Promising show ruined by implausible plot
Ok, first let me say that Top of the Lake was visually stunning, and that many of the performances and the overall atmosphere were excellent.
However, for me this show was ruined by numerous totally ridiculous plot developments. While I fully accept that a plausible plot might revolve around corrupt/deliberately inefficient policing, and I fully accept that Matt and his family might have had a lot of influence in the town, too many things happened which were just flat out illogical and ridiculous.
Just off the top of my head:
1. Robin just randomly takes it upon herself to follow a known pedophile and suspect to his isolated house in the dark, where he has weapons, and then provoke him until he goes nuts and starts shooting at her. She then doesn't bother to mention any of this to other police, even after he later kills himself.
2. Robin gets shot at and doesn't bother to mention this to any other police.
3. The police are fine with a large pack of bikies and hoodlums rampaging around in the hills firing guns and hunting for children on behalf of the person who is suspected of raping one of those children. When the bikies violently attack another group of children, no-one does anything about this at any stage.
4. Perhaps the biggest one, a PREGNANT 12 YEAR OLD WHOSE FAMILY ARE THE PRIME SUSPECTS IN HER RAPE IS RETURNED TO HER FAMILY WITHOUT QUESTION.
5. Matt seriously injures a woman by deliberately driving his car into a gate which she is holding, then proceeds to trespass onto the Paradise property and aggressively physically threaten various women and NO-ONE REPORTS IT TO THE POLICE OR DOES ANYTHING ABOUT IT.
6. Matt and his sons repeatedly trespass in various places and no-one does anything about it.
7. Matt pointlessly shoots a dog in front of Robin and she doesn't bother to mention this to anyone, let alone report it to the other police or arrest Matt for animal cruelty or for threatening her.
8. Robin has a willing witness against Matt who is prepared to testify, and Robin suspects Matt is willing to kill people to cover things up, yet she lets the woman wander off because she will give evidence "later". She also doesn't mention this to any other police.
9. Robin willingly goes up to Matt's house to hear his "confession" when she knows he is a violent psychopath who has probably killed other people and is also established as a liar.
10. Someone 'commits suicide' in highly suspicious circumstances and NO-ONE DOES ANYTHING ABOUT IT.
11. A pack of men with guns drive a young boy off the edge of a cliff to his death and NO-ONE DOES ANYTHING ABOUT IT OR INVESTIGATES IT OR ARRESTS ANYONE.
12. A police pathologist has serious concerns about a specific officer corruptly failing to investigate a series of deaths and NO-ONE DOES ANYTHING ABOUT IT.
13. Robin has hard evidence which supports the theory that someone was murdered (Bob Platt) and DOESN'T MENTION THIS TO OTHER POLICE OR INVESTIGATE IT FURTHER OR HAND THE EVIDENCE OVER TO ANYONE OR DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT.
14. Al effectively kidnaps Robin and brings her to have a "chat" with the prime suspect on a boat, and she DOESN'T MENTION THIS TO OTHER POLICE OR DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT.
15. Johnno gets stabbed in the leg and Robin and Matt DON'T REPORT THIS TO THE POLICE OR DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT.
16. Robin willingly goes out on a boat with a guy who is repeatedly making inappropriate advances towards her and who she suspects of being corrupt.
I'm sure there are more examples.
If you take this show at face value, Al and Robin are the only ranking police in New Zealand and Robin cannot go to anyone else in the whole of the police force with any concerns about anything. Al can do whatever he wants without ever needing to explain himself in any way.
Police work apparently involves repeatedly trespassing onto other people's property, keeping no records, never telling anyone where you are going or what you are doing, and if possible going by yourself to dark locations where you expect to find people with guns who would like to shoot and/or rape you.
"Bad guys" are allowed to walk around with huge collections of firearms, physically assaulting and threatening anyone and everyone, including the police, and no-one will ever intervene.
Most of the decisions made by most of the characters were totally illogical, and not in an "emotionally driven" or "corrupt small town" way, just in a "that makes no goddamn sense" kind of way.
So for me, a potentially great show was ruined by very, very poor writing.