‘True Detective: Night Country’ and How Secrets Bond People Forever
Zofia Wijaszka
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This article contains spoilers for True Detective: Night Country.
There is no doubt that the True Detective: Night Country creator Issa López delivers a thought-provoking, tragic, and arresting latest season of the Max original. While season four of the series centers on the crime at hand, the show also delves into the relationship between Jodie Foster’s Liz Danvers and Keli Reis’ Evangeline Navarro. Throughout the series, the audience learns about the pair’s common past, particularly regarding their dark secret that influences how they act, work, and communicate with one another. The ever-changing interactions and dynamic between Danvers and Navarro in Night Country develop with each episode, contributing to the show’s already multifaceted nature.
True Detective: Night Country tells the story of the disappearance of eight scientists. When the researchers from the Tsalal Arctic Research Station in Ennis, Alaska, vanish without a trace, Liz Danvers (Foster) takes charge of the investigation. The admirable but rude cop must team up with Navarro, an Indigenous and Dominican ex-military officer. Both women lay their emotions aside and embark on a mission to solve the case. It quickly becomes clear that the situation is far from easy. As the investigation commences, concerns regarding another woman’s disappearance from years ago emerge, prompting the pair to reopen the cold case.
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The women proceed to work together, which provides an opportunity for Danvers to listen and Navarro to share. From the moment we’re introduced to both characters, the cultural differences between the two are one of the first things to notice. Fosters’ character is wildly ignorant towards Navarro and her religious and spiritual beliefs. At times, the comments Danvers makes even border on racism. Liz exhibits similar ignorant behavior with her stepdaughter, Leah (Isabella Star LaBlanc), whom Danvers now raises as her own. But both Leah and Navarro, a member of the Iñupiaq Nation, stand by their traditions and beliefs. Navarro seeks openness, especially as Evangeline faces visions of Danvers’ son, Holden, who died years ago. Danvers, however, won’t talk about him; the topic is extremely triggering for her.
Episode after episode, it’s evident that both are overly ambitious, short-tempered, and impetuous. One thing the two have in common, despite their numerous differences, is that they care deeply about their profession and will go to any length to find answers. Both won’t hesitate to save or help someone, whether it’s rookie cop Peter Prior (Finn Bennett) or another Ennis citizen. Danvers eventually gets to know Navarro better. She even learns more about her family history, especially after saving Evangeline’s sister, Julia (Aka Niviâna), from unintentional hypothermia.
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As the show delves deeper into its characters’ psyches, the creators reveal the women’s shared history and the reasons for their initial animosity toward one another. The show implies that Navarro and Danvers have a long relationship, but a fallout caused them to split professionally. Both women were the first to respond to a crime scene where a man named Wheeler had murdered his wife.
As Danvers recounts the story to Peter, a flashback transports him to the actual events. While Danvers maintains that the man shot himself and his wife before they reached the crime scene, the flashback shows that Wheeler was still alive when they arrived. The creators toy with the viewer throughout the show, but we eventually find out that it was Navarro who shot Wheeler. The flashback continues to illustrate how Danvers helps Navarro and later tampers with the evidence to make it look like a suicide.
When the characters’ histories are gradually revealed, we also continue to follow them in the present, working frantically to solve the crime. In the last episode, “Part 6,” written and directed by López, Danvers allows herself to roam the spiritual realm, connecting with Navarro more than before. After a tragic accident puts Liz on the edge of hypothermia and possibly death, Danvers ultimately becomes courageous enough to face what her partner has to say about her son. The woman listens, then opens to Navarro, and discusses Holden’s accident while giving Navarro space to share her spiritual experience.
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As the creators expose the shocking truth about Annie K’s death and how she was killed by the same scientists who freeze to death, we see that, despite their differences and dissimilar backgrounds, Danvers and Navarro respect not only each other but also the women of Ennis. They yet again hide the truth for the greater good, eventually attributing men’s deaths to sub-zero temperatures. Flashback further showcases how the Indigenous women of Ennis took it upon themselves to avenge Annie’s death.
Following the devastating season finale, one can see that both characters may have more in common than what separates them. In addition to the show’s incredibly important, thought-provoking aspect—the story of Annie K which provokes discussion about Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women—the audience sees a narrative about sisterhood. In this world, no matter the tragedy, it’s possible to come together, work together, and eventually succeed together.
True Detective: Night Country and all the previous seasons are currently streaming on Max.
Categorized:Editorials
