The search is on for Raymond Clark (Owen McDonnell) in True Detective season 4 episode 3.
The contents from Clark's trailer provide invaluable clues, including Annie K's (Nivi Pedersen) phone. It has been six years of dead ends and unanswered questions about her brutal murder, but new information leads Evangeline Navarro (Kali Reis) to believe that there is a conspiracy between the police and the Silver Sky Mine. Meanwhile, Chief Danvers (Jodie Foster) works several angles as the case of the murdered researchers heats up.
Also, both Danvers and Navarro deal with challenging family issues as tension grows between Danvers and her stepdaughter Leah (Isabella Star LeBlanc) and Navarro's sister struggles with her mental health.
Digging up the past
Things open with a flashback to Navarro's first encounter with Annie K when Navarro was still part of the police force and tasked with arresting Annie for trespassing and destroying private property at the mine. Annie is in the middle of helping a woman give birth, but after helping save the baby when it needs CPR, she surrenders herself to Navarro.
In the present, Navarro is part of the search for Clark, and there is a curious moment when she finds an orange on the ice. When she throws the orange away, it rolls right back to her. Navarro can't linger too long on this though, as Danvers calls her in to come to help sort through the boxes of evidence from Clark's trailer.
Before Navarro arrives, Peter (Finn Bennett) asks about the case that led to the bad blood between Danvers and Navarro. Danvers reluctantly tells him that William Wheeler (Kasper Leisner) repeatedly beat up his girlfriends, but they could never get them to testify against him. Danvers describes finding Wheeler and his girlfriend dead, calling it a murder-suicide, but in the flashback, Wheeler is still alive when they arrive. What really happened?
Going through the evidence, Navarro doesn't want to play "answer the question" with Danvers, but they do make progress. Danvers clocks an Ariana Grande shirt that puts their relationship to at least the Spring of 2016 (thanks to Leah listening to this song on repeat). Every photo of the couple is a selfie, except for a few candid shots with blue hair dye smears on the back. Navarro knows who to ask about this.
Dating the Tsalal men
Local hairdresser Susan (Bridie Trainor) confirms she did know about Annie's secret relationship. Susan is how Annie came to meet Clark as she accompanied her to cut the Tsalal men's hair. Susan mentions Clark was fixated on Annie's tattoo, a symbol that Annie kept dreaming about — the spiral also appears in True Detective season 1.
As soon as she got the tattoo, the dreams stopped. Susan was dating an equipment engineer from Tsalal called Oliver Tagaq (Lance Karmer), who left before Annie's murder. Navarro is furious Susan kept this from her, but Susan says she told Hank (John Hawkes) about this connection.
Navarro thinks there is a coverup related to the mine. Danvers isn't so sure and but also isn't buying any "magic" explanation either, giving this duo a Mulder and Scully from The X-Files skeptic and believer vibe. Hank dismisses Navarro's concerns when she confronts him at the ice rink.
Personal stories and protests
Danvers' two priorities are finding Oliver and cracking Annie's phone, with Peter tasked with the latter. On the former, Navarro goes to see Qavvick (Joel Montgrand) — who is ice fishing — to see if he can put the feelers out to his hunter contacts. Qavvick agrees, but only if Navarro shares something personal with him.
Reluctantly, Navarro talks about how her father abused her mother when she was young, which tracks with her choice to become a cop and how she reacted to the Wheeler case. Navarro mentions her mother's mental health was similar to her sister Jules (Aka Niviâna). Her mother went out one day and never came back — her killer was never found. Navarro regrets her mother never revealed Navarro’s Iñupiaq name.
Earlier, Navarro told Danvers she sometimes thinks about disappearing, and it looks like her sister has similar thoughts. Navarro gets a call about Jules screaming and praying while at work before walking out. She finds Jules at a ship wreckage, where Jules tells her, "I think stuff. Bad stuff." Thankfully, Navarro convinces Jules to go home and puts her to bed.
Family strife continues, as Leah goes to a mine protest meeting, which upsets Danvers who makes her wipe the temporary tattoo off her face. Leah tells her step-mom there has been another stillbirth and they think the mine is to blame. Danvers visits the home of the woman who lost the baby, and when she goes to wash her hands, she sees the black contamination of the tap water.
Scared to death
With the forensic technician stuck at the airport due to bad weather and the bodies soon getting sent to Anchorage, Peter offers to call his cousin, who is a vet to take a look. His cousin explains the bodies of creatures that have frozen to death look peaceful, but its the opposite with the scientists. His best conjecture is they had heart attacks caused by fear.
That's not the only update. They Oliver Tagaq, but he is not cooperative. Oliver is genuinely shocked about the deaths of the Tsalal men, so he is an unlikely suspect. Oliver asks for Navarro's Iñupiaq name, and when Danvers asks her about this, Navarro says, "You wouldn't understand."
Danvers and Navarro go to the hospital as the surviving researcher, Lund (Þorsteinn Bachmann), is awake. He is blind, both legs have been amputated, and he could lose his other forearm. Agony rattles through his body, but he manages to say "We woke her" and "She's out there."
A fight in the waiting room pulls Danvers away. When Navarro is alone, Lund sits up and tells her, "Your mother says hello. She's waiting for you." It is as disturbing as it sounds. He then goes into cardiac arrest.
One more big bombshell is to come as Peter has Annie’s unlocked phone and shows Danvers and Navarro an alarming video that seems to capture the moments before Annie's murder. "I found it," she says before she is attacked off-camera. But what did she find?
Watch True Detective season 4 Sundays at 9 pm ET/PT on HBO and streaming on Max in the US; airing on Sky Atlantic Mondays in the UK.
