True Detective: Night Country finale ending explained: how did True Detective season 4 episode 6 end?

Jodie Foster and Kali Reis are close to wrapping up the case in True Detective: Night Country. Created by Issa López, the fourth instalment of the franchise has reached its dramatic end with the season 4 finale.

Set in Alaska, this series follows the mysterious disappearance of eight men who operate the Tsalal Arctic science station. True Detective is known for attracting a stand-out cast, with previous seasons starring Matthew McConaughey, Woody Harrelson, Colin Farrell, Rachel McAdams and Mahershala Ali.

The last two seasons have failed to live up to the hype of season 1, but True Detective: Night Country seems to be the one that has broken the mould. The finale left no stones unturned, and here is everything you need to know about what happened in the True Detective season 4 ending.

*Beware this post contains spoilers for True Detective season 4 episode 6.

What happened in True Detective season 4 finale?

Chief Liz Danvers (Jodie Foster) and Trooper Evangeline Navarro (Kali Reis) have found their way to the Night Country. They dig their way through one of the entrances of the underground ice tunnels, travelling deep down into the frozen wasteland.

Navarro pushes further and further, leading the ice to give way, trapping Danvers. It then cracks for a second time as the pair fall into a mysterious room beneath that looks like it has been set up to perform experiments - then it clicks, they are in the same cave from Annie K's video.

The pair realise they are below the Tsalal science centre and they aren't alone. They move upstairs where they are confronted by Raymond Clark. A fight ensues with Clark locking Danvers in a freezer and attacking Navarro with a fire extinguisher, but the pair manage to tackle the scientist, restraining him to a chair whilst playing Annie's murder video on a loop.

Meanwhile Pete Prior, the young detective who we last saw shooting his father, is cleaning up the evidence. He is disturbed by Liz's daughter, Leah but manages to convince her he'll take her back to his wife's Kayla's house. The pair leave, with his father's body in the trunk. Whilst dropping Leah off Kayla comes to speak with him, the pair make up and Prior travels on to meet with Rose, to do what he has to do.

Now that Clark has been tortured enough we finally get the gruesome details of what happened to Annie K. He explains he didn't kill her, that she snuck in to try and find a paper trail to prove the mines were paying them, but discovered the truth and destroyed the scientists' work. Clark heard her screams and discovered Lund stabbing Annie. The rest of the scientists joined in, holding her down so Lund could finish the job.

Navarro goes to finish Clark but can't do it, and whilst Danvers stands outside we get a flashback to the Wheeler house, showing Navarro shooting William Wheeler who has just murdered his partner, only for the shattering silence to be broken by the cries of a baby.

Outside the storm is building, cutting the power and most importantly the heat. Navarro is gripped by voices from the ice and gives Liz a message from her son Holden who died trapped in a car, to which Danvers tells her to "shut the f**k up". Liz tries to stave off hypothermia only to discover Navarro has travelled out onto the ice, it is here she finds herself transported along with the voices from her mother and finally receives her Iñupiat name.

However Danvers isn't far behind and thinking she sees her son below her feet breaks through the ice, plummeting into the freezing water below. Navarro rescues her just before it's too late, dragging her back to the science station trying hard to keep her warm. We see glimpses of Liz's backstory, the trauma of losing her son, blowing out birthday candles and glimpses of a joyful past.

Prior has taken his father out to the ice to dispose of his body with the help of Rose, she tells him, "I guess you're thinking the worst part is done, it's not, what comes after forever, that's the worst f**king part."

At the science station Danvers and Navarro have survived the worst of the night, they also remember Clark mentioning how he held the hatch closed during what happened to the other scientists. They use a UV light and look for clues only to discover a familiar palm print. The storm has eased so they travel to the house of who owns it, the woman we first met in episode one, along with a large group of women from the community.

The women start to explain how they knew the Tsalal scientists had killed Annie K and that together they sought to get justice for their friend. Using their jobs as cleaners they were able to explore evidence files and took matters into their own hands, and they tell a story where they banded together to storm the science centre and round up the murderers, forcing them to strip in the ice and leaving them to be taken by the ghost of Annie K.

The two groups of women are in a way connected, taking matters into their own hands following crimes against vulnerable women. Annie's community rallied round to avenge her death, taking back control after the brutality of her murder, just in the same way that Navarro killed Wheeler and was protected by Danvers.

Cut to a police interview room, with Danvers explaining their version of events. They blame Hank Prior for shooting Otis Heiss, explaining that his body must have gone into the ice when he went to dispose of Heiss. Clark died in the same manner as the Tsalal men, pointing out that Annie K took him, but not before he recorded a video sharing all the shady doings between the mine and the science centre, enough to get both shut down for good.

As for Navarro, she has left Alaska. We watch as Eddie Qavvik discovers his toothbrush left outside his home. Navarro has returned to the ice. We don't know where she is, all we know is that she has finally found herself.

Will there be a True Detective season 5?

True Detective has yet to be renewed for season 5, but it's looking very likely the series will return. The latest season is the most watched, with The Wrap reporting that it has overtaken figures for season one, averaging 12.7 million US viewers according to numbers from Warner Bros. Discovery.

True Detective: Night Country is created by Issa López. In an interview with AV Club when asked if she would like to be involved in any future seasons, she said: "That’s a question for HBO". Given the show's success, it's expected that question will be put to her very soon.

If True Detective does return for season 5 it is expected to follow the same format of a new location, cast and mysterious murder.

Sarah McCann is a Trends Writer for NationalWorld who specialises in stories around TV, Film and Health. If you liked this article you can follow Sarah on X (Twitter) here. You can also share your thoughts in the comment section below.