True Detective and Women

As I briefly mentioned yesterday, I’m obsessing over True Detective the same way everyone with HBO is. I don’t need to tell you why it’s so great, you’ve either already heard or already written it off, I assume. I watched the first five episodes in fairly quick succession, and I was ready to bestow the mantle of “Better Than Breaking Bad” on it, when it was pointed out that some people feel that it’s depiction of women is less than great. It’s always a bad feeling when I find out something I like is found questionable, as if I am guilty by association. Instead of repeating what I’ve read or defending the show, I’ll just link to these two articles. The first by Emily Nussbaum from the New Yorker, the second from Britt Hayes at Screen Crush. I think both make valid points, but I especially like Hayes’ piece. Of course, I would, because it puts me at ease and validates my thoughts that just because women are treated poorly on the show, it doesn’t mean they’re treated poorly by the show. I still wonder though. I mean, I think I know what the makers of True Detective are trying to say, but are there still a  bunch of jerks out there who think the depiction of tough guys and submissive women is cool, and something to aspire to? What do you think?