True Detective Season 4 Episode 1 - Part 1

Affectionately known as "Night Country," season 4 of True Detective comes underway with a promise to return to the success of it's first season. Starring big gun actor Jodie Foster, this promises to visit the super natural and mystery which brought the show success a decade ago.

Warning! Spoilers Ahead!

...For we do not know what beasts the night dreams when its hours grow too long for even God to be awake. - Hildred Castaigne

The show opens in a remote part of the United States, in Alaska 150 miles north of the arctic circle on the last sunset of the year (Dec 17), generally at this latitude the nights will last for around a month until the sunlight is seen again.

At the Tsalal Arctic Research Station - 68'65N, 165'35W, about 10 scientists are shown doing their daily tasks until the Clark shakes uncontrollably and stops with the phrase "She's awake." The show fades out until a delivery person shows 3 days later. At this time, everything appears the same as when the show faded out. However, he finds a severed tongue on the ground which starts the whole investigation. From here we are introduced to our main protagonists Chief Elizabeth Danvers and Trooper/former-agent Evangeline Navarro who promise to be richly complex and flawed characters. The show is set in a fictional part of Alaska in a town called Ennis with the stereotypical problems of small rural blue-collar towns including alcoholism and work revolving around a main factory.  The town has some diversity that shows off the Native American Indian tribe Inupiaq. Signs are bilingual and there is some inter-cultural exchanges. This episode does a good job of showing the town dynamics and to build suspense on the deaths of some doctoral researchers. The difference in the lives between those that were murdered and those going about their daily lives is evident and could not be more contrasting.

The show integrates some cool science such as the researchers were working for a mostly non-governmental organization presumably searching for the fountain of youth that has compounds timelessly frozen.  The bigger mystery lies not only in the who-dunnit aspect of the genre but in the seemingly supernatural aspect based on a tribal Native American Indian Cultural folk lore.

Much of the hour is spent on showcasing the interesting culture of the town as well as character development of the protagonists and those who surround them. The overarching plot appears to revolve around the murder mystery, how much of it is supernatural and how and why does the human tongue tie it all together.

Show Terminology and trivia

• Symbolism of deer running to jump off a cliff, presumably to their deaths
• Inupiaq - native american tribe in the Alaskan region.
• Aaka - the lady in the crab factory used this in a way as an insult, unclear what it means
• Anne Masu Kowtok, "Annie K," cold case files - a woman brutally murdered, her tongue cut out, is it the tongue that was found in the research facility?
• ClfA is staphylococcus clumping factor A, described as a force sensitive molecular switch that activates bacterial adhesion. Here is a journal paper describing it.
• Lucas Merens was faculty of a fictitious Princeville University. The only thing that comes up for Princeville is a small town in Illinois.
• Silver Sky mining company in Ennis, Alaska - presumably the main employer in this small town.
• The song and movie playing on repeat in Tsalal was the Beatles Twist and Shout and the movie was Ferris Bueller. The segment in the movie was exactly the same when the researchers went missing as when Danvers appears.
  

Characters of interest

• Chief Elizabeth Danvers (Jodie Foster) - heard "she is awake" while sleeping, sees a stuffed animal of a polar bear on the floor.
• Leah, Danver's step-daughter (?) - made a dirty video with Sheri Gillard, a 16 year old.
• Pete, kid cop, married to Kayla, has a kid named Darwin - son of Hank.
• Hank, second-guessing cop, Pete's dad - will marry Natasha from Vladivostok. 
• Trooper/Agent Evangeline Navarro - shows she's willing to bend some laws for what she believes is right (harassing mine workers, pouring coffee into a gas tank). Heard "she is awake" before seeing the live polar bear in the road.
• Kayla - love interest of Pete. Appears to be a nursing student.
• Rose Agineau - found the dead bodies, was shown by the ghost of her late husband, Travis.
  

Missing Scientists at the Tsalal Arctic Research Station

• Ralph Emerson, Molecular phylogenetics and microbial evolution.
• Anton Kotov, geophysics -
• Li Jie, geobiology -
• Raymond Clark, paleomicrobiology - "She's awake" doctoral work focused on ClfA clumping factor A. The only person with his own room in the station. Is he the one who had a relationship with Annie "K" ?
• Lucas Merens, environmental chemistry -
• Veer Mehta, biophysics -
• Facundo Molina, biophysics -
• Anders Lund, founder-director, strucural biology

Tsalal Arctic Research Station

Been in operation for 18 years, researching Arctic geology, biology and the impacts of climate change. Most funding comes from an NGO (non-governmental organization) but some of it

TSALAL Mission Statement 

The Tsalal Arctic Research Station was founded by Dr. Anders Lund. Our mission is to expand the understanding of the origins of life by examining microorganisms that have been preserved in glacial ice for millions of years. Glacial ice has constant temperatures, making it ideal for the long-term preservation of microorganisms and biomolecules. Environmental ice acts as a protective matrix for microorganisms over extended periods of time and provides a record of microbial evolution and ancient biodiversity. A number of isolates and sequences recovered from the ice by our team have yet to be scientifically described.

We hypothesize that if we can sequence the DNA of the cells we can determine the origins of existence. Studying the organisms isolated from this environment can yield insights into microbial longevity. Furthermore, we can use the sequencing to potentially cure a number of diseases. The sequences could lead to a cure for aging for which the scientific origins are still unknown. This process involves a wide range of scientific expertise which we have brought together here in order to embark on what could be the greatest scientific discovery.

Anaylsis

The show has a strong opening and the cast seems to gel well together with good chemistry. There is enough suspense and intrigue to keep you interested without being over the top. I will look forward to the next 5 episodes.

Pete's father Hank is the early suspicion due to his continually clueless/distracted but suspiciously intentional off-putting behavior towards Danvers.

The show is hinting heavily that murderer of Annie K is similar to that of the missing researchers.

Clues

The marker board insinuates that they were in fear for a while before they were taken. The tongue is that of a native american fishing woman who conitnually licks the thread to wear a groove away. The drawing is of a local legend, presumably one that speaks of the polar bear.

Unanswered questions

• Does the tongue belong to Annie K who was cold cased?
• Who or where is the minority funding from for Tsalal Arctic Research Station? The show cleverly interrupts it every time Pete tries to tell Danvers.
  
• She's awake...Who is awake?  Common view of seeing a polar bear missing its left eye
• Who is Holden (Danver's son?)