True Detective: Night CountryLast week’s premiere signaled a return to the series, introducing a chilling (pun intended) mystery in the form of the disappearance of a group of Arctic explorers and a compelling pair of protagonists in the form of Chief Liz Danvers (Jodie Foster). and soldier Evangeline Navarro (Kali Reis). Your case is both linear and literal miles away from the one True detective covered in Season 1. And yet the series continues to reflect key details from that season, complete with all those supernatural elements and of course that goddamn creepy-looking spiral. What does all this mean? Follow me into my Rust Cohle-shaped hole as I obsessively connect the dots.
[Ed. note: spoilers for True Detective: Night Country episode 2.]
The first and most prominent reference to the previous seasons of True detective is the crooked spiral, a symbol tattooed on the forehead of one of the Tsalal victims found frozen in the ice by Chief Danvers and her team. The symbol is a direct allusion to the first season’s events involving a Louisiana-based sex cult investigated by Martin Hart (Woody Harrelson) and Rustin “Rust” Cohle (Matthew McConaughey), and is in several key shots of season 1 can be seen prominently in the official trailer Nightland.
Episode 2 establishes her connection specifically with that of murder victim Anne Masu Kowtok, who had the symbol tattooed on herself, as did her friend Raymond Clark, the only member of the Tsalal research team believed to be still alive (and the current main suspects behind it). killings). And of course, we definitely see the symbol again when Danvers and Navarro investigate Clark’s trailer, where it’s scrawled in black and red marker on the ceiling above an effigy wearing what appears to be Anne’s clothing.
As revealed in the first season of “True Detective,” the crooked spiral is a symbol closely tied to the teachings of the Louisiana sex cult, which worships Hastur, or the “Yellow King,” a being believed to be it grants blessings in exchange for sacrifices in the form of young children. There isn’t much of it yet nightland, But who knows what’s out there on the ice.
The second clue comes later in the episode when Danvers asks Peter “Petey” Prior, one of her subordinates and son of Ennis Police Captain Hank Prior, what he could come up with to find out who is funding the Tsalal Arctic Research Station. Petey tells Danvers that the station is funded by an NGO, which in turn is funded by a series of shell companies affiliated with an organization called Tuttle United.
fans of True detective should recognize this name immediately: It’s a reference to Billy Lee Tuttle, the Louisiana reverend and entrepreneur whose family turned out to be the leaders of the aforementioned sex cult that Hart and Cohle investigated in Season 1. The cult is considered largely disbanded by 2012, with the only remaining member believed to be Errol Childress, who was killed by Rust in the first season finale. On the other hand, it is possible that the murderer is somehow associated with the Tuttle cult and for some reason practices some form of their twisted rituals and teachings.
As members of the True detective Subreddit has pointed out that even the name of the research station itself could be an implicit nod to the connections between this season and last season. As stated in a Posted by u/Magehunter_SkassiThe word “Tsalal” is Hebrew and roughly means “to be, to become, or to become dark.”
This is an apt name, as the events of the show take place in a region of Alaska that experiences an extended period of darkness, colloquially referred to by locals as the “Long Night.” But the word also appears in numerous examples of popular horror literature – most notably “The Tsalal,” a short story by Thomas Ligotti. Ligotti is a cult figure among horror writers, known for his distinctive style of philosophical horror from series creator Nic Pizzolatto cited as a central influence in the development of Rust Cohle’s worldview.
What does all this add up to? I don’t know – a decades-long conspiracy, a funny nod, a flat circle. True detective could draw direct comparisons as clues, or they could do it as Easter eggs. It’s worth noting that production designer Daniel Taylor confirmed to Polygon that the police station setting has ties to the first season. Also worth mentioning are the exact circumstances under which Danvers and Co. were first informed of the location of the bodies – namely, the ghost of a lady’s dead husband showed them the way. Ready for an evening greater Understood? This ghost’s name is Travis Cohle, who happens to be the deceased father of the first season’s protagonist, Rust Cohle.
Could it be that Danvers and Navarro are dealing with a threat that is not just criminal, but actually supernatural? This answer seems just as likely as the first, and if either is even partially true, that means this is the case Nightland has the potential to be one of the series’ most exciting and spooky crime stories to date. And hell, even if that’s not the case, I’m still stuck at this point and getting there.