Congratulations are in order for all the "True Detective" sleuths out there. Season 4 just opened up a whole new can of worms regarding the powerful Tuttle family cult and the origins of the crooked spiral — a moment we've waited literally a decade for. Plus, it's pretty much confirmed that Travis is the father of Matthew McConaughey's Rust Cohle from Season 1. Will we get a McConaughey cameo in "Night Country"? Read on for a full "True Detective" Season 4, Episode 2 recap and theory dive.
This week picks up with the Episode 1 discovery of the (mostly) dead scientists from the Tsalal Arctic Research Station. They're frozen together in a massive corpsicle worthy of Michelangelo. When the deep connections between the Tsalal murders and the death of Annie K. come to light, Danvers (Jodie Foster) and Navarro (Kali Reis) reluctantly call a truce and agree to work together.
The Tsalal revelations pale in comparison to the truly jaw-dropping clues about the fabric of the "True Detective" universe provided in this episode. The Tuttle family business, which funds Tsalal's research into miracle microorganisms, extends from Louisiana to Alaska. It seems McConaughey's Season 1 battle with the Tuttles and all their governors and church leaders may have been in vain. What's more, we learn that the crooked spiral is more ancient and powerful than previously thought.
In the below "True Detective" Season 4, Episode 2 recap, we cover every beat of the main mystery you might have missed. Then, we offer our theories on who killed the Tsalal scientists and Annie K., and we dig in to the crooked spiral's continued relevance.
Warning: Spoilers ahead for "True Detective" Season 4, Episode 2.
Plot Summary: One Scientist Is Alive, and One Is Missing
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The naked scientists are buried up to their necks in the ice. One man is miraculously still alive: He lets out a horrifying screech when a detective accidentally breaks his arm off, "Snowpiercer" style. He's put into an induced coma for surgery and amputations. We'll see what he has to say next week — that is, if he survives.
Captain Connelly (Christopher Eccleston), who's been Danvers' on-again, off-again flame for 19 years and originally appointed her to Ennis, wants to hand the case to the better-resourced Anchorage P.D. But Danvers defies him. She has the fragile corpsicle transferred to the Ennis hockey rink to thaw.
Danvers visits another former flame, the high school geology teacher Bryce (Donnie Keshawarz). He explains that the Tsalal scientists spent decades trying to extract DNA from a "game-changer" microorganism in the ice. It could've held the cure to cancer, but the whole endeavor was useless: The process of ice coring would've damaged the genetic material beyond use.
Then why was Tsalal able to continue its useless research? Maybe it has something to do with the facility's backer. We learn that Tsalal was funded by a shell company belonging to Tuttle United, which in turn is probably run by the Tuttle cult family from "True Detective" Season 1. The Tuttles headed a child sex trafficking and murder ring in Louisiana for decades, branding their victims with the crooked spiral (more on this in the theory section below).
In the episode's second major revelation, Rose (Fiona Shaw) refers to her ghost as Travis Cohle. He's likely the father of Matthew McConaughey's Rust Cohle from "True Detective" Season 1: Rust's dad was named Travis, and he lived in Alaska. During Season 1, Rust returned to Alaska sometime in the early 2000s before heading back to Louisiana. That could've been around the time that Travis committed suicide after his cancer diagnosis. What's more, Rust said he felt his father's presence while in a coma in the Season 1 finale. If we follow Rose's ghost logic, Travis might have been trying to tell Rust something important — like the fact that the Tuttle cult stretches to Alaska. In any case, McConaughey has said he'd only reprise his role in another season given "the right context."
Danvers (Foster) and Navarro (Reis) finally join forces when it's confirmed that the case is tied up with the murder of Annie K. DNA shows the severed tongue at Tsalal indeed belonged to Annie (someone froze it to preserve it). The scientists wear Annie's pink parka and hat in various videos. And Lund was found with a crooked spiral drawn on his forehead. Annie had the crooked spiral tattooed on her back.
In the biggest plot reveal of the episode, we learn that one scientist, Clark (Owen McDonnell), had a secret love affair with Annie. There's a photo of the pair naked together. And after Annie's death in 2017, Clark had the crooked spiral tattooed on his chest, probably in her memory. Clark had been going crazy in recent months, stripping naked and speaking to himself.
Clark kept a secret trailer for his dalliances with Annie. It's filled with animal bones and yarn figures reminiscent of the stick figures in Seasons 1 and 3. Danvers and Navarro find Annie's cell phone in the trailer, along with a crooked spiral mural and a life-size cloth doll on the bed.
When the corpsicle thaws, Pete (Finn Bennett) realizes there are only six scientists present. Clark's body was never found, and Navarro has a gut feeling he's still alive.
Theory: Clark Killed the Scientists
A possibility: The Tsalal scientists murdered Annie. Why? Maybe the mine backs their research, and Annie's protests were getting in the way. Or maybe the Tuttle sex cult had been operating through Tsalal and Annie was a victim threatening to go public. That would explain her crooked spiral tattoo.
In any case, the scientists were found naked — just like Clark had been stripping down and saying crazy things in recent months. Maybe Clark was seeing Annie's ghost, which would explain his spooky "she's awake" whisper documented on video. Maybe Annie somehow communicated to Clark that his colleagues were behind her death and he took revenge, marking Lund with the crooked spiral.
The Crooked Spiral Is 'Older Than the Ice'
Michele K. Short/HBO
In the "True Detective" universe, pedophile rings like the Tuttle cult brand their victims with the crooked spiral. But Rose says the crooked spiral is some sort of primordial symbol to be avoided at all costs. "It's old, missy. Older than Ennis. It's older than the ice, probably," she tells Navarro.
Navarro's Mother Was Insane (Or Saw Ghosts)
In flashback, we see Navarro's mother screaming and pointing at something unseen. Jules (Aka Niviâna) claims to see ghosts, and Navarro is worried her sister suffers from their mother's affliction. Rose warns that mental illness and a connection to the spirit world are two different things.
Danvers Had a Son Who Died
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From what we've seen in flashback, we think Danvers' ex-husband Jake and their young son were killed in a drunk driving accident. Leah (Isabella LaBlanc) is probably Jake's daughter from his first marriage.
Who Is Kate and Why Does She Hate Danvers?
It sounds like Kate is a higher-up at the mine. She hates Navarro for fighting with mine workers during the Annie K. investigation, and she hates Danvers for having an affair with her former husband. That's the third man Danvers is known to have slept with — and the second married one. No wonder Ennis has largely shunned her.
Hank and Blair Have Something to Do With It
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Hank (John Hawkes) was a little too angry to learn that Pete stole Annie's case file. And Blair, the factory worker with the abusive husband, looked deeply disturbed when Danvers showed her the crooked spiral. They know something!
New episodes of "True Detective" Season 4 premiere Sundays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on HBO and Max.
