The episode opens with the cremation and Navarro’s sister; the urn is handed over to her. Meanwhile Liz interviews Otis in the hospital, and he describes the events of his injuries. Thirty years ago, men died trapped in the ice. They ran out for help but there was a blizzard and Otis says he heard something screaming, howling, and the other men followed the sounds. Next thing Otis knew, he woke up and his eyes were burned, and his ears had “gone to shit”. Otis points to the entrance of the cave system on the map. Liz and Navarro arrive at the cave entrance and it’s barred shut by wood.
Later, Leah goes out to protest the mine. The protest breaks out into violence as Navarro and other troopers arrive at the scene. Suddenly, Navarro sees Annie. Just as she disappears, Navarro is hit in the head with a water bottle by Leah. Leah is attacked by another trooper. She reaches out for her girlfriend, but she abandons her.
Liz gets called about the situation at the protest. Liz tells Navarro to take Leah into the station. At the station, Pete informs Liz that Kayla kicked him out. Pete hands her a file that details the Tsalal station may have been backed by the mine. Leah and Pete share a moment where Leah gives good advice about his marriage.
Kate and Connelly meet with Liz and show her security cam footage of her and Navarro exploring the cave entrance. They tell Liz that forensics says it was a slab avalanche, and there’s not some killer on the loose. Connelly sternly tells Liz that the case is closed and that’s final, as Liz begs for him to keep it open.
Then, we get a very revealing conversation between Kate and Henry. Kate tells him that Liz won’t let the Kowtok murder go, and that she “can’t find that cave” implying something sinister about the cave. Then she says Otis can take her there and that Henry needs to “take care of it”. If he does this, she will give him the chief of police position. Henry is hesitant and states that he isn’t a killer. She says that things will be different this time, implying they’ve done something like this before. Henry silently exits Kate’s car.
Navarro finds a new piece of evidence and goes to liz. Liz tells her that Connelly is shutting them down. Navarro tells Liz that now she must carry Annie around with her. Later, something calls out to Navarro and she begins to walk out across the frozen water. The ice begins to crack. Luckily, Rose finds her and tells her to lie down and crawl toward land. This saves Navarro from the cracking ice.
Liz goes to see Leah and begs her to come home for new years, giving us some hope for their relationship. Later, Liz finds out Pete was digging into the Wheeler case, and Hank found it on his laptop which is how Connelly found out. She orders him to ask her questions about the case and Pete does. Pete figures out that Wheeler was shot by either her or Navarro, and he didn’t kill himself.
Otis is at Liz’s house, and they make an exchange of information for drugs. Otis heads into the bathroom to do his drugs, when Hank shows up at the house. He makes up a lie about how Connelly ordered him to bring in Otis. Liz argues that she needs Otis, but Hank insists. The scene escalates when Otis threatens to leave and Hank pulls his gun. Liz tries to keep the peace, but Hank refuses. Suddenly, Pete enters the house and pulls his gun on his father. Liz immediately shifts her attention to Pete telling him “Don’t do it”. Hank continues to threaten with his gun, and Otis becomes frightened and he bolts for the door, Hank shoots and Otis hits the floor, Hank fires again to finish the job. Hank continues to threaten with his gun as Otis becomes frightened and bolts for the door. Hank shoots and Otis hits the floor. Hank fires again to finish the job. Liz is furious as Hank turns his gun toward her. Without a second guess, Pete fires, striking his dad in the head, killing him instantly and saving Liz.
Navarro arrives at Liz’s house, discovering the shocking events. Liz and Navarro have to go investigate the cave, and Pete volunteers to stay and clean up. Liz doesn’t want him to stay by himself, and Pete tells her he’ll be okay and that she should go. The episode ends with this emotional tone, leaving us wondering what’s to come next in the finale.
Episode five was far and away the best episode of True Detective: Night Country prior to the finale. A shocking turn of events at the end, and emotional character moments makes this episode shine. Along with great performances from the entire main cast, this made the penultimate episode of this show the best one yet. Audiences were left craving the finale after this episode aired.
Rating: 10/10