« True Detective: Night Country » focuses on the mystery of eight men who have vanished from an Alaska research station.
This article discusses plot points in Episode 1 of “True Detective: Night Country,” titled “Part 1.”
After a five-year absence, “True Detective” is back, and it’s as ominous as ever. Jodie Foster and Kali Reis are the dynamic duo leading Season 4, and there are faint echoes of the prior seasons in this wholly original chapter. Written and directed by “Tigers Are Not Afraid” filmmaker Issa López, this Alaska-set missing persons tale focuses on eight men who have vanished from a research station. Need some postgame analysis to understand what just happened? Variety has you covered.
What did we learn in the premiere?
Liz Danvers (Foster) and Evangeline Navarro (Reis) are in law enforcement in the fictional mining town of Ennis, Alaska, who are brought together while investigating the men who disappeared from a local arctic research station, TSALAL. The mystery forces the two former partners to team up.
Along the way, the detectives interact with various citizens in the small town, which is in a period of 24/7 darkness due to a phenomenon called “polar night.” Notable inhabitants include father-son police duo Hank (John Hawkes) and Peter Prior (Finn Bennett); Peter’s put-upon wife Kayla (Anna Lambe) and their young child; Liz’s rebellious stepdaughter Leah (Isabella Star LaBlanc); Evangeline’s troubled sister Jules (Aka Niviâna); and distressed town drunk Stacy (Ólafía Hrönn Jónsdóttir).
What does a cold case have to do with the mass disappearance?
Evangeline can’t shake the unsolved murder of Native midwife and activist Annie Kowtok, whose body was missing a tongue when it was discovered. The most shocking piece of evidence at the research center? A severed tongue.
