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

1. Episode 4

The best moment of True Detective: Night Country comes at the end of "Part 4," where Danvers has tracked the cartographer Otis Heiss to an abandoned dredger outside of town. Danvers and Navarro have reason to believe that Heiss can lead them to Raymond Clark, the missing scientist from Tsalal. When Danvers asks Heiss about Clark, a drug-addled Heiss responds, "He’s hiding in the night country. We’re all in the night country now.”

I don't think Night Country was very scary overall, but this moment was genuinely creepy in the way that the best moments of True Detective are creepy. One on level, this is a strung-out heroin addict describing a system of ice caves. On another, he's seeing through the veil of reality to the churning swirl of madness that lies just beyond our perception. The magic of a moment like this is the line between the two feels permeable, if only for a second, and suddenly you wonder: are we in Night Country?

This was when the promise of Night Country was at its most pure. The rest of the character drama in the episode is also very solid. The death of Navarro's sister Julia is photographed in a hauntingly beautiful way, only slightly ruined by a low-fi pop song on the soundtrack, a well Night Country goes back to far too often. I also liked the scenes after Navarro finds out about Julia's death, especially the one she shares with her sometimes-boyfriend Qavvik. I was rooting for these two to make it.

I also loved the scene where Peter's father Hank waits for his no-show mail-order bride at the airport, and we have a pang of sympathy for a character who's generally detestable. I think the characters on Night Country are the most likable from any other season of True Detective because Night Country likes its characters more than any other season of True Detective, affording everyone moments of vulnerability and humanity, however fleeting.

Overall, I think Night Country was a worthwhile experiment for True Detective. I'd watch a fifth season if HBO made one. It's up to them now, and to viewers like you.

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