We’re getting down to the wire with just two episodes left of HBO’s hit series True Detective: Night Country, and season four has been such a mystery. However, with episode five – the penultimate episode – we’re finally starting to get some answers.
The action in episode five begins on December 31st – the 14th day of night.
The episode opens with a sobering moment as skeletal remains are being cremated. The bones are those of State Trooper Evangeline Navarro’s sister, Julia, who committed suicide in episode four. As her ashes are being prepared, Navarro (Kali Reis) is there silently watching.
Chief Liz Danvers (Jodie Foster) interviews Otis Heiss, who she mistakenly believed was Raymond Clark at the end of episode four. She asks if he knew Clark before their recent encounter and Otis says he didn’t, but he did know about the Tsalal facility.
Clark wanted to know how he survived his injuries. However, he doesn’t know where Clark is now. He also doesn’t remember telling Liz that Clark was going to hide in the night country. (He’s going through withdrawals and everything’s a bit fuzzy.)
It did stick with him that Clark kept saying, “She’s awake,” and that he had to hide.
Otis reveals a little of his backstory, explaining that there was a cave-in and they ran out to help. However, a blizzard made it impossible to see. He heard screaming and hollering, and other men followed the sound, so he went after them. Then, nothing. He woke up in the hospital with his eyes burned and his ears messed up.
He points to the entrance of the cave on her map but warns her that she can’t go on her own. The cave will collapse; the ice is like crawling on thin glass. Liz informs him he’s going to take them. He’ll do it, but only if she gets him drugs.
Kayla (Anna Lambe) throws a packed bag down by Peter (Finn Bennett), telling him it’s his and not to come back. She’s fed up with his attachment to Danvers and his job.
As Navarro is asking Liz how Leah (Liz’s stepdaughter) is doing, Leah (Isabella LaBlanc) is shown smearing black paint across her lips. Her girlfriend does the same as they gear up for a protest.
Liz and Navarro arrive at the entrance to the cave, but it looks like someone blew the entrance in. There’s a sign that reads, “Restricted Area No Trespassing Beyond This Point.” Navarro returns to the truck, angry someone closed off the entrance after they’re finally close to getting answers.
The protest begins outside the mines, with Leah at the front of the line. Things start to get out of hand when the security guard begins to get physical with the protesters. Navarro and other police officers show up in riot gear, and Navarro sees who she thinks is Annie K standing there amongst the chaos. Leah throws something at Navarro and snaps her out of her daze. A police officer reacts by throwing Leah on the ground and begins beating her with a baton.
Leah calls out for her girlfriend, Sheri, but she runs away instead of helping. Navarro steps in and pulls the cop off Leah, which leads to Navarro and the cop fighting.
Liz gets a call from Ted Connelly (Christopher Eccleston) ordering her to meet him at Kate McKittrick’s office. Apparently, Kate’s furious about the protest. Liz also receives a call from Navarro telling her she’s got Leah after an incident at the protest. Liz decides the best option is to let Leah spend a little time in jail.
While Leah’s being booked, Peter informs Liz that Kayla kicked him out. Peter also reveals that he discovered the company that was funding the research at Tsalal is a founding partner of Sliver Sky Mining. That means the mine is funding Tsalal’s research in exchange for Tsalal faking the mine’s pollution numbers.
Navarro’s shocked Liz wants Leah kept in a cell, but Liz thinks it’s important for her to learn that she’s vulnerable. Before she heads out to meet with Kate, Liz shows Navarro the info Peter just dug up. Liz is going to confront Kate with the information during the meeting.
Before Liz can question Kate, she questions Liz, showing her a video of her and Navarro in front of the cave. Liz explains why they were there and confirms they located Otis, but Kate doesn’t care. This is no longer a murder investigation. Ted shows Liz a report that claims the researchers died in a rare slab avalanche.
Liz doesn’t back down and brings up that the mines are the ones bankrolling the facility. She also points out the funding is for an independent outfit that verifies the mine’s pollution numbers.
After an angry Kate leaves the room, Ted wonders if Liz is out of her mind. She informs him that Annie K died in that cave. Ted changes the subject to three years ago, when she and Navarro responded to a domestic violence call. He knows it wasn’t a murder-suicide. Liz feigns ignorance.
Ted declares the researchers’ case is now closed. Liz reminds him there was a woman murdered and questions what happened to him to make him so uncaring.
Kate goes to see Hank and informs him that Liz is looking into the Annie K. murder and won’t let it go. Shockingly, she tells Hank, “She can’t find that cave.” She then tells him about Otis Heiss. (The plot thickens!)
Hank doesn’t think he can help her, and she reminds him they paid him well. He admits the money is gone, but she also promised him the Chief of Police position and didn’t come through. Kate admits she didn’t know Liz was going to be sent there.
Hank says he’s not a killer, and Kate claims she’s not asking him to kill anyone. In the next breath, she promises the job will be his if he helps Otis “get lost.”
