Three episodes into True Detective: Night Country, the investigation is starting to work out. There are already a few names they can track, from the still-missing Clark (Owen McDonnell) to a former scientist at the Tsalal Station named Oliver, whose names pop up during the investigation. Despite that, we still feel like we’re at the point of no clear picture of what happened, which is exactly what should be happening now.
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Episode 3 is the first time this season López is not the sole writer of the episode, with Alan Page Arriaga coming in to help co-write it. López still directs, but credit to the two of them for this going unnoticed. More than the previous two, though, the third episode is more focused on the actual findings and suspects than it is on setting up the town and its main characters, even if there’s still some progression done in that regard. Before we go any further, we’ll raise a spoiler alert for those who haven’t caught up yet.
Spoiler alert for True Detective: Night Country Episode 3
Take Trooper Navarro (Kali Reis). In one of the most awkwardly written moments of the episode, she practically breaks the fourth wall to make sure we the audience are caught up with her past and family history when she’s asked, point blank, “Tell me something about yourself” in exchange for the information she needs to continue.
The answer was centered around her mom, who was killed years ago, even before she was able to tell her daughter her Indigenous name. That will be later paid off when she and Jodie Foster’s Chief Danvers find Oliver. That encounter immediately sets Navarro back, as if the man were telling her she’s not a real member of their community unless she knows her Indigenous name.
This was already a pretty powerful episode for her overall, as we open with a flashback to the first time Navarro met Annie Kowtok, seven years ago. The pain of that memory still haunts her to this day, as she broke into a (likely illegal) birthing clinic while Annie helping another woman give birth.
It’s hard not to be taken away by Annie’s attitude right out of the gate, as she’s not even interested in fighting back but knows that there is a bigger priority there, and Navarro knows it too. The officer thought she had the upper hand, but Annie was always on top. No signs of vulnerability — a stark contrast to the last few minutes of the episode, where we see her at her lowest.
The Supernatural Roots of True Detective: Night Country
We’ve been discussing for a couple of weeks now the metaphysical ties that the latest season of True Detective is showing, from the myths of the Native American population of Ennis to the mysterious and recurring symbol found everywhere around the case. (We even learn in this episode that Annie had dreams about it as a kid and they stopped when she got a tattoo with it.)
And though there was that one scientist in the first episode who seemed to have a seizure, nothing was ever more clear than the final moments of Episode 3, when the mysterious entity known as “She” took over the spirit of the survivor and talked to Navarro in a pretty ridiculous scene, all things considered. I mean, if there used to be an ambiguity about demonic presence in past episodes, it’s now been spelled out, and I’m a bit torn here.
It seems hard to believe that the mystery will be resolved through something out of this world, yet it’s going to be really interesting how Issa López writes her way out of the corner she’s now in with that ending. The easy answer is that Navarro was just hallucinating, but can she sell us that?
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I’m most interested to see how Navarro tries to explain this to Danvers. At first, I don’t think she would even dare to try, but the more interesting writing challenge here for López would be that she does try to explain it and that Danvers, at one point, sees it for herself. But that would be even harder to untangle later if there is a human killer behind it all.
Other interesting developments in this episode include how Danvers and Navarro learned that (likely white supremacist) Hank Prior buried evidence from the Kowtok case years ago. Of course, he hated her guts, but it doesn’t feel like he actually had something to do with it. Navarro’s reaction was unjustifiably cut short by Danvers, which was too bad. But the tension between the three of them is growing, and it will be paid off sooner rather than later. Hank himself is obviously hiding something too; but what, exactly? He clearly lied to his son when he said that he didn’t know why Danvers and Navarro didn’t use to be on speaking terms.
It’s not just between the police officers that the tension is growing. It’s a general feeling in the town of Ennis, perhaps caused by the long night, or maybe by a combination of things, including the savage murders and years of build-up to this point thanks to protests surrounding the mine. And all of this is bound to implode at some point. And I’ll be right here to discuss it!
The third episode of True Detective: Night Country has now aired on HBO and is currently available to stream on Max in the US, Sky in the UK, and HBO Max internationally.
About True Detective: Night Country
Release Date: Jan. 14, 2024
Director and showrunner: Issa López
Writers: Issa López, Alan Page Arriaga, Namsi Khan, Chris Mundy, Katrina Albright, and Wenonah Wilms
Produced By: Princess Daazhraii Johnson, Cathy Tagnak Rexford, Sam Breckman
Executive Produced By: Issa López, Mari Jo Winkler, Barry Jenkins, Adele Romanski, and Mark Ceryak for PASTEL, Chris Mundy; Alan Page Arriaga, Steve Golin, Richard Brown, Matthew McConaughey, Woody Harrelson, Cary Joji Fukunaga, and Nic Pizzolatto
Production: Anonymous Content, HBO Entertainment
Distributed by: HBO
Cast: Jodie Foster, Kali Reis, Fiona Shaw, Finn Bennett, Isabella Star Lablanc, Aka Niviâna, Anna Lambe, and Joel D. Montgrand with Christopher Eccleston, and John Hawkes
Synopsis: When eight researchers at Tsalal Station suddenly disappear, Danvers (Jodie Foster) orders a search but tempers expectations of finding the men. After handling a workplace dispute and checking in on her sister Julia (Aka Niviâna), Navarro (Kali Reis) tries to convince a skeptical Danvers (Foster) that the men’s disappearance is connected to the murder of local activist Annie Kowtok, a case that has long gone cold.
What did you think of the new episode of True Detective: Night Country? Are you enjoying the more supernatural aspects of this season, or would you have stayed out of that completely? How do you think this will wrap up? Let us know your thoughts on our social media channels on Discord and X, and stay tuned for next week’s episode review.
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