Close Menu
  • Login
  • Support Us
  • Newsletter
  • News
  • Features
  • Interviews
  • Reviews
    • Video Games
      • Previews
      • PC
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X/S
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Xbox One
      • PS4
      • Tabletop
    • Film
    • TV
    • Anime
    • Comics
      • BOOM! Studios
      • Dark Horse Comics
      • DC Comics
      • IDW Publishing
      • Image Comics
      • Indie Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • Oni-Lion Forge
      • Valiant Comics
      • Vault Comics
  • Podcast
  • More
    • Event Coverage
    • BWT Recommends
    • RSS Feeds
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
Support Us
But Why Tho?
RSS Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube
Trending:
  • Features
    Cosmic Spider-Man card details

    [EXCLUSIVE PREVIEW] The Spider-Man Set Gets A 5-Color Legendary Spider

    09/02/2025
    Lee Corso from College Football GameDay in EA Sports games

    EA Sports Always Understood Lee Corso’s Legacy

    09/01/2025
    Peacemaker Season 2 Episode 2 But Why Tho 10

    Spider-Man Is Coming To Magic And It’s Just Like The Comics

    08/29/2025
    Star Wars Visions Volume 3 Black

    ‘Black’ Sets The Tone For A Bold New Mixtape In ‘Star Wars Visions: Volume 3’

    08/28/2025
    Olivia Colman in The Roses

    ‘The Roses’ Is A Reimagining, Not A Remake, And That’s Why It Works So Well

    08/27/2025
  • Indie Games
  • K-Dramas
  • Netflix
  • Apple TV+
But Why Tho?
Home » TV » REVIEW: ‘True Detective: Night Country’ Episode 2 — “Part Two”

REVIEW: ‘True Detective: Night Country’ Episode 2 — “Part Two”

Kate SánchezBy Kate Sánchez01/21/20244 Mins ReadUpdated:02/23/2024
True Detective Night Country Episode 2
Share
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Reddit WhatsApp Email

Issa López‘s True Detective: Night Country kicked off Season 4 of the anthology series with a chill. The season premiered with tension and a noir storytelling trajectory with just the right amount of horror, making it a standout of this television season and extending the horror genre more largely. Directed and written by Issa López, True Detective: Night Country Episode 2, “Part Two,” builds on everything we saw in the last episode, right from the reveal of the bodies buried in the snow.

In True Detective: Night Country Episode 2, Liz Danvers (Jodie Foster) and Peter Prior (Finn Bennett) set out to learn more about Tsalal and the men who wandered into the snow to their deaths. In doing so, the duo find an unlikely location for the physical evidence. While Danvers is attempting to thaw out the frozen bundle of Tsalal corpses, Captain Connelly (Christopher Eccleston) threatens to move the case to Anchorage and take it out of her hands.  But with answers only making the reality of the violence against Native women a larger reality, Danvers and Evangeline Navarro (Kali Reis) begin working the angle only to discover independently that one of the Tsalal men was connected to Annie K, the woman who was murdered years ago. Only to find themselves pulled back together.

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here

“Part Two” is a slow episode devoted to building up characters and relationships with a gruesome set piece anchoring the series’s storytelling genre. The revelation that Navarro and Danvers were former partners is used expertly in True Detective: Night Country Episode 2. As Jodie Foster’s first television role, and one that brings her so close to her Clarece roots, I want to root for her.

Instead, López unravels Danvers into a complicated mess of outright racism against Inuit in moments. She gets enraged at her daughter getting a temporary Kakiniit (the three vertical parallel lines below the lower lip that is a part of Inuit heritage). She understands Iñupiaq when she speaks to the elder who gave her daughter the kakiniit but her response isn’t dismissive but dripping with venom. Add in how dismissive she is of Navarro’s concern for the growing case that someone is murdering Native women and Danvers is hard to root for. Still, Foster’s Danvers is compelling to watch as she tries to solve the case and as all of her flaws are laid bare.

For Navarro, True Detective: Night Country Episode 2 expands on her relationship with her sister Julia (Aka Niviâna). This relationship also serves as a window into the supernatural side of Ennis. Last episode Rose (Fiona Shaw) saw a dead person who guided her to the frozen corpses of the Tsalal men. In this episode, Navarro seeks guidance on Rose’s vision, drawing a parallel with her sister who continues to recount seeing and hearing things that aren’t there.

Here, Rose shares a creeping context for Night Country as a series. “The world is getting old, and Ennis is where the fabric of all things is coming apart at the scenes,” Roae says. It’s an ominous warning but one that Navarro hopes is an answer to her sister’s cognitive decline. But mental health issues aren’t the spirit world as we see more of Navarro and Julia caked in a somber atmosphere.

True Detective Night Country Episode 2

True Detective: Night Country Episode 2 is all about how interpersonal relationships affect the larger narrative of the series. It’s a slow-burning story at this point, but the tension is still growing. Every interaction and choice tightens the mystery instead of solving it.

