The new season of True Detective hasn’t exactly been a field trip, focused once again on humanity’s darkest side. But Episode 4 has brought it to a whole new level. It wasn’t through bloody killings, but seven days into the long night of Ennis, Alaska, the sky has never felt darker for our characters.
It’s Christmas Eve now, and the pressures of the case are catching up to them. Still obsessed over Annie Kowtok’s last breath, captured by the video she first saw at the end of the second episode, Chief Danvers (Jodie Foster) goes out on the ice to find Evangeline Navarro’s (Kali Reis) sister Julia (Aka Niviâna) in her underwear and having one of her episodes caused by her mental health issues. That’s one too many for the trooper, and the moment she finds out, she decides to get her into a facility where they will take care of her. Not the best way to go into Christmas.
RELATED: SHŌGUN – Unleashing the Samurai Spirit on the Global Stage
As the rest of the town start preparing their Dec. 24 plans, Danvers believes she’s struck gold by analyzing the video and sends Navarro and Prior out to investigate — a selfish act that is just one too many for the rest of us. Danvers knows that Prior has trouble at home with his wife and little boy, as he’s always at work because of her, and yet she still decides (while drunk) to keep him away from the family on Christmas Eve. Why he keeps indulging her remains a mystery, but Finn Bennett’s reaction to his character’s boss’ commands says it all.
Of all the horrific things that Episode 4 of True Detective: Night Country packed in, and Issa López, who once again directs and co-writes the episode (with Namsi Khan and Chris Mundy), left some of the big ones for the end, Danvers’ reluctance to acknowledge the personal situation of her underling was one of the cruelest.
Of course, the chief is not having a fun night either, as Leah (Isabella Star LaBlanc) got into trouble again, but López does very little to excuse her behavior — probably intentionally. It’s hard to see this panning out in any other scenario than Kayla (Anna Lambe) leaving Prior (can you really blame her?), but it’s also becoming increasingly difficult for us to make a case for him.
To discuss this further, we’ll raise a spoiler warning for our readers who haven’t seen the episode yet, which has already aired on HBO and is available to watch on Max in North America, Sky in the UK, and HBO Max internationally.
Spoiler Warning for True Detective: Night Country Episode 4
The emotional heavyweight of this episode is, of course, the death of Navarro’s sister, which was beautifully handled by López’s direction and the episode’s writing. It was as devastating to see it happen as it was to see Navarro’s reaction and the anger she showed right after. That is until she went to Eddie’s (Joel Montgrand) house.
Once again, True Detective: Night Country showed that some of the most interesting characters are the partners of the main investigators, Kayla and Eddie. I loved how he perfectly understood the situation without Evangeline having to explain herself.
On the flip side, the most predictable scenario of the season also paid off, as John Hawkes’ Hank was scammed by a younger woman, or at least someone who pretended to be. He probably deserved it, though. I wonder if this will serve as a lesson for his son at some point to appreciate what he has with Kayla.
The Dead Speak!
It may not have been the biggest moment for me in the episode, but we have to talk about those final moments when Danvers finds Otis Heiss (Klaus Tange) inside the abandoned ship. For those keeping track, he was the person who turned up when Prior started looking for folks with similar injuries to the Tsalal scientists. It’s unclear how big of a deal this will be for the last two episodes yet, but there were even reveals inside that ship.
Last week, I already speculated that for Issa López to make an even harder point on the supernatural aspect of the season, we needed Chief Danvers to actually witness something she couldn’t deny. As skeptical as she is about the Indigenous traditions and their beliefs, for us to fully accept that there might be more than meets the eye in the new season we needed her to see something she couldn’t explain.
A few moments before she finds Navarro in a trance, we find out that back when the two had their falling out over a case of domestic violence they couldn’t prevent, Navarro saw the ghost of the woman they failed to save. There are two ways out now for Issa López, as we enter the third act of the story. Will she embrace those metaphysical ties, or will she write herself out of them and find non-ambiguous explanations for the murders while also leaving the door open for something else?
Episode 4 of True Detective: Night Country is available to stream now on Max.
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.
How you think this season of True Detective: Night Country will end, with two episodes more to go, is something I’m fascinated to find out. Let us know your thoughts on our social media channels on Discord and Twitter, and stay tuned for next week’s episode review.
KEEP READING: WTF the Mind-Blowing ARGYLLE Post-Credit Scene Means
