True Detective has been one of my favourite shows since I watched season one with my dad as it came out. That first season went to places I had never before seen on television and jumpstarted a love of gritty detective stories. Then season two came out and ever since, I've lived in fear that the following seasons would wind up as messy and convoluted as that one did.
I don't think the show will ever reach the dynamic heights that Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConoughey brought to the table for season one, but I could still hope that season four would deliver interesting characters, a creepy murder mystery, and a plot I can actually follow. And now having seen the first episode, I can breathe a sigh of relief.
This show is good. Maybe even great. The premise is that eight men operating a research station in Alaska vanish at once, leaving Chief Danvers (played by Jodie Foster) and her once-partner Evangeline Navarro with quite a mystery on their hands. If you know just how cerebral and messed up True Detective can be at its heights, this premise should have you positively tingling with anticipation.
Jodie Foster's Danvers is sufficiently haunted for my tastes. We only get hints at her ghost (the name some writer's give for whatever horrible thing happened to the character in their backstory to make them the way they are), but I have a feel it's going to be suitably tragic for True Detective. Despite this, she brings a lot of levity to the show. She doesn't suffer fools and throws the power of her position around with zero regard for how she comes across. I like her a lot.
As for the creepy murder mystery, well... this might just be the creepiest True Detective has ever been. It's certainly the weirdest. The question isn't so much 'What happened to these men?' as it is 'How on Earth could this have happened to these men?' It's a fun mystery because I don't have the slightest clue how it will resolve, but I can't wait to find out. The mystery is also veering a lot closer to the supernatural than other season ever did. It's a change, but one I'm okay with if it's handled well. This isn't supposed to be the X-Files, but a hint of the unexplained can really add to the sense of wonder and mystery in a story like this.
As for the plot beats and structure, episode one is operating on solid ground here. The plot is linear, but where True Detective season one required a certain level of concentration to keep the various timelines right in my head, this season requires that same level of concentration in keeping the various relationships in the Alaskan town of Ennis right in my head. Lots of names, lots of familial connections. It's not overwhelming but maybe it's a little-whelming.
Regardless, episode one of True Detective: Night Country serves as a fun and intriguing first act and I can't wait to see how the season goes.
***
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