My observations from reading thousands of individual internet comments: People will not let artists have artistic freedom. They endlessly bitch about every little difference. People who loved Season 1 are so sold on the "identity". The first episode (season 2) really tried to smash that expectation by throwing multiple curve-balls - but I already see that many people don't get it. I hesitate to give a simple example, but I'll try: The theme song was hated by many when it was fresh on Episode 1 - and then people were commenting how much they now liked it at Episode 3. Sadly, I think that this is missed on many - the artistic problem of expectations and "ranking" things.
I feel this suffocating attitude in discussions, like this one, that people are afraid to be caught watching a poorly-written show. As if that's a great tragedy in their life - to have sat through hours of writing they didn't agree with.
That's my primary thoughts on Season 2. I hope things can change and movie and shows like True Detective are allowed to tell stories that are difficult and push the edge, even "failures" in terms of disappointing people. I think it's a great effort and going after true and real problems in humanity. Mostly in how trapped people are in their circumstances and faiths, in their listening.