The anthology True Detective He’s been through all kinds of ups and downs. Especially after the first season, released in 2014, became an instant cult classic. The following deliveries had to compete with that success and also try to surpass it. None could. Now, True Detective: Polar Night Not only does it achieve the same level of quality, but it does something more. It defines what the style of the series of stories actually is. Achieve an uncomfortable, well-constructed and tough atmosphere, in which the facts that are investigated reflect the moral and intellectual darkness of the characters.
The script by Issa López — who also directs the series — carefully analyzes what is hidden behind a case with supernatural overtones. That, in the middle of Alaska’s eternal night. The premise may seem ordinary — it is not the first time that the perpetual darkness of the area is taken as a setting — until it links myth and a disturbing environment.
But instead of going full horror, the writer makes a brilliant decision. Create a kind of subgenre based precisely on those elements. A not to go paranormal, in which spectral apparitions, the fear of what is hidden in the darkness and even inexplicable phenomena in fauna, are a unique scenario. On the other side, two officers try to solve the mystery of what appears to be a multiple murder, facing the physical enigma. But also to the conflicts that separate and unite them.
Two complex women
Separately, Danvers (Jodie Foster) and Navarro (Kali Reis) go through all kinds of conflicts, which, in turn, will impact the investigation. Both share a past that connects them with whatever is happening in the region. The possibility that the response to the multiple crimes that both investigate can only be solved if they collaborate with each other is evident.
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But in the same way as in the first season of True Detectivethe fourth takes into account that notion of what fear hides. The screenwriter and director takes everything related to this complex context and delves into the death of a group of scientists. In addition, turning the case – with criminal methods, included – into an unpredictable horror story.
A revealing second chapter
In its second episode, the series makes it clear where it is going. It is not only about the reappearance of the spiral symbol, known and included in the plot of the first season. Also, the express mention of the name of one of the victims, whose last name is Cohle, as was that of the character played by Matthew McConaughey. At the same time, the series goes back to its origins, with the mention of a mysterious tutle corporation. As you may remember, it is the surname of the leaders of the death cult in the initial installment.
All of the above makes it clear that True Detective: Polar Night, ties into the first story in a profound way. Which could explain the implication that the fictional town in which the plot takes place keeps a secret, which is more evident than ever. So the narrative takes a completely new direction. Although it is still a detective story – which sends Danvers and Navarro in search of concrete clues – it is supported by an inexplicable background. Which allows the story to combine two genres. The story of the season is a detective story, with the usual structure of the investigation that leads to dark paths.
However, it is also the story of the town, its inhabitants, the terrifying events that spread like a shock wave through the Alaskan night. The interesting thing about Issa López’s narrative experiment is that she took the central proposal of Nick Pizzolatto (writer of the original season) and made it more tortuous. What would happen if the law and the investigations of a group of police officers had to face an event that was beyond their understanding? López then explores her characters, allowing the series to link directly to its acclaimed first season. Fear and horror are at the extremes of what is a story with an uncomfortable secret.
The great HBO anthology recovers its essence
In the already iconic first installment of True Detective, there were no immediate supernatural elements. But even so, detectives Rust Cohle (Matthew McConaughey) and Martin Hart (Woody Harrelson) struggled to solve a case that marked their lives. Nick Pizzolatto and director Cary Fukunaga narrated what could be just a narrative of a tragic case from two ambiguous protagonists. At the same time, the script used the region, the experiences of its characters, traumas and pain, to create a journey towards moral darkness. Little by little, the series made it clear that what had happened was not as important as the way its protagonists remembered it. Something that created the sensation of latent horror and half-truths that gave the production a dense and harsh atmosphere.
The same happens with True Detective: Polar Night. The massacre that left behind corpses that tell of an inexplicable event is only the first step towards something more. Especially because the script makes it clear that everything that is happening is related to an event that completely exceeds the knowledge of those who investigate it. Reindeer committing suicide without explanation, other animals’ reaction to what seems like an unstoppable force. Apparitions and voices in the night. A painful and cryptic past. Like the scene showing Danvers investigating, the series opens in a labyrinth of images that becomes more complicated — and, therefore, interesting — chapter by chapter.
A white and bloody night
But in particular, the second episode of True Detective: Polar Night, explores a type of hybrid genre that makes it clear that the series is committed to the ambitious. With its paranormal overtones that extend into an investigation that involves the entire apparatus of the law, this version of the tactical procedural Related to creepy, it’s a delicate balance.
At one extreme are the tropes of horror and gore, reinvented for the series. On the other hand, the careful idea that the death of the victims is more a symptom than a consequence than a major event. The fourth season of True Detective It now reaches a terrain that defines it. Maintaining that every human work can be investigated and punished, but that there is something beyond it, is also a threat. The point of greatest interest in the production.