‘True Detective: Night Country’ reveals whodunit in a finale more about the why and how

Review by Brian Lowry, CNN

(CNN) — Editor’s note: The following contains spoilers about the “True Detective: Night Country” finale.

The “True Detective: Night Country” finale revealed the mystery at the show’s core, which turned out to be less about whodunit than the how and why it was done. That finish incorporated not just local politics, corporate corruption and environmentalism, but resolving a separate cold case, a term with a double meaning given the chilly Alaskan surroundings.

Despite the supernatural tone that permeated this fourth edition of the HBO anthology series, the seven men who died from that Arctic Research Station were killed by people, not monsters. In fact, they were the real monsters, having jointly participated in the murder of Annie, an indigenous woman who had worked at the facility, seeking to cover up what she had learned about their work.

Realizing what happened to Annie, and skeptical that the police would pursue justice, the women who worked with her took matters into their own hands, forcing the Tsalal researchers into the snow at gunpoint and ordering them to shed their clothes before they fled into the cold to meet their fates. Laying out what transpired with a knowing look, Bee (L’xeis Diane Benson) calmly said of their deaths, “Honey, they did it to themselves.”

Having finally deciphered what happened, Danvers (Jodie Foster) and Navarro (Kali Reis) chose to let the investigation end there. “This case is officially closed,” Danvers said, later telling the authorities, “Some questions just don’t have answers.”

Granted, a lot more than that transpired, including Danvers and Navarro’s strange visions of their respective pasts and the latter’s disappearance. A leaked video spelled out the cost of the area’s mining operation in the form of higher cancer rates and birth defects within the community, bringing that aspect of the story a semblance of closure too.

Yet even once those facts were laid bare, exposing the second murders as payback for the first, the weighty spiritualism and surreal imagery hung over the revelations unveiled in the last 15 minutes. Part of that had to do with the abundant time devoted to less interesting supporting players, an attribute also true of the finale, written and directed by showrunner Issa López.

“Night Country” had its moments thanks largely to Foster’s portrayal of her damaged, world-weary character, while perhaps inevitably ranking far behind the first arc of “True Detective,” and the third as well. If the payoff was plausible, it nevertheless felt somewhat strained after the buildup and eerie start.

In fact, the season overall proved less satisfying than another six-part series built around a murder mystery that began and ended, by happenstance, on the same nights: “Monsieur Spade,” which didn’t receive as much attention primarily because the detective show played on AMC as opposed to HBO. (Like CNN, HBO is a unit of Warner Bros. Discovery.)

The TV world has grown more complicated since “True Detective” made its debut a decade ago, but occupying the right platform still has its privileges.

The-CNN-Wire
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