Warning! Contains major spoilers for True Detective season 4.
True Detective: Night Country‘s episode 4 drops many important clues that do not give away the central killer’s identity but leave enough room for speculation among viewers. With only two more episodes for the season to reach its conclusion, True Detective: Night Country is inching closer to its big reveal. However, instead of providing concrete answers to its overarching mysteries, the show’s episode 4 carefully adds new players to the mix to keep viewers guessing what could happen next.
Like episode 3, True Detective: Night Country‘s episode 4 avoids making too many references to season 1. In addition, although many theories surrounding the season suggest that its supernatural undertones will eventually have a logical explanation, episode 4 dives deeper into metaphysical elements. How these supernatural underpinnings will eventually align with the central murders is yet to be seen, but episode 4 effectively draws viewers in despite being relatively slower in pace.
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10 Danvers Spots A Fossil-Like Spiral In The Annie Video
Annie’s final video leads Danvers and Navarro to a set of clues
In True Detective: Night Country‘s episode 4’s opening arc, Danvers keeps re-watching Annie’s last video to understand what she had found and how she died. She particularly skims through the final frames of the video, which reveals she had discovered a fossil inside an ice cave. A closer look at the fossil also shows that it was shaped like a spiral, suggesting that Annie’s tattoo was inspired by it and the Tsalal researchers’ deaths could also have something to do with it.
9 Captain Ted Shows Up In Ennis
Ted’s arrival could disrupt the investigation
Danvers’ boss in the APF, Captain Ted, arrives in Ennis in True Detective: Night Country‘s episode 4. Although he initially assures Danvers that he is not there to take the case away from her, his arrival in the town could create problems in the investigation. True Detective: Night Country has previously highlighted how police officers like Hank tried to bury evidence surrounding Annie’s murder because it potentially created problems for the Silver Sky mine.
Since the Tsalal murders are directly connected to Annie’s death, someone will likely try to stop the investigation again before Danvers and Navarro get to the bottom of the mystery. When Danvers asks Ted about the Annie K video, he asks her to keep it on a “need to know” basis, hinting that he is already trying to keep crucial evidence under wraps. If Ennis’ powerful forces start pressuring him to stop Navarro and Danvers from further investigating the case, he might pull the plug on the entire investigation.
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8 Peter Finds Another Man With The Same Injuries As The Tsalal Researchers
Otis Heiss becomes a crucial key to solving the murder mysteries
The Tsalal researchers in True Detective: Night Country were not only frozen but also had ruptured eardrums, burned corneas, and self-inflicted bite wounds. Peter finds a man named Otis Heiss, who had reportedly sustained the same injuries in April 1998. It also seems impossible to track him down because he owns nothing, and has no official government records. The fact that Otis sustained the same injuries almost three decades before the researchers suggests that whatever killed them might have been around for a long time.
7 Danvers Theorizes Annie’s Body Was Moved After Her Murder
Annie’s video proves she was murdered in the cave
After seeing Annie’s final video on her phone, Navarro and Danvers realize that Annie was murdered in an ice cave, which lies far away from the main town. This leads them to theorize that her body was dumped in the city after she was killed. The killer must likely have done this to erase all evidence of the crime and keep whatever she had found hidden. This raises the possibility that Annie’s tongue was probably removed after she was moved to the town.
6 Hank’s Fiancé Does Not Show Up On Christmas Eve
Hank’s vulnerability might benefit the investigation
Hank’s story arc takes a tragic turn in True Detective: Night Country when his fiancé does not show up to meet him on Christmas Eve. However, surprisingly, the betrayal seemingly humbles him, and he seems a lot nicer to Peter after realizing that the woman he was messaging was scamming him. This may ultimately benefit the investigation because Hank intentionally concealed some information surrounding Annie’s case. With his newfound love and appreciation for Peter, he might eventually give away why he was holding back crucial details surrounding the murder.
5 Danvers & Navarro Learn More About The Ice Caves And The Fossil
The fossil belongs to a pre-historical whale
Danvers and Navarro visit the local school’s geology teacher to learn about the cave and the fossils in the video. He reveals that the fossil seems to be that of a pre-historical whale. When Navarro and Danvers ask him about the caves, he tries looking up their maps online and discovers that a man named Otis Heiss had previously mapped them. Danvers recalls that Otis was the man who had sustained the same injuries as the Tsalal researchers in April 1998.
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4 Navarro’s Sister, Julia, Passes Away
Julia’s death proves to be a turning point in Navarro’s life
Moments after Navarro admits Julia to a local psychiatric facility, Julia escapes and dies by suicide. Before she takes her life, Julia sees a vision of her own mother, hinting that she has the same mental health condition that took her mother. Julia’s demise deeply affects Navarro, and she starts questioning her own intuitions and vision. Although she previously had faith in her spiritual inklings, Julia’s death convinces her that she has the same “curse” that killed her sister and her mother.
3 Danvers Discovers One Important Connection Between The Tsalal & Annie Videos
The connection leads them back to Oliver
Danvers keeps rewatching Annie and the Tsalal researchers’ last videos while getting drunk on Christmas Eve. She notices that both videos had a sudden power cut towards the end. When she connects all the dots, she realizes that Oliver was the equipment engineer who likely had access to the emergency generators and might have known something about the power supply in the cave. She concludes that this may be the reason why he became defensive and angry when they talked to him about it.
Because of being drunk, Danvers is unable to accompany Navarro to Oliver’s place. Therefore, she sends Peter with her. Although Peter and Navarro find Oliver’s room deserted, Navarro discovers a cardboard box and rock with the crooked spiral symbols on them, hinting that Oliver, indeed, knew something about Annie’s murder and its connection with the researchers. It also seems likely that he left Tsalal after Annie’s death.
2 Navarro & Danvers Visit The Dredges To Look For Raymond
They surprisingly find someone else
Towards the end of True Detective: Night Country‘s episode 4, Danvers receives a call from Peter, who informs her that the local fisherman found something near the dredges. He also sends her a picture in which a man wearing Raymond Clark’s pink jacket (which previously belonged to Annie) can be seen. Despite being grief-stricken by the news of her sister’s death, Navarro accompanies Danvers to the dredges.
1 Navarro Has Another Supernatural Encounter
And Otis makes a strange, inexplicable revelation
After arriving at the dredge, Navarro and Danvers get separated when Navarro sees a dead woman floating in the water channel underneath them. While Danvers chases the man hiding in the dredge, Navarro goes down to investigate what she saw. To Danvers’ surprise, the man in the jacket turns out to be Otis Heiss, who had somehow survived all these years despite sustaining the same injuries as the researchers. The fact that Otis seems to be wearing Raymond’s jacket also suggests that he encountered him at some point.
Although Otis does not say much, he claims that Raymond is hiding in the “Night Country” and even tells Danvers that they, too, have entered the “Night Country.” Meanwhile, Navarro seems to see her dead sister’s ghost, recognizable from her blue hair and the tattoo under her collarbone. When Danvers comes out to look for Navarro, she finds her sitting on the floor with her ears bleeding.
While none of these new-found “clues” make sense, True Detective: Night Country‘s ending makes it evident that something supernatural could be at play. The “Night Country” Otis refers to could be the world that lies beyond the boundary that separates humans from the dead. Navarro’s visions seemingly give her a glimpse of the “Night Country” in True Detective season 4, and Raymond, too, might have managed to drift to the other side to find Annie.
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.
