The characters in True Detective seemed very 2D to me, caricatures, excuses to unload a bunch of philosophy on the viewer, which isn't original anyhow.

In my mind, Rust's philosophy is just a red herring (although the writer might not agree with me), a coping mechanism of a grief-stricken, lost man. Rust's line about time being a flat circle was a quote from the guy Marty shot in the head. What happens underneath the talk is what gets me, and in that regard TD is brilliant, and consistent to the end. On them being 2D, I really can't agree. I thought their characterizations and the actors' portrayals were spot on.

As the show progressed, they started giving the people what they wanted: drama with the wife, cheating, sex

I thought this was done really well, easing into Marty's family life and its breakdown, as a way of showing what his exposure to the psychosphere was doing to his life.

I'll definitely check out @SteemDeepThink, but I still haven't created a Discord account - have to do that ASAP!

I appreciate your comment very much! :)