The second season of HBO's True Detective is undoubtedly dark--and after watching the premiere episode it appears that no one will escape being touched by the twisted mystery that brings together three very different, but all equally tortured cops, as they try to solve the murder of a city planner.

Everything We Know So Far About 'True Detective' Season 2

The season premiere served to mainly introduce viewers to the characters they would become invested in throughout the run, but managed to unveil how their dark and sordid pasts could play into how they work on the mystery.

With episode two (airing Sunday, June 27) set to see the detectives beginning to look into Ben Caspere's murder and struggling as both Bezzerides and Velcoro fight to be the point person on the investigation, here's everything you need to know from the first episode and how it plays into the rest of the season.

'True Detective' Season 2 Receives Mixed Reviews

Who's Who:

Detective Ray Velcoro (Colin Farrell)

An unhinged Detective from the Vinci police department with more than a few personal issues (including problems with addiction and rage) and is in the midst of a custody battle with his ex-wife over his adolescent son (who may not be his biological child and the result of his wife's rape). Velcoro is in the pocket of former career criminal Frank Semyon--years before, Semyon gave up the man who raped Velcoro's wife to Velcoro for personal retribution (the rapist was never officially caught) and he's now working for Semyon as an enforcer. In the first episode, we see Velcoro attack a journalist covering corruption and steals his research on Semyon's orders. (Photo: Official True Detective Twitter Account)

Frank Semyon (Vince Vaughn)

A former career criminal who is in the middle of a shady land deal with his business partner, City Manager Ben Caspere, who has gone missing. In addition, one of his former underworld connections who was initially in on the deal, a Russian mobster named Osip, is backpedaling. (Photo: Official True Detective Twitter Account)

Detective Ani Bezzerides (Rachel McAdams)

The gruff female detective keeps everyone at arm's length--including her lover--tends to mix her personal and professional lives. In the season's first episode, we see her lead a raid on a potential brothel and find her sister in online porn AND interview her guru father while she investigates the disappearance of a missing girl who worked for him. She also a penchant for knife fighting, owning quite the collection of blades and books on the subject. (Photo: Official True Detective Twitter Account)

Officer Paul Woodrugh (Taylor Kitsch)

A California Highway Patrol officer on the verge of a mental breakdown, Woodrugh finds himself on paid leave after a driver he ticketed for speeding accuses him of trying to blackmail her for sexual favors. Before becoming a cop, Wooodrugh worked as military contractor in the Middle East and the work seems to have tarnished him, both psychological and professional. It's after racing his motorcycle late at night in what seems like an initial suicide attempt that he finds a corpse sitting on bench at a highway rest stop, which turns out to be none other than Semyon's missing partner, Caspere. (Photo: Official True Detective Twitter Account)

City Manager Ben Caspere

The victim, he's Semyon's partner in a potentially corrupt land deal who goes missing after a local newspaper publishes an article about city corruption. We see his being propped up in the backseat of his car as his (presumable) killer drives. He's later discovered by Woodrugh, dead and with his eyes burned out by chemicals. The discovery of his body brings Velcoro, Bezzerides and Woodrugh together. (Photo: Screengrab, "Western Book of the Dead" True Detective)

What Happens

Everything seems to tie back to the business deal Semyon is proposing--which aims to develop land around an upcoming high-speed railway. The venture could transform Semyon into a fully legitimate businessman. But things begin falling apart after Caspere's disappearance--and his murder may only pose more questions about the deal.

Where Everything Is Going Down

Vinci, California

A fictional industrial wasteland of a town in L.A. County. The town, (based on real-life Vernon, California--a city with its own history of corruption springing up from a railroad over 100 years ago), is as seedy as the relationships between Semyon, Caspere and Velcoro--as well as the demons that haunt Bezzerides and Woodrugh. Filled with smokestacks, refineries and power plants, it not only shows desolation--but reflects the pollution of the characters as well.(Photo: Official True Detective Twitter Account)

True Detective airs Sundays at 9 p.m. on HBO.

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