"True Detective" tends to stun in its penultimate episodes. There's Matthew McConaughey's discovery of the Yellow King in Season 1, or the last step towards finding Julie Purcell in Season 3. "True Detective" Season 4, Episode 5 delivers a couple key clues lurking just beneath the surface (literally) and kills off two important characters, but it falls short of an all-timer episode of TV.
Episode 5 was directed by Issa López, who co-wrote alongside "Ozark" showrunner Chris Mundy and genre scribes Katrina Albright ("Shining Girls") and Wenonah Wilms ("Darby and the Dead"). Maybe it's a case of too many cooks in the kitchen, but this week's "True Detective" darts jarringly from classic crime fare (corrupt officials) to supernatural stuff (more visions) that's gone unexplained so long it's beginning to wear thin. The best part about the show continues to be the cinematography, the discovery of Kali Reis and Jodie Foster's sheer magnetism.
So when the titular night country is finally revealed and our detectives race to reach the point of no return, it just doesn't hit like it used to. In the below "True Detective" Season 4, Episode 5 recap, we run through each very last-minute reveal you might have missed, then connect the dots on Annie, Tsalal and the mine. Finally, we offer up our predictions for next week's finale.
Warning: Spoilers ahead for "True Detective" Season 4, Episode 5.
Connelly Shuts Down the Tsalal Investigation
HBO
Otis Heiss is in The Lighthouse withdrawing from heroin. He didn't kill Annie or the Tsalal scientists. A crazed Clark sought him out to learn how he survived his accident 30 years ago, which indicates that Clark suffered similar injuries (ruptured eardrums, burned corneas) right alongside his Tsalal co-workers but somehow got free of the corpsicle. That would mean Clark didn't kill anybody, either.
In any case, Otis was mapping an ice cave on the Silver Sky mine property in the 1980s when it collapsed on him and a few other men, who began mindlessly walking towards a "screaming, howling" sound. Next thing he knew, he was in the hospital. Danvers and Navarro go to Otis' cave only to find that the mine suspiciously filled the entrance.
Then, Pete finds a damning paper trail: The mine bankrolls Tsalal and, in return, Tsalal publishes bogus pollution stats to keep the mine in business. (Alas, looks like the Tuttle United shell company was purely a Season 1 easter egg and nothing more connective.)
With footage of Danvers and Navarro scoping out the cave, Kate McKittrick, in league with Connelly, shuts down the Tsalal investigation to protect the mine. Anchorage forensics is blaming the Tsalal deaths on an avalanche — a nod to the bizarre true story that inspired "Night Country." If Danvers challenges the official story, Connelly threatens to expose her and Navarro's illegal shooting of William Wheeler. It's worth noting that the Silver Sky mine logo is a 6-pointed star, like Annie's star-shaped stab wounds.
The 'Night Country' Is an Underground Cave System
In more local corruption news, we learn that Hank was always in Kate's pocket. When Annie was murdered in the Silver Sky ice cave, Hank moved her dead body to the villages in exchange for money (wasted on his scammer bride) and the Chief of Police position (foiled when Connelly unexpectedly sent Danvers to Ennis).
Hank insists he's not a murderer, but he agrees to get rid of Otis Heiss before the guy leads Danvers to Annie's cave. This time, Kate promises she can make him Chief of Police. (Does she plan on killing or firing Danvers, who we know had an affair with Kate's husband on top of it all?)
With Kovic's help, Navarro learns that there's an entire system of ice caves beneath Ennis that people call "the night country." Hunters leave spiral symbols (like Oliver Tugack's stone) as warnings for others not to step on thin ice that could trap them in the caves. Later, while scattering her sister's ashes, Navarro has a vision and begins walking towards the sea as if she's spellbound. Rose Agineau saves her from falling through the ice.
Pete Chooses Danvers Over His Dad
HBO
Danvers is no dummy. She spots Hank tailing her and knows instantly that he's doing the mine's bidding. He's the one who told Connelly about the Wheeler case. But how does Hank know? He broke into Pete's laptop and found the same inaccuracies his son was researching. In one of the best scenes of the season, Danvers comes clean to Pete. She and Navarro killed William Wheeler and later found out he's not the one who beat his wife to death. (Wheeler was left-handed, and his wife's blows came from right to left.)
When they realized their mistake, Danvers and Navarro flipped evidence photos to suit their narrative, then "lost" case files in the flood. Pete is disappointed to learn about Danvers' cover-up, but he's even more disgusted by his dad's all-out corruption. When his wife kicks him out, Pete moves into the guest house in Danvers' backyard.
Meanwhile, Danvers goes rogue to solve the Annie case with Navarro. She bribes Otis Heiss with heroin and takes him back to her house, where he points out Annie's cave on the map. Just then, Hank busts in and shoots Otis dead. Before he can kill Danvers, Pete enters and shoots Hank in the head.
Devastated as they may be, Navarro arrives to whip Danvers and Pete into shape lest the kid do jail time. They're going to make it look like Hank took Otis from The Lighthouse and killed him, then fell through the ice and died. Rose will help Pete throw the bodies into the sea, never to be found. The episode ends with Danvers and Navarro (finally) driving out to the ice cave where Annie was murdered. If Otis is to be believed, they'll find Clark down there.
Finale Predictions
It's a bit of a stretch that Ennis' best minds, Danvers and Navarro, didn't know about the town's underground cave system. It's well-known among Native hunters, who would rather keep it secret than provide the info to help solve the murder of one of their own, Annie K. Along with Clark, we think Oliver Tugack, the hunter and ex-Tsalal engineer who likely installed a generator in the cave where Annie died, will play a key role in next week's finale.
It's safe to say fear kept the hunters quiet. Next week's resolution depends on whether everyone's been afraid of the supernatural or a bunch of evil mine executives. Two theories for who killed the Tsalal scientists and Annie:
The Crooked Spiral Theory: If the show doesn't shy away from the supernatural like previous seasons of "True Detective" did, then we think the whale fossil unleashed evil on Ennis when it was uncovered. What does that look like? Malevolent spirits blasting out people's eardrums (Otis, the Tsalal scientists, Navarro) and leading them to their deaths (Annie K., Jules).
That fossil could've driven Clark mad; it could've shown up in Annie's dreams as the crooked spiral, which she ultimately had tattooed on her back. Maybe someone wishing to keep the fossil a secret murdered her and made it look like a politically-motivated killing. This theory accounts for Navarro's blasted eardrums last episode, which somehow was never addressed this week (?).
The Orange Theory: If the supernatural is not in play, the only way we can make sense of "True Detective: Night Country" is if Ennis is literally under a mass hallucination caused by pollution of some sort. It sounds nuts, but maybe the poisoned water from the mine has led to illness that affects the mind. (Danvers has seen visions, too!) Or maybe the source of the disease comes from whatever microorganism the Tsalal scientists dredged up.
One clue that supports the disease theory is the recurring image of the orange, consumed by sailors to avoid scurvy and other diseases. On Twitter, showrunner Issa López hinted that we'd "learn more about" oranges in the series. Maybe a blast of Vitamin C is all it takes to ward off evil in Ennis. Is that why Hank's hillbilly search party had backpacks full of oranges?
Either way, the finale has a lot to answer for: Who killed Annie, the Tsalal scientists and Wheeler's wife? What smoking gun did Annie find? Why did Clark go into the Night Country? Where's Oliver Tugack, and why was he so worried about Lund dying? And, above all, what's causing everybody's hallucinations?
The "True Detective: Night Country" finale premieres Sunday, Feb. 18 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on HBO and Max.
