect regrettably comes into play as the season progresses, as McAdams' character Ani is given very little to do after the drug-fueled "Eyes Wide Shut"-styled mansion mission, and she is sidelined in favor of the dudes engaging in more shootouts and apprehending the bad guys.

This makes her active presence during the shootout sequence more special, and McAdams relayed her experience of filming this physically-demanding scene:

"That one took about five days. That was pretty intense. I actually puked during that scene. When I was running and reloading my gun — it actually wound up being about 200 yards, it was like two football fields — and I was just going all out and we did it a couple of times."

The actor went on to say that it was her "own fault" as she has been drinking EmergenC to maintain consistent energy levels, and this, combined with extensive physical movements caused her to hurl. McAdams, however, enjoyed shooting the scene thoroughly, as it was "really fun" for her to be thrust into action. 

As the stakes for season 2 are greatly amplified in the warehouse shootout, it set the perfect opportunity for the characters to reveal their inner workings during a high-stakes scenario, and underline the horrors of the very-real threats lurking in every corner of the show's world. Moreover, the events that lead up to this point leave much to be desired, making this sudden burst of violence feel strangely momentous for show's the central murder case. 

The shootout, while brilliant, does little to save season 2's unfortunate fall from grace. This is accentuated by the fact that season 1 boasts an even more impressive single-take shootout, hedged between a solid evolving story that fleshes out its characters remarkably well. By the time season 2 arrives at this episodic highlight, it has already reached its halfway point, building up a mediocre, deeply uninteresting murder case that might have been fine as a standalone but suffers greatly under the shadow of its predecessor.

To be fair, an attempt to recreate the haunting charm of season 1 was bound to fail from the get-go, and without a compelling script and characters to back it up, it was nigh impossible. Considering that season 3 fares much, much better, it is clear that "True Detective" thrives best when focusing on complex characters whose stories truly matter, and creating fresh threads while still remaining connected to its core essence.

Also, miscasting can make or break a show — it is difficult to imagine anyone other than Matthew McConaughey drawling "time is a flat circle" with such pointed cynicism, with Woody Harrelson's Marty to balance him out. Season 2 suffers from a massive miscasting problem, especially when it comes to Vince Vaughn's Frank, who is given the most ridiculous dialogues to work with ("I never lost a tooth. I've never even had a f****** cavity," he quips at one point). Vaughn is a great actor, but seems out of place here, as the character he plays has a pulpy, soap-opera-ish quality to it, which does not cohere well with the season's tone and worldbuilding.

Turns out, season 2 just had really big shoes to fill, and failed to do so in the end.