True Detective: Night Country Review: The Best Season Since The First
"True Detective" has been a rough beast. The first season felt like it came out of nowhere, and proceeded to blow our minds in the process. Arriving at the height of The McConaissance, when Matthew McConaughey stopped making awful rom-coms and reminded us all he was a great actor, the first season, created by Nic Pizzolatto and helmed entirely by Cary Joji Fukunaga, was the very definition of must-see TV. A strange, funny, existential bit of pulp, the series featured McConaughey and Woody Harrelson as mismatched cops looking into ritualistic murders. That first season occasionally hinted at the supernatural while never fully embracing it, and despite its bleaker-than-bleak nature, ended on a surprisingly hopeful note. After all, that season concluded with McConaughey's miserable Rust Cohle commenting: "Well, once there was only dark. You ask me, the light's winning."
Season 1 was so beloved that season 2 faced an uphill battle. For its sophomore season, Pizzolatto traded the Southern Gothic of season 1 for L.A. Noir, and seemingly alienated everyone in the process. The second season was derided by critics and fans alike, although I'm here to tell you it's better than you remember. Indeed, while season 3 of the show was more well-received and intended to be a return to form, I can barely remember anything that happens during its length even though I watched it, whereas the majority of season 2 is burned into my brain.
Now here comes season 4, titled "True Detective: Night Country." On the surface, this latest season is a drastic departure from season 1. For one thing, Pizzolatto is gone. Instead, this new season was created, directed, and almost entirely written by "Tigers Are Not Afraid" filmmaker Issa López. Rather than the sweaty South, "Night Country" is set in the freezing North — Alaska, to be specific. And while season 1's primary focus was on male characters (indeed, one of that season's criticisms was in how it handled its female characters), season 4 is driven by women. But once you start to dig into the show, you see that "Night Country" is still following a similar playbook. It also ends up being the best season since the first.
Chilling horror
Like Rust Cohle in season 1, season 4's Liz Danvers is a bit of an outcast, in that everyone seems to dislike her and her particularly abrasive nature. As played by Jodie Foster, Danvers is the chief of police of Ennis, Alaska, the kind of small town where everybody knows everybody. As the season begins, it's December, and the sun is about to set — and not rise again until after the new year. This perpetual darkness sets the mood for the season, with its chillingly cold locales that are frequently illuminated by seasonally appropriate Christmas lights (like many good filmmakers, López understands that Christmas lights look really cool on film).
Our central mystery this time around involves a group of scientists from a research base (one that looks an awfully lot like the base from John Carpenter's "The Thing") who go missing. They don't stay missing for long, though — their nude bodies are soon discovered frozen into what the characters refer to as a "corpsicle," which makes for some truly nightmarish imagery. What happened to the men? That's the big question of the season, and local cop Evangeline Navarro (Kali Reis) seems to think the mystery has something to do with a cold case involving a murdered woman. Liz and Evangeline worked together once, but now they seem to dislike each other — then again, everyone dislikes Liz, including her stepdaughter (Isabella Star LaBlanc). The only person who seems willing to put up with her is eager-to-please cop Peter Prior (Finn Bennett), who works alongside his grumpy, love-lorn father (a somewhat underutilized John Hawkes).
Foster is predictably great here. The role isn't what you'd call challenging, but it's fun to watch her play such a prickly character, and much of the humor of the season arises from how Liz butts up against seemingly everyone in town. The true standout of the season, though, is Reis, a boxer-turned-actor with a killer amount of screen presence. Sure enough, despite their differences, Liz and Evangeline are soon working together, trying to crack the case, and it's a treat to watch Foster and Reis bounce off each other as they tumble further down the rabbit hole.
The light's winning
While season 4 strives to forge its own path, as mentioned above, it's still using the season 1 playbook. We have two mismatched cops, one of whom is disliked by all; we have a central mystery that leads into even bigger mysteries; and then we have the hint of the supernatural lurking around the edges of the frame. Some folks were bothered that season 1 never fully committed to its supernatural elements, and if you're one of them, good news! Season 4 isn't shy about embracing things that go bump in the night. Indeed, there are moments here that are scarier than any recent horror film, and they pair nicely with the season's bone-chilling atmosphere.
There's also a distinct sadness that blankets the show — the type of sadness that feels explicit to winter; a sadness that seeps into your bones like cold air through poorly insulated windows. The scripts, penned primarily by López, with additional work by Alan Page Arriaga, Namsi Khan and Chris Mundy, Katrina Albright & Wenonah Wilms, also take time to focus on the indigenous peoples of the location, particularly indigenous women. Not all of these subplots are successful though — a running story about Danvers' stepdaughter trying to embrace her heritage feels undercooked and never really resolves itself.
The season is creepy, moody, and effective. But it's never dour, nor hopeless. Rust Cohle once said "the light's winning," and while it can be hard to think of the light while plunged into the eternal darkness of "Night Country," López and company work hard to find a sliver of humanity beneath all the horror. There are moments this season that choked me up emotionally in a way no previous season of "True Detective" has before, resulting in a rich, rewarding experience. If you were left disappointed by seasons 2 and 3, have faith — "True Detective" is back and better than ever.
/Film Rating: 8 out of 10
"True Detective: Night Country" premieres January 14, 2024 on HBO and will be available to stream on Max.