I watched the fourth season of True Detective. It’s better, McConaughey would be pleased

In mid-January, HBO presented the fourth season of the cult series True Detective, entitled Nightland. We watched the first episodes and are ready to share our impressions.

McConaughey’s poetic monologue character in the first season, which permeates almost every episode of True Detective, and the swamp fog captivated audiences at the time. It is hardly possible to repeat something like this. The next two seasons simply failed to apply the winning formula of the first.

Was “Night Country” able to correct the situation? Maybe yes. But there are many nuances. We have already watched the first episodes and are sharing our impressions.

What is the success of True Detective as a phenomenon?

The first season, released back in 2014, is the path for prestige miniseries and reinforces the idea that smaller TV projects are more successful than the Emmys and can attract A-listers like Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey.

Show creator Nic Pizzolato, despite all his major missteps, Was able to create a series that could please all lovers of conspiracy theories, paranoid tendencies and brutal cruelty on the screen. Although in fact, all the mythology and secret stay in that season ultimately led to nothing. No complex, coordinated systems of occult power (sorry for the spoiler). Men in crisis, the forces of investigation and the brilliant McConaughey, the only hero who has forever become a meme.

The following seasons were undeniably interesting, but not as good as the first.

Nic Pizzolatto has left history, this is not critical

What is the series about?: The project takes place in the small fictional town of Ennis, located 150 miles north of the Arctic Circle. Events begin at the end of December, when the city plunges into permanent darkness, and the days become indistinguishable from the nights.

The story of a mysterious and terrible event: the poisoning of the entire male scientific team working at an Arctic research station. Two police officers will have to find the missing and understand the reasons for what happened.

The first thing you notice in the opening credits of the new season is musician Nic Pizzolatto as a screenwriter, now he is listed only as an executive producer and the author of the original idea.

The creator and showrunner of the first season of the three games was Nic Pizzolatto. key figuredefining her style and direction for the first three seasons, and his departure changes markedly throughout the series.

The little-known Mexican director Issa Lopez was chosen to write and direct. Why is this clear? Well, at least a radical change of location. Instead of warm Louisiana, Sunny Season and Season 4 of Arkansas take the action to a “cold” town in Alaska.

A place where the night lasts for months added even more darkness to the situation.

Lopez replaces the southern swampy humidity of the first season with a harsh, frozen ground, bringing a somewhat surreal atmosphere. The glacial landscapes give the story a mood that’s spacey with cold Scandinavian thrillers. This is a definite plus.

The darkest of all seasons, it makes me happy

The town of Ennis is a key setting for the new season. This city, located in the secluded areas of northern Alaska, creates an atmosphere of gloom, paranoia, failure and endless cold.

The atmosphere here is rich in mysticism and secrets, which are enhanced by the constant time that runs the city into a period of constant night. The cold in the series is not only a meteorological factor, but also a symbolic one. It reflects the coldness in the relationships between the characters and the coldness within the characters themselves. This cold symbolizes the isolation and alienation that grips both the city and its inhabitants.

Besides, gloomy, sunless place, is ideally suited to continue the struggle between indigenous peoples and a powerful mining nation, with its mercenary dependents and dependent powers that pollute the land and poison its people. The eternal struggle between good and evil.

Well, the way the director filmed the most terrible moments of history evokes exceptional respect. They’re disgusting, weird, and filled with dark magical realism.

Many film fans immediately pay attention to the series, which has parallels with the film with the cult “The Thing” by John Carpenter. Both works are set in dark and isolated places, where problems with terrible and unexplained phenomena occur. Elements of paranoia, failure and insurance against the unknown are present in both TV series and films.

There are a lot of references to McConaughey’s season, which is great.

In “Nightland” there are building structures that we saw in the first season. We bend our fingers. For example, this season has the same strange spiral icon as in 2014.

Like the first successful iteration, there are again two police forces who face conflicting disadvantages most of the time.

As in the first season, the supernatural hints are clearly and deliberately not false leads, but rather detailed to confuse the viewer as much as possible. History literally imbued with supernatural elements, legends and simple human fears. Just like the “original” story, the gritty crime drama trope tries to be a story about loss and soul-wrenching sadness and trying to escape the pervasive darkness.

Well, Cole’s iconic line from the first episode is “start asking crucial questions” – in fact, is the mantra of the main character. The fans should be delighted.

But there is one thing – now we see a woman under investigation. In previous seasons, the main characters were almost all male. In this regard, the main investigators are women.

Women’s investigation, it’s not boring

When you look at the heroine of Jodie Foster, a thought flashes through your head – so what would have happened to Clarice Starling if, after the events of The Silence of the Lambs, her career in the FBI had not been restored. Her character is maddeningly cynical, like someone who is too worn out by symbols and private relationships. A combative, hot-tempered personality who seems to have offended almost the entire neighborhood.

Unlike Rust Kohla, who was a mysterious and philosophical character, Danvers is more straightforward and realistic in her approach to the investigation.. However, they both share an element of cynicism and darkness that characterizes the game.

The main character’s partner is also tormented by demons from the past, in particular in connection with an unsolved murder from the past. Her character is marked by uncompromisingness and anger, which stems from the long period of monarchy and the injustice she experienced.

We promise, they are almost broken, each with their own spiritual wounds. In other words, this isn’t a “strong woman” cliché. There are only two policewomen here who have experienced personal mornings.

Overall, this show has quite a few characters, each with their own storyline and trust demons. People live in a bleak, snowy environment, often stuck in the past with no idea of ​​the future. In a word, icy hopelessness on the edge of civilization. I installed what I needed.

We won’t talk about self-investigation; a step to the right – a step to the left – these are complete spoilers. But it’s interesting to watch, especially since here only 6 episodes.

Definitely watch

True Detective: Nightland contradicts the mythological sentiments, thereby tonally linking it to the first season. But it seems like the show didn’t need to have “True Detective” in its title, probably just for marketing reasons. That’s why the authors gave the expanded title of the season. Something like “Detective”, something like an independent work.

Unlike Fargo, which often resorts to dark humor, and Twin Peaks, which focuses on supernatural elements, Nightland focuses on the restless and dark thoughts, emotional wounds and depression and ways to overcome it.

HBO has once again demonstrated how good a dark little detective series can be when done right. “Detective” is nothing like other television series. And that’s great!

If you watch in the evening, don’t forget to take a warm blanket, the “frosty” atmosphere will warm up to your bones.