Warning! Contains major spoilers for True Detective season 4.
One True Detective: Night Country story kicked off on a weird note, but there has to be a logical end to it. As per one plausible theory, it might lead to the season’s most shocking twist. Created by Issa López, True Detective: Night Country is the first installment of the series that has not been helmed by Nic Pizzolatto. Owing to this, even though it features several nods to season 1, it seems significantly different from the show’s previous installments.
Like all other seasons, True Detective: Night Country centers its narrative around one gripping murder while walking through the personal struggles of two detectives. But despite having a similar narrative framework to seasons 1, 2, and 3, True Detective season 4 creates its own identity by merging its overarching storyline with elements of horror and introducing compelling subplots. One subplot, however, seems a little too strange and out of place.
True Detective: Night Country Creates A Researcher Plot Hole With New Death Explanation
True Detective season 4 is weaving a complex web of mysteries. One development around the researchers’ deaths, however, doesn’t quite add up.
Hank Prior Being Scammed By His Russian Bride-To-Be Is True Detective: Night Country’s Weirdest Story
Unlike the central murder mysteries and character backstories, Hank’s scam storyline seemingly lacks an end goal
True Detective: Night Country‘s primary appeal comes from its central mystery, which revolves around the mysterious deaths of a group of researchers. However, the season also has other subplots that play a crucial role in keeping viewers engaged. For instance, Danvers and Navarro’s backstory and the reason behind their fall-out are intriguing secondary storylines in True Detective season 4 that provide depth to their respective characterizations and enrich the show’s overall narrative. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about Hank Prior’s arc in the HBO series.
Since the initial moments of the season, Hank’s narrative has primarily revolved around him obsessing over a Russian woman, who he claims is his fiancé. Although Hank seems confident about his relationship and even sends money to the woman when she asks him for it, episode 4 reveals that he was being scammed all along. Hank’s heartbreak story somehow makes him seem more pitiable and loathsome at the same time, but its true purpose in True Detective: Night Country remains unknown. This makes it a weird addition to a series that is supposed to focus on crime and murder.
Hank Is True Detective: Night Country’s Biggest Main Character Problem
Hank’s True Detective: Night Country narrative comes off as a missed opportunity
Despite being among the leading characters in True Detective: Night Country, Hank seems underdeveloped. So far, he has had little to no involvement in the central murder mystery, and his story primarily revolves around his toxic relationship with his son and his unfortunate heartbreak. Although True Detective: Night Country has hinted that he may be working for the people who run the mine, his arc still feels incomplete because the show has not devoted enough time to explaining his motivations or purpose.
It is known that Hank intentionally held back evidence surrounding the Annie K case and was also deadset on killing Raymond Clark, suggesting that someone from the mines’ higher authorities was using him as a pawn to clear their trail of blood. Considering how True Detective is known for focusing more on its primary detective characters and less on its villains, it also makes sense that the identity of the overarching villains is still a mystery. However, Hank is somewhere in the gray area between the good and evil characters of the series, making his development necessary.
True Detective: Night Country had the opportunity to delve deeper into Hank’s past and portray how, despite not wanting to be like his father, Peter, too, is gradually treading the same path as him. By establishing that history is repeating itself, True Detective season 4 could have reinstated season 1’s best quote: “Time is a flat circle.” Unfortunately, the season seems to be wasting this opportunity, which makes Hank’s arc its biggest main character problem.
True Detective: Night Country Tried To Recreate Rust & Marty’s Best Season 1 Moment (But Failed)
True Detective: Night Country seemingly tried to recreate one Rust and Marty season 1 moment, but unfortunately, it failed due to several reasons.
One Theory Reveals Danvers Is Pranking Hank in True Detective: Night Country
Danvers pranking Hank could be a compelling plot twist, making Hank’s arc more meaningful
A True Detective: Night Country theory could possibly make the Hank subplot a little more relevant for the overarching storyline. According to this theory, Jodie Foster’s Liz Danvers has been pranking Hank by pretending to be his Russian fiancé. In many early scenes of the season, Danvers openly expresses her hate towards Hank and even calls him a terrible detective. She also probably knows how he treats Peter, which might have given her a solid reason to get back at him by scamming him and teaching him a lesson.
In True Detective: Night Country‘s early episodes, Danvers constantly received notifications on her phone. Every time someone asked her what the notifications were about, she gave a different answer, hinting that she was hiding something. This could mean the notifications were from Hank messaging her, who fell for her prank and believed she was his Russian bride-to-be. As seen in True Detective: Night Country‘s episode 4, the betrayal from the scam has already broken Hank. If he finds out someone he knows is behind it, the news might completely change the direction of his arc.
What Else Could Hank Being Scammed In True Detective: Night Country Be Setting Up?
Hank getting scammed could make or break him as a character
Hank getting scammed in True Detective: Night Country could progress into two alternative narrative directions. It might trigger a change in Hank, prompting him to become a better father and law enforcer. Or, it could tip him further towards the dark side, where he may create even bigger problems in the central investigation. If the former happens, Hank might eventually open up about what he knew about Annie and her death and who asked him to conceal evidence surrounding her murder. This, in turn, might give him a semblance of redemption, ending his arc on a high note.
In contrast, if the latter comes true in True Detective: Night Country‘s last two episodes, Hank will likely attempt to hide all the evidence that Danvers and Navarro have gathered over time. This will have dire consequences, given how Danvers and Navarro are deadset on solving the case and getting to the bottom of how Annie’s death is connected to the Tsalal murders. Regardless of how Hank’s storyline will end in True Detective: Night Country, it is hard not to hope that the show will deliver a satisfying resolution that does justice to John Hawkes’ commendable portrayal of the character.
True Detective
In this anthology series, each season follows a different detective or set of detectives as they forced to confront some horrific truths about their town and themselves. No matter the setting and characters, each detective must unravel lies and clues to solve the chilling mysteries around them.
- Release Date
- January 12, 2014
- Cast
- Matthew McConaughey , Woody Harrelson , Colin Farrell , Rachel McAdams , Taylor Kitsch , Mahershala Ali , Carmen Ejogo , Michelle Monaghan , Michael Potts , Ray Fisher , Jodie Foster
- Seasons
- 4
- Writers
- Nic Pizzolatto
- Network
- HBO Max
- Streaming Service(s)
- Hulu , HBO Max
- Directors
- Cary Fukunaga
- Showrunner
- Nic Pizzolatto
- Where To Watch
- Max
