True Detective season 3 is a step up for sure, it takes one of the aspects of season 1 which made it work so well (the time jumps) seemingly absent from 2 and improves upon it, creating a narrative that is similar to Memento more than 1 ever was. It has very clear faults, like Roland being by far the weakest “partner” character and a story that just about steps out of S1’s shadow but there’s enough in there to help it stand alone as a worthy continuation of the True Detective name.