Navarro is doing laundry when Eddie Qavvik (Joel Montgrand) shows up with a man named Kenny. Eddie hands Navarro back the stone she lost with the symbol and has Kenny explain what it means. Kenny says his grandfather always taught him to walk away when he saw those. People would leave them as a warning to hunters, indicating where the ice would swallow them whole. Kenny’s grandma would get mad when he was a kid because they would crack the ice open and go into the underground ice caves. She would tell him the night country was going to take them.
Navarro excitedly tells Liz she knows how to get into the cave, but Liz cuts her off, saying it’s over. The researchers died from the weather and Connelly is shutting them down. Navarro says Annie is a separate case, but Liz tells her Connelly knows about Wheeler…all of it. (Viewers are still in the dark about what happened.) Navarro doesn’t care about that as long as she can find where Annie died. Maybe they will find DNA or the murder weapon.
They argue and Liz says it’s over. It ends now. Navarro doesn’t back down and insists she’s going to get Otis to lead her to a way to get in. Liz informs her Otis is at The Lighthouse and there’s no way that place is letting her in.
Navarro puts the onus of finding Annie K’s murderer on Liz. It’s no longer her battle, it’s all on Liz’s shoulders now. “You’re leaving her alone in that cave in the dark? You,” she tells Liz.
Before leaving, Navarro lets Leah out of her holding cell.
Hank finds Peter in the records room and wants to know what’s going on with Liz and Leah. Peter tells him it’s family stuff. Hank reminisces about a time when Peter was nine and fell through the ice. Hank had to race ahead of him as the current swept him away, breaking the ice with a pickaxe and pulling him out.
Peter seems unsure of why his dad would bring this up now.
Navarro is out on the ice with Rose (Fiona Shaw) as Rose hammers a hole. After she’s created an opening, Rose leaves Navarro alone to place her sister’s ashes in the water. After she does so, she hears her name being whispered and has a brief vision of being in the desert.
Navarro pops out of the vision when the ice begins to crack under her feet. Fortunately, Rose remained close by and manages to pull her to safety.
Leah’s staying at Kayla’s and Liz visits her there, trying to explain why she’s angry about the protests. Leah reminds Liz that everything Annie was fighting for is still happening. She also shocks her mom by saying there were nine stillborns in their town just in the last three months.
Liz asks Leah to come back home. Leah won’t but tells Liz she hasn’t given up on her.
Hank’s been spying on Liz and follows her when she drives away from Kayla’s house. Liz’s next stop is to see the coffins of the stillborn babies. After that, she returns to the evidence room at the station and retrieves something. Hank follows her and she asks if he spoke with Connelly. He doesn’t respond.
Liz has Peter and laptop in her office and asks if he told his dad about Wheeler. He confirms he didn’t, and Liz realizes that means Hank got the info off of Peter’s computer. It’s easy to break into since his password is his son’s birthday. Liz is upset Peter just had to keep digging into the Wheeler case.
Peter asks if she knew Wheeler was left-handed. She did not. Peter then shows her that someone altered the photos of the victim’s bruised face and that Wheeler had a gunshot wound to his right temple. Point blank, he asks if she and Navarro shot Wheeler. She can’t answer that. She tells him he can’t stay at his father’s and that he can stay in the shack in her backyard.
Peter now knows his father’s betrayed him and warns Hank to stay away from him from now on.
Liz retrieves Otis and shows him the drugs he wanted that she took from evidence. Then she calls Navarro and tells her to meet her at her place. This case isn’t over.
Liz asks Otis to show her on the map where to enter the cave. He points out Niksik Pass.
Hank shows up at Liz’s, claiming Connelly wants him to bring Otis in on outstanding warrants. Liz grows suspicious and wants to call Connelly, and Hank takes her phone. Hank pulls his gun on Otis and when Otis moves, Hank shoots him dead. Peter comes in with his gun drawn and aimed at his dad. He demands to know what’s going on.
Hank immediately starts confessing. He didn’t kill Annie K, but he did move her body. “Blood is blood, Peter. Remember that,” says Hank and lifts his gun toward Liz. Peter screams, “NO!” and shoots his father in the head.
Liz is in shock and Peter is stunned about what he just did. Liz holds him, assuring him it will be okay.
Episode five ends with a storm blowing in and Navarro showing up to discover two dead bodies inside Liz’s house. She talks Liz out of calling Connelly and comes up with a story. Hank took Otis, killed him, and then there was an accident. Liz thinks this is too big, and Navarro says they are very close to finding out what happened to Annie. She’s certain the storm will help them cover their tracks.
Peter says he’ll clean everything up. Navarro tells him to get the bodies to Rose while she and Liz go to the caves.
- True Detective: Night Country Episode 1 Recap
- True Detective: Night Country Episode 2 Recap
- True Detective: Night Country Episode 3 Recap
- True Detective: Night Country Episode 4 Recap
- True Detective: Night Country Episode 6 Finale Recap
