All 6 episodes of True Detective: Night Country, ranked worst to best

5. Episode 3

True Detective: Night Country is really two shows: in one, a group of lonely people try to work through their issues in a town where night lasts several weeks at a time during this time of the year. In the other, the true detectives try to solve the Big Case. Sometimes one of these shows is better than the other.

Episode 3 gets the more mileage out of the characters' personal drama. In a flashback, we see Navarro meet Annie Koutuk, a native activist who died under mysterious circumstances several years ago; Navarro thinks her death is linked to the deaths at Tsalal. In this flashback, Annie comes off as tough, kind and fearless; we see why Navarro would still be fighting to solve her murder years later.

In another strong scene, Liz explains to the young Peter Prior why she and Navarro aren't on good terms anymore. It had to do with a domestic abuser named William Wheeler, whom they found dead on a call years ago. As Liz recounts the the particulars of what happened to Peter, the show cuts back to the event itself, and we see that Liz is lying to his face. Actors Jodie Foster and Finn Bennett have excellent chemistry throughout the show, with this scene being a good example.

The problem with "Part 3" is that it leans too hard into traditional, schlocky horror imagery of the kind True Detective has usually avoided. Near the end of the episode, the scientist who barely survived the Tsalal murders sits up in bed, points at Navarro, and says something creepy. After that, Liz, Navarro and Peter Prior watch a shaky video that Annie Koutuk took on her phone right before she died, and it's as if we're watching a Blair Witch knockoff.

In its rush to spook us, sometimes Night Country cruises right past frightening and into goofy. Even the conceit of the show taking place during a weeks-long period of uninterrupted night is more scary in theory than in practice. Ultimately, the show is best when it focuses on its characters and doesn't try too hard to shove scares down our throats.