'True Detective' is back from the dead. And just like that, must-watch HBO is too

What would have happened to Clarice Starling if, after the events of “The Silence of the Lambs,” her FBI career didn’t pan out?

I thought about that every so often while watching “True Detective: Night Country,” the excellent latest installment in the HBO series, and the first without creator Nic Pizzolatto. Issa López created this season, only six episodes long. But what it lacks in quantity it more than makes up for in quality, with a number of outstanding performances led by Jodie Foster’s Liz Danvers, the police chief of the remote town of Ennis, Alaska.

Thus the Starling reference, given Foster’s presence, though for Starling to have turned out like Danvers, she would have had to travel some rough roads. Aloof, surly and sometimes just downright mean, Danvers at least claims not to show favorites (though clearly she does). “I hate everyone,” she says at one point (though clearly she doesn’t, but it’s close).

What is the plot of 'True Detective: Night Country?'

“The Silence of the Lambs” isn’t the only thing I thought about while watching. There are nods to “The Thing,” as well as “Lost.” Yet López takes the “True Detective” framework — two mismatched cops working together — and makes it her own. Women drive the story, in front of and behind the camera.

I loved it.

Where does 'True Detective: Night Country' take place?

Danvers was exiled to Ennis, basically because no one liked her. Located above the arctic circle, the town is submerged into complete darkness for long stretches of winter; “Night Country” begins on the eve of the first day. It’s freezing, dirty, snowy, hard. Its residents, many of them members of the Indigenous Iñupiat community, are close-knit. Many work for the all-powerful mine, though some residents, younger ones in particular, organize protests, fearing environmental damage. Danvers' stepdaughter (Isabella Star LaBlanc) is among them, which strains an already uneasy relationship.

There is also the Tsalal Arctic Research Station, and the show begins with all of the men who live and work there disappearing. Evangeline Navarro (Kali Reis) is a former Ennis cop Danvers farmed out to the state troopers after a case they worked together went awry. Navarro, herself Iñupiat, thinks the disappearance might be linked to an unsolved murder she can’t let go of. Danvers disagrees, but events will persuade her to work with Navarro again, in classic “True Detective” style.

The story is infused with supernatural elements, legends, fears. No one ever really leaves Ennis, so they say, even after death. Ghosts appear here and there, either as guides or as warnings (or occasionally something worse). Indeed, what appears to be an intense, violent crime drama on the surface is actually a tale of loss and gutting grief, as well as an attempt to claw your way out of the ever-present darkness, both literal and metaphorical.

Reis holds her own with Foster

The show looks great — a dark, frozen, snowy world with a sense of foreboding everywhere you turn? Sign me up. Foster and Reis are great together, in part because of the fragile truce that exists between them. Both are damaged, nearly broken people, each shouldering her own wounds. Foster’s Danvers more explicitly doesn’t suffer fools, but Reis’ Navarro is just as strong-willed in her way.

The supporting cast is just as good. The great John Hawkes doesn’t have enough to do as Hank, a surly police officer who is envious of Danvers, but what he does here is impactful. Finn Bennett has more opportunity as Pete, a cop whose devotion to Danvers comes at the expense of his father and often, his wife. He’s eager, he’s smart and he is smack dab in the middle of forces far bigger than he is — not just the bizarre case, but Danvers’ controlling nature, as well. You’re asking the wrong questions, Danvers repeatedly barks at him, trying to lead him to the truth, even when it is damaging to her.

The show probably didn’t need to have “True Detective” in its title, though it likely doesn’t hurt in terms of marketing. Who cares what you call it, as long as you can call it really good?

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Where to watch 'True Detective: Night Country'

Episode 1 premieres Sunday, Jan. 14 on HBO. A new episode drops each succeeding Sunday.

Reach Goodykoontz at bill.goodykoontz@arizonarepublic.com. Facebook: facebook.com/GoodyOnFilm. X, formerly known as Twitter: @goodyk.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: 'True Detective' season 4 is must-watch TV. And one heck of a comeback