‘True Detective: Night Country’ (Season 4) Review: Confronting Deadly Ghosts in the Alaskan Darkness
After a five-year hiatus, HBO Max returns with a new story set in the fictional town of Ennis, Alaska. Created by Nic Pizzolatto, the anthology series juxtaposes true crime stories with supernatural elements. Pizzolatto takes a different approach with True Detective: Night Country and casts two female actors as the central characters. Instead of the usual brooding masculine characters, Pizzolatto introduces new female characters for a fresh start and reinvents a show that lacked the original spark of its trademark elements.
In the small town of Ennis, Alaska, the local mining company and the Indigenous community have been clashing for years. It is an open secret in Ennis that the mining company is spreading pollution into the region’s water. The TSALAL Arctic Research Station sits at the edge of the town, home to eight international scientists who analyse mysterious findings, but the entire staff has disappeared.
A few days later, a group of policemen find them frozen naked in the ice. The chief of police, Liz Danvers (Jodie Foster), finds mysterious symbols, a tongue, and a connection to the brutal death of an Indigenous woman from a few years ago. When her former partner, Evangeline Navarro (Kali Reis), a state trooper now, finds out about the new case, she is adamant about finding the truth.
True Detective: Night Country is a step in the right direction. The anthology series’ first season, helmed by Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson a decade ago, was perhaps one of the most successfully written series. But the following two seasons weren’t as remarkable.
For the fourth season, Issa López takes the mantle to direct and write the haunting murder mystery set in a fictional town in Alaska. This season is different and successful because López writes female-driven characters as the central leads for the first time. It’s a fresh turn from the brooding, masculine, and sad male characters who were the lead characters in the previous three seasons.
Also, in the fourth season, the series returns to its roots by invoking horror and supernatural elements into the narrative. Since the season is set in Alaska’s endless winter, apparitions of ghosts haunt the people in the town. This is a suitable setting for a small town covered in darkness, especially for the characters who are haunted by the unsolved murders in the past. The supernatural dread of the Alaskan winter sets a horrifying crime scene that surrounds the story’s mystery and themes.
Furthermore, a clash of personalities between Danvers and Navarro adds another layer to the narrative. Their shared history, albeit tortured, makes them a dynamic duo. Also, they are both unlikeable characters. Danvers is a brilliant detective who always asks the right questions. But she is inconsiderate towards the people around her, especially her stepdaughter, Leah (Isabella Star LaBlanc). She doesn’t have a great reputation in the town because of her affairs with married men.
On the other hand, Navarro is in a different predicament. Her obsession with the missing Indigenous midwife, Annie Kowtok (Nivi Pedersen), put a strain on her professional relationship with Danvers. They never solved the case, and Navarro took this very hard. She also takes care of her sister, Julia (Aka Niviâna), who struggles with mental health problems such as seeing hallucinations and visions. Navarro has never forgotten about Annie. Because of the new case, Danvers and Navarro are reunited, but their past traumas, secrets and bodies keep escaping from the cracks until they finally have to confront it.
López takes a brilliant chance with her new character leads. Reis is an Indigenous boxer champion-turned-actress in her second major acting role since Catch the Fair One. She brings a compelling performance. Even though this is a whole new territory for her, she carries the weight of this series. Reis’ triumphant performance is delivered with a quiet intensity that matches Foster’s exceptional portrayal. When Reis and Foster are on screen together, they are tortured, angry detectives who bring a complex and layered performance.
True Detective: Night Country is the best season of the anthology series since led by McConaughey and Harrelson — over a decade ago. The fourth season brings fresh ideas that weave into the Indigenous storyline. The plots and the conflict, especially the local mining company’s pollution against the region, fit perfectly well with Reis, LaBlanc, Niviâna, and many other characters.
In this creepy and dark series, True Detective: Night Country returns to bring tension and mysterious storylines. López brings back the familiar elements of the mood, tones, narratives, supernatural motifs, and the dreadful atmosphere that was once present in the original season. Each episode leads to a big moment that gets stranger and dangerous; it concludes with a satisfying story, but it feels rushed towards the end. It is a revolutionary (and cold) reintroduction of the spectacular series that hopefully returns with new spooky and mysterious stories like the cases in Ennis, Alaska.
Here are some reading materials to learn about the genocide and ethnic cleansing in Palestine and the BDS (Boycott, Divest, Sanction) movement:
Books about Palestine on Verso Books
Books about Palestine on Haymarket Books