That said, “Part Two” is not without its horror or the clear worldbuilding that ramps up the methodical nature of the Tsalal deaths. But instead of sprinkling it throughout the episode, it’s consolidated in the beginning and the ending. These moments, from a screaming frozen corpse to a ritualistic scene covered in snow, work to shake the viewer. López lulls you into comfort. She outlines a character-driven drama that plays by noir rules, and just when you’re comfortable, she shakes you.

Visually, the series is gorgeous and terrifying. López’s vision captures the danger of the Arctic Circle and its cold. We see it in the rolling snow across landscapes, the endless night, and the statues of frozen and mangled bodies. By taking advantage of the environment and centering character relationships, True Detective: Night Country Episode 2 is stunning.

It still shocks and stuns. But most importantly, it’s all engrossing. The bitter cold of the series bites hard, and it seems that the developing reality around Danvers and Navarro is about to draw blood.

True Detective: Night Country is streaming now on MAX (formerly HBO MAX).

True Detective: Night Country Episode 2
  • 9.5/10
    Rating - 9.5/10
9.5/10

TL;DR

True Detective: Night Country Episode 2 is a slower-paced episode than the premiere, but it still wields heavy narrative weight.

Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit Email
Previous ArticleREVIEW: ‘A Real Pain’ Builds Empathy
Next Article REVIEW: ‘Monsters: 103 Mercies Dragon Damnation’ Is A Worthy Prequel To ‘One Piece’
Kate Sánchez
  • Website
  • X (Twitter)
  • Instagram

Kate Sánchez is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of But Why Tho? A Geek Community. There, she coordinates film, television, anime, and manga coverage. Kate is also a freelance journalist writing features on video games, anime, and film. Her focus as a critic is championing animation and international films and television series for inclusion in awards cycles. Find her on Bluesky @ohmymithrandir.bsky.social

Related Posts

Travis, Ned (Domnhall Gleeson), and Adelola in Season 1 of The Paper
6.0

REVIEW: ‘The Paper’ Season 1 Lacks Conviction

09/03/2025
Mitsuki Yamato Invasion Season 3 Episode 2 still from Apple TV+

RECAP: ‘Invasion’ Season 3 Episode 2 — “The Message”

09/02/2025
John Cena in Peacemaker Season 2 Episode 2

RECAP: ‘Peacemaker’ Season 2 Episode 2 – “A Man Is Only As Good As His Bird”

08/29/2025
Foundation Season 3 Episode 8 promotional still from APple TV+
9.0

RECAP: ‘The Foundation’ Season 3 Episode 8 — “Skin In The Game”

08/29/2025
Ateez featured in KPOPPED
6.5

REVIEW: ‘KPOPPED’ Has Potential But Loses Its Spark

08/28/2025
Sydney Chandler in Alien Earth Episode 4
8.0

REVIEW: ‘Alien: Earth’ Episode 4 — “Observation”

08/26/2025

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here
TRENDING POSTS
Cosmic Spider-Man card details Features

[EXCLUSIVE PREVIEW] The Spider-Man Set Gets A 5-Color Legendary Spider

By Kate Sánchez09/02/2025Updated:09/02/2025

An exclusive look at a new 5-Color Spider entering Magic: The Gathering’s Spider-Man set, and Cosmic Spider-Man is going to be a tough one to take on.

Hololive EN at Radio City Music Hall Events

Hololive EN At Radio City Music Hall Was A Pure Expression Of Fandom

By Adrian Ruiz08/31/2025Updated:09/03/2025

Hololive EN turned Radio City in New York City into the pure expression of fandom: chants, penlights, and community in perfect sync.

Foundation Season 3 Episode 8 promotional still from APple TV+
9.0
TV

RECAP: ‘The Foundation’ Season 3 Episode 8 — “Skin In The Game”

By Will Borger08/29/2025Updated:08/29/2025

Still barreling toward a knock-down, drag-out fight between Gaal and the Mule in Foundation Season 3 Episode 8 ups the stakes.

Karl Anthony Towns in NBA 2k26 But Why Tho
8.5
PS5

REVIEW: ‘NBA 2K26’ Brings Basketball To Life

By Kyle Foley09/03/2025

NBA 2K26 combines improved visuals with some important tweaks to keep the series feeling fresh in the latest yearly release.

But Why Tho?
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram Pinterest RSS YouTube Twitch
  • CONTACT US
  • ABOUT US
  • PRIVACY POLICY
  • SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER
  • Review Score Guide
Sometimes we include links to online retail stores. If you click on one and make a purchase we may receive a small contribution.
Written Content is Copyright © 2025 But Why Tho? A Geek Community

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

But Why Tho Logo

Support Us!

We're able to keep making content thanks to readers like YOU!
Support independent media today with
Click Here