“[Liz] isn’t good with people she cares about.” Leah’s (Isabella LaBlanc) words might be the biggest understatement of the season. Liz (Jodie Foster) has rampaged through True Detective: Night Country as a stereotypical depiction of law enforcement: no one and nothing matters except the case. The ironic part is there hasn’t been that much progress in Annie’s murder or the scientists’ strange deaths. Yes, they’re linked. And yes, True Detective 4×05 reveals forensics deemed the scientists died from hypothermia, not a malicious murderer. However, Liz isn’t buying that story, and neither are we.
There is still a lot of mystery to unravel. From its first episode, True Detective: Night Country decided to trickle out answers rather than unleash them in a flood. Each episode reveals the tiniest bit more, which can be equally compelling and frustrating. Now, in True Detective 4×05, things come to a head. Liz uncovers a nefarious plot between Silver Sky Mining and Tuttle United (the funders behind the Tsalal research station and the big bad of True Detective Season 1). In short, it involves Silver Sky Mining funding an independent outfit that verifies the mine’s pollution numbers, which explains the overlooked dirty water in the village.
True Detective 4×05 Doesn’t Resolve Any Subplots
This pollution problem is one of the many subplots needing closure by True Detective: Night Country‘s finale, and that’s a bit concerning. There’s also the one-eyed polar bear thing, Pete’s (Finn Bennett) crumbling marriage to Kayla (Anna Lambe), and the secret behind Liz’s seemingly deceased husband and son, to name a few. As for the central mystery, all answers point to the ice cave where Annie filmed that ominous video right before her murder. Unfortunately for Liz and Navarro (Kali Reis), their ability to locate the ice cave depends on the heroine-dependent scientist Otis Heiss (Klaus Tange).
Hank Became a Victim of Messy Writing
At this point the writing becomes a little… convenient. Liz receiting case specifics to Silver Sky Mining’s head honcho, Kate McKittrick (Dervla Kirwan), seems uncalled for, even if Ted Connelly (Christopher Eccleston) is right there. Police don’t usually reveal leads to civilians, after all. Because of this, Kate convinces Hank (John Hawkes) to deal with Otis to ensure Liz and Navarro never make it to the ice cave. Kate and Hank have a past arrangement. He moved Annie’s body with the promise of becoming police chief. This never happened, of course, because Liz showed up to ruin everyone’s day, which begs a couple of questions:
- Why isn’t Hank crueler to Kate? If anything, the two almost seem to have some minor sexual tension during their brief interaction in True Detective 4×01.
- Why doesn’t Hank tell Kate to f-off? He helped her once already, and she failed to uphold her side of the agreement. Outing his involvement in Annie’s murder, even if it was just moving the body, would also out her and Silver Sky Mine. Unless she has something else on him, the stakes don’t hold much weight.
The latter question is even more bothersome considering what transpires in True Detective 4×05’s big climax. Hank shoots Otis in the middle of Liz’s house with her watching. It’s shocking, sure. Still, it seems like a pretty massive character leap for a man who declared himself “not a killer” only a few hours prior.
We’re supposed to chalk up Hank’s murderous turn to his breaking point: he lost police chief, got taken for a ride by his scam fiancée, and fumbled his son’s trust in a big way. Pete even appears—weapon in hand—to witness his father’s downfall. Pete shooting his father after he points the gun at Liz is brutal and unexpected but lacks some punch due to the points mentioned above. Seriously, this is so messy.
- Because Hank seemed sketchy from Day 1, he screamed red herring. Finding out he’s actually a scum bag feels like a little bit of a letdown.
- It’s implied Hank has nothing, which is why he forgoes the whole “I’m not a killer” thing. However, if he already has nothing, he has nothing to lose by saying no to Kate.
- Also, he had the chance to potentially win back his son’s trust—and Liz’s—by becoming the good guy. It’s a real shame he didn’t.
Liz Shows Some Vulnerability… Finally
Hank aside, Liz’s helplessness during the scene makes her more relatable. For maybe the first time, we see some real cracks in her rock-hard exterior. From flashbacks, we gather Liz wasn’t always like this. At some point, grief turned her to stone. She has moments where softness breaks through, but they are brief. We’ve witnessed her throw around racist remarks, drive drunk, and steal heroin to persuade an addict to help her. If you like Jodie Foster, you probably find yourself wanting to like Liz, but she isn’t likable—not by a long shot.
Having a character display vulnerability is an easy way to win over audiences. True Detective 4×05 finally gives us some of that. We glimpse who Liz is beneath the uniform, that she actually cares about Pete. We see Liz allowing Navarro to take charge because part of her recognizes it’s the best course of action. And earlier in the episode, we watch Liz confess to Pete that she and Navarro murdered Wheeler. The thing about Liz is her vulnerability is never offered; it’s ripped out of her when there is no other choice. Navarro shares many of these same qualities, but she gives her emotions a little more freely.
Liz has a sunlight through the clouds thing going on. There’s a certain amount of joy that comes from watching her stand up to Connelly after he blackmails her into dropping the case. “What happened to you? A woman was murdered,” she practically spits. There’d be even more joy if she got on better terms with her adopted daughter, but here is where Leah’s words come back, “[Liz] isn’t good with people she cares about.”
As mentioned, there are a lot of subplots to tie up in the finale. It’s hard to make assessments without having the full mystery laid out. The prospect of Liz and Navarro descending into the ice caves—to finally get answers about Annie and the scientists—is worth tuning in for, even if True Detective 4×05 got a bit messy with its big Hank reveal.
