True Detective: NIght Country made its way onto television screens on HBO on January 15, and has stunned audiences with its bleak Alaskan setting and brilliant central performances from Jodie Foster and Kali Reis as the new detectives on a brand-new case in the fourth season of the anthology series.

Liz Danvers (Foster) and Evangeline Navarro (Reis) are mismatched police officers who find themselves investigating the mysterious deaths of a group of scientists on the Tsalal research station in the chilling new setting of Ennis, Alaska. They link it to a cold case of the murder of an indigenous woman named Annie Kowtok, and unveil some potentially supernatural goings-on in the mysterious town.

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What happened in True Detective Season 4 Episode 4?

Lead character, Liz Danvers becomes obsessed with the footage of Annie Kowtok as she views it over and over, trying to find some hints at what happened to her. She also revisits footage from the moment Raymond Clark started convulsing when the lights went out at the Tsalal research station. Danvers discovers there are similarities between the lights at Tsalal station going out and the lights inside the cave flickering and eventually going dark, where Annie was being held in captivity before she was killed.

Navarro's sister Julia is having a breakdown in the middle of the road, when Danvers spots her and takes her back to the station. Navarro turns up at the station to speak with Julia and ends up dropping her off at a therapy center, in the hopes that this one will be better equipped to help her with her mental health needs. Unfortunately, Julia ends up leaving the treatment center and sits near an abandoned ship and decides to take off all her clothes, and walks into the darkness of the night and commits suicide.

Ted Connelly (Christopher Eccleston) is back on the scene and warns Danvers that she needs to get all the cases of violence under control in Ennis, Alaska. Danvers doesn't want him to take the Tsalal scientists and Annie's case off her, as she tells him the men died before they froze.

Danvers is drunk on Christmas Eve, after Leah leaves her, prompting her to focus on the case. She drinks under the influence of alcohol and turns up at Connelly's house to resume their affair. However, they get into an argument about Connelly running for mayor of Anchorage and Danvers' issues with her mental health, as he tells her nobody on the force wants to work with her.

Pete finds out some key information about a man called Otis Heiss, who suffered similar injuries to the Tsalal scientists. Danvers gets an overworked Pete to sort out a search for Otis, but Pete warns her they are very busy trying to find Raymond, and with it being Christmas Eve, nobody is available to look for Otis as well. Danvers is pretty insistent that they look for both men. Pete is a great officer, but his undying dedication to Danvers is having a negative impact on his relationship with his long-suffering wife, who isn't happy that he's working late at Christmas.

Hank is disappointed to find out his online girlfriend, Alina, hasn't arrived at the Ennis airport, after her supposed flight, but tries to play it down to Pete, but pretty much admits that he's been conned after sending her money. He asks Pete about spending Christmas with him now he has freed up his time, and spends the rest of the episode watching Elf on television in a sad mood and staring at the bed he'd set out with rose petals for Alina's expected arrival.

Danvers and Navarro visit Bryce's house to ask him about the video on Annie’s phone. Danvers makes Navarro knock on the door as she feels awkward as she'd previously had an affair with the teacher, whom his wife knows about, and they are clearly trying to work on their relationship, so her appearance on Christmas Eve is not ideal.

Danvers and Navarro think there are no caves in Ennis or at the spot where Annie’s body was discovered, but Bryce is insistent that they do exist in a place called the Brooks Range, but he warns Danvers and Navarro that the place is a potential death trap, and they should tread very lightly and probably need an expert to assist them with it. And guess what? The man who mapped the caves goes by the name of Otis Heiss.

How does True Detective Season 4 Episode 4 end?

Navarro receives the devastating news that Julia has died by suicide and reacts like only Navarro knows how to: In a fit of rage. Navarro turns up at the treatment center where her sister was staying and berates the receptionist for letting her go and proceeds to trash the place. She then tracks down the group of men she's been battling with throughout the season and starts a fight with them. It's one against three and Navarro comes off worse for wear after a violent battle with them, but they gang up on her and beat her up badly. But it is suggested this is probably what she wanted as she feels so numb to pain after Julia's suicide. She turns up at Qavvik's house and he treats her wounds.

It's December 25. Christmas Day, but nobody is feeling festive, especially a hungover Liz Danvers who is visited by a badly beaten up Navarro. Neither in the mood to celebrate, they head out to an abandoned rig to try and track down Raymond Clark. While there, they split up and Navarro sees the spirit of her recently deceased sister, Julia, while Danvers finds a man wearing the parka (which was worn by both Annie and Raymond) and it is revealed to be none other than Otis Heiss. He is extremely high on drugs, and mutters something ineligible about them being in Night Country now. Danvers tracks down Navarro, who is sitting in a state of confusion and fear in front of a Christmas tree as the episode ends.

True Detective

Mystery

Taking inspiration from the hard-boiled mystery genre, True Detective has told four separate stories about complicated men and women getting to the bottom of intense cases, all the while uncovering the darker sides of humanity. The latest season, Night Country, stars Jodie Foster and Kali Reis, and takes place in chilling Alaska.

Release Date

January 12, 2014

Creator

Nic Pizzolatto, Issa Lopez

Cast

Matthew McConaughey , Woody Harrelson , Rachel McAdams , Colin Farrell , Vince Vaughn , Stephen Dorff , Mahershala Ali , Jodie Foster , Kali Reis

Seasons

4

Streaming Service(s)

HBO Max

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