Episode four opens with a sequence depicting Liz’s early morning routine. She wakes up, watches the video of Annie again, and drops into Leah’s room before she leaves for work. As she is driving to work she sees Julia, Navarro’s sister, running through the street. Liz pulls over immediately and gets out of her car to help. Julia is having another episode. Liz takes off her coat, wraps it around Julia quickly, and hugs her tight.
The bodies of the scientists are set to be shipped off to Anchorage today, and Hank and Connelly are supervising. Liz informs Connelly that she is treating this case like a murder case, based on all the evidence she has. Navarro checks her sister into a rehab center, and they exchange an emotional goodbye.
Pete and Liz are looking into the background of Otis and they barely find any trace of him, similar to Oliver. With no break in the case, Liz laments about needing a miracle and tells a story of how hard she prayed when her mother fell terminally ill. She prayed so hard her knees turned black, and she could barely walk at her mother’s funeral. The prayer didn’t work when she was seven years old, and it isn’t going to work now. This is a big indication as to why Liz isn’t a very spiritual person.
Hank is picking up his fiancée at the airport, and she bails on him. Hank later plays this off like no big deal, but you can tell he is deeply hurt. With his wedded bliss plans ruined, Hank adjusts his Christmas plans and asks his son if he can come over. Pete says he needs to speak with his wife first. Later, Liz tells a story to Navarro about how when her mom was dying her father told her to pray and she would be alright. Navarro and Liz share a nice moment showing their growing bond. Liz and Navarro find out that there is an area in the region that has an ice cave system, but it’s a death trap.
We cut to Julia in rehab, sitting on her bed and looking down down as an orange rolls between her legs. Ominous music begins. She looks under her bed and is startled by a ghost.
Kate calls Liz and tells her to come to the mine offices. Leah had vandalized the offices, writing “murderers” on the building. Back at the house, Liz and Leah argue about her actions. Leah storms out on Liz, opting to go to the Priors’ house. Angry, Liz throws out the turkey she had prepared and begins drinking while watching the Annie video again. Liz finds a connection between the video and the Tsala station video. She claims the power gets cut at the end of both videos. Liz demands Pete pick up Navarro.
As Liz handles her family ordeal, Julia calls Navarro, tells her she loves her and hangs up. As the scene pans out, we see Julia is out on the ice. She strips down, folding her clothes neatly, and walks out into the distance, calls her sister, from out on the ice, tells her she loves her, and hangs up.
Pete and Navarro go out to the Nomad camps as instructed by Liz. The camp is where Oliver was found frozen and abandoned. They find the swirl symbol at Oliver’s place. The other Nomads find them and tell them that Oliver left shortly after Liz and Navarro came to see him. Meanwhile, a drunk Liz goes to see Connely. He tells her that she is a mess, and she’s been a mess ever since her son and husband haven’t been in her life.
The Alaska Coast Guard calls Navarro to inform her of the terrible news that her sister has passed away. Navarro becomes angry and storms over to the rehab facility. She starts screaming and freaking out at them, blaming them for her sister’s death. Looking for an outlet for her grief, Navarro picks a fight with some men she previously arrested. She goes to Qavvik’s house, and he takes care of her.
At home, Liz falls asleep dreaming about her late son. Later, she picks up Navarro to review notes. Navarro finds the polar bear toy and realizes that the boy she heard from was Holden. To prove a point that the dead are truly gone, Liz throws the toy out into the snow. This is when Navarro tells Liz about her sister. She opens up to Liz about her fear that she might be next. Then Liz and Navarro get into it about the Wheeler case. That day, Navarro saw a ghost in the room, and that’s what went wrong. Liz gets a call from Pete who says they might’ve found Raymond Clarke.
Liz and Navarro go to investigate the spot where he was reported to be seen. A man runs off and they chase after him. Navarro is called to by whispers and becomes distracted. She is eventually startled by the ghost of her sister. Liz finally chases down the man and it’s Otis. Otis tells Liz that Raymond went back down to hide and that he’s in the night country, and everyone is in the night country now.
Episode four of True Detective: Night Country elevates the stakes, really dives deeper into the characters, and begins to give us some answers while also adding to the suspense. This episode was emotional, tense, haunting, and riveting. The performances are all stellar and the writing is superb. The eerie tone of the series is at its best in this episode as well, and it sets us up for a wild ride for the final two episodes.
Rating: 9/10