The season 4 finale of True Detective answered many questions, but posed a new one: what happened to Evangeline Navarro in the last episode of Night Country?
The fourth season of True Detective is officially over, and its finale offered many resolutions to the various crimes that affected the town of Ennis, Alaska. The disappearance of scientists found frozen was indeed linked to the murder of Annie Kowtok, and the case took on gigantic proportions as Liz Danvers (Jodie Foster) and Evangeline Navarro (Kali Reis) discovered the involvement of a multinational n not hesitating to pollute the region’s water.
Betrayals, secrets, murders… The end of season 4 was full of twists and turns. And while (almost) all the intrigues find their outcome, there is one that challenges its viewers: what happened to Evangeline Navarro at the end of Night Country?
Warning: this article contains spoilers from season 4 of True Detective
What happened to Navarro in the True Detective season 4 finale?
In the conclusion of season 4 of True Detective, we learn that Evangeline Navarro chose to disappear, leaving the town of Ennis overnight.
As she suggested at the start of the season, the policewoman has indeed vanished into thin air. But that doesn’t necessarily mean she’s dead: she promised Liz Danvers she’d come back.
Before leaving, the young woman leaves a phone containing a video of the confessions of Raymond Clark, scientist at the Tsalal station. Liz Danvers will publish them while taking care not to be identified as a whistleblower, as we discover during her interview with the investigators responsible for finding Hank Prior.
Liz Danvers will also lie about the real culprit in the disappearance of Hank Prior: according to the official version, Hank kidnapped and killed Otis Heiss, before being swept away in the storm while trying to hide the body. The Ennis police chief speaks of “a deal that went wrong” .
This is where the discussion turns to Navarro. Flashbacks show us the items left behind: the SpongeBob toothbrush, the teddy bear, and the cell phone containing the confession. The young woman had come to Ennis to find answers, including her real name. After finding him, she left, probably to live elsewhere.
True Detective season 4 showrunner’s explanation
Concerning Evangeline Navarro, showrunner Issa Lopez offered her own interpretation of the character’s fate at the end of season 4 of True Detective.
Speaking to Deadline, she explained that she left the ending intentionally open: “I’m not saying she’s alive, and I’m certainly not saying she’s dead. I very carefully designed this plot as a Rorschach test for you to discover the answer for yourself as an audience member. I like the fact that Navarro declares very early in the series that she has this desire to abandon everything and leave. On the other hand, the whole series is an exploration of the calling she feels from beyond.”
“During the climax of the last episode, instead of fighting and visiting this afterlife in pain and fear, she surrenders to it. And in doing so, she finds a part of herself. The fear she felt towards this call therefore disappears. Aboriginal people in Australia go on a walkabout, find themselves and then come back, which is, I think, what Kali embraced [for the character]. However, there is a chance that she will also be with the women who came before her to visit them.”
To conclude, the showrunner explains that it all depends on the spectators’ point of view: “You can see it in two ways and it’s up to you to interpret the one that fills your heart.”
Season 4 of True Detective is available on Prime Video’s Warner Pass.
